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 

Owls Can't Move Their Eyes Like We Do

 Here's A Closeup Look 

This Northern Boobook (Ninox japonica) is an owl photographed in Okinawa, Japan.

The Japanese would call it (アオバズク) Aobazuku. 

It's a medium-sized owl that's a subspecies of the Brown Hawk Owl.

Notice it has a round-shaped head without any ear-tufts sticking out of it.

Bright yellow eyes, some folks think are comical (not me), and yellow talons are noticeable.

Other identifying marks are the dark brown feathers with brown and white streaks upfront.

The bird also has a distinctive black beak.

Hang on for the Eyeball Part!

It took a while for me to get proof from National Geographic that owls can't move their eyes.

They have to swivel their heads around because their eyeballs aren't in sockets like ours.

Here's an animation, made from several photos, of the bird looking around for prey.

It was the morning before a typhoon so, things are kind of misty and windy.

These birds are found in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

They hang out in wooded areas and forests up to 1700 meters in elevation.

The bird is a raptor that catches insects in flight and that's not all they eat.

They've been known to grab smaller birds, lizards, and bats.

See more about this Northern Boobook at:

Avibase

National Geographic

Wikipedia

Chasing the Cinnamon Bittern of Kin Town

 Okinawa's Rainy Season Ended

Heat and humidity have me getting up and out with the camera before sunup.

My air-conditioned room is usually about 30% humid.  Outdoors it's over 90% after sunrise.

Each morning I hike to an area where two of these birds hang out.

Getting into position before 6:30 gives me time to stretch, exercise, and drink coffee.

Birds aren't on any kind of schedule. They might appear anytime between 7 and 9 AM.

They really don't come just to pose for the camera. They stretch and wiggle around a bit.

It doesn't do much good to cuss and talk to them but, I do anyway.

And, I get this look like, "Is there a problem Mister?"

Nobody wants pictures of stupid-looking birds so, I move on.

This Cinnamon Bittern had a better attitude and a terrific background.

The time was 7:19 AM and the hike home would be over before ten.

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

May 2021 Supermoon Over Okinawa

 Cloudy Skies Didn't Stop the Moon from Showing

They just made it a bit challenging for photographers and moon viewers.

Here are 4 photos depicting this month's Full Moon, an eclipse, and the Supermoon setting.

It was 8:39 PM on May 26th when this eclipse photo was taken.

It would be 9:59 PM before an almost cloudless image of the moon could be captured.

At 4:56 AM on May 27th the moon shined brightly setting over Kin Bay.

At 5:29 AM a parting shot was taken of the moon before it disappeared again.