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

A hybrid duck. I have no idea what's going on… ^^;

Arctic Warbler numbers are lower than in the bumper year two years ago, but a reasonable number are still wintering here. Lately I've also been hearing Kamchatka Leaf Warbler calls — possibly birds already on the move.

For snipe, all three species have shown up earlier than usual: Pin-tailed Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe and Common Snipe together at the same time.

An overwintering Lesser Whitethroat appeared right in front of me. I've confirmed the ID by call, but I also think I can make out the classic Lesser Whitethroat feature of P10 being shorter than the primary coverts. ^^;

After finding the season's first Pin-tailed Snipe the day before , I went back after work to try for shots of the tail feathers. You want the first record of the season to be done properly. While I was there I also picked up the season's first Swinhoe's Snipe — more than a month earlier than usual. Spring migration this year is behaving strangely.

Two Javan Pond Herons are continuing to winter here. Every year I hope they'll stay long enough to come into breeding plumage, but in most years they depart during February. We'll see how this season goes.

I'll be holding the "2nd Ishigaki Snipe Camp" sometime in early to mid-April. A report from the 1st is here → Day 1 , Day 2 , Extra edition .

First-winter Pin-tailed Snipe. Same individual as the previous day.

I recorded the first Pin-tailed Snipe of the season. In a normal year they don't arrive until April, so this is more than a month early. This season a Ruddy Kingfisher had already reached Ishigaki Island as well, and I get the impression the seasons are running ahead of schedule.

Update, 22 February

It is a typical Pin-tailed Snipe, but since it was the first of the season I went back the next day just to be safe and photographed the tail feathers. That settles it with a certificate of authenticity. ^^

The first Pin-tailed Snipe of the season. An easy-to-read individual. It did not move at all from the grass, then when a Black-winged Kite appeared it hid completely in the undergrowth.

Warm days have continued, and I can now hear Ryukyu Flycatchers singing as I drive the forest roads. Common Emerald Doves are calling too. I also confirmed a Ruddy Kingfisher calling from my house — earlier than usual, possibly due to the mild winter.

Crested Serpent Eagles are in the early stages of the breeding season; wherever I go — rice paddies, sugarcane fields, forest roads — I find them in pairs.

Eastern Yellow Wagtails look set to finish the season without ever reaching their peak wintering numbers. Could this also be a mild-winter effect, with fewer flocks moving south from the continent?

Ryukyu Flycatcher heading into second-summer plumage.

Olive-backed Pipits have been wintering at several sites since last year, but they are hard to photograph. This day I found them by call — six birds had come down onto a lawn. Among the many small birds that dart around constantly, the Olive-backed Pipit's unhurried movements are a real pleasure to watch.

Nearby was a Dusky Thrush. This winter Dusky Thrushes, Pale Thrushes, and Brown-headed Thrushes have all been very scarce. Driving the forest roads I can hear them calling from the undergrowth, but almost none are coming out onto farmland. Some winters are full of Naumann's Thrushes, but there seems to be a year-to-year cycle driven by something or other.

In the rice paddies, flocks of several dozen Eastern Yellow Wagtails and Red-throated Pipits. Among a group of around fifteen White Wagtails there was also a leucopsis White Wagtail. This season leucopsis birds are scarce and ocularis birds are plentiful.

Temminck's Stints, Common Greenshanks, Wood Sandpipers, and Little Ringed Plovers are also present here and there.

A Tree Pipit I finally managed to photograph. There are several around my house, but they are so wary I haven't been able to get a shot.

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.

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.