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

I went birdwatching on the side while on a work trip to cover the Yonaguni Town Council election. ^^

I confirmed multiple migrating Chinese Sparrowhawk, and Common Kestrel had also arrived to overwinter. Migrating Oriental Dollarbird and Grey-streaked Flycatcher were also present, along with good numbers of overwintering Brown Shrike, Arctic Warbler, and Eastern Yellow Wagtail.

In recent years the rice paddies on Yonaguni Island have decreased, so waders and plovers are sparse — just small numbers of Black-winged Stilt, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, Common Sandpiper, and Red-necked Stint.

Common Emerald Dove, having finished breeding, formed small flocks and I watched them feeding on several occasions.

Chinese Sparrowhawk, juvenile. I also picked out several adults soaring.

September has arrived, and autumn migration on Ishigaki Island is now in full swing. Eastern Yellow Wagtail numbers jumped overnight, and flocks ranging from small to large can be seen in farmland all over the island.

Among the waders, juveniles have started arriving on the heels of the adults. Flocks in fresh juvenile plumage are coming in.

An adult Eastern Yellow Wagtail of the white-supercilium type, transitioning into winter plumage.

The first Swinhoe's Snipe juveniles of the season have finally arrived. This year they came in earlier than the Pin-tailed Snipe juveniles.

The Javan Pond Heron is also settling in for a long stay.

The long-awaited juvenile Swinhoe's Snipe has appeared. Beautiful. ^^

Migrant waders are building up and the paddies on Ishigaki are getting lively.

Juveniles now make up more than half of the Long-toed Stints present, and I confirmed the first juvenile Wood Sandpiper of the season. I had already found juvenile Common Redshank about two weeks ago, but this was my first time photographing one this season.

Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Pacific Golden Plover, and Black-faced Spoonbill have also been showing up one after another.

First juvenile Wood Sandpiper of the season. Only one individual confirmed, but numbers will keep climbing from here.

Made the usual rounds of the paddies. The cast of birds had barely changed; about the only new arrival was the Whiskered Tern.

A Swinhoe's Snipe observed at just the right distance.

Temperatures rose and the paddy birds became a little more active — I had good views of bathing behavior and similar scenes.

A distant Pin-tailed Snipe.

Ahead of the 6th Ishigaki Island Snipe Camp, I went to scout the paddies around the island. Pin-tailed Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe, and Common Snipe were all confirmed — a relief. Now there is nothing left to do but hope they stay for a few more days.

First Pin-tailed Snipe of the season!!

I had a work trip to Yonaguni Island, so I did some birdwatching in my free time. I got bird information from someone staying long-term on Yonaguni, but it seems I arrived right in the gap between waves — the birds typical of Yonaguni had already moved through. I did manage to see a Blue Rock Thrush that had been present for about three weeks. ^^

An adult male Blue Rock Thrush. It has been staying for quite a long time — about three weeks at this point.

There was a Common Hoopoe — about the tenth of this season. A Pied Avocet also showed up, along with a flock of around 60 Pacific Golden Plovers and some Oriental Pratincoles.

A Eurasian Hoopoe showing no wariness at all. This season it was all relaxed birds.

A Greater White-fronted Goose has been present for several days now, but for some reason the guide is apparently calling it a Greylag Goose. To me it is clearly a juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose… ^^; A juvenile Tundra Swan has also arrived on its own. On Iriomote, two Tundra Swans and a Siberian Crane are staying as well.

Multiple Pied Avocets have turned up across the island. That day I tallied six birds in total — a group of four and singles at two separate locations. In the paddies, Northern Lapwings, Pacific Golden Plovers, Kentish Plovers, Little Ringed Plovers, Common Greenshanks, Common Redshanks, Wood Sandpipers, Dunlins, Common Sandpipers, Green Sandpipers and Black-winged Stilts are all wintering.

This season I had already confirmed the subspecies leucopsis and ocularis White Wagtails, but this day I was finally able to see the subspecies alba White Wagtail. That is pretty much how it goes every year.

A juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose. Why does it get misidentified as a Greylag Goose?

Pin-tailed Snipe have dropped sharply and the fields are now full of Common Snipe. A few Swinhoe's Snipe are still hanging on. Last year the final Pin-tailed Snipe of the autumn migration was recorded on 18 October. I wonder how long they'll be around this season. I don't think the 2024 birds will overwinter, but Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe were confirmed in February. I know it's getting ahead of myself, but I'd love to find overwintering birds in 2026.

I went back to check on the Grey-faced Buzzards again today after yesterday's visit, but things were quiet — it felt like the main push had already moved through the day before… ^^; At this time of year my daily snipe rounds make it hard to get out and watch the Chinese Sparrowhawk and Grey-faced Buzzard migration properly…

A juvenile Pin-tailed Snipe. This might turn out to be my last Pin-tailed Snipe of the season.

I photographed Red-throated Pipit and Arctic Warbler for the first time this season. I had already confirmed both by sight and call a few days ago.

On this day, more than 8,500 Grey-faced Buzzards were counted — a record — but by the time I arrived during a break from work the peak had already passed and I ended up counting only around 200…

A small flock of about ten Red-throated Pipits arrived. One or two Buff-bellied Pipits appeared to be mixed in, but I couldn't get a photo.

The Common Ringed Plover that appeared in early September was still present — three weeks into its stay. It seems to be moving widely around the island, between the rice paddies and the coast. The Javan Pond Heron is also on an extended visit.

The first Pacific Golden Plover juvenile of the season has also arrived. When these appear, the wader migration is in its final stages.

Pin-tailed Snipe and Swinhoe's Snipe numbers fluctuate daily as residents mix with birds moving through.

A Kentish Plover still present.

Birding in the gaps between work assignments on Yonaguni Island. As I cruised the forest road with a sense that autumn migration was well and truly getting under way, I spotted a fig tree that birds were gathering in. While watching a flock of Warbling White-eyes, a yellow warbler flew into my field of view. I got it in the binoculars — it was a Willow Warbler!! It was moving from branch to branch, apparently picking off small insects.

I also had first records for the trip of Chinese Sparrowhawk, Oriental Dollarbird, Dark-sided Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Garganey, Common Snipe, and White-shouldered Starling. Yonaguni Island delivers, as always. ^^

Arctic Warbler makes an appearance. It stands out clearly — obviously different from the other Japanese leaf warblers.

A Common Ringed Plover — a rare bird on Ishigaki Island — has turned up. It's only the second time I've seen one on the island. It was associating with a flock of Little Ringed Plovers. A juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, the first of the season, also arrived. I had noted it a few days earlier, but today I managed to get photographs.

The rice fields have a true migration-season feel, with Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, Black-winged Stilt, and Red-necked Stint all coming and going.

The Kentish Plover was in transition from breeding to non-breeding plumage.

Javan Pond Heron have increased, with 4 birds confirmed at 3 sites. They seem to be turning up steadily on Okinawa Island too, and have become a fixture of this time of year. I recorded the first juveniles of the season for Black-winged Stilt, Long-toed Stint, Wood Sandpiper, and Marsh Sandpiper. Both the variety and numbers of juveniles are growing day by day.

Two Javan Pond Herons. Not particularly wary — easy to observe.

Stopped to check the coast on my way past and scanned for sandpipers and plovers. The tide was wrong and everything was far off. ^^;

Great Knots arrived in a small flock.

Two consecutive days of bad weather brought large numbers of shorebirds and plovers — apparently mid-migration — dropping in to localized spots. The biggest group was Black-winged Stilts, over 400 birds, followed by Wood Sandpipers at 200+. There were too many to keep counting, so I stopped midway. ^^;

Pied Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Marsh Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, and Garganey also arrived, making the paddies extremely lively — though two days later everything was back to normal. ^^;

Along the coast, Greater Sand Plover numbers increased, and a small number of Grey Plovers also came through.

Two Curlew Sandpipers confirmed.

The Collared Kingfisher that had been absent since around mid-February has come back to Ishigaki Island. Based on behavioral patterns and physical features — bill shape and plumage — it appears to be the same individual as before.

In the paddies, Pied Avocet, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper have been forming impressive mixed flocks, much to the delight of visiting birdwatchers from off the island. ^^

The Collared Kingfisher, which had not been seen for over a month, has returned to Ishigaki Island.

Possibly carried in by the strong northerly winds of the previous days, Whiskered Terns and Pacific Golden Plovers were recorded at several sites. It will still be a while before either species turns up in real numbers.

A dozen or so White-shouldered Starlings were coming to eat the fruit of the Orange Jessamine in the office car park. A flock of Asian Glossy Starlings has also visited recently, making it a regular feeding spot for the town's birds.

White-winged Tern in winter plumage. Numbers increase sharply come April.