Passed through Banna Park. I had good encounters with multiple Ruddy Kingfishers. One adult was feeding a fledgling that had grown to nearly adult size.

The Crested Serpent Eagles are in the final stages of raising their young. The beautiful white-plumaged juveniles should be appearing soon.

I also recorded the first Grey Wagtail of the season — a small group of four.

The Eurasian Tree Sparrow chicks that had been breeding in the nest box on my house have also fledged. The garden is lively these days.

This Ruddy Kingfisher was still feeding its fledgling. The adult was relaxed, but the fledgling was an extremely wary individual.

The Glossy Ibis is still here. A Javan Pond Heron in beautiful summer plumage has also turned up. Both are unwary and easy to observe and photograph.

I recorded the first Common Greenshank, Long-toed Stint, and Black-winged Stilt of the season. Young Purple Herons have also started to appear — breeding seems to have concluded successfully.

A Crested Serpent Eagle was on the forest road, likely in the middle of raising chicks. I expect fledglings to appear from late August onward.

The other day I went to check on a recently fledged Ryukyu Scops Owl and found the parent locked in a battle with crows — apparently holding its own against four of them.

The Glossy Ibis seems to have a favourite paddy — it is always in the same spot.

The Pheasant-tailed Jacana has now been here a week. It is less wary than when it was first found, making observation easier. A Crested Serpent Eagle was nearby, but the jacana showed no sign of concern.

Over the week it stayed, it gradually lost its wariness of people and was relaxed about foraging in the open.

6th Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp side notes: a Broad-billed Sandpiper showed at close range, and the paddies also produced a flock of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Long-toed Stints in summer plumage, freshly arrived Eurasian Whimbrels, breeding Greater Painted-snipes, and Cinnamon Bitterns in beautiful nuptial plumage.

While traveling between sites, we encountered Ruddy Kingfishers, a Crested Serpent Eagle, Red-throated Pipits, and a large flock of Eastern Yellow Wagtails.

When I first spotted it the Broad-billed Sandpiper was at the far end of the rice paddy, but it gradually worked its way closer.

Ruddy Kingfishers increased sharply once April arrived. Some pairs have already formed and can be seen excavating nest holes. The pair near my house was nesting in a rotting tree. I confirmed nest-hole digging at several other spots as well.

Ryukyu Flycatcher song can be heard here and there. I also came across a pair collecting nesting material.

The Crested Serpent Eagle has entered breeding season too. Other resident birds on the island are equally active as the breeding season gets underway.

A Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher on the way home from work. One of three individuals I saw.

Ruddy Kingfisher numbers have been building up. The first call of the season came a little earlier than usual, but I had been away from the island on a family trip at the end of March, so I only just managed to get photographs. These days a bird is calling loudly around the house from early morning — at around 6 a.m. the Ruddy Kingfisher wakes me up.

The Ashy Drongo has been wintering at the same spot since around New Year, a stay of roughly four months now. That is quite a long wintering record for Ishigaki Island.

A single Ruddy Shelduck turned up in the rice paddies. Last winter one appeared briefly at the dam but I could not get a proper look, so this was my first good view in a long time. It really is a beautiful bird.

Other spring migrants are arriving one after another: Oriental Pratincole, Common Snipe, Common Greenshank, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet and more.

The Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher arrived about a week earlier than usual this season — calls were already audible around 23 March. Numbers picked up toward the end of March. My first photos weren't until 6 April, a little later than usual, partly because I was away from the island on a trip.

Spring migration on Ishigaki Island has been building gradually since February, and by March it has grown noticeably more active. The variety of waders is increasing first of all. Brown Shrikes and White-cheeked Starlings that spent the winter on the island are beginning to move north.

Some individual Crested Serpent Eagle juveniles are well along in their moult.

A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle. It is within the territory of an adult pair and gets chased off every time it is spotted, yet it stubbornly stays put.

The third Common Hoopoe of the season has arrived, following last week's bird. This individual showed no wariness at all — when a car passed nearby it flew off only a short distance. Reports of arrivals have also come in from other islands, and it looks like this is a good year for Common Hoopoe.

Temperatures are rising and spring migration is beginning. A mixed flock of Taiwan Wagtail, White Wagtail, and White Wagtail arrived in the rice paddies.

Among the waders, wintering birds — Common Snipe, Common Redshank, and Wood Sandpiper — have been joined by northbound migrants, making things a little livelier.

Resident birds — Crested Serpent Eagle, Purple Heron, and Cinnamon Bittern — were all active in the run-up to the breeding season.

Discovered what is the third Eurasian Hoopoe of the season on Ishigaki Island.

The second Common Hoopoe of the season has arrived. The Common Hoopoe is one of the birds that herald spring on Ishigaki Island, though it feels as if the arrival date gets a little earlier every year.

With the warmer weather, Crested Serpent Eagle and Black-winged Kite on Ishigaki Island have been observed carrying nesting material and displaying — confirmed breeding behaviour. Wintering waders and ducks are still present.

A Eurasian Hoopoe that turned up a little early. There are good years every few years, but I have a feeling this season will see a large influx of Eurasian Hoopoes on Ishigaki Island.

The Ashy Drongo from the other day appears to be in full wintering mode — when I went back to check a week later it was still in exactly the same spot.

Crested Serpent Eagles are very active on the farmland and I regularly come across pairs. Along the coast, Siberian Sand Plovers, Kentish Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Common Greenshanks, Grey-tailed Tattlers and Common Sandpipers are all wintering.

The White-bellied Drongo was in exactly the same spot as a week ago. It was predating something in the order Hymenoptera. I hope it stays until spring.

A White-naped Crane has arrived on Ishigaki for the first time in six years, since the first island record in 2020. It is a big, beautiful bird. A Siberian Crane has been wintering on Iriomote since last year — I would love to get over there to see it if the chance arises.

Crested Serpent Eagles are in the early stages of the breeding season; on fine days you can often hear a male and female calling back and forth.

Grey-faced Buzzards, Common Kestrels, Peregrine Falcons, Eastern Buzzards and Ospreys are all wintering on the island, but I have not seen an Upland Buzzard since I spotted one on Yonaguni in December last year — they seem scarce this season.

The first visit since October 2020. This time there were two adults. The Purple Heron looked no bigger than a Little Egret!!

December was hectic with repeated work trips and preparations for Omoto526, a single-unit rental guesthouse opening very soon, so I barely managed to get out birding at all.

Instead, a Crested Serpent Eagle, a Common Kestrel and Olive-backed Pipits have started turning up in our garden. A Black-winged Kite appears morning and evening.

I'd like to take things more slowly and do some proper birdwatching next year — though who knows how that will go… ^^;

A Red-throated Pipit with a short tail. There were also several Citrine Wagtails in the same condition. Perhaps they were grabbed by the Eurasian Sparrowhawk that has been holding territory over this paddy.

A Crested Serpent Eagle was eating a toxic Cane Toad. Below I reproduce the article I wrote on Crested Serpent Eagle venom resistance, published in the newspaper on 19 July.

A Crested Serpent Eagle eating a Cane Toad. As the research papers suggest, the toxin seems to pose no problem for it.

A Crested Serpent Eagle rescued in Nagura in September 2024 has been released back into the wild. It had suffered serious injuries — a broken right wing, a broken left leg, and bleeding from the mouth — but after 18 months of treatment and rehabilitation, it has finally been able to return to nature.

For identification purposes, it is fitted with a ring on the right leg stamped with a red "4". This data is valuable for Crested Serpent Eagle conservation efforts, so please get in touch if you spot it.

A Crested Serpent Eagle being released by staff from Ishigaki Yaima Village, which has a rehabilitation facility.

A Black-headed Bunting turned up after a long absence. It was very likely the same individual I briefly glimpsed in the same paddy field about a week ago. It was mixed in with a flock of several hundred Eurasian Tree Sparrows.

A Forest Wagtail appeared on the usual forest road — the sixth individual this season. Arriving this late in the year, there is a good chance it will winter here. Last year one wintered at the same spot. Once they settle into wintering mode, though, they tend to stay deep inside the forest and become harder to observe.

Arctic Warblers have been showing up since early October. Birds fresh in from migration are often in small flocks, but now they have spread across the island and each is holding a small territory. Many individuals will stay through to spring. Come April, they form flocks again in preparation for the northward journey, and some begin to sing.

Brambling have also appeared. They joined up with Eurasian Tree Sparrow flocks and were feeding on second-crop rice grain in the paddies.

White-shouldered Starlings — a few birds — were mixed into a flock of several tens of White-cheeked Starlings, along with around 20 Common Starlings. The wintering White-shouldered Starling population on the island is sizeable in its own right, and flocks of several tens are regularly seen in parks and the like.

At this time of year, snipe are mostly Common Snipe, but among a flock of ten-odd I found just two Swinhoe's Snipe. I expect them to disappear once the second-crop rice harvest gets under way. Other waders lingering in the paddies include Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, and Long-toed Stint.

Ducks are increasing too — I recorded my first Mallard of the season on Ishigaki. Mallard used to be quite scarce on Ishigaki and Okinawa, but the numbers being seen seem to grow a little more each year.

A Black-headed Bunting standing out prominently among a flock of Eurasian Tree Sparrows. It was constantly harassing them….

Two Pied Avocets have been present for several days. A flock of Black-faced Spoonbills and Eurasian Spoonbills, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Garganey have been staying a long time. Wintering Eurasian Teal and Northern Shoveler are also steadily building up.

Two Pied Avocets with zero wariness are staying in the area.

Red Collared Doves have turned up at various spots around the island. The largest flock I saw was nine birds, roughly half male and half female.

Wintering Common Kestrels are also increasing, and a nearby water area had growing numbers of Little Grebe and Eurasian Coot — these too will be wintering on Ishigaki.

The Crested Serpent Eagles have finished breeding and are now easier to find in open habitats such as paddy fields.

A male Pale-backed Pigeon. Looking worn out after a spell of rough weather.

As the young birds begin to move away from their parents, juvenile Crested Serpent Eagles are becoming easier to observe. Multiple juveniles have been confirmed across Ishigaki Island. There were no typhoons this season so breeding success looks good — I'm looking forward to seeing how many individuals are counted.

Of the recent Greater Painted-snipe brood, one chick died in the nest, but the surviving chick is doing well with the parent. There are plenty of predators — cats, crows, and Black-winged Kites — so let's hope it makes it through safely.

Crested Serpent Eagle, juvenile. When it spotted something in a roadside ditch it would swoop down — practising its hunting on its own.

The Pheasant-tailed Jacana usually turns up in June, but this season it was confirmed a little earlier than usual. The individual was very wary of crows and flew off every time one passed nearby.

At the baseball field, every time the Malayan Night Heron caught prey, a young Crested Serpent Eagle would steal it. Moving to a different spot would seem the obvious solution, but the pair of Malayan Night Herons appeared determined to stay at that feeding spot — they kept returning to feed despite being robbed repeatedly.

A Pheasant-tailed Jacana startled into the air by a crow. It appeared to be a young bird in first-summer plumage.

A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle that had been rescued in a weakened state has been released back into the wild. It is the bird's first return to the wild since being taken into care on April 8 — about a month ago.

The finder gave it the nickname "Yo-chan." A silver ring bearing the number "5" for identification has been fitted to its left leg. This data is important for conservation records, so please get in touch if you spot it.

A Crested Serpent Eagle being held by a staff member. The T-shirt from "Shima no Nakama from IRIOMOTE," a designer based on Iriomote Island, is very stylish.