Okinawa 1

Time passes so fast, I better hurry up. The 4 day trip to Okinawa with birding friends is already half a month ago! We decided to visit this southern island at the end of May, not a good season for weather, because it is right into the "tsuyu" rainy season. But in order to see the birds that only come out this time of the year, and to see them around the flowering trees we took our chances.
The trip was a great success. We saw all 3 birds on our wish list. I had kept the list kind of short, anything else would be a bonus:). The weather behaved remarkebly well. We had heavy rain, but mostly at night and at other locations on the island. Good luck was with us. I guess this way I had had my portion of it, because during the shooting I had very little. But what the photos don't show are the pictures in my head, my memories forever!

At first: Okinawa Woodpecker, ノグチゲラ

I didn't think it would be easy to see these birds, but there are quite a number around. It was exciting to watch them suck honey from the Deigo trees, (Erythrina Orientalis). Thinking that woodpeckers eat mainly insects I couldn't imagine they liked it so much!

The male has a red head,

 Other birds stopping by for a nibble were Japanese White-eye, メジロ

And a very happy Carrion Crow, オサハシブトガラス, Corvus macrorhynchos osai 

The last 2 shots were taken from the breakfast table: Whistling Green Pigeon, ズアカアオバト,

minutes after an Okinawa Woodpecker visited the same trees, see images above,

We could here there call from afar and were happy to see them landing in these trees seen from the balcony of our lodge.

Yanbaru Okinawa. Not a bad place to be!