August 2021 Comes to an End

 The Blog Has Been Waiting

We've been extremely busy in Okinawa doing things like Social Distancing er, People Avoidance.

Coronavirus has the whole world doing things a little bit differently. Will it ever end?

Most mornings I'm out of the house with the cameras way before sunrise. 

The idea is to get some nature photos, upper body exercise, and 10,000 steps done prior to noon.

The sun can be brutal on this island during the summer months.  It'll tan your hide.

Fridays I get to leave town and do some traveling. 

For those who haven't seen me in a while, here's a peek at my foot.

The lighting (in the sky) was horrible at this attraction so, I pointed my lens towards the ground.

This is a place, I call, the Big Bird Tower in Hedo.

A discovery made, at the parking area below the Big Bird, was this Okinawa Tree Lizard.

For the past four Fridays, I've been back shooting this lizard and some companion critters.

A Parting Shot

The weather towards the end of the month had me a bit worried. Would we see the full moon?

It was the weekend of Obon. Okinawan spirits return to their family homes.

On the final evening, they return to the heavens, under the light of the full moon.

The sky was cloudy. It was windy. From the roof of my house a quick snap of the shutter.

Minutes later there was no moon to be seen. End of August Report 

The Black-crowned Night Heron in Flight

 Just A Second

Here are three photos of this bird taken at 6:55 AM today.

My camera was mounted on a tripod and equipped with a 300 MM lens.

Getting ready to hike farther down the road, I folded the tripod before the bird appeared.

It's a fast mover. I was on auto-focus and used the tripod as a monopod.

In less time than it takes to let out a good sneeze, the bird disappeared.

End of Story

Wordless Wednesday: Northern Shoveler

 

Great Cormorant Flying Over Kin Town, Okinawa

 Photographed Today with Pentax 560 MM Lens

There won't be a review of this new lens until it's been fully evaluated.

Lately, I've been backpacking the monster each morning, as I do my 10,000 daily steps.

Plenty of ducks migrate to Okinawa for winter. They were sort of avoiding me today.

All of a sudden, two strange-looking birds flew overhead and I wasn't sure what they were.

Here's a favorite image of one I used to get an identification. I'm not exactly a bird expert.

So, I wind up jumping through all sorts of Internet hoops, to get you this information.

English Name: Great Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax carbo

Japanese Name: Kawa-u (カワウ)

More of these birds may be seen in this 2012 post from the other side of this island. 

Wordless Wednesday: No Wesley But Here's A Snipe!

 

Happy Veterans Day Reflection

 

Wordless Wednesday: Pull Your Left Foot Out

Wordless Wednesday: Is It "Left Loose/Right Tight?"

Wordless Wednesday: Time for Launch

Wordless Wednesday: Shake a Tail Feather

Wordless Wednesday: Pull Your Right Foot Out

6 Photos of the Endangered Bird on Kouri Island

Oriental White Stork

Golden Week in Japan has ended and rainy season should begin any day now.

So the good doctor, Doc Graff and I decided to visit Kourijima under blue skies.

This rare bird needed to be captured with some long lenses before it migrates off the island.

It was 10:43 when I took my first shot and, I would have hundreds before the day was done.

At 11:06 the bird took off in flight, giving us a view of the pattern on its wings.

The past two times we've chased this bird it disappeared while we weren't looking.

So, it was nice to discover, which direction the rascal was flying to when it wanders.

Usually, we spot the thing perched on tall, dead trees. Today it did a few things differently.

It was 11:13 when this photo was taken of the bird in live evergreens.

It reached down below and acted as if it was eating bugs or something crawling among the pines.

There were crows buzzing through the air on the island and they would spook the stork.

Not too wild about crows, I won't show you any scenes with them in the frame.

Around 11:20 a crow riled the bird up and it flew away.

Another first was the stork landed in a field, giving us some ground shots.

It was 11:32 when this image was captured.

By 11:35 the bird gave me this pose with some green background.

It's hard work, chasing these elusive birds so, by 11:35 I was ready to go eat lunch.

Kentucky Fried Chicken in Nago seemed like a good place to go. So, we did.


More About Oriental White Stork:

Encyclopedia of Life

Wildscreen Arkive

Wildlife Photos: Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana)

Endangered Species

Riding around Kouri Island last Monday this creature caught my eye. It was huge.

A large black and white bird was at the top of a dead tree. It looked unreal.

Being a sort of tourist trap island, I figured maybe, it was a gimmick. Like a plastic statue.

We don't have any birds that look like this one, native to Okinawa.

Traveling light Doc Graff and I weren't equipped to shoot distant birds.

We pulled over to the side of the road and took handheld shots with short zoom lenses.

Unsure of the bird's nomenclature, I moved around taking various shots.

Identification would come later, back at the office. A stiff breeze was blowing off the ocean.

The best I could do was take plenty of sport-focused images and hope some were clear.

The red legs, long beak, feathers, and markings, helped with identification.

For sure that's an Oriental Stork. It's strange, it picked this island to visit.

The mating season for these storks is the month of April.

During May and June the eggs hatch and both parents, care for the chicks.

During July and August, the birds return to their wintering grounds.

The bird winters in China, Russia and maybe, North Korea.

It's on The IUCN Red List as Endangered because the population is under 3000.

Is this a rare bird for Okinawa or what?


Reference: Wildscreen ARKIVE

Osprey Identification Photos

Aircraft named Osprey

Bird named Osprey

The Unnamed Caterpillar Got Identified Today

No Sense Rushing Things

The first and only time, I ever ran across a white caterpillar, like this was April of 2015.

Doc Graff and I were on a mission, to find and photograph the endangered Ryukyu Robin.

April is the best month to find them, close to the ground, feeding their youngsters.

We, didn't run up the trail because, we're a bit too mature, to act like teenagers.

We huff and puff and meander up the mountain and, enjoy the fresh air.

Taking your time, gives a better view of nature. We're very observant.

Doc, had gone ahead, to get closer to the waterfall when, I spotted this.

Climbing the trail, there's spots where, cellular service no longer exists.

It's like being in the wilderness which, I kind of enjoy. I was catching my breath.

Standing on this wooden platform, smoking a cigarette is what, I was really doing.

Whoa.  It's like some little bottle brush, started coming towards me.

Forget smoking. Put the butts in yer pocket and, get down to shooting !

 

It's a good idea, to get photos from as many angles as possible.

You'd never know, this guy has red feet if, you didn't get down real close to him.

All along, I'm wondering, what kind of butterfly this creature would turn out to be.

In my pending photo files, there are hundreds of items, waiting for identification.

Yesterday, I sent these photos, to a couple of sites for help.

The Moth and Butterfly Identification Forum, on Facebook, came through today.

Chrysaeglia magnifica, was suggested by a gal named Lisa.

After checking several websites (with images) I think, I've narrowed it down.

This one, will be named Chrysaeglia magnifica taiwana, for the time being.

In no particular order except, the way the research got done, here's links:

Japan Moth Org

Larva at Japan Moth Org

Wikiwand

Gagabiodiversity

Scientific Name: Chrysaeglia magnifica taiwana

English Name: It doesn't have one, yet

Japanese Name:  (Rurimon hosoka) ルリモンホソバ 

Mission Completed

A hike all the way to to top of the trail, wouldn't have been complete, without photos.

We went, hunting for the Ryukyu Robin but, didn't see any along the way.

The falls and some white caterpillar, would be the only memories from that trip.

Coming back down the trail, I spotted someone, down by the river.

A nature guide and a woman, with a camera and a humongous lens, were in there.

She was shooting the birds, we had come all this way to capture.

See: Hiji Waterfall a Most Refreshing Climb for more.

Late Lunch for Wordless Wednesday

This Bird Helped Me Find Something

Sometimes When I Flip the Bird

Going  back through the files, I decide to do more research, to find current information.

This creature, a Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) has been seen on the blog a few times.

Once in awhile, I hook up my Japanese audience with links, they can read.

Sometimes, I get more information by, poking Japanese into Google search Japan.

A Latin nomenclature, might work or, I use Japanese to copy and paste for searches.

Fooling around with Japanese, which I'm fairly horrible at, can become time consuming.

How About a Japanese Picture Dictionary

That's what this bird helped me discover and, it's quite a handy tool.

Call it a "pictionary" if, you like. That's what I'm gonna do, from now on.

It has pictures, English, Japanese Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana and Romaji listed.

Animals, birds, fish, insects and flowers, are what I'd use it for, mostly.

If you're lost for words in Japan, this site could help with almost anything.

They have astronomy, basic words, banks, bathroom, body organs, clothing, sports and more.

This is a goldmine, worth bookmarking because it has thousands of uses.

For example let's just say, you get upset because it's hard to find large size underwear in Japan.

Walk down the aisles until you find somebody, who looks friendly and say, "Help."

Then if, you saved this on your smartphone, show them a picture of what you want.

They'll point you in the right direction and, probably be amazed at this technology.

Get ready, get set, email this link to yourself  "Japanese Pictionary."  That's what I did !

Wordless Wednesday - The Flying Leap

Sashiba (サシバ) Grey-faced Buzzard Eagle in Flight

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 300 with 1.4 Converter Focal Length 420MM

Exposure:  f/7.1  1/2000  ISO 400

Location: Kin Dam Okinawa Japan

Date and Time:  JAN 21  2017   1:40 PM

More about the Buzzard Eagle

Wildlife Image -- The Bird Known as an Osprey in Flight

Flying Over Kin Dam

The plan for today, was to take a different route and, skip going to the dam.

Headed to the Okukubi River and,  I wanted to start on the east side for the best light.

Crossing the Kin Bridge, I spotted some osprey flying so, hung around awhile.

Satisfied, I had taken a couple of good shots, off to the other end of the bridge I went.

On a hill across the river, dangerously close to a ledge, I noticed someone standing.

The thought had occurred to me, "Shoot the guy; it's an interesting image."

But, I didn't. I was out , to do some wildlife photography; not people.

Three quarters of the way, crossing the span, this guy started waving, frantically, at me.

He wanted me, to come over there and, motioned towards the road leading to his location.

By the time, I arrived at the path, going to his property, he was at a gate, waiting for me.

It was then, I realized, I had met him a few years ago.

He invited me in, opened several gates and, gave me a tour of all his land.

First, he told me, the ospreys happen to be living on his property. Wow. I want to see !

Big Black Dog on a Chain

Being a dog type person, dogs don't scare me.  Unless they are big and growling, at me.

"Does he bite?"  "No, not if, you're with me" he replied. The dog just, kept growling.

Then, we had to go visit some baby goats and their mothers. That was fun. I suppose.

We wound up, walking through a couple of gates, where everything was fenced off.

Finally, we got to the cliffs. I was hoping, he'd show me where an osprey nest, might be.

He just said, he didn't know but, they come around here every year. That's it ?

Being a polite person (momentarily)  I thought it might be a good idea to change the subject.

So, I told him, this month there will be a humongous full moon.

Then, he walked me to the eastern cliffs, to show where the moon rises.

He scampered up this pile of dirt, near the cliffs, to show me, the best position.

Dude, "You're wearing boots. I'm not climbing up there wearing flip-flops."

He agreed, shima zori (flip-flops) wouldn't be safe, for cliff hanging. Yeah !

Change of Plans

Originally, the idea was to walk the east bank of the river, to the ocean.

High tide would have been around 9:20 AM and, that's what I wanted to see.

After touring all his acreage, we passed through all the wire gates and, said goodbye to the kids.

It was time well spent, I suppose and, I'll probably visit, again sometime.

Instead of heading down to the ocean, I decided to walk around the dam, instead.

By the time, the camera got downloaded, there were over 400 images complied.

Plants, trees, ferns, birds, hills and flowing water, are in the pending files.

Here's how the image above was taken:

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 300MM + 1.4 converter for Focal Length 420MM

Exposure:  f/8   1/500   ISO 100

Location:  Kin Dam, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  NOV 4 2016  8:17 AM

More on Osprey -- Birds

Japanese call this bird, Misago -- ミサゴ

Many Okinawans call it, Taka -- タカ

They are both correct, An osprey, may also be called a sea hawk.

News, to me, in Japan:


Osprey are on the Ministry of Environment Red List as Near Threatened (NT) Species.

Okinawa Red Data Book -- Vulnerable (VU).

REFERENCE: Wildlife of Okinawa