Made a circuit of the estuary for the first time in a while. Three Red Knots, Great Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Far Eastern Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler, and Greater Sand Plover were all observed. A Pied Avocet had turned up in the paddies.
A Red Knot transitioning into breeding plumage. Three appearing at the same time is unusual.
Five Black Drongos turned up at three different locations. They are a fixture of Golden Week on Ishigaki Island — whenever the weather turns rough, several are sure to be seen.
A Black Drongo perched in a guava tree. It was completely unafraid.
Made the usual rounds of the paddies. The cast of birds had barely changed; about the only new arrival was the Whiskered Tern.
A Swinhoe's Snipe observed at just the right distance.
Temperatures rose and the paddy birds became a little more active — I had good views of bathing behavior and similar scenes.
A distant Pin-tailed Snipe.
Pin-tailed Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe, and Common Snipe are all staying in the paddies of Ishigaki Island. Spring snipe identification gets harder than autumn — which is actually quite enjoyable. ^^
Pin-tailed Snipe spotted on a distant paddy bank. The backlight makes observation tough… ^^;
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.
There was a Common Hoopoe — about the tenth of this season. A Pied Avocet also showed up, along with a flock of around 60 Pacific Golden Plovers and some Oriental Pratincoles.
A Eurasian Hoopoe showing no wariness at all. This season it was all relaxed birds.
Autumn migration on Ishigaki Island is winding down, but an out-of-season typhoon drove in a greater variety of birds.
A Pied Avocet arrived at a paddy field near the town centre.
The Oriental Pratincole colony was ploughed up, but birds that were already flying apparently managed to escape. A few pairs were still carrying food to chicks.
The Japanese Sparrowhawk breeding is also going well, and chicks were confirmed at one nest. The Common Emerald Doves are probably getting along fine too. The local Ruddy Kingfisher was seen carrying a large cicada, and I assumed it was for large chicks — but it ate the cicada itself. Some nests have already hatched, and on hot days the chicks poke their heads out.
A Collared Pratincole chick that cannot yet fly, being fed by one of the parents.
Migratory birds have all but disappeared from Ishigaki Island, but breeding by the Ruddy Kingfishers, Northern Boobooks, and Oriental Pratincoles seems to be going smoothly. Black-naped Terns have also arrived and are beginning to form colonies on the rocky reefs.
As every year, I worry about the effect of typhoons, but I hope the breeding season ends in success. ^^
A Ruddy Kingfisher in the shade of a tree at a ranch. After taking prey, it flew right over my head and off into the forest.
We held the 4th Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp again this year. Two participants came down from Hokkaido. That said, snipe numbers were already low during the pre-camp scouting the day before, and I had a bad feeling about it. Sure enough — poor results. It ended up being the worst outing yet: one Pin-tailed Snipe, a few Swinhoe's Snipe, and a few Common Snipe.
On the plus side, we managed to see around 50 species including Collared Kingfisher, Ryukyu Kingfisher, Crested Serpent Eagle, and various resident and migratory birds, which everyone was happy about, so I'll call it good. Years like this happen.
The only Pin-tailed Snipe of the day. A beautiful individual — I knew what it was the moment it came into the binoculars.
Little Curlews arrived again this year — a small flock of three. While watching them, 13 Oriental Pratincoles also came in.
A Little Whimbrel I noticed by its call while driving slowly through the sugarcane fields. It's a spot where Little Whimbrel turn up every year.
Two consecutive days of bad weather brought large numbers of shorebirds and plovers — apparently mid-migration — dropping in to localized spots. The biggest group was Black-winged Stilts, over 400 birds, followed by Wood Sandpipers at 200+. There were too many to keep counting, so I stopped midway. ^^;
Pied Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Marsh Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, and Garganey also arrived, making the paddies extremely lively — though two days later everything was back to normal. ^^;
Along the coast, Greater Sand Plover numbers increased, and a small number of Grey Plovers also came through.
Two Curlew Sandpipers confirmed.
I went birding on the side of a work trip to Okinawa Main Island to cover the general election. The confirmed result for Okinawa District 4 came in just after 11 p.m. I quickly wrote and filed the article, returned to the hotel for a shower, then arrived in Yambaru just after 3 a.m.
It was my first night search in Yambaru in nearly three years, but hitting two reliable spots I encountered three Ryukyu Scops Owls. I had forgotten my flash, so I managed to photograph them using the rental car's headlights and a handheld torch. Before 5 a.m. I caught a short nap in the car. On the way back I stopped at Kin and Awase Tidal Flats and saw Eurasian Curlew, Far Eastern Curlew, ducks, snipe and other waders.
I visited the usual spot where Ryukyu Scops Owls breed, and sure enough one was there. I was also able to hear the well-known descending call: "Wok, wok, wok, woh."
Ishigaki had a rough day under the influence of a tropical depression. When the rain eased I did the rounds of the paddies and found the first Broad-billed Sandpiper of the season had arrived — encountered in a puddle in a sugarcane field. Out on the grassland I also picked up first records of Curlew Sandpiper and Grey Plover. Bad weather does have a way of pushing birds into unexpected places.
Found a Broad-billed Sandpiper in a puddle in a sugarcane field. Was able to observe it right in front of me.
First Dunlin and Pacific Golden Plover of the season confirmed. The Dunlin was a single bird; the Pacific Golden Plovers were a flock of nearly ten.
Dunlin with winter plumage beginning to show in patches.
Pin-tailed Snipe numbers are gradually building. The first Ruff of the season has also arrived. Oriental Pratincoles appear to be on the move, fledglings included. First juvenile Long-toed Stint of the season also confirmed.
Spotted a Pin-tailed Snipe adult in the distance.
Typhoon No. 3 is bearing down on Ishigaki Island — the first approach of the year.
The wind had a suspicious feel to it, but I had plenty of encounters with Ruddy Kingfisher. The Oriental Pratincole fledging season appears to be in its final stages, with numbers dropping steadily.
A slow drive along the usual forest road turned up several Ruddy Kingfishers in a short time.
The Ruddy Kingfishers that were breeding near my home had fledged before I noticed. I confirmed three fledglings that can now fly.
Malayan Night Herons have also fledged. I confirmed two juveniles that have been out of the nest for some time. Three or so Cinnamon Bittern juveniles were in a flooded paddy. The adults' calls were audible too.
Oriental Pratincoles apparently bred at a quarry on private land — there were around 30 birds in total, adults and juveniles together. Two Little Ringed Plover juveniles as well. There is a possibility they bred on Ishigaki Island.
The Ruddy Kingfisher just a stone's throw from home fledged around three chicks again, as it did last year.
The third Pheasant-tailed Jacana of the season has arrived. Multiple individuals have been confirmed on Okinawa Island as well. This bird showed the most advanced transition to summer plumage of any I have seen so far. It is not at all wary and easy to observe.
Oriental Pratincoles and Greater Painted-snipes are also appearing in the same paddy. Cinnamon Bittern was confirmed by call only.
A Pheasant-tailed Jacana flapping its wings after bathing. It appears to be moulting into adult summer plumage.