Ryan and I decided to divide today according to our hobbies. This meant waking up early for some birding around the island, and then swapping binoculars for snorkeling gear. We drove around the agricultural fields near our camp, hit the park in the center of the island, and then the "upland areas" on the north side of the island. Good birding moments, but not too many photos to show for it. The best surprise of the morning was at the port when we saw a Peregrine Falcon:
This bird is much more pale than individuals in the states. I am not great at identifying subspecies, but this individual is absolutely Falco peregrinus japonensis. A real delight to see, and at the port no less! It just goes to show that you have the potential to see something great just about anywhere. The stage was still up at the port. Looks like we missed quite the party!
With a good two hours of birding and most of Aguni covered, it was time to hit the water. The winds near our campsite are still strong and steady from the east. This means the sandy bottom, coral clump area is a bit choppy for snorkeling, so we opted for another day of "deep blue." We weren't too disappointed, because it meant we had another shot at finding some large tuna, or large anything.
Ryan made excellent effort and I'm sure had fun in the process, but no fresh fish for dinner tonight. I did get to see some reef pretties. This blowfish is one of the largest I've seen. The photo doesn't quite convey the size, but it was nearly one meter from tip to tip.
We also found a "spaghetti anemone" and its loyal clownfish:
This scalloped clam was a great find. Usually, these clams are so embedded in the rocks that you can't see anymore than the colorful flesh. The scallops on the outside of the shell separate this from other species.
We were feeling the water getting to us, so we hopped out and decided to walk around the "Grove of Monpa Trees" adjacent to our campsite. First we needed supplies for the "hike."
The grove is not very large, and lies between the beach and the road that runs along the eastern side of the island. The path was obvious, but had not been tended in some time.
One thing we noticed all long the walk was the damage to the foliage from the recent typhoon. Aguni is a 2.5-3 hour ferry ride from Okinawa, and it probably got as much of the typhoon as Okinawa received. The deciduous leaves on the trees that line the edges of the path, or the most exposed branches, were brown and withered.
Even the evergreen plants were not immune from their exposure to high winds and salt spray.
Although our campsite is not an "official" campground, it is a pretty spot. There is ample space for tents, and there are toilet and shower facilities. The winds seemed to be calming a bit this evening, so we hoped that some snorkeling at Nagahama Beach would be possible tomorrow. This evening, we are all about relaxing and enjoying the fact that we are on Aguni-jima.
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