I Finally Found the Yanbaru Kuina

Posted on November 9, 2019 by Admin11

When I tell people I am a nature photographer, they often ask me if I have ever seen a Yanbaru kuina. Friends are always so excited to tell me that they found a Yanbaru kuina in central Okinawa. I feel bad telling them the bad news. More than likely, they found a common moorhen. The common moorhen is often mistaken for the Yanbaru kuina.

The Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) has a bright red head shield, yellow legs with distinctive white feathers underneath. The Common moorhen is found near marshes, local parks and small rivers. This bird is very common in Okinawa

Scientific name: Gallinula chloropus
Common Name: Common moorhen
Distribution: Okinawan wide
Habitat: City parks, rivers and creeks
Diet: Vegetation and small aquatic animals
Average Size: 30 to 37 cm

The Difference: The Yanbaru kuina ( Okinawa rail ) has an orange beak with bright orange legs. The underneath is black with white bars.

The Yanbaru kuina is a flightless bird found in northern Okinawa. It is a protected species and declared a living natural treasure. It is currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an endangered species. In 2012 populations of this endemic bird were estimated at 1500 by the Environment Ministry. As of October 2016 populations have declined to 480 mature individuals according to IUCN assessment.

Scientific name: Hypotaenidia okinawae
Common Name: Okinawa Rail
Japanese Name: Yanbaru kuina
Distribution: Northern Okinawa
Habitat: Forests
Diet: Small insects, worms, snails and fruit.
Average Size: 31cm
Threats: Habitat loss, and the threat of mongoose and feral cats.

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

This site is also designed to help people identify the beautiful animals of Okinawa, basically to serve as an online nature reference guide. If you would like to make a contribution to support my mission, please click on the donation link

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support, Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

The Canon 70D Is Back In Action!

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Admin11

Last month, I received a memory card lock error on my Canon 70D Body. I sent it off to Canon USA for repair. Canon replaced the shutter assembly and a few covers. They informed me that my 70D shutter exceeded the normal life expectancy at a total of 156,642. I purchased this camera body in January 2014. This camera body has been the most durable and reliable camera body that I have owned so far.

Canon 70D: Favorite features

Fully-articulated touchscreen
High ISO capabilities
Responsive auto focus system
Lightweight and compact

Below are some of my popular photographs taken with the Canon 70D. Featured in National Geographic, BBC, WWF, IUCN, and Scientific publications.

: Planet or plastic -NatGeo

: Okinawa Woodpecker

: BBC – fluorescence Okinawa

: WWF -Crabs with beach trash Homes

: Japanese workbooks – Okinawa nature

: Kuroiwa’s Ground Gecko

I often use the Canon 70D to photograph fluorescence in the Yanbaru forest. This is a custom setup I use to photograph flowers and animals.

Fluorescence photography setup -Shawn Miller

The equipment I use for my Series “Crabs With Beach Trash Homes”

Canon 70D
Tokina 10-17mm
L&M Stella 2000
Canon 270ex flash

Shawn Miller – Crabs with beach trash homes. photographed by David Orr

Thanks to Canon USA for the great customer service and quick turnaround!

The lonely hermit crab adapting with a lug-nut cover by Shawn Miller

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Admin11

This week I went out camping with some friends on Miyagi Island. While searching for fire wood I stumbled upon a blueberry hermit crab (Coenobita purpureus) adapting with a metal lug-nut cover. I have previously found many hermit crabs adapting with other man-made items such as pet bottle caps, glass bottles, light bulb ends, laundry detergent caps and various scoops. I was pretty excited about this and had to show off the interesting find to my friends.

The blueberry hermit crab is temporarily making due with the available lug-nut cover. It will eventually switch to a shell when it finds an appropriate size. If you would like to learn more about this adaptive behavior please check out my post on “Crabs with Beach trash homes”

* All Coenobita species on Okinawa are recognized as a living natural monument of Japan.

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I also photographed the hermit crab on white for the Meet Your Neighbours Project. The technique eliminates distracting elements out of the background and shows the true beauty of the animal. The images are used for conservation awareness and educational purposes.

Later I offered lug nut a Turbo seashell and within five minutes he switched over to his new home.

Okinawa hermit crab

We were fortunate to have beautiful weather. Don’t forget to get out for some Nature Therapy! We all need a break from our busy lifestyles.

My Mission: To document and preserve the wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

paypal.me/maketheswitch4nature

Your donations will help worldwide conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support. Shawn M Miller.

Even the birds had nowhere to hide during Typhoon Trami

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Admin11

I have experienced many typhoons in the last twenty-five years. Typhoon Trami was by far the strongest storm of the year. Its normal to see marine life washed ashore but this was my first time finding shorebirds washed ashore.

The images might be disturbing to some of the viewers but this is how I naturally found the birds on local beaches. A variety of egrets, terns, snipes, pigeons, and herons could not cope with the harsh conditions.

An abundance of marine debris also washed up. A disgusting amount of single-use items like styrofoam, plastic bottle caps, water bottles, lighters, combs, razors, cigarette butts, and floats littered the shoreline.

Our trash is a serious problem on our shorelines. What are you doing to make a difference? Have a great day.

Searching for the Amami Rabbit by Shawn Miller

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Admin11

The Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) is an endangered species found on Amami and Tokuno Island. This rare species is a living national treasure of Japan and is currently listed as endangered on the IUCN red list of threatened species. It’s biggest threats are deforestation, feral cats, dogs and the introduced mongoose.

Scientific Name: Pentalagus furnessi
Common Name: Amami or Ryukyu Rabbit
Japanese name: Amamino kuro usagi
Distribution: Amami and Tokuno Island
Habitat: Dense mountain forest
Diet: Plants, shrubs, bark, and acorns
Average size: 45cm
Threats: Deforestation and the mongoose

We initially had some trouble finding the Amami Rabbit. We knew we were close once we started finding fresh rabbit droppings and a black insect that resembled a dung beetle.

We were fortunate to see over thirty rabbits during our night drive. We even found a photogenic juvenile feeding on leaves. The cute baby rabbits are referred to as kittens or kits.

It is illegal to capture or trap this small-eared Island rabbit. Both Islands are doing a great job protecting this threatened species and the forest it lives in.

The mongoose is the biggest threat to the wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands. It was introduced to the Ryukyu Islands in the1900’s In order to reduce the venomous habu populations. All the islands are still battling this never ending problem.

Mongoose ( Hepestes javanicus )

All the photographs of the Amami rabbit were taken from the car through the back seat window. In the beginning, I had difficulty with the cameras autofocus system. The rabbits were far away and left the scene after three- ten seconds. I adapted by mounting a Light&Motion GoBe light with a 500 search head to my tripod collar. This allowed the autofocus system to be extremely responsive using the Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM.

People often ask me what is the purpose of conservation photography? Having the ability to affect some form of positive change in the environment and make a global difference with the photographs. Hopefully, the images will inspire people to care more about nature and make a positive difference in the environment.

Light&Motion GoBe https://www.lightandmotion.com/choose-your-light/gobe

Let’s work together to protect the beauty of the Ryukyu Islands. Have a great day!

Okinawa Nature Photography

沖縄自然写真 By Shawn Miller

Tag Archives: Canon conservation Japan

I Finally Found the Yanbaru Kuina

The Canon 70D Is Back In Action!

The lonely hermit crab adapting with a lug-nut cover by Shawn Miller

Even the birds had nowhere to hide during Typhoon Trami

Searching for the Amami Rabbit by Shawn Miller