A daily record.
Featuring photos of wild birds and nature, mainly from Okinawa Main Island and Ishigaki Island

As late August approaches, snipe numbers keep climbing. In the best spots there were around 7 birds in a single paddy field. The Swinhoe's Snipe migration is reaching its peak, so Pin-tailed Snipe are relatively fewer by comparison.

In one week I will be holding the inaugural Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp. Together with snipe-watchers coming from the mainland, I plan to scrutinize every last snipe on Ishigaki.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

The season's first Javan Pond Heron and White-browed Eastern Yellow Wagtail have arrived. Javan Pond Herons will trickle through from here on, while the Eastern Yellow Wagtails will suddenly surge in numbers.

This year's Cinnamon Bitterns appear to be dispersing; individuals in the same area have been thinning out.

Javan Pond Heron with a tadpole it had caught. First record of the season.

Long-toed Stints are building up in both adults and juveniles. Red-necked Stints so far are adults only — juveniles have yet to arrive. Marsh Sandpipers, adults and juveniles alike, are passing through steadily.

Long-toed Stint, juvenile. Numbers are steadily increasing.

The other day I focused squarely on Pin-tailed Snipe tail feathers, so today I went after Swinhoe's Snipe tail feathers. I managed to rack up a good number of individuals. ^^

In the same paddy field there were at least 8 Swinhoe's Snipes and 3 Pin-tailed Snipes. There was another flock of snipe in a neighbouring field, but it was too far away and the heat shimmer was too bad — I will go back and try again another day.

Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile.

Pin-tailed Snipes and Swinhoe's Snipes in the paddy fields are steadily increasing. Both species were all juveniles on this day.

I took two local naturalists who wanted to see some birds on a light circuit of the paddies and coast.

Juvenile Swinhoe's Snipe.

I recorded my first Terek Sandpiper and Sanderling of the season.

There were 3 Terek Sandpipers and 4 Sanderlings, along with Greater Sand Plovers, Siberian Sand Plovers, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Ruddy Turnstones, Red-necked Stints, Pacific Golden Plovers, and Kentish Plovers. Coastal birds are going to keep building from here on.

Juvenile Terek Sandpiper.

The last Ruddy Kingfisher of the season fledged successfully. I found the nest on June 24, confirmed 2 eggs on July 3, and the chicks fledged on August 12 and 13 in quick succession.

There has been large-scale development in the area, and perhaps because suitable nest sites were scarce, the pair nested in a Formosan subterranean termite colony in a horsetail casuarina tree alongside a fairly busy road. I worried about traffic accidents right after fledging, but they made it safely and disappeared into the shrubs on the ranch.

I recorded my first Grey Wagtail of the season — the usual time of year, the usual spot.

Crested Serpent Eagles are approaching their fledging season too, and the adults are turning up regularly in farmland and cultivated fields.

A Ruddy Kingfisher chick that fledged on the 12th. This was taken on the 13th, the second day after fledging, and it was already flying about fairly freely.

Still stalking Pin-tailed Snipe the day after, trying to get shots of the tail feathers. And then — incredibly!! — I managed to get video with the call of a Pin-tailed Snipe!! It's shaping up to be another wonderful autumn migration season!!

I recorded my first Marsh Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper of the season. Common Redshank and Whiskered Tern had also arrived.

An extremely close Pin-tailed Snipe. Preying on a cricket.

With Typhoon No. 6 moving away from Ishigaki Island, I did a patrol of the rice paddies. Pin-tailed Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe, and Red-necked Phalarope had all arrived for the first time this season.

I recorded my first juvenile Wood Sandpiper and Long-toed Stint of the season. Common Greenshank and Little Ringed Plover numbers were also up.

Cinnamon Bitterns breed on the island, and I am encountering recently fledged juveniles more and more often.

First Pin-tailed Snipe adult of the season.

As Typhoon No. 6 approached Ishigaki Island, Greater Crested Tern, Roseate Tern, and Black-naped Tern were gathered on the sandy beach sheltering from the storm.

Greater Crested Terns are arriving in good numbers as usual, but Black-naped Tern numbers are on the low side, and Roseate Tern even lower. The situation appears to be similar on Okinawa's main island.

Five Greater Crested Terns resting on the sandy beach. Around 100 were present at the shrimp farm.

While driving near my house, a light van that had just passed me struck a Cinnamon Bittern.

It was unable to move on the road, so I took it in. Its condition was poor and I feared the worst, but remarkably, after about 24 hours it had recovered enough to stand on its own. Herons really do have a strong will to live.

For food I used tadpoles of the Yaeyama tree frog, which live in large numbers in the biotope in my garden. Typhoon No. 6 was closing in on Ishigaki Island, so it was a race against time, but I managed to release the bird safely.

An adult male Ryukyu Bittern immediately after being rescued.

A Common Emerald Dove in the neighbourhood with absolutely no fear of humans was out in the open. The bird didn't flinch even when a dump truck passed right by, and was busy pecking at fallen berries.

Most Ruddy Kingfisher pairs have finished raising their chicks, but there are still about three nests where adults are still bringing food to nestlings. Typhoon No. 6 is approaching, and all I can do is hope it passes without incident.

Emerald Dove, male.

Oriental Pratincole and Kentish Plover are breeding well, with many fledged chicks on view. The Oriental Pratincoles in particular have formed a flock of nearly 60 juveniles. At the reclaimed land site, chicks from several Kentish Plover pairs have fledged and are running around energetically.

The Little Terns, which share the same site as the Kentish Plovers in a colony, had their nests flooded by heavy rain brought by the typhoon. Some eggs that had been submerged for several hours did hatch, but their prognosis looks poor.

In the rice paddies, juvenile Common Redshank arrived for the first time this season. Every year, Common Redshank is the first shorebird species to arrive as a juvenile.

Migrating waders and plovers are gradually increasing. Wood Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint and Grey-tailed Tattler have arrived in the paddies. On the coast, Greater Sand Plover, Siberian Sand Plover and Grey-tailed Tattler numbers are building.

Oriental Pratincole in juvenile plumage (left) and first-winter plumage.

I found my eighth Ryukyu Scops Owl pair of the season. I had gone to check on a brood of Northern Boobook chicks that had fledged a few days earlier when I came across them by chance. Both the male and female were outside the nest, so I suspect the chicks are due to fledge very soon.

Ryukyu Scops Owl, female.

Three juvenile Cinnamon Bitterns were in rice paddies in the same area — likely three siblings. A juvenile Purple Heron was nearby. In the forested hills, Malayan Night Herons are breeding; two fledglings appear to have left their parents.

A juvenile Ryukyu Least Bittern. The feathers are ragged — moult seems to be proceeding rapidly.

Once mid-July passes, the autumn migration of waders and plovers really picks up. As usual, Wood Sandpiper and Long-toed Stint lead the way. Then Common Greenshank, Grey-tailed Tattler and Greater Sand Plover start pouring in one after another.

Meanwhile, Black-naped Tern and Little Tern are right in the middle of raising their chicks. This season I have seen no sign of Roseate Tern breeding. I can only hope numbers improve going forward….

Common Redshank, first-summer plumage.

I had hoped that with no typhoons this year, Little Tern breeding would go smoothly — but things rarely work out that way. In early June, PAC3 deployment caused Little Terns and Kentish Plovers to abandon their nests. This time, pre-season beach maintenance prompted another nest abandonment….

The Little Tern is listed as Vulnerable on the Ministry of the Environment's Red List, and is designated an internationally rare wild species under the Japan–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement's Act on Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — and yet this is how they are treated.

A Little Tern nest abandoned after a single egg was laid.

All three Ryukyu Northern Boobooks have fledged. The two Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfisher chicks whose fledging I confirmed the other day were seen again on this visit.

Fledgling Brown Hawk-Owls perched on the nest tree.

The second nest of Ryukyu Ruddy Kingfishers to fledge this season. While walking the forest road looking for Hoya, I picked up the distinctive calls of fledglings. Holding my breath and searching carefully, I found two chicks.

There was a pair of Ryukyu Black Paradise Flycatchers just starting to build a nest. With no crows around, the prospects feel reassuring.

A fledgling Ruddy Kingfisher perched on a rock.

On Ishigaki Island, where the terns have been arriving late this season, Black-naped Tern breeding has finally started. Roseate Tern has yet to begin. Greater Crested Tern is about average for the time of year. I hear it is much the same on Okinawa's main island — it looks like it could be a poor year for terns across the prefecture….

The reef where Black-naped Terns form a colony every year. It is high tide, so the sea level is up.