My parents planned a family trip to Okinawa, Japan for a week, and we left out a day for birding the island in search of the endemics. Although the bird diversity in Okinawa isn't high, the ones that do occur there are good birds with a few being found only on that island. Okinawa hosts 3 endemics, which includes the Okinawa Rail, Okinawa Robin and Okinawa Woodpecker, all of which only occurs in Yambaru National park in the far north of Okinawa. The prime season for birding in Okinawa is during March to June, we were going right at the end of the season, so we were hoping to get good results, especially with the limited amount of time. However, most of this post won't be featuring birds, but some of the local fauna and sealife seen throughout this trip.
Day 1:
We landed in Naha Airport at dusk, and from there we headed straight to our hotel, which was right next to the airport on Senagajima. I only managed a brief glimpse of a Reef Heron, but other than that there were no other birds that day. There were a lot of insects and spiders around our hotel, I managed to find a few species, including a Theisi's Hairy Field Spider feeding on something. Other arachnids seen includes Giant Golden Orb-weaver, Vigilant Spotted Orbweaver, Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver and various other species.
Theisi's Hairy Field Spider
Vigilant Spotted Orbweaver
Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver
Oval Saint Andrew's Cross Spider
Pantropical Huntsman Spider
Other than the spiders, there were a few insects and moth seen, including Homoeocerus marginiventris, Dot-lined Angle, Riptortus linearis, Homoeoxipha lycoides and Idaea ptyonopoda.
Homoeocerus marginiventris
Riptortus linearis
Homoeoxipha lycoides
Idaea ptyonopoda
Day 2:
Me and my sister took an early morning walk around Senagajima, which I saw some of the common local birds. Some of these included Warbling White Eye, Oriental Turtle Dove and Pacific Swallow. The first two species had endemic subspecies on the island. Quite annoyingly, I forgot to take pics of the endemic ssp Brown-eared Bulbuls, which was by far the most common bird encountered.
Warbling White Eye
Pacific Swallow
Along the coast, I picked up a few Little Terns and a pair of Pacific Reef Herons.
Little Tern
Pacific Reef Heron
Other than birds, there was a few Patanga japonicas, Pond Wolf Spiders, Graptopsaltria bimaculata and a Leptopoma taivanum.
Pond Wolf Spider
Leptopoma taivanum
After breakfast, we packed our stuff and headed to our next stop, which was Nakagusuku Castle Ruins. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but the view from the top of the hill was amazing.
中城城跡
View from Nakagusuku Castle Ruins
In the same place, a Blue Rock Thrush, Tartessus ferrugineus, Siamspinops formosensis, Neoscona scylla and Eocanthecona furcellata were also seen.
Blue Rock Thrush
Eocanthecona furcellata
Siamspinops formosensis
Neoscona scylla
Eocanthecona furcellata
We headed to our next hotel, ANA Intercontinental Resort, where we would be staying for three nights. Before checking in, my parents had booked a glass bottom boat to explore the sealife around our hotel. Before we got one, I noticed a Mottled Lightfoot Crab on the rocks.
A few Black Naped Terns were around, one was perched on a pole.
Black Naped Tern
On the glass boat, we saw some typical reef fishes, but the real highlight was a Green Sea Turtle! However, it was quite far and I only managed blurry shots with my phone.
Green Sea Turtle
We wrapped up the cruise and had dinner, and I took a stroll along the hotel grounds. There were a few Hokou Geckos and a pair of Dysdercus decussatus were seen.
Dysdercus decussatus
Hokou Gecko
Day 3:
We had booked to go scuba diving in the nearby Blue Cave in the afternoon, and so we had the morning free. Me and my sister decided to go snorkelling around the hotel's beaches. As soon as we got into the water, I spotted some common species, including Scissortail Sergeant, Blue Demoiselle, Blackeye Thicklip and Yellowstriped Cardinalfish.
Scissortail Sergeant
Blue Demoiselle
Blackeye Thicklip
Yellowstriped Cardinalfish
A colorful Sixbar Wrasse caught my attention, mixed in with a few Dusky Sturgeonfish. A few Lollyfish Sea Cucumbers and Indo-Pacific Rock-boring Urchins around. A more interesting find were a pair of Indo-Pacific Christmas Tree Worms.
Sixbar Wrasse
Dusky Sturgeonfish
Lollyfish Sea Cucumber
Indo-Pacific Rock-boring Urchin
Indo-Pacific Christmas Tree Worm
As we were leaving, I saw a school of Convict Surgeonfishes along with a Shoulderspot Goby.
Convict Surgeonfish
After we finished snorkelling, we headed to the place where we had joined the tour for diving in the Blue Cave. After changing into the gear and a short boat ride, we went down to see what we could find. Once we got into the water, I immediately noticed Bicolored Cleaner Wrasse coming up to explore us. A tiny Terry's Pygmygoby was seen resting on a piece of coral along with a Luzon Sea Star.
Bicolored Cleaner Wrasse
Luzon Sea Star
We headed into the Blue Cave, and the water was really blue, however I struggled to get a clear shot because there were so much people around!
Once we came back out, we saw quite a lot of reef fishes, some of the highlights includes Pacific Trumpetfish, Striped Sturgeonfish, Three-spot Dascyllus and Ocellaris Anemonefish.
Pacific Trumpetfish
Pacific Trumpetfish
Ocellaris Anemonefish
Three-spot Dascyllus
With that, we wrapped up our day and headed back to our hotel to chill.
Day 4:
Today was our last full day in the area, so we decided to spend some more time snorkelling, some interesting finds includes a Reeftop Pipefish, White Eyed Moray and Humbug Dascyllus.
White Eyed Moray
Humbug Dascyllus
We swam in the pool and relaxed for the rest of the day after snorkelling. After dinner, I took another stroll along the hotel grounds, where I found a Blueberry Hermit Crab and Aclees hirayamai.
Blueberry Hermit Crab
Aclees hirayamai
Day 5:
Okinawa Tree Lizard
We hiked around the area for awhile, before swimming in the cool river water. There, I saw a few fishes, including Monk Goby, Rhinogobius nagoyae and Jungle Perch.
Monk Goby
Rhinogobius nagoyae
Jungle Perch
An Okinawa Tiger Beetle also showed up.
Okinawa Tiger Beetle
After we changed, we had dinner right by our hotel provided by the staff. After our dinner, I heard a bird calling, and it turned out to be one of my owl targets, the Ryukyu Scops Owl! With a little bit of playback, we enjoyed amazing views of this beautiful owl for a few minutes!
Ryukyu Scops Owl - a beauty!
After observing the owl, I headed down by the river to see if I could find anything new. There wasn't much, but a Loo-choo Odd toothed snake along with a Ryukyu Kajika Frog was seen during the short walk.
Day 6:
I woke up early to take a look around what could be seen around the area, and it didn't take me long to find a few birds. I heard at least two Ruddy Kingfishers in the distance, but they remained heard only and would do so for the rest of the trip. The only birds which allowed photos were a few Asian Tits and Whistling Green Pigeons, both of which were of the Ryukyu ssp. 
Asian Tit
Because we had joined an ATV tour near Higashi, we checked out early to get to the place on time. The ATV tour was pretty fun, it lasted for about an hour. After that, we headed over to a nearby stream for a swim. While there, I noticed a young Okinawa Pit Viper, also known as the Himehabu by locals resting on some moss by the riverside. A Green Grass Lizard was also seen.
Green Grass Lizard
After that, we drove toward Yanbaru National Park, where the proper birding began. Before we checked into our hotel, we decided to head over to the nearby Yanbaru Kuina Ecological Exhibition, where we could learn about the Okinawa Rails which inhabits the national park.
The exhibition was quite enjoyable, we spent over half an hour there reading on how the rail recovered after their population dip just in the last decade or so. The exhibition sadly had only one rail remaining, there were signs saying that 3 birds had die this year due to bird flu. Once we got back out, we were immediately greeted by a pair of Okinawa Woodpeckers, but they were quite fast and I only managed pics of the male.
Okinawa Woodpecker
With that, we checked into our nearby hotel, Ada Garden Hotel where most birders stay. If you are lucky, you can actually see 3 of Okinawa's endemics right from the hotel room! While my parents were checking in, me and my sister strolled around in search of some rails, and just minutes later I saw my first one just foraging by the road!
Okinawa Rail
With that, I already got two of the three endemics in the space of just 20 minutes! After a brief rest, me and my dad took advantage of the remaining daylight and drove up the mountain to some forest roads in search of Okinawa Robins. Once we got there, I immediately heard a Black Paradise Flycatcher, however it was quite shy and hid behind dense layers of trees.
Black Paradise Flycatcher
It turned out Okinawa Robins were quite common, as we drove slowly along the road, we saw half a dozen just foraging. However, all birds we saw before we ran out of time were all female or juveniles.
Okinawa Robin
We drove back to our hotel for dinner as it got pretty dim. Dinner and all meals at Ada Garden Hotel needs to reserved a few day beforehand, and if not you will have to drive back out into town for your meals. Me and my family had joined a night birding tour around Ada guided by Wanyu for two hours, with my main targets being Northern Boobook and Japanese Scops Owl. After dinner, while waiting for her to show up, I saw a few Orii's Flying Foxes along with a pair of Okinawa Rail crossing the road.
Okinawa Rail
Orii's Flying Fox
After it got dark, we met up with Wanyu and started driving the roads in search of owls and sleeping Okinawa Rails. It didn't take long, and we soon found a family of 3 rails along with one other birds sleeping by itself on some trees. We heard a few Northern Boobooks, but they were all too far away to see.
Okinawa Rail
Soon after, we parked our car and started walking a short trail, where I saw the endemic Yanbaru Ground Gecko, but I only managed a record shot before it vanished down a crack in the rock.
There were many Cavipes Hermit Crabs and Geisha distinctissimas too.
Cavipes Hermit Crab
Geisha distinctissima
As we neared a drainage ditch, we saw many Ryukyu Kajika Frogs. Wanyu told us that we could look for snakes which eats these frogs, and the next moment I spotted two Pryer's Keelbacks. They fled quite quickly, however.
Ryukyu Kajika Frog
Pryer's Keelback
As we continued on, Wanyu spotted two more Okinawa Pit Vipers at the bottom of the ditch, these ones were adult females way larger than the one I saw earlier today by the stream. I also scared a skink, it turned out to be an endemic Ryukyu Short-legged Skink.
Okinawa Pit Viper
Ryukyu Short-legged Skink
We got back onto the car, and after just a few minutes of driving, we noticed an owl on the road! Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a juvenile Japanese Scops Owl, no doubt it had just fledged it's nest! We enjoyed very brief views of it perching on top of a lamppost before it flew up into the trees and out of sight.
Japanese Scops Owl
As the last stop before the tour ended, Wanyu took us to a small pond to look for newts. Soon after, she located a pair of them for us to see.
Okinawan Sword-tailed Newt
In and around the same pond we managed to find a Geothelphusa sakamotoana, tadpoles of Okinawa Rice Frog and Eiffinger's Tree Frog.
Eiffinger's Tree Frog tadpole
Okinawa Rice Frog tadpoles
With that, we ended our only night here in Yanbaru National Park, and a big thanks to Wanyu for showing us so much creatures in the space of so little time.
Day 7:
With my three main daytime targets clear quickly yesterday, I decided to spend the remaining two hours in the afternoon in search of some rare species. Our main targets today would be Black Wood Pigeon, Ryukyu Minivet and Ryukyu Flycatcher. The latter had the least records, so I knew it would be harder to find. We started the day at dawn, with a Black Wood Pigeon perched high up far across the valley, but my lens were too fogged up to get shots.
We soon hit a small bird wave with the usual suspects, but I did see a few Varied Tits, which was a new bird for the trip. A few female Okinawa Robins and another male Okinawa Woodpecker was also around.
Varied Tit
Okinawa Robin - female
After the feeding flock, there was a period of no birds - around 20 minutes, we only saw more Okinawa Robins along the track. Every single one I was scanning to see if they had a black throat, as I was hoping for a male. Suddenly, we flushed one from the road which looked like a male, and I immediately asked dad to stop, and played a burst of playback in hopes that it would fly back out. After a few seconds, I saw a small orange bird fly out from the bamboo shrubs and perch right in front of me and started singing! At this time of year, the males should have finished breeding and singing, which makes finding them way harder.
Okinawa Woodpecker - male!!
The robin stayed for just a few seconds though, and it hopped back into the dense understory. As I was checking my pics and contemplating what to do next, I literally glanced up and saw a small bird hopping through the branches. My first thought was that the robin had came back, and so I checked with my bins and what do you know it was a juvenile Ryukyu Flycatcher! Once again, it stayed in view for a very brief 10 seconds before disappearing. This was such a lucky chance encounter as I didn't hear anything, just that I was at the right place at the right time!
Ryukyu Flycatcher - wow!
With only one last target left, we decided to drive to Funga Lake, where multiple sightings of Ryukyu Minivets have been made recently on ebird. As we were driving along the road, I noticed a slender bird perching on the wires, it looked too thin for the Brown-eared Bulbuls which we had been seeing so often, and it immediately click for me! I hurriedly asked my dad to stop, and there it was, a juvenile Ryukyu Minivet perching on a wire!
Soon after, as we were still observing the bird, a moulting adult also joined in, perhaps one of it's parents? It stood quite close to me as we watched it swallow a huge grasshopper.
Ryukyu Minivet - adult
With all our targets secured, we decided to check up on where we saw the scops owl last night to see if it was roosting nearby. We didn't find it as expected, but a pair of Okinawa Robins put up quite the show for us. I was sad to see a Ryukyu Black Breasted Leaf Turtle dead, crushed by cars.
Okinawa Robin - last view of male and female
Ryukyu Black Breasted Leaf Turtle
With that, our birding and wildlife part of the trip in Okinawa had ended, and after a late breakfast at 8:30, we checked out of Ada Garden Hotel and drove back to Naha where my mom and sister went shopping for the rest of the day. On the final day, we did some touristy things before heading to the airport in the evening and caught our flight back to Hong Kong.
Thanks a lot to my family for planning this trip and taking the time for birding in Okinawa. Also thanks to Wanyu for guiding us and making full use of our one night in Yanbaru National Park. Throughout this trip, I recorded 37 species, in essentially only about 6 hours of proper birding including the night walk. Although a few birds were seen by the seaside, they only made up a small portion of what was seen. I got great views of the main 3 Okinawa endemics, along with a few extra birds! The only bird I "dipped" was Amami Woodcock, even though it is considered a wintering bird in Okinawa, I had my hopes up because of a few scattered historical records of summering ones in Okinawa. The trip report can be view here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/543830
