A Quick Trip to the Reservoir

Little Egret

Egretta garzetta

นกยางเปีย

I was mightily pleased to learn that I wasn't required to attend school after 12 noon today due to an electrical outage. Only one thing to do and one place to go: Huay Mai Teng Reservoir. On arrival there were 4 River Lapwing near the launch area and I have no doubt they wouldn't have been there at this time at weekends. I managed a couple of shots but I then managed to scare them away by trying to get in close. In fact I was furious with myself because the plan was to cash in on the light! 

River Lapwing

Vanellus duvaucelii

นกกระแดหาด

On the subject of disturbance and the like soon after I arrived some council workers arrived to erect warning signage at the entrance to the launch area: "DANGER" signs forbidding children from swimming. I rather fear there has been some sort of tragedy. Elsewhere I noticed a new bright red and white barrier on the road at quite a sharp bend; on the other side of the barrier is a deep drop into a water chute from the reservoir. I rather fear a vehicle went through it, another tragedy. Anyway I was the only source of disturbance to the birds today and in consequence I missed out on a great photo opportunity.

Zitting Cisticola

Cisticola juncidis

นกยอดขัาวหางแพนลาย

I counted two Small Pratincoles at different locations around the site on my short trip. I also managed some shots of these exuberant Zitting Cisticolas and I also managed a few shots of the above Little Egret; in breeding plumage this bird always reminds me of a classic image of Marilyn Monroe, you know the one where she is holding down her little white frock.

All photographs digiscoped and taken at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir 29.06.11

Gulf of Thailand: Big Birds

Spot-billed Pelican

Pelecanus philippensis

นกกระทุง

I decided I needed a change of scenery today so took a drive down to the Gulf coast and made a first stop at Bang Kaew just to the north of Cha-am in Phetchaburi Province. In some respects I wish I hadn't because there is heavy land-moving machinery on site. They are building a breakwater and doing a little bit of landscaping and river diversion! A few Malaysian plovers were playing around and there were plenty of Little Terns in breeding plumage. There were three Common Redshanks in the "pond", except it doesn't have a lot of water in it right now. I thought they were different from the more common Spotteds and this was confirmed when they took to the air and showed white secondaries.

Common Redshank

Tringa totanus

นกกทะเลขาแดงธรรมดา

I had hopes maybe of a Milky Stork! Two were reported here in early May. No evidence of them today. I headed up to Laem Pak Bia and made a first stop at the Abandoned Building. Nothing here. Some times there are huge flocks of Black-tailed Godwits here but nothing whatsoever today. So I decided to head into the King's Project and had a fantastic couple of hours. The highlight was nine Spot-billed Pelicans caming in for supper. What magnificent birds. They are quite camera shy and so I had to work to get a decent shot and of course the light was past its best and what was left of the sun was well covered by clouds. Two Painted Stork posed a little for me outside the project in adjacent saltpans. 

Painted Stork

Mycteria leucocephala

นกกาบบัว

Indian Cormorant

Phalacrocorax fuscicollis

นกกานำ้ปากยาว

Little Cormorant

Phalacrocorax niger

นกกานำ้เล็ก

And of course being a simple soul I am happy shooting cormorants and egrets and the Kings Project has no shortage of these species. I am also pleased that I can separate Indian from Little as well. I found myself in the amazing situation of having a bird too close. Hence the "artistic" shot of the Little Egret's head

Painted Stork

Mycteria leucocephala

นกกาบบัว

Little Egret

Egretta garzetta

นกยางเปีย

So a pleasant and welcome change from Huay Mai Teng Reservoir. Indeed I would like to see some of these big birds at the reserervoir.

Spot-billed Pelican

Pelecanus philippensis

นกกระทุง

I think this gives you a sense of just how big these Pelicans are when you see one close to a little egret.

Spot-billed Pelican

Pelecanus philippensis

นกกระทุง

All the pelican shots were taken after 18:00 so conditions were far from ideal. 

All photographs digiscoped at The Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia, Sunday 26.06.11

Reservoir Watch

What a joy to be back out on the Huay Mai Teng Reservoir patch with binoculars and charged batteries! I recorded at least 5 River Lapwing soon after arrival at 06:00H. However they were moving around. They appear to be showing a preference for one particular area, a little bit away from the public access area.  I could only manage shots of the above Black-winged Stilt perched on one leg in that area.

I saw three pairs of Rain Quail, male and female, in the "usual place" which is the same area where the Small Pratincoles can be found. More of them later but the Rain Quail really is a truly beautiful bird, especially the male with his black bib merging into brown flanks with very pronounced black stripes in evidence around his head. Also a pair of Barred Buttonquail on the roadside. Thanks to having the binoculars with me I was able to get a good look at both species but sadly no photographs.

Lots of Indochinese Bushlarks and very brightly coloured Green Bee-eaters. A few Greater Coucals and at the other end of the size spectrum, a few Grey Prinias. Elsewhere in a more forested part of the site I saw one definite female Red Junglefowl and two other largish fowl type birds moving on the ground. I won't make any claims but I think they might have been male eclipse Red Junglefowl. The key feature was their tails which were short and almost at right angles to their bodies. However they were some distance away and moved quickly out of sight into the foliage so I cannot be sure. This is near to the same area where I have seen and heard Chinese Francolin, no sign today though, and I think I might have to set up the hide and play some calls and see what I can lure.

I counted three Small Pratincoles today. This suggests to me they are in the process of dispersing from the site.

Not much on the photography front today, in fact a virtual blank. I am not complaining: the Rain Quail made my morning. Simple really!

Black-crowned Night-heron

Black-crowned Night-heron

I am a simple soul at heart and basically one good bird, in this case a Black-crowned Night-heron, was enough to raise my spirits and restore morale following the weekend debâcle. I usually head out for an hour after work on Wednesdays and this week was no exception.  The Night-heron was perched on a tree at the beginning of the access road into local rice paddy. It was particularly gratifying to manage to get a couple of decent shots as well.

Black-crowned Night-heron

The Black-crowned Night-heron was no more than 200 metres from my home as the crow flies, as it were! Sadly not in the soi and not visible from it so I can not add it to that list. However it was nicely perched and had the sun on it and I was able to get between the two. I walked towards the bird 10 paces at a time, shot and moved in another ten paces. I was trying to get beyond the bird to minimise the effect of the branch. This worked as I managed to get reasonably close to the bird before it decided enough was enough.The squawk was its limit and off he went.

I have seen a fair number of these Night-herons around the local rice-paddy, but normally they are in the air. This is the first one that has posed for me. It is reasonably common but nevertheless a good-looking bird. I like the contrast of its orange iris with the rest of the bird's colour.

Not the best day!

Sunday is best forgotten! I got out of bed on the wrong side. I forgot my binoculars. I got to the reservoir and it was crowded with people and boats at 06.10h. I caught a brief glimpse of one River Lapwing taking flight. I decided to head to the main Small Pratincole site and set up the hide. I was awaiting the arrival of the birds, maybe some small button quails and rain quails would put in an appearance, when my camera announced its battery was exhausted. I reloaded a spare which also turned out to be exhausted, and two others likewise. I decided the best thing to do was to go home and back to bed! At which point a beautiful cinnamon bittern landed about 100 yards away in marshes. I managed to get to about 30 yards but without binoculars I couldn't even get a decent view of the bird and as I tried to manoeuvre my hand held telescope, the bittern flew off! Such is life. I decided to take it easy for the rest of the day! So not the best birding weekend I have ever had!

More on Saturday

Maybe not such a disaster with the Nikon P6000 LCD as I had first feared. I can still use the camera as I discovered when I went out this afternoon. Only a small part of the screen is broken. I had some fun shooting these local, common birds in the soi. I have also ordered a new LCD from a company in Hong Kong at a cost of US $30 including postage. No doubt fitting will be difficult so I reckon I'll ask someone in one of the many mobile phone outlets in Robinsons Mall to do it for me. Got to be the same principle as changing the LCD on a mobile phone

Common Hoopoe

 Common Myna

Oriental Magpie Robin

Disaster

I dropped my camera this morning at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir and managed to crack the LCD, what a disaster. Unfortunately it was attached to the telescope which was attached to the tripod and it all fell over as I was attempting to put it in the hide. Just unlucky. I hope I can get it repaired locally. Fortunately I have the P5000 as a back up and I can use my Canon EOS if need be.

There was also a lot of rain about this morning so I didn't manage any photography at all. There were six River Lapwing on arrival; elsewhere I counted 71 Small Pratincoles and 3 chicks; I also heard a distant Chinese Francolin too.

But I am gutted about the camera.

The Common Hoopoe (2)

I have noticed this Common Hoopoe around the soi over the last few weeks and I decided to get the rig out on my return home from work tonight as I saw him flying around in an open space area. He is a dramatic looking fellow, locally known as the axe head bird. I am not sure about his status; the field guide map says those in the Greater Bangkok area are migratory and that elsewhere they are resident. I am not sure that I see it all year round here in Ratchaburi.  Maybe I'll need to monitor it more. The lower picture been might have been special but alas I am shooting at a slow shutter speed in fading light so when my subject spreads his crest and wings the capture is inevitably blurred. Mental note: get out at about 3:3o pm and try to capture this fellow when he spreads his crest and you can shoot at a faster shutter speed! He was involved in some fairly aggressive sparring with Common Mynas, a Drongo and an Oriental Magpie Robin. What a great "common" bird!

Black-shouldered Kite and The Digiscoping Experience so Far

These shots of a Black-shouldered Kite reinforce my view that I was right to stick with digiscoping. I estimate the bird was at least 1 kilometre away when I photographed it Sunday in the Huay Mai Teng area. I was aided by late afternoon sun being directly behind me lighting up the bird and there had been a good amount of rain beforehand clearing the atmosphere. The second photograph is a crop of the first but to my eye the detail is still reasonably clear, though rapidly approaching the limit. 

Let's put it this way: 12 months ago I would have been delighted with a shot like this using any equipment. I have absolutely no doubt that the Kowa 25x LER eyepiece connected to the Nikon P6000 is one of the best digiscoping combinations. More experienced hands assert it is the best combination and some say the Kowa eyepiece is the best digiscoping eyepiece on the market at present. 

I could have used the 20-60x  eyepiece and zoomed the lens to bring the bird closer but I know from experience I wouldn't have managed to get anything approaching the relative sharpness and detail of these shots. These days I use the 25x LER eyepiece for digiscoping and use the zoom eyepiece for watching only. I do use the 25x LER for watching too of course.

I have to say I am a little frustrated with a lot of my recent shots. I sense I am just missing a little in sharpness and exposure at times largely because, I hasten to add, I am an impatient so-and-so! However I was looking at some of my work from six months ago and I must say the overall improvement is striking. I sense there is even better to come, a lot better...! I need to master Photoshop too but unfortunately that will be time-consuming not to mention expensive!

I am very glad to be able to show these shots as I feared I had inadvertently deleted them. I'll take better shots, for sure, and I would really have liked to get in close on this fellow, because its red ruby eyes really do give it a very malevolent appearance. However they are decent record shots and  good examples of the real potential in digiscoping.

Juveniles

I took my baby son up to Huay Mai Teng Reservoir this afternoon and I am glad to report he slept through most of it! We had a good scout around but no River Lapwing to report. I suspect they are best viewed early in the morning at least until the reservoir level falls and can move into their normal abode. There really was a lot of human activity including powerful boats so I wasn't surprised to draw a blank today.

I counted 76 Small Pratincoles and managed a couple of pictures of juveniles. Now I really know nothing about the life cycle of birds but I am presuming these juvenile birds are this year's yield. And I am also presuming that a bird is a juvenile for one season only. Ditto with the Oriental. And I am expecting to show up one day soon and find the Small Pratincoles have gone. The size of the juvenile suggests it is approaching full size.

I had a good look around today and I was sad to notice that one of my favourite areas is now inaccessible. This is where i have seen Osprey, Darter and Rain Quail. A large manmade pond is where the road once was and the alternative road has been bull dozed away. Now it did cross my mind this might be a good thing as it should restrict human activities...... I know how to access the area but it will involve a walk.

Elsewhere I once more heard Chinese Francolin, in a new location, but alas no sight of it. Some brief glimpses of quail but not enough to make any IDs. I suspect Rain Quail. A couple of distant Bronze-winged Jacanas, White-throated Kingfishers and lots of Golden Weavers and Green Bee-eaters. Lots of Indochinese Bushlarks and Paddyfield Pipits too. I took a few shots of a Black-shouldered Kite at a distance of over 1 kilometre off and one came out reasonably well. I can't find it now and fear I have deleted it!

Nice afternoon!

Seven River Lapwing

A morning visit to Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi, revealed no less than seven River Lapwing in and around the eastern side of the reservoir. How pleasing after last week's blank. It's also good to be able to report numbers are progressively increasing. Last year's high was eleven.

I am not completely satisfied with my shots. The early morning light means quite slow shutter speeds and the birds do tend to be on the move.  By the time the light is better the birds have usually dispersed. I have no doubt that I will get some great shots of these birds in the coming months.

A breeding Little Ringed Plover did oblige. The "breeding" bit makes it sound almost Monty Pythonesque, as in "bleeding".

.

There was a good showing of Small & Oriental Pratincoles, including a couple of Small chicks. I headed off in vain pursuit of Chinese Francolin. I got my new hide set up, played its call and got a positive response. However I couldn't draw the bird into range or out into the open.

Teaching commitments and breakfast drew me back to town in the morning. I have to say the light was fantastic so I headed back later in the afternoon. No sign of Chinese Francolin but I couldn't resist these Lesser Whistling Duck. Difficult to get close to these fellows. There were plenty of the more common birds around as well as three local Thai photographers that I showed to the Small Pratincole site. As always good to see people visiting this area on account of the birds.

I am a little disappointed to say I haven't managed a decent shot from my new hide! No doubt use of the hide requires a little skill as well as some luck. Maybe as well as playback I'll need to organise some bird snacks! I have to say the weather was great today with great sunlight, high clouds and a strong breeze keeping everything very comfortable. 

Porng Salod, Phetchaburi Province

In a rather naive sort of way I decided that I wanted easy birds today in view of the heat and humidity and my spluttering cough and runny nose. So I drove to Porng Salod, a small reservoir in Phetchaburi province. The site is actually part of Rajabhat University's Phetchaburi Campus. I had seen a pair of Asian Barred Owlets there a couple of years ago and I rather fancied some easy photographs. They appeared to have taken up residence in the trees next to the research centre as I saw them on a number of occasions and it wasn't too difficult getting in close. I am sorry to say there was no sign of these little owls. I had fun nevertheless and a male Olive-Backed Sunbird and Indochinese Bushlark (thanks to Tom Backlund for pointing out my error - I originally made this a Paddyfield Pipit - oops - and of course Tom's right as there is no white on the tail)  posed a little for me. I need to come clean here and confess that I thought initially this might have been a Richard's Pipit! It had a very distinct parachuting style flight and it looked stockier. When I got home I rather easily settled on Paddyfield when I soon realised it couldn't be Richard's for no other reason than the time of the year: Richard's is a winter visitor. So thank you, Tom, for taking the trouble to point out my mistake. Birds!  I have to add now that it's a good shot as well!

I observed a really noisy and aggressive aerial fight involving an India Roller and Ashy-breasted  Woodswallow. Six- Lesser-whistling Ducks and plenty of screeching Red-wattled Lapwings. But no owlets! How utterly inconsiderate of them!

Where have the River Lapwings Gone?

I am struggling with a respiratory infection so I only managed a brief trip to the reservoir this morning. This infection is an annual fixture, a rainy season special you could say, a combination of cold and cough and a reaction to sleeping with the air-conditioning on. I am sad to report I did not sight a River Lapwing though I must add I am hardly surprised: at 06:00h this morning there were two boats on the water with  large, powerful outboard engines which made the boats' bows stick up when the juice was applied. Loch Lomond and Windermere come to Thailand! I hope the pilots know what they are doing because in addition to disrupting the wildlife and fisher people, the reservoir has very variable depth! The boats had managed to scare everything away.

At a different location I counted 92 Small Pratincoles and over 200 Orientals. I wonder how long the Smalls will be here for. I can also tell you there was a photographer in a hide working the Small Pratincoles so I am glad to see more coverage. I am in the process of placing an order for a portable hide at the moment so maybe this time next Saturday I might be up there in my little tent too!

The highlight was seeing two Chinese Francolins, brief views from the car. I hope a combination of playback and the hide will allow me to get some decent shots of these fine looking fellows in the near future.

It may be the River Lapwing have found a suitable abode away from the disturbance. I'll need to have a good scout around over the next few weeks.