Some Stunning Wild Life shots from today's Guardian

grauniad This link will take you to 8 stunning photographs of UK wild life shot by Dale Sutton and published by The Guardian newspaper. Absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the birds of Thailand but the series includes a couple of bird shots and imho are worth looking at regardless.

The Weekend that Was

Black drongo

I am pretty tired. Workwise the last few months have been tough and demanding and with the semester's end falling this Friday I am busy with marking and grading. So Saturday morning I did something unusual: I stayed local in the morning and sat in the bays in the golf driving range adjacent to our home. I have been reading too much of Dave Gandy's exellent blog and had hopes of Chinese or Japanese Sparrowhawks swooping on the sparrows, plus I would really like to see some migratory warblers.... alas no, much more prosaic and ordinary! 3 Brown Shrikes, a couple of Black Drongos, a fair number of Red-wattled Lapwing, lots of Cattle Egrets, a couple of Greater Coucals and lots of mynas and starlings. An amount of jostling but no predation!

Cattle Egret 

In the afternoon I took a very interesting trip into Chaloerm Prakhiat Thai National Park in the south western part of Ratchaburi province, and due north of Kaeng Krachan NP in Petchburi Province. I visit here periodically due to its proximity to Kaeng Krachan and my view that it must have some good birds because of this. On Saturday afternoon I drove to within 10 yards of three Greater Flamebacks which were at human head height on a tree. I had fantastic views plus these guys make a big sound. They were tapping away quite manically, reminiscent of cats on a scratching post. Sadly I wasn't set up and had to be content with the view. What I should have done, with the benefit of hindsight, is reverse, set up and then attempt to walk in with the rig.

Orthetrum Testaceum

I had a little walk through the forest and heard plenty of birds but frustratingly no sightings. Out in the more open part of the forest I had great views of a Common Kingfisher, perched on a branch hanging over a stream;  it flew just as I was about to shoot  and a Grey Wagtail which wasn't wanting to be photographed either. In the same area I shot this dragonfly, which aeshna5 at Birdforum reckons is Orthetrum Testaceum. 

I have to say it was uncomfortable due to the density of the flies in the forest. They were hardly deterred by my repellent!

Brown Shrike

On the way out I stopped at the dam, normally a good place to watch Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers and Olive-backed Sunbirds. The flowerpeckers were audible but nothing else was discernible until a strange croaking sound had me looking up into the sky to see a solitary hornbill. Now I had a good look as it flew over and it was too small to be a Great Hornbill. I would have said Pied Hornbill but it had no white belly or white fringing on its wings. In fact what I saw was uniform black/brown underneath and its tail feathers looked 50% white and 50% black/brown in a lateral direction; it looked as if it was moulting as it appeared very scruffy.

I have now had a chance to look at the Thai language field guide and my own view is it was probably a Brown Hornbill but as I  can't be sure I can't claim it. I would claim it had I seen white wing tips which appear to be a key field mark, but those did not register. I am also drawn this way because of the tail feathers. I had a look at  Robson's Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South-east Asia, and he complicates matters by listing a Northern and Southern version of this species! The key thing is that it is first hornbill species for me in Ratchaburi province. So an interesting couple of hours.

Common Myna

Sunday I headed to Rama 2 Park at Amphawa, Samut Songkram, about 45 minutes from home. Just a notion! It is near the sea and near the estuary of the Meklong River and migratory birds must pass nearby. This was a first visit here. It's a small park on the banks of the Meklong River. It's also right in the heart of Amphawa's floating market and near some significant temples. So it is very busy area in human and traffic terms. Amphawa, in particular, is a huge draw. Lots of sunbirds and an Indian Roller but not much else..... the mandatory Asian Koel announcing its presence in no uncertain terms. I do think this little park may be interesting early in the morning. It is beautifully maintained, manicured in fact, and when I was there soft Thai jazz music was coming through the PA system in the park, really quite incongruous! The park is full of fruiting trees and lots of beautiful shrubs and these  may well be a magnet for birds. On the way out a solitary raptor glided by, just a silhouette. I couldn't help think a migrant Sparrowhawk, but on shape, especially the short bulky head and not much else above the wings, I thought it most likely was a Kestrel.

Meanwhile inland at the reservoir...

On our return from a family day out to Suan Phueng we stopped off to see the Blossom-headed Parakeets at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir. Suan Phueng is an amazing development of hip hotels high in the mountains as you head to the Myanmar border. On arrival  at the reservoir it wasn't looking too promising with rain and wind.  A drive home seemed very attractive. But I convinced myself the weather would clear and it did at about 1700h and soon after in came one Blossom-headed Parakeet and then a few moments later in came the rest of the flock.... a small flock of maybe 10 - 12 birds but I am not sure how many as they were being quite elusive. I did manage some shots. I am particularily happy about today as it's nice being able to show my wife and mother-in-law such beautiful birds. Nothing else to report, no River Lapwing so perhaps they have gone.

Saturday at the Seaside

What a joy to be free for once of any responsibilities on a Saturday and to have a very understanding wife!  I was up and away by 0430h. The plan was to get to Pak Thale, Phetchburi province, and sit on the mud flats and watch what  birds the incoming tide might bring in close with high water estimated for about 0930h. I was in place by 0600h.

In truth it wasn’t such a good plan as there were few noteworthy birds, some whimbrel, sandplovers,  lots of pond herons, egrets, collared kingfishers, bee-eaters, fantails : the usual suspects. But no big flocks of curlews or godwits.  As the tide came in the number of birds decreased. So back to the main ponds to meet up with Tom Backlund. 

High tide was at about 0930h, and there were some reasonably sized flocks of waders in the ponds. Tom was with some visiting birders from Vietnam via the UK. They called a number of Asian Dowitchers in a flock of Godwits and Tom called two Terek Sandpipers in another flock.

I am always impressed by anyone who can identify birds in large swooping flocks. Don’t get me wrong, there are birds which are very easy to identify in the air like Black-tailed Godwits and Common Redshanks!  But not Terek Sandpipers and Asian Dowitchers! Tereks are usually easy to identify on the ground because of their upward curved bills, their bright orange legs and their very busy demeanour. Likewise the dowitchers were quite obvious on the ground, with their long black bills. Obviously experience plays a big part in this. Tom advised that the dowitchers in flight are also distinctly smaller than the godwits. Good to go birding with experienced birders.

I decided to try and take a photograph of the dowitchers but the flock promptly upped and offed before I arrived. It looked as if they headed to the mudflats. It’s exactly this type of flock I was hoping for earlier. Perhaps next time the plan will be to get there just after high water or maybe a little bit before and get set up and watch what arrives as the tide recedes. For the record we agreed at least 5 Asian Dowitchers were in this flock of Godwits. Add in a Broad-billed Sandpiper and a Long-toed Stint.

For once it was nice to be under absolutely no pressure of time so we headed down to Laem Pak Bia. This was in stark contrast to the visitors were under intense time pressure. I think they were attempting to see Spoon-billed Sandpiper, unlikely but not impossible so early in the season, as a result of a delayed start to a pelagic trip into the Gulf Of Thailand in search of Bryde’s Whales.  This is the second year to my knowledge that whales have returned to the gulf. I was so glad that I was under absolutely no time pressure today. I'd be interested to learn if they succeeded in seeing the whales as I believe they were seen of the Laem Pak Bia sand spit last weekend.

Tom and I headed down to Laem Pak Bia and had a quick look at the Abandonned Building but there were next to no birds there. We had a brunch of sorts  after which I decided to venture out by boat to the sand spit with Mr Daeng. On arrival two small flocks of Ruddy Turnstone and Great Knots were feeding on the shingle. The turnstones were still showing some traces of their breeding plumage. We had a good look around and also managed to see a White-faced Plover, good numbers of Malaysian Plover and Red-necked Stints.

The White-faced Plover is increasingly treated as a distinct species though I do not believe that the taxon has been formally accepted by the authorities.  For me this would be a lifer but I am not sure what the position is with this type of anomaly. A solitary Bar-tailed Godwit was feeding on one of the beaches and elsewhere a Common Greenshank. But no sign of Chinese Egret although one was observed here the previous weekend. On the way back to the harbour we got close to a Lesser Crested Tern perched on a pillar but the sea was swelling so it was impossible to photograph it with the digiscope rig. My word, it is a big bird. No sign either of Bryde's whales.

Mr Daeng gave me a steer to a nearby site where he saw 6 Nordmann’s Greenshanks at the beginning of September. I headed there after. Alas the Nordmann's were not present today but there was a good number of idling Spot-billed Pelicans (24) and Painted Storks (30+).  I am lost for words when it comes to describing these big pelicans: ungainly, unappealing on the eye, incongruous, hideous, primordial, but for me, absolutely captivating as well.

As we were approaching the last couple of hours of daylight and I was feeling a bit tired I thought I would head in the direction of home and stop at Wat Khao Takhrao. To my pleasure the Great Thick-knee popped out of the scrub,  said hello and hung around long enough for me to get a few shots. It’s a crepuscular creature, best seen first thing and again near the end of the day. This fellow looks as if he was created by Disney. The light was pretty ropey. I should spend longer here next time; I am sure it will produce more good birds. There was a significant number of Painted Storks out in the middle of the big pond and I am sure water fowl will be arriving imminently.

I then decided I would head on to Khao Yoi, again on my route home, to see if there were any Black Kites coming into the roost. Not a dickie bird, or for that matter a black kite! However these raptors should start to arrive imminently. I made it home at 1845h, wiped out but as pleased as punch. I really needed a good, long day in the field. My birding for some time has been in snatches, far from ideal. So this was the perfect answer.

Close to Home

A very gray miserable hour in the Rose Garden rice paddy this afternoon produced 3 Brown Shrikes and 1 Common Kingfisher. Terrible light so I am actually quite pleased with this distant Purple Heron, probably about 120 metres away. I have posted the kingfisher shot more as a record and an example of the difficulties with low light shooting. In the next few weeks I hope to get a much better capture of this beautiful bird and to really see the Common Kingfisher at its best you need to see its back which has a beautiful aquamarine colour to it.

In the next few weeks hawks will return, I hope, notably Pied Harriers but also Eastern Marsh and Black Kites. There was no sign of them this evening and I am not really expecting them until October.

Migration

A text from Phil Round on Saturday morning advised of the first White-faced Plovers and a Chinese Egret this "winter" at the Laem Pak Bia sandspit ; my dear wife alerted me to an unfamiliar call in the trees opposite our house a few hours later and on looking we saw our first soi Brown Shrike of the season; also good numbers of Drongos back. Reports from the Chumphon Raptorwatch advise of the passage of a first Chinese Sparrowhawk to join the many Japanese Sparrowhawks that have already gone south along with small numbers of Crested Goshawks and Oriental Honey Buzzards. So basically migration is really happening right now and hopefully there will be further reports of great birds arriving in Thailand for the winter or on passage to other parts of the warmer southern hemisphere.

Early Sunday morning at Huay Mai Teng reservoir there were 3 River Lapwing and elsewhere a further 7 Blossom-headed Parakeets which rather kindly allowed me to get set up and then legged it with the utmost haste! I didn't manage to see any flycatchers but there was one Brown Shrike and a lot of Drongos along with the usual species. I sat down for 30 minutes or so near a lily pond surrounded by trees in the hope of seeing some some flycatchers and warblers. I picked up this very well disguised Lesser  Whistling Duck and nearby a pair of very fast moving juvenile White-breasted Waterhens. I've cropped and sharpened the Duck shot think but I've included the unmodified original. It was about 30 m away so it wasn't too close and I must say I am happy with the focus and capture. But no flycatchers or warblers.

More Blossom-headed Parakeets

A cancellation meant I was able to snatch a quick visit to Huay Mai Teng Reservoir this evening and it didn't disappoint. 12 Blossom-headed Parakeets were in attendance tonight but I couldn't get a decent shot of them, even though I was closer to them than before. Very poor light, a hint of rain and a lot of wind meant the branches were flying about. However it was good to observe them and I have an idea of where they roost. I had a good look at the parakeets in the hope that there might have been other species in their midst but not as far as I was able to see. As I observed the parakeets I picked up the movement of a nearby Barred Buttonquail on the ground and for once got a decent look at this species; a real beauty with quite standout rufous underparts and black throat patch. A number of Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers were in the area today and a lot of Green Bee-eaters. There was also a lot of Pipit activity and I was looking at birds and thinking: are you Richard's, you do look as if you have a very stout bill and a longer tail?!  More work needed before I can make any claims.

Midweek Brief

Buoyed by last week's success with Blossom-headed Parakeet I returned to Huay Mai Teng Reservoir late Wednesday with high hopes. On arrival I was met by 2 River Lapwing at the main launch area and I drove to the main action area just in time to catch the parakeets. Once more there were ten birds flying in a very tight formation but they were off before I had really arrived! Unmistakeable however with their beautiful bright green plumage, long tails and blossom-coloured heads.

The area was busy with Green Bee-eaters and Paddyfield Pipits and rather a lot of Red-wattled Lapwing. I managed to flush a few quail but these guys are just to quick for me to get a decent sight of them; Small Buttonquail I rather fancy but that is really a guess. Light was poor so I was pleased to get a couple of shots and in fact both these shots were taken in the final light of the day at ISO 200. So acceptable results given the light.

For those interested in migratory species Dave Gandy's blog is the place to head for reports of latest observations in and around Bangkok. I haven't seen anything in and around Ratchaburi which is probably more a reflection on me than the birds' status!

Suan Rot Fai, The Railway Park, Bangkok

I had the pleasure of joining Dave Gandy for a brief spin around his patch, Suan Rot Fai, very close to Chatuchak Market, Bangkok, which is one of the major gigs in Bangkok. The Railway Park is also a major recreation area for Bangkok residents and it gets very busy very early. And as Dave's sterling patch work will confirm, if you visit his blog,  it is an outstanding area for  migratory birds. For me it was thrilling to be able to see Yellow-rumped Flycatchers almost at will along with a few Arctic Warblers and a first Brown Shrike and a second Common Kingfisher for this new season. I didn't take any pictures but you can look at Dave's here. Only 80 minutes of birding this weekend but top quality birds and the male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher is a real gem