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.
I squeezed in some birdwatching alongside a work trip to Yonaguni Island. Strong winds and occasional rain kept migrant numbers low.
Even so, there was a spring feel to it: Common Hoopoe, a flock of several dozen male White Wagtails, a group of around 30 Red-throated Pipits, and large flocks of Eastern Yellow Wagtail.
A Eurasian Hoopoe near the northern coast. It was foraging in light rain.
The third Common Hoopoe of the season has arrived, following last week's bird. This individual showed no wariness at all — when a car passed nearby it flew off only a short distance. Reports of arrivals have also come in from other islands, and it looks like this is a good year for Common Hoopoe.
Temperatures are rising and spring migration is beginning. A mixed flock of Taiwan Wagtail, White Wagtail, and White Wagtail arrived in the rice paddies.
Among the waders, wintering birds — Common Snipe, Common Redshank, and Wood Sandpiper — have been joined by northbound migrants, making things a little livelier.
Resident birds — Crested Serpent Eagle, Purple Heron, and Cinnamon Bittern — were all active in the run-up to the breeding season.
Discovered what is the third Eurasian Hoopoe of the season on Ishigaki Island.
The second Common Hoopoe of the season has arrived. The Common Hoopoe is one of the birds that herald spring on Ishigaki Island, though it feels as if the arrival date gets a little earlier every year.
With the warmer weather, Crested Serpent Eagle and Black-winged Kite on Ishigaki Island have been observed carrying nesting material and displaying — confirmed breeding behaviour. Wintering waders and ducks are still present.
A Eurasian Hoopoe that turned up a little early. There are good years every few years, but I have a feeling this season will see a large influx of Eurasian Hoopoes on Ishigaki Island.
I did some birdwatching during free time on a work trip to Yonaguni Island.
The timing was good — in a short while I was able to see Oriental Plover, Black Redstart, Citrine Wagtail, Common Hoopoe, Pin-tailed Snipe, and Swinhoe's Snipe. It was all thanks to the senior birders staying on the island!!
Seven Large Sand Plovers arrived early in the morning at the go-to spot on Yonaguni Island. I got the message while I was at work, so I was fidgeting.
This season seems to be a bumper year for Common Hoopoe on Ishigaki. Reports of sightings are coming in from all over. On this one day alone, a dozen or more individuals were recorded. I myself photographed two while travelling for work.
It looks like snipe migration has finally begun. The birds feel clearly different from the overwintering ones, and there is a real sense of spring passage. ^^
A Eurasian Hoopoe foraging without any sign of concern as a lawnmower carrying a worker roared and trundled around nearby.
Common Hoopoes — which along with Chinese Blackbirds herald spring on Ishigaki — turned up at four locations, five birds in total. This count covers only part of the western side of the island, so the overall number arriving is likely considerable. Perhaps the strong northerly winds the previous day brought many birds down.
A Eurasian Hoopoe with absolutely no wariness, delighting visiting birdwatchers.
Perhaps because it is not very wary, the Common Hoopoe first recorded on 24 February is still here. I have a feeling it will stay quite a while longer. It no longer flees or hides when people walk past or vehicles go by. It seems to be growing even more relaxed.
It shows no wariness, so it can be watched at close range. It was finding cockroaches one after another.
The Common Hoopoe is still here. The surroundings are not exactly peaceful, but this is its third day of staying.
A Eurasian Hoopoe that flew up into a branch, startled by a passing vehicle.
The Common Hoopoe that arrived on February 24 was still present. Once startled into the woods, it tends not to come back out for a while.
White's Thrush has been unusually numerous across Japan this season, and Ishigaki Island is no exception — birds are being reported all over the place. They're large and impressive.
The Eurasian Hoopoe that has been present since yesterday was raising its crest frequently. I wish it would move somewhere a little more peaceful….
This is the third individual Common Hoopoe of 2025. There's a lot of foot and vehicle traffic here, so it's a restless environment — hard to say how long it will stay.
A Eurasian Hoopoe that kept retreating into the bushes every time a person or vehicle passed by. Prey is plentiful, but it seemed unable to settle.
It's a hectic schedule at year-end, but I happened to pass nearby during work so I stopped to check on the Common Hoopoe. It was foraging in its usual spot. There are a lot of feral cats around, so I worry about it coming to harm.
In the paddies the Pied Avocet was still present. There were also Long-toed Stints, Wood Sandpipers, Black-winged Stilts, and Common Greenshanks.
In the evening I checked for owls for the first time in a while. No Long-eared Owl or Short-eared Owl found. Ryukyu Scops Owls were fairly numerous. At this time of year moult is complete and they are in fresh winter plumage — well worth a look.
A Eurasian Hoopoe in wintering mode, searching for food at its usual spot.
The Common Hoopoe that appeared on Christmas Eve is now on its third day. It shows no wariness and isn't being pestered by birders, so I have a feeling it will stick around.
The pair of Peregrine Falcons (former subspecies Siberian Peregrine) that wintered here last year are back again, terrorising the paddies and hunting Eurasian Coots and herons relentlessly. Eurasian Coots are well down on last year's numbers, and Eurasian Teal are completely absent. The Upland Buzzard wintering in the same area alongside the falcons may be a factor.
Common Snipe have moved in all over, including a flock of 47, but they are all Common Snipe.
A Eurasian Hoopoe with little wariness. There is a fair amount of foot traffic, but no birders come, so it is never chased off and is well into wintering mode.
I went back to see the Common Hoopoe I had found while working the day before, and it was still there. It is in a residential estate, but the bird is so unwary that it may well decide to stay.
A Eurasian Hoopoe foraging at the base of a tree planted inside a housing complex.
We went birdwatching as a family in the evening. We only had a short window before our dinner reservation, but we managed to see the first Common Hoopoe of the season and a few other species. The kids were delighted by a juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle calling loudly. ^^
Common Hoopoe turned up at two locations, three birds in total. They have already been recorded on Iriomote Island as well. I wonder if it will be a bumper year like the Hoopoes last spring.
I also had my first White-shouldered Starling of the season and got a look at the juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle. I spotted an Asian Koel on a wire but could not get a shot. The following day an Asian Koel was seen on wires in the same area. Numbers are increasing year by year — could it be settling here year-round rather than just in spring?
A tired-looking Eurasian Hoopoe. Freshly arrived on migration, perhaps.
The arrival of Common Hoopoes on Ishigaki this season has been a drawn-out, straggling affair. There are spots where you can watch Common Hoopoe and Ruddy Kingfisher at the same time, and visiting birdwatchers from the mainland all seem very pleased about that. ^^
On this day I found three Common Hoopoes at two locations and nearly ten Ruddy Kingfishers. For some reason every individual was completely unafraid, and photographing them was stress-free.
A Eurasian Hoopoe that looked a little tired — perhaps it had just arrived.
The Ruddy Kingfisher that briefly appeared on Ishigaki in mid-February had been silent for over a month afterwards. From around the end of March calls suddenly increased, and on the 29th I could hear one from home. On the 31st I got a sighting, and on 1 April I managed a photograph. Exactly the same pattern as every year. May and June are the best time to see and photograph Ruddy Kingfishers here.
It's a bumper year for Common Hoopoe, and a third wave has arrived — six individuals were recorded across the island on this day.
Ryukyu Flycatchers are singing actively, and I keep coming across pairs moving around together.
A male Ryukyu Kingfisher. It looked a little tired, as though it had just arrived on migration.
The second wave of Common Hoopoes seems to be winding down. Somewhere between 40 and 50 Common Hoopoes have arrived on Ishigaki this season. While searching for them I came across several Malayan Night Herons whose nuptial colouring has deepened noticeably.
Red-throated Pipit and Siberian Pipit numbers are fluctuating wildly — flocks seem to be passing through one after another. The season's first Pacific Swift and Temminck's Stint also appeared. Little Ringed Plovers are fully in summer plumage and moving through. There was a beautiful male Common Ringed Plover in summer plumage too, but I missed the shot… ^^;
For snipe it's all Common Snipe. The Pin-tailed Snipe I found on 20 February and the Swinhoe's Snipe on 21 February remain the only records, with nothing since.
A Eurasian Hoopoe looking tired, apparently just arrived on migration.
During a work break I counted four Common Hoopoes. Others were being seen elsewhere on the island — there were apparently at least seven birds present that day.
There was an odd thrush that looked like a Naumann's Thrush. The pattern on the breast and flanks wasn't quite right for Naumann's Thrush, and the bird gave an overall impression of Redwing. It seems quite likely to be a Naumann's Thrush × Redwing hybrid.
Eyebrowed Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush and Pale Thrush were all feeding on Machilus berries, but they disappeared into the branches and I couldn't get any photos.
The Arctic Warblers that have been wintering on Ishigaki are thinning out as the weather warms — they appear to be moving steadily northward. The individual that had been wintering around my house has quietly vanished.
A Eurasian Hoopoe that has been staying for over a week. It's unusual for one to linger that long on spring passage.
The Common Hoopoes on Ishigaki are rivalling the banner year of 2015 in numbers. In 2019, when I was posted to Okinawa main island, an exceptionally large influx of Common Hoopoes arrived as well. This year too, I'm guaranteed to encounter Common Hoopoes somewhere every single day. Every bird is remarkably tame and easy to watch. On this day they were confirmed across the southern, western and northern parts of Ishigaki.
Two Chinese Blackbirds are still present. These individuals are also quite unwary, making for relaxed photography. ^^ I've now found their feeding spot, so they should be even easier to see from here on.
I recorded Black-winged Kite in the northern part of Ishigaki for the first time. Breeding behaviour was first confirmed on the island in 2016, fledglings left the nest in 2017, and in the roughly seven years since, the species has spread across the entire island. There's a real possibility it could expand further to Miyako-jima and Okinawa main island in the future.
White Wagtails of the leucopsis subspecies are present in flocks of up to 50, and almost every White Wagtail I see anywhere on the island is of this subspecies — finding a nominate-type bird is the harder task. Good numbers of returning Red-throated Pipits are also arriving. Little Ringed Plovers are foraging alongside them.
I didn't bother photographing them, but White-shouldered Starling, Red-billed Starling, Common Starling and Eastern Yellow Wagtail are also around.
Five groups of birding acquaintances from the mainland are visiting the island this month — if things continue like this, they're in for a great trip. ^^
A Eurasian Hoopoe spotted in the grass. As usual, it was feeding on cockroaches.