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

I usually pass on Black-winged Kites when I see them, but this one was zeroing in on prey so I photographed it for the first time in a while.

I spotted an adult Black-winged Kite on a power line, repeatedly eyeing the grassland below. It moved from its first perch to a lower telephone wire, then changed orientation and plunged down. A few seconds later it burst out of the grass with a Black Rat already squeezed dead in its talons.

It brought the rat back to the telephone wire and began eating, all the while pumping its tail up and down and calling. I thought a female nearby might be coming to steal the prey, but the bird flew off to the east. Tracking it with the camera, I could see another Black-winged Kite arrive and snatch the rat away. Enlarging the photos, it looked as though the prey was being passed not to a female but to a juvenile.

On Ishigaki Island, Black-winged Kites breed year-round except in the depths of winter. They raise young roughly twice per season, so the population has grown considerably — on busy days you can count around 10 birds in a single day.

A Black-winged Kite locking onto prey.

Two Black-faced Spoonbills are roaming and staying around the island. As it gradually starts to feel like autumn, Garganey, Eurasian Teal, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon and Northern Pintail are also increasing.

Adult Black-faced Spoonbill.

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."

A Collared Kingfisher has turned up on Ishigaki Island. There was previously a Collared Kingfisher that stayed at Manko on Okinawa Main Island from August 2017 through April 2018.

I was posted to the Naha bureau at the time, so I saw more than enough of that bird — but it is good to see one close to home. This individual seems more vivid in colour than the Okinawa Main Island bird.

The Collared Kingfisher is said to have 50 subspecies, and this one also appears to be Todiramphus chloris collaris. This year a Collared Kingfisher was also photographed by a friend on Miyako Island, and what looked like one was reported on another island in the Yaeyamas. This may be a bumper year for Collared Kingfishers. There is a good chance more will turn up elsewhere.

An adult Collared Kingfisher with a beautiful vivid-blue back. It appears to be in late summer plumage, so if it stays for a while I may get to see it in winter plumage.

I managed to find a Pin-tailed Snipe that has moulted into winter plumage!! I picked it out from among 40 snipe together with Swinhoe's Snipe and Common Snipe. I had been searching with the belief that "there should still be Pin-tailed Snipe around," and the fact that the bird I finally found was an adult that had already finished moulting its scapulars and tertials into winter plumage made the moment even better!! A genuinely rare Pin-tailed Snipe in winter plumage.

Among the snipe still present, Swinhoe's Snipe numbered a few individuals; the rest were all Common Snipe.

Behold!! The splendid appearance of this adult Pin-tailed Snipe cloaked in winter plumage!!

The first Mandarin Duck of the season has arrived. It was a male in eclipse plumage.

Male Mandarin Duck. It's in eclipse plumage, so it doesn't look very Mandarin-like.

The Phylloscopus complex that can be found on Ishigaki Island consists of Arctic Warbler, Kamchatka Leaf Warbler and Japanese Leaf Warbler, but the great majority are Arctic Warbler.

I do get to see Japanese Leaf Warbler occasionally, and this time I was lucky enough to get close and photograph one — a rare treat!! I was also able to hear it call, and managed to get more than 10 shots. There are differences in body colour too.

For what it is worth, Kamchatka Leaf Warbler is so scarce that finding even one individual per season is uncertain. I would like to get it on video and in photos someday.

A very close encounter with a Kamchatka Leaf Warbler. An unusually unwary individual.

I couldn't get away for summer vacation because work was too busy, so we made a last-minute family trip to Miyako-jima. We visited the Grey-faced Buzzard migration survey site on Irabu-jima. The terrain is very flat, and the tsunami evacuation shelter at the survey point is only three stories tall — quite different from the mountaintop surveys on Ishigaki-jima. Birds that had headed out over the sea but given up heading south were coming back and dropping down onto Shimoji-jima one after another.

One of the surveyors told me that back when Grey-faced Buzzards were still hunted, crowds of people would show up at night with torches in the Casuarina forest along the channel between Irabu-jima and Shimoji-jima — from a distance it looked like some kind of festival. Of course, nobody hunts Grey-faced Buzzards anymore.

A small patch of scrubby woodland held plenty of Grey-streaked Flycatchers on migration. I also picked up two Blue-and-white Flycatchers. I heard Black Wood Pigeons calling and got fairly easy views by following the sound, but I was out walking with the kids so I never got to the point of raising the camera…

Grey-faced Buzzard photographed from farmland. Miyako-jima has no hills, so kettles of raptors could be watched from farmland and residential areas alike.

A flock of ten Garganey arrived, a mix of adults and juveniles.

First White Wagtail (leucopsis) of the season. On Ishigaki-jima the leucopsis type typically arrives first, followed by alba and ocularis at around the same time. Eastern Yellow Wagtail numbers keep fluctuating. The wintering birds should build up a bit more yet.

Whiskered Tern passage birds are increasing. From around late October the proportion of juveniles starts to rise. Black-winged Stilts can be seen in groups of around 20 birds at various locations, presumably on the move.

Male Garganey. All in eclipse.

I finally got photos of the Pechora Pipits whose calls I had been picking up from the grassland for the past few days.

Red-throated Pipits have arrived in large numbers, so picking out the Pechora Pipits took some patience — but when I waited by the call, a bird popped up onto a rice-paddy berm right after the rain stopped. Finding a bird exactly as planned is a special kind of satisfaction. ^^

Chinese Sparrowhawk migration has been under way since early September, but bad weather has continued thanks to the typhoon and a lot of birds are lingering on Ishigaki-jima. At peak times three or so were perched on the power lines together. Once the weather clears they should push through all at once.

Grey-streaked Flycatchers on migration and wintering Arctic Warblers are also increasing. A large flock of around 500 Chestnut-cheeked Starlings was moving through parks in the town centre.

Buff-bellied Pipit, first-winter.

Following the Himalayan Swiftlet the other day, a Siberian House Martin has now turned up on Ishigaki-jima.

I only had a short window before work and was shooting casually, thinking it was an Asian House Martin, but I was told afterward it was a Siberian House Martin. Too late to wish I had taken photos that showed the field marks more clearly. A Siberian House Martin was also recorded on 1 October at Nago-dake on Okinawa Island.

While I was watching Chinese Sparrowhawk migration, a Himalayan Swiftlet appeared!! Dark, slender and very sharp-looking.

Several hundred Chinese Sparrowhawks moved through. The largest single group was a few dozen birds. Migration should continue for a while, but I'm keeping an eye on the typhoon track.

I also had my first Eurasian Coots of the season and juvenile Pacific Golden Plovers. A flock of around 100 Ashy Minivets and the calls of Arctic Warblers were in the air too — it feels like autumn is deepening.

A Himalayan Swiftlet appeared. It was flying around together with swallows at high speed.

Chinese Sparrowhawk migration is under way. The weather has been unsettled but it should pick up in earnest from here. Two Eurasian Teal — my first of the season — had arrived.

Chinese Sparrowhawk, adult female.

The snipe that built up from late August are thinning out now. At peak times there were nearly 40 in a single paddy field; now there are just a handful. I managed to find one Pin-tailed Snipe. Common Snipe hadn't increased much, but I'd expect the majority to be Common Snipe once October comes.

Pin-tailed Snipe, juvenile. Swinhoe's Snipe, juvenile, in the background.

The second wave of snipe is peaking. That said, most birds are Swinhoe's Snipe and Pin-tailed Snipe — the Common Snipe peak is still ahead. The busier paddies hold around 30 snipe per field, mostly Swinhoe's Snipe. Next most numerous are Pin-tailed Snipe; Common Snipe seem to number only two or three.

Swinhoe's Snipe, adult.

The second wave of Pin-tailed Snipe — which has been on the low side this season — appears to have arrived. It feels slightly earlier than usual, so it may simply be that migration has been running late. Worth watching how things develop.

Since late August I have been visiting the same paddy field day after day to identify individual snipe, keep continuous records, and sort out tricky birds. Some individuals stay for a long time; others disappear within a day. Pin-tailed Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe and Common Snipe alike tend to stick to almost exactly the same spot once they settle in.

New birds have joined the resident Pin-tailed Snipe, and the snipe scene in the paddies is a little livelier.

Pin-tailed Snipe (rear) and Swinhoe's Snipe. Both juveniles.

The Ruff that has been staying since last month. When it is not in the paddies, it apparently moves into the irrigation channels. Common Redshank, Long-toed Stint, Red-necked Stint, Dunlin, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, and Wood Sandpiper are all still present.

Reunited with a Ruff. Apparently when they're not in the paddies, they're in the irrigation channels.

Almost every evening I am picking up snipe in the same paddy field. Some individuals have been staying a long time, and I can still find new arrivals. Swinhoe's Snipe continues to make up the majority, but Pin-tailed Snipe were there too. A few new Common Snipe had also come in.

A Pin-tailed Snipe juvenile appeared right in front of me.

We went birdwatching as a family in the evening. We only had a short window before our dinner reservation, but we managed to see the first Common Hoopoe of the season and a few other species. The kids were delighted by a juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle calling loudly. ^^

Common Hoopoe turned up at two locations, three birds in total. They have already been recorded on Iriomote Island as well. I wonder if it will be a bumper year like the Hoopoes last spring.

I also had my first White-shouldered Starling of the season and got a look at the juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle. I spotted an Asian Koel on a wire but could not get a shot. The following day an Asian Koel was seen on wires in the same area. Numbers are increasing year by year — could it be settling here year-round rather than just in spring?

A tired-looking Eurasian Hoopoe. Freshly arrived on migration, perhaps.

On this day, a large flock of Barn Swallows moved into the paddy field where I have been watching snipe every day — prime viewing conditions.

When Barn Swallows spot snipe feeding in the paddies they sometimes dive-bomb them for no apparent reason. The snipe then raise their tail feathers in alarm, which actually makes them much easier to observe.

The bird in the foreground is a Pin-tailed Snipe juvenile.