Birding and Plastic Dreams by Shawn Miller

Birding is one of the most popular hobbies for all ages. I find it enjoyable and extremely relaxing. It doesn’t matter where I go on Okinawa, I seem to find beautiful animals and trash. The animals have been forced to live with our single use waste.  Below are some of my documentation photographs of animals surrounded by our waste.

44576017300_c78c2b0dd3_b

Plastic Okinawa © Shawn Miller

35781489832_d6275e2221_b

Birding Okinawa © Shawn Miller

40868140611_632844909b_b

Birding Okinawa © Shawn Miller

25644203798_310ed019f7_b

Birding Okinawa © Shawn Miller

You can see how a bird could accidentally confuse single use plastic for actual fish. Now days, majority of marine birds have some form of plastic inside their stomachs.

44177056235_b8a0c1a9b2_b

Plastic pollution © Shawn Miller

This Gull arrived on Okinawa February 2016 with oil residue on its feathers. It spent most of the day bathing in the salt water trying to shake of the oil.

Black-tailed gull

Birding © Shawn Miller 

43614548244_a55c5595f2_b

Plastic bag © Shawn Miller

16475290999_5f673c3442_b

Crab trash @Shawn Miller

Jungle crow and plastic

Jungle crow and plastic

Even the endangered Okinawa rail (Gallirallus okinawae) has to deal with our waste.

20130517-DSC_0785-2

Okinawa rail (Gallirallus okinawae) © Shawn Miller

Roadside streams are a great place to photograph waterbirds. This may look like a small waterfall but it’s actually a huge piece of plastic, beautiful isn’t it?

33617340356_d79d7d2722_b

Plastic waterfalls © Shawn Miller

This post is not to make people sad, guilty or lose hope, It is to bring awareness to the ongoing trash problem in our oceans and on our shorelines. We all have the ability to make a difference by reducing the amount of single-use items we use daily.

43350613754_090ef237df_b

The truth hurts © Shawn Miller

Learn more about making a difference, TEDx talk | Adapting to or Changing Environment by Shawn M Miller

My Mission: To Protect and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands for Future Generations. – If you would like to join my journey, check out my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/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.