Bird photos: Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)

Oguroshigi (オグロシギ) in Japanese

This bird was spotted in a freshwater stream near the rice fields of Kin Town.

It feeds on whatever it can find, probing in the shallow water.

The species is listed as Near Threatened by IUCN.

Normal range for these birds consists of the UK, Europe, Morocco and Russia.

It would be nice to know why they are visiting Okinawa.

 Breeding Information

They are feathered friends that mate for life, is what I learned at ARKive.

The couples do the breeding thing, incubate and hatch the eggs together.

Then, the mama bird takes off for the winter, by herself.

Daddy bird watches the kids for awhile then, he goes off on vacation, too.

But, he doesn't know where the mama bird went so, he goes off to another country.

The birds really mate for a lifetime. They get back together every year.

Same couple, over and over again with only one exception.

Unless, mama bird fails to hookup with papa bird within 3 days of his arrival for breeding.

He might go off looking for another redhead !

More About the Black-tailed godwit:

BirdGuides

InternetBirdCollection

S.DakotaBirds

WildlifeOkinawa

Nature Photos: Ryukyu Damselfly (琉球羽黒とんぼ) Haguro Tonbo

This Bug Has Been Thoroughly Researched

 

Many thanks to the gals at the Yambaru Wlidlife Center who gave me the scientific name.

In Okinawa, it's Haguro Tonbo, scientific name: Matrona basilaris japonica.

This is a rare, endangered species on the IUCN Red List.

 One of my favorite resources, ARKive, doesn't show much about this species.

It's easy to wear down a camera battery, trying to catch these guys in flight.

They aren't camera shy; just fast.

It's a good thing I didn't swat one to get him to hold still for me.

At the time, I was shooting these photos, I didn't know how rare the insects were.

Really, I wouldn't harm any creature just to get the image I wanted.

These Characters Have Some Unusual Breeding Habits

 

 

 

Lots of women and children read this blog so, I don't want to talk about peckers here.

In my research, I came across an insect biologist named Rowan Hooper.

He has  Ph.D in evolutionary biology from Sheffield University in the United Kingdom.

Checkout his Japan Times article on the Ryukyu Damselfly if you want to learn more. 

What's Wrong With That Picture? Mayor in NJ Picks on Chickens

Today the Mayor of Hopewell Township in New Jersey gets his 15 minutes of attention on my blog.  When I browsed through AOL News of the Weird today, this gem was discovered and it only took me a few minutes to dig up something out of my files.  I knew if I hung on to this photo, with a couple of suspicious-looking roosters running around at the edge of town in Okinawa, Japan it would come in handy someday.  Now, I'm not asking anyone to tell me what's wrong with this picture.  What I'd like you to do is imagine some Mayor passing a law telling chickens when they can and can't mate. Roosters in the Township of Hopewell, NJ have to prove that they are free of disease and are forbidden from crowing about their escapades with the chicks. If they get caught bragging too loudly, they can even get kicked out of town for two years.  They are permitted to date chicks only for ten days out of the year.

Mayor Jim Burd must have way too much time on his hands or be really, really afraid of big roosters. 

Mature, male roosters are not allowed because they are too noisy. The immature guys have to do the breeding ( I guess) in his neck of the woods. HAVE A LOOK if you think I make this stuff up.

Then, you tell me.  What's wrong with that picture?