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

On Ishigaki Island, juvenile Black-winged Kites and Crested Serpent Eagles have been showing themselves and delighting birdwatchers. Common Kestrels, Grey-faced Buzzards, and Eurasian Sparrowhawks are wintering. Upland Buzzards, Peregrine Falcons, and Eastern Marsh Harriers are also present.

A Javan Pond Heron and a Chinese Pond Heron are wintering companionably in the same rice paddy. They have been here since last year and made it safely through the new year. A few breeding-plumage feathers are beginning to show.

A Black-winged Kite observed at eye level at one of my regular spots. It's perching on its favourite branch as usual, eyes gleaming red.

This season Ishigaki Island has a rich variety of raptors, including wintering birds. Upland Buzzards: three birds at two locations on the island. Peregrine Falcons: juveniles, subadults, and adults all seem to be present in unusually high numbers. Common Kestrels are everywhere.

The Black-winged Kites are approaching the end of the breeding season, and the juvenile Crested Serpent Eagles become more active in their foraging as the weather warms.

Black-winged Kite in the middle of breeding. The chicks will fledge soon.

Eastern Yellow Wagtails and Red-throated Pipits briefly increased in number, but they are now declining. Numbers are considerably lower than in a typical year.

White Wagtail (leucopsis), female, first-winter plumage.

Shorebirds are wintering along the coast and in the rice paddies. The most numerous are Greater Sand Plovers, Siberian Sand Plovers, and Ruddy Turnstones on the coast. Unusually for Ishigaki Island, a flock of Grey Plovers is also wintering.

Shorebird numbers in the paddies this season are low; species present include Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, and Green Sandpiper.

Little Stint, winter plumage.

The wintering ducks of Ishigaki Island are all assembled. Six Greylag Geese, Taiga Bean Geese, and Greater Bean Geese have arrived; in the rice paddies the most numerous ducks are Eastern Spot-billed Ducks, Northern Shovelers, and Eurasian Wigeons, while a large flock of Tufted Ducks is on the reservoir. Mallards, Eurasian Teals, Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, and Falcated Ducks are also present. This season I am seeing Mallard × Eastern Spot-billed Duck hybrids frequently.

Update, 3 March 2024

The six Greylag Geese that were on Ishigaki Island until around the end of January were on Kume Island as of late February. I hear a Smew is also there; since the Greylag Geese on Ishigaki sometimes used the same reservoir as a Smew, that bird too may have moved from Ishigaki.

The Grey-lag Geese have been here since last year — a long stay. All five are present.

Friends on Okinawa's main island contacted me to say a Savanna Nightjar had turned up, so I made a quick dash to see it. I finished covering my company's relay-race event at full speed, jumped on the last ANA flight, and landed at Naha Airport. Takeshita-kun, who had first spotted the Savanna Nightjar, came to meet me, and together with a young businessman just back from Europe we rushed to the site in Yomitan.

Takeshita-kun and a crowd of other Okinawa acquaintances had gathered, and the Savanna Nightjar was found almost as soon as the search began. Congratulating myself as usual on my good bird luck, I thought, "this is easy" — and the three of us took a relaxed attitude, figuring we had plenty of time until the first flight out in the morning and could take a good long look after everyone else had gone home.

Then came the moment to get serious. I took over driving from the jet-lagged young businessman and made circuits of the farmland at the spot. We were overconfident, and time just slipped by without any sign of the bird. Before I knew it, it was 6 a.m. — time to head for the airport. Incredibly, after those first two brief views, the bird never reappeared, and the whirlwind trip was over.

Unfortunately I got no photographs this time, but I did manage to see its compact, charming little shape. ^^

Seeing the location in person, I think there is every chance of finding one in the Yaeyamas too. I hope to track one down on Ishigaki Island before long. ^^

Large-tailed Nightjar — a first record for Japan!! I wasn't able to get a photo myself, so Takeshita-kun kindly provided one!!

A Short-eared Owl has come to winter here again this season. Many other raptors are also wintering, including Upland Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Grey-faced Buzzard, Common Kestrel, and Hen Harrier.

Short-eared Owl in the rice fields. This individual doesn't mind people, so it's easy to watch — but I don't want to disturb its hunting, so I kept the record shots to under a minute.

A Caspian Tern was wrestling with a large fish on the coast. The fish was deep-bodied and the tern seemed to have real trouble swallowing it. The thread-like dorsal fin visible in the footage suggests it was a Silvery Moony.

Greater Crested Terns swallow small fish on the wing, but this Monocle Bream was too large, so the bird carried it to the water's edge. Looking closely, I could see it tearing off the obstructive dorsal and pectoral fins with its bill.

I thought a remarkably white bird had just flown past — and it turned out to be an almost entirely white Light-vented Bulbul. I wondered at first whether it was an albino, but looking at the photos there seems to be a little pigment remaining. Initially I wasn't sure — Light-vented Bulbul? Japanese Bush Warbler? Wagtail? — but the call, "ji-biru, ji-biru," settled it as a Light-vented Bulbul.

While I was photographing it, about ten other Light-vented Bulbuls quickly joined in. They were feeding on the ripe berries of Japanese beautyberry and schefflera.

A beautiful leucistic Chinese Bulbul.

Five Greylag Geese currently staying. They are together with Tundra Bean Geese and Taiga Bean Geese. A group of five Greylag Geese — I hadn't seen that since two years ago in northern Okinawa Island.

Five Greylag Geese with a Tundra Bean Goose (right) and a Bean Goose (third from right). The Bean Goose is of the small type, so possibly the tundra form. All adults. The individual thought to be a Lesser White-fronted Goose appears to have separated from the flock.

I spent the New Year holidays in Nagoya, so I squeezed in three hours of birdwatching. There were several bunting species in the same area and it was fun listening to their calls. A short outing, but very satisfying — experiences you simply can't have on Ishigaki Island. ^^ I also got to see Eurasian Skylark and Bull-headed Shrike, both rarely encountered on the island.

There was a Common Starling in the same paddy field, which surprised me. Five birds were mixed in with a flock of White-cheeked Starlings. Northern Lapwing and Grey-headed Lapwing were there too. Grey-headed Lapwings are always around in that area, but it was my first time seeing Northern Lapwing there.

I was listening for Emberiza calls when a Reed Bunting appeared right in front of me. You don't get to see these on Ishigaki.

The raptors that winter on Ishigaki Island are now all showing up: Upland Buzzard, Saker Falcon, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Grey-faced Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Short-eared Owl, and more.

The ducks, Eurasian Coots, and small birds that serve as prey are on edge whenever a raptor appears.

Juvenile Upland Buzzard. One appears every year, but this individual is not very wary and is easy to observe and photograph.

Two small Taiga Bean Geese together with Greater Bean Geese. They appear to be one of the smaller subspecies, but identification is difficult.

A small settling pond has Mandarin Duck, Tufted Duck, Eurasian Wigeon and others staying over. There was also an unidentified duck — I couldn't picture either parent for a hybrid, so domestic fowl may be mixed in.

An individual thought to be a Tundra Bean Goose, a smaller Bean Goose, and a Lesser White-fronted Goose.

Around seven Pied Avocets are staying at several sites. Water levels in the island's paddies are low, so shorebirds are scarce.

First-winter Pied Avocet.

A Desert Wheatear has turned up. There were records from Okinawa Island and Yonaguni Island, but this species had no record from the islands in between. I heard an unfamiliar call and was looking around when a bird flew out from a private house.

The moment it landed on a concrete roof across the road, I was certain it was a Desert Wheatear. I pulled the camera out of my bag and shot in a hurry. I had been completely off guard.

After a few frames the Desert Wheatear flew off somewhere. I'm hoping it will winter here and will look for it again if I get the chance.

A Desert Wheatear appeared out of nowhere. I rushed to get the shot.

A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle, which has been hard to find reliably this season, was out in the farmland. A Common Kestrel that has been present for several days seems to have taken a liking to the pasture and was hunting in a relaxed manner.

The Javan Pond Heron has been staying a long time, but the recent pattern is for it to leave around March, before shifting into breeding plumage.

Six Pied Avocets are staying at four sites. How long will they stick around?

Juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle. I heard its call and went looking — and there it was.

Crested Serpent Eagle juveniles are few this season. One has settled in a small paddy field but is in constant conflict with a Common Kestrel.

Red Collared Doves are staying at several locations.

A juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle fleeing after being startled by a Common Kestrel.

Javan Pond Heron, Malayan Night Heron, and Cinnamon Bittern confirmed. Chinese Pond Heron and Yellow Bittern are also still present.

Javan Pond Heron in winter plumage.

Rustic Buntings arrived in a flock of around 30 — quite unusual to see numbers like that on Ishigaki. Four Japanese Waxwings are on a kapok tree. Dusky Thrushes are increasing, several Amur Stonechats are staying, and Eastern Yellow Wagtails, White Wagtails, and Grey Wagtails are also on the rise.

Rustic Bunting preening.

Overwintering in the paddies: Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Little Ringed Plover, and Northern Lapwing. Dozens of Common Snipe are staying, but Swinhoe's Snipe have not been found…

Pied Avocet, first-winter.