Wildlife Photos: Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

Whimbrels are migratory visitors to Okinawa.

These birds breed in cold climates, such as the Arctic and, fly south for the winter.

Usually, I see the migratory species fly here sometime in November.

Today was the 31st of August.  Maybe, winter is coming early this year !

More About Whimbrels

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Whimbrel Watching at the Okukubi River

Whimbrel in Flight

Wildlife: Whimbrel Watching at The Okukubi River in Okinawa

This series of photos was taken along the Okukubi River in Okinawa, Japan.

The Whimbrel goes by the scientific name, Numenius phaeopus.

The reason we're whimbrel watching today is the cherry blossoms aren't ready for flower watching, yet.  

So, I dug up some birds for you instead.

It's always fun doing wildlife research.  You'd be surprised at the things you can learn.

Like, these birds, also known as Curlews, breed in subarctic areas of North America, Europe, Asia and, even Scotland but, they winter in warmer places, like Okinawa.

That long nose, they have hanging off their face is used for probing.

They may be seen along the shores of rivers searching for invertebrates in the sand.

Little sand crabs are fair game whether they try to hide among rocks in the water. or along the shore.

Whenever I reasearch wildlife, I like to check to see if the critter I have photos of, is an endangered species.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the best place to go for this kind of information.  They know what species are endangered, all around the world.

Today, I took my whimbrel watching photos and did some up-to-date-research and I discovered that the Numenius phaeopus is on the

IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES

LISTED AS LEAST CONCERN (LC)

GUESS WHAT, PEOPLE ?
 

You ain 't gonna believe me so, I'll give you the link.

HUMANS ARE ON THAT LIST, TOO !

Wildlife Photo (Bird) Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) in Flight

The Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) aka Curlew breeds in subarctic climates of Asia, Europe and North America and Mr Wikipedia tells me, even as far down south as Scotland.

Sometimes, I like to double check my bird sources so, we'll have to verify that with one of the EXPERTS over there who seems to have his feet on the ground (most days) and knows what's going on everywhere in Scotland. After he sees this photo, if he says he saw Whimbrels in Scotland, you can believe it's the truth because he has sharp eyes and when he writes something he calls it exactly the way he sees it.

He even knows what the Queen is thinking when she sits next to this Army guy wearing a skirt.  The dude was like a Colonel, or something and get this, he FORGETS TO PUT ON HIS UNDERPANTS!  Is he, Wee Willie Wikileaker?

Now, back to the birds who really fly. These Whimbrels only visit Okinawa in the winter. They hang around in shallow water along the shore and poke their crooked noses in mud, sand and cracks in rocks and eat little shells, crabs and whatever else they can find. It's fairly easy to shoot them when they're on the ground. But, when they decide to fly they are faster than a bat outa Scotland.

So, there's two questions I'd like to ask my contact in Scotland. First, do you have any Whimbrels there?
And, I was wondering if you guys let women be Colonels in that Army outfit; just outta curiosity !