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

The Minister of Defense was visiting Yonaguni Island, so off I went on another work trip. I managed a little birdwatching in between duties. ^^

Driving through the farmland, I could hear Siberian Rubythroat, Ryukyu Robin, Manchurian Bush Warbler, Japanese Bush Warbler, Arctic Warbler, and Emberiza buntings calling. The density is considerably higher than on Ishigaki Island. It was a short visit, but I enjoyed it a great deal.

A Siberian Rubythroat in the morning, moving through the undergrowth while giving its call note.

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.

Autumn is well and truly here — White-winged Terns, Garganey, Ruffs and Arctic Warblers are all building up steadily and the paddies are getting lively. Snipe numbers have also jumped sharply: 40 Common Snipe against 2 Swinhoe's Snipe. I couldn't find any Pin-tailed Snipe.

White-winged Tern, juvenile. The third bird this season.

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.

Red Collared Doves turned up at two locations, four birds in total. Grey Wagtail is also a first for the season. From here on, migrants with a distinctly autumnal feel will keep arriving on Ishigaki one after another.

Painted Snipe were at two locations — two males and two females. In this paddy it was one male and two females.

First record of a juvenile Marsh Sandpiper this season. Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, and Red-necked Stint all appear to be passing through Ishigaki in a steady stream, with the cast turning over continuously.

The first Marsh Sandpiper juvenile of the season. Already in first-winter plumage.

Ishigaki had a rough day under the influence of a tropical depression. When the rain eased I did the rounds of the paddies and found the first Broad-billed Sandpiper of the season had arrived — encountered in a puddle in a sugarcane field. Out on the grassland I also picked up first records of Curlew Sandpiper and Grey Plover. Bad weather does have a way of pushing birds into unexpected places.

Found a Broad-billed Sandpiper in a puddle in a sugarcane field. Was able to observe it right in front of me.

First Dunlin and Pacific Golden Plover of the season confirmed. The Dunlin was a single bird; the Pacific Golden Plovers were a flock of nearly ten.

Dunlin with winter plumage beginning to show in patches.

The Black Drongo that appeared near my home has been drifting slowly eastward and is now into its fourth day of stay. It is an unwary individual, always perched on the roadside wires. This season has been a bumper year for Black Drongo on Ishigaki Island — on peak days nearly 20 birds were recorded in a single day.

A small flock of Oriental Pratincoles had moved into the paddies. They were working the same area as the Whiskered Terns, but while the terns drifted low and picked insects off the rice plants, the pratincoles were up high, hawking incoming insects.

Black-faced Spoonbill, Eurasian Spoonbill and Chinese Pond Heron have also been dropping into the paddies one after another.

A Black Drongo near home, now on its fourth day of the stay.

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.

Ruff have turned up at several sites, almost all juveniles. The regulars — Red-necked Stint, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Redshank, and Long-toed Stint — are present in paddies everywhere. Dunlin have started to appear as well.

The first Pacific Golden Plovers of the season arrived in small flocks of juveniles. Around the park and cattle sheds, Chestnut-cheeked Starling, Red-billed Starling, and White-shouldered Starling are also increasing.

A juvenile Ruff.

Confirmed the first Dunlin of the season. In the paddies there were Long-toed Stint, Red-necked Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper and Black-winged Stilt, among others. On the coast there were also good numbers of Pacific Golden Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Grey-tailed Tattler and Greater Sand Plover. Whiskered Tern could be seen in flocks of a few birds up to around twenty at various points across the island.

First Dunlin of the season. It was a juvenile.

I found a Javan Pond Heron on Yonaguni Island — almost certainly a first record. Veterans who have visited the island for decades have not seen one, and it does not appear in any checklist.

Up to about seven Yonaguni Wood Pigeons came to Tacchigami Rock on the south-east side of the island. What draws them there, I wonder?

On the schoolground of Kubura Elementary School after rain there was 1 Pin-tailed Snipe and 2 Swinhoe's Snipes. The rice fields on Yonaguni have completely dried up, so they presumably have nowhere else to go. A few dozen Pacific Golden Plovers had also come down.

A Javan Pond Heron — a first record for Yonaguni Island. It was at Agariizaki. This individual was fairly wary.

The shorebird passage seems to be reaching its peak and the rice fields are extremely busy. Greater Painted-snipe — the only snipe that breeds on Ishigaki — are active as a couple.

Four Curlew Sandpipers in various stages of moult from summer to winter plumage are present. Also here: the third Little Stint of the season, three Broad-billed Sandpipers, the season's first Temminck's Stint, along with Red-necked Stint, Long-toed Stint, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, and Pacific Golden Plover — all in one area.

Curlew Sandpiper in breeding plumage. Beautiful frosted patterning.

Turnover among shorebirds in the fields and along the coast has intensified.

In the rice fields, Curlew Sandpipers in beautiful summer plumage were mixed in with a flock of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. A Little Stint also in summer plumage has arrived, and nine Black-tailed Godwits have come in, adding to the activity.

Pin-tailed Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe, and Common Snipe are staying on, including some long-term individuals.

Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, and Marsh Sandpiper are beginning to show noticeably contrasting summer plumage.

Along the coast, large numbers of Siberian Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Grey-tailed Tattler, Ruddy Turnstone, Red-necked Stint, and Eurasian Whimbrel have been arriving.

A Curlew Sandpiper flushed red.

The Pectoral Sandpiper first recorded on 15 April is now into its fifth day. It is spending its time among a flock of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. Autumn juvenile records are the norm, so a spring adult is a rare find.

Several Pin-tailed Snipe are also staying at multiple sites. Spring records of Pin-tailed Snipe are very scarce, making these birds equally valuable. They are approachable and allow extended observation — great fun. ^^ Swinhoe's Snipe and Common Snipe are also present.

The season's first Whiskered Tern arrived, following a tractor as it puddled a field.

A precious spring record of Pectoral Sandpiper.

Found a Little Curlew while travelling for work. I always keep a 600 mm lens in the company car for moments like this. The Little Curlew was foraging in a pasture among a flock of Pacific Golden Plovers. Two Oriental Pratincoles were nearby as well.

In a separate paddy field, a Lesser White-fronted Goose, a Taiga Bean Goose, and a Greater White-fronted Goose are still present. The first Northern Pintail of the season has also arrived.

Adult Little Whimbrel in late breeding plumage.

Juvenile Pacific Golden Plovers have finally been confirmed. The fact that juveniles haven't arrived until now makes me worry that breeding may not have gone well.

There were two Chinese Pond Herons, one Javan Pond Heron, and a Yellow Bittern. Oriental Pratincole and Whiskered Tern are also still present.

Long-legged Buttonquail, first-winter plumage.

アカエリヒレアシシギが飛来。今季2個体目。エリマキシギは複数個所で複数羽が到着。ハリオシギは数を減らしつつも滞在中。

It was in a paddy field near the airport in an area where Red-necked Phalaropes often turn up. They apparently visit the stadium frequently too — perhaps they are easily attracted to lights.

数日前からジャワアカガシラサギが滞在。台風接近でしばらくは足止め食らうでしょう。

台風の風が当たらない田んぼの片隅でオジロトウネンやトウネン、ヒバリシギ、ハマシギが餌をとっていました。背の高いセイタカシギは台風の風にあおられながらも飛ばされないように踏ん張っていました。

ムナグロは増えていますが、いまだ幼鳥の到着は確認できず…。

A Javan Pond Heron foraging along a bank sheltered from the wind.