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

I went back to my home prefecture for the children's summer holidays. I took the chance to look for Latham's Snipe but drew a complete blank. Still, I got to see Japanese Wagtail, Eurasian Skylark, Grey-headed Lapwing, and Black Kite — birds not found on Ishigaki — so I can't complain.

Heard that distinctive call and went looking — found two Japanese Wagtails on a distant greenhouse. There are a handful of records for Okinawa Island, but none yet for Ishigaki.

I visited Aichi Prefecture for an away Snipe Camp. Taking the shinkansen from Nagoya Station, I arrived in Toyohashi. On the first day, two powerful local helpers supported me, and I was finally able to observe the long-awaited Latham's Snipe — both adults and juveniles!!

On the second day I headed alone to Aisai City to search for Latham's Snipe. The lotus fields were thick with leaves and looked hard to work, so I covered the nearby paddy areas instead. Of four birds found, one could be observed well. On the third day I returned to the same spot and photographed one bird.

Wood Sandpiper, Greater Painted-snipe, and Little Ringed Plover were also present, though their numbers were overwhelmingly fewer than on Ishigaki Island.

I am now a little better prepared for the one-in-a-million chance of encountering Latham's Snipe on Ishigaki Island. ^^

An adult Latham's Snipe. I had a good, fairly close look at it.

Visited my family home in Aichi and did some birdwatching on the side. I was targeting Latham's Snipe, but in spring they are far fewer in number and the timing was a little early, so I struck out…

Even so, I managed to see birds that are hard to come by in Okinawa or on Ishigaki, so it was a satisfying trip.

Common Snipe. I'm not sure of the situation in Aichi, but could this be a wintering bird?

I went to Nagoya for a post-operative check-up after cervical spine surgery and did some birding while I was there. After three years of trying, I finally got to see Western Sandpiper. I also observed Broad-billed Sandpiper, Great Knot, and Red-necked Stint.

Along with the Western Sandpiper, Baikal Teal and Japanese Wagtail were lifers for me.

The Little Stint was at first sitting and resting in a hollow, but there was something about it that felt slightly off. ^^ Still, once it mixes into a flock of Red-necked Stints it gets difficult.