Ratchaburi Rice Paddy

Plain-backed Sparrow

Ratchaburi

30.11.11

Fairly quiet tonight in the rice paddy in Ratchaburi.A female Pied Harrier and not much else of note in the 40 minutes or so of daylight. However this Plain-backed Sparrow shot against the ever-ripening rice crop with a setting sun behind me obliged. I have said before this is one species that would be justified in feeling resentful for an apparent misnomer.

Wat Khao Takhrao

Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

Wat Khao Takhrao

27.11.11

I made it to the right side of the big pond in the Wat Khao Takhrao area, Phetchburi Province, on Sunday afternoon but of course the birds had moved away from this area! Anyway by "right" I mean  the sun was behind me and this allowed a great view over the pond. I walked from the road and it was a little bit hard going as the path is very overgrown. I was also mindful of the possibility of stepping on snakes and other delights!

The sight, however, was truly spectacular. Medium-sized groups of ducks liberally scattered everywhere. However sorry to say they were once more too far away to get decent shots. Two species dominated: Garganey and Northern Pintail; I couldn't pick out any other species. My estimate is 1300 Garganey and 400 Northern Pintail but these are very rough figures. I would say they are way  too low as there were big flocks coming and going. Interestingly I didn't see a single Lesser-whistling Duck and I suspect the brown birds I had taken previously as this species were in fact pintails.

Whiskered Tern

Wat Khao Takhrao

27.11.11

It was a delightful spectacle and the ducks were joined by small flocks of other birds including a mixed group of Brown-headed Gulls and Caspian Terns; lots of Little Grebes; huge numbers of Black-winged Stilts; and lots of Whiskered Terns; equally generous numbers of Egrets ( Little & Intermediate) and Grey Herons. As the sun set the sky was peppered with small to medium sized flocks of ducks, a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits and a Caspian tern or two flew over along with abundant Whiskered Terns. A few Painted Stork flew in to roost for the evening.

The setting sun lit up the whole sky and for at least half an hour after sunset the sky on the horizon had a beautiful glowing dark orange layer for as far as the eye could see, which then gently merged into the dark night sky. Just a joy to be out and part of this. It really felt like a miniature Bung Boraphet.

I have started to chat with a few of the local people who work in the pond. They recognise my face and know my interest in the birds. I am hoping to get out to one of the small islets on the pond by boat next weekend and I hope this will enable me to get a more accurate count and some good shots.

On the subject of identification, a subject which causes me nightmares,  I was reading a thread on a bird group which quoted an American birder, Pete Dunne, as saying: "The only difference between experienced and inexperienced birders is that experienced birders have mis-identified a lot more birds." I rather like that!

Frustrations

I had a frustrating day with my new camera and with trying to get in close to the ducks in the Wat Khao Takhroa area in Phetchburi province, but I did see three  Greater Spotted Eagles at Wat Norng Blah Lai. They were just too far away to get a usable shot but the adult was quite magnificent perched on the branch of a dead tree. Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua, one of the leading lights of the Thairaptor Group , was present and he confirmed that Greater Spotted and Imperial Eagles have been recorded in recent weeks but the Steppe Eagle's return is still awaited. Chaiyan confirmed a Slender-billed Vulture had been observed on 17th November 2011 but hasn't been seen since. An Eastern Marsh Harrier put on a grandstand show for us but I couldn't get the bird in my viewfinder: I really needed the diopter loupe today because the sun was too strong.

During the week I have been researching on Google Earth how to best access the duck location at Wat Khao Takhrao. Sadly to no avail today but I reckon that having been there today and had another look at Google Earth on return home I am now close to cracking it. From the main road with my scope I can confirm there were still huge numbers of ducks - Garganey,Lesser Whistling Duck and a few Northern Pintail.. But there may well be other species - they are just too far away to make out. Interestingly the Painted Stork were down from about 250 to two! No sign of Black-headed Ibises today.

As I was driving around on the dirt tracks in the fishponds I stopped briefly to try to photograph a Common Kingfisher. In fact I soon learned there were at least 4 and possibly as many as 6 of them in this small area, apparently playing in pairs. What's worse they were not posing for my new camera! I have never seen so many Common Kingfishers together; normally a solitary bird.

I might have taken some great shots today with a 400 mm lens! I'll definitely need to get the diopter loupe back into use. Some practice needed with the P6000. You may have noticed no photographs today - well I have some shots but I am really not happy with them so I'll sneak this one in here of a Greater Spotted Eagle..

My 'New' Nikon P6000

Common Snipe

Ratchaburi

24.11.11

I have to say I am getting a really good feel about my 'new' digiscoping camera, a used Nikon P6000 I bought off a fellow digiscoper in the US. In fact it feels better than the one that died and caused me so much grief. It's been a little bit frustrating this week because the light at the moment is usually on the wane from about 17:00h and gone completely by about 17:40h. Far from ideal for digiscoping. However this snipe in the local rice paddy in Ratchaburi was in the setting sun tonight with me in between. I am quite pleased with the shot. I used a sun shade which came with the camera. Normally I use a loupe with a diopter. I don't think the focus is perfect in this shot but I think it is better than when using the diopter. A little bit too early to say for sure. Hopefully this weekend I'll get out into some decent light and see what the results are. But I am really encouraged by this.

Some more on Identification

Little Ringed Plover - juvenile

Wat Norng Blah Lai

20.11.11

I am laughing at myself for not being able to ID this little bird from Sunday. I posted on BirdForum and Lappkrabben and Manne put me right. I thought it must be either a Greater or a Lesser Sandplover and thought Greater most likely! Now that I have been advised it is a Little Ringed Plover juv., I can see it immediately. I really couldn't see it at the time. I didn't take any real notice of the eye-ring, but it is there, at least emerging. It is by no means as pronounced and easy to see as that of the adult, in fact it is a very distinct yellow on adults. However I was tying myself in knots about sandplovers!

Pak Thale & Wat Khao Takhrao

Black-tailed Godwits

20.11.11

I made it down to Pak Thale, Phetchburi province this afternoon but dipped out on all the biggies. Not a problem as I have seen most of the sought after species: I am looking for Eastern Curlew and Long-billed Dowitcher, neither obliged today. I would also like to put a tick against Grey-wattled Lapwing which has been reported in the area. Not today. So no Spoon-billed Sandpiper today but it has been reported on a regular basis since mid-October, with a maximum count of three birds. Basically I just didn't have the energy or enthusiasm to seek it out. I couldn't see it in the usual places so I headed on in pursuit of other birds. As a resident here in the Kingdom I have that luxury!

Black-headed Ibis

20.11.11

On my way to Pak Thale I made a short detour  via the Wat Norng Blah Lai area in search of eagles. Not a sign of anything other than a female Pied Harrier and a Black-shouldered Kite in this area; not even a Black Kite. There was, however, a very large flock of Black-tailed Godwits ( 400 -500 birds I would estimate) sitting in a recently sewn rice field and they were good enough to give me a sort of fly past, which very clearly shows their key fieldmarks. (An update 25.11.11:per Phil Round and Nick Upton there has been a confirmed sighting of a Slender-billed Vulture last week in the Norng Blah Lai area -  now that is a mega!)

Black-headed Ibis - juvenile

20.11.11

There were plenty of shore birds, gulls and terns in and around Pak Thale. The resident flock of Curlews was as close to the main road as I have ever seen it. On the basis of the information on www.thaibirding.com I headed to the nearby village of Bang Kaew, near a large temple, Wat Komnaram. Bingo! Five Black-headed Ibises with a mixture of Painted Stork and Grey Herons and in their midst about 100 Garganey. A juvenile Brahminy Kite was buzzing the birds. The birds were just too far away to get  decent shots but I did my best. There was also a small flock of Brown-headed Gulls mixed up with some Black-naped terns.

Garganey

20.11.11

Brown-headed Gull

20.11.11

Garganey

20.11.11

I then headed on for the Wat Khao Takhroa area, about 20 km to the north of Pak Thale. A feast of waterfowl. It would be impossible for me to provide an estimate but easily in excess of one thousand ducks, large numbers of Garganey and also Northern Pintail. However the sun was setting and it was in my eyes plus most of the birds were a considerable distance away. So even with the scope, making out IDs was difficult and photography was simply out of the question. I am not sure how many, if any, of these duck were Lesser-whistling, the more common resident species. Add in 200-250 Painted Stork, many Grey Herons and Egrets and at least one Black-headed Ibis........I know where I am going this weekend unless news reaches me of a mega somewhere else. I also know where I would be today if I wasn't at work!

Common Snipe

Ratchaburi

19.11.11

On Saturday afternoon I managed a few hours in the rice paddy in Ratchaburi and noted a Watercock, a male and female Pied Harrier and an Eastern Marsh harrier in amongst good numbers of Wood Sandpiper and Common Snipe plus one brief view of a Thick-billed Warbler announced by its call. 

Trithemis Pallidinervis?

Ratchaburi

19.11.11

Lastly I received my new Nikon P6000 from the US of A. The P5100 has done a good job as a stand-in these last few weeks but I am mightily relieved to have a P6000. I really like this camera for general use and it is outstanding for digiscoping.

A Very Short One in the Rice Paddy

I managed an hour in the rice paddy late afternoon. A Thick-billed Warbler, a Yellow Bittern, a Pied Harrier, an Eastern Marsh Harrier, and once more no photographs. Lots of common species. I also managed to lose my spectacles in the rice paddy and I am unable to read without them. My new P6000 cleared Thai customs today so maybe it will be delivered tomorrow or Monday. Hope to get out this weekend.

Perfection in the Paddy

Circumstances right now, work and its demands on my time, in particular, are against me in terms of birding. Sad because the weather and light are perfect. Yesterday evening I made it into the local rice paddy in Ratchaburi for about 30 beautiful minutes, the remains of the day draped in deep, rich setting sun contrasting a blue sky adding to the intensity of the rich, green rice plants stretching out in all directions to the horizon. I was rewarded by the show put on just above the rice by a pair of Pied Harriers, a male and female, cavorting, in fact revelling in this splendid setting, swooping up and down and then towards each other and then away. I  didn't bother trying to photograph this scene: too much movement and not enough light combined with the birds just being a tad too far away to take a usable picture. I simply observed it through my telescope. A perfect scenario, good for the soul. I have to say not photographing means I am looking much more closely at the birds and in consequence seeing a lot more. I think my identification skills and development have suffered as I have been too focused on photography these last few months: these last few days have been a good reminder of the need to spend more time observing. Three distant ducks flew past: these were most certainly not the common Lesser Whistling species but definitely something else, I wonder what. Sadly just not enough time for birding right now; even here in Thailand, relatively close to the equator the length of daylight changes; after December's winter solstice daylight will start to lengthen here and as it extends we'll get about a critical extra hour of light.

I made it up to Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi, just before daybreak this morning. It's been a  while. About two years ago, I almost drove over a group of four Black Kites having a play on the slipway into the reservoir. It could have not been more different today: the area is now completely submerged, no slipway. That is today's story: the height of the reservoir. No Black Kites today and not much else: a Common Sandpiper, a Black-winged Stilt and a Little Ringed-plover visible thanks to my head lamps.

I moved on to my normal hunting ground and heard the distinct calls of at least three Savanna Nightjars; alas no sightings. I decided to go into the forested area which was dominated by flocks of Grey-breasted Prinias foraging through the understory. I had flycatchers and Siberian Rubythroat on my mind. On discerning the movement in the understory I must confess to being a tad disappointed when the Prinias revealed themselves! However it was good to get a good look at these fellows as I reckon one fieldmark has registered, the lack of supercilium extending away from the eye, or as Robson puts it  the supercilium is  "......preocular only."

As I foraged I was distracted by the loud rasp of Chinese Francolin and went off in pursuit. However I had no recordings with me so nothing really to attempt to draw it out. I'd really like to get a shot of this bird but I am under no illusions this will require considerable guile on my part and no small amount of luck. A sandy field nearby was full of Yellow Wagtails and pipits. An Asian Brown Flycatcher was jumping around some nearby trees. No sooner was I set up and ready to shoot than off they went!

Back to the normal hunting ground to take advantage of the risen sun. The water here has also encroached significantly and in fact has cut off the scrub and bushes favoured by the Blossom-headed Parakeets and many other species. Lots of Pipits and Green Bee-eaters. Back to the launch area, little there. I was just about to photograph a Yellow Wagtail when it flew off!

 I got a sense of a lot more people in the reservoir area, lot of people camping. Perhaps Bangkok residents avoiding the flooding in favour of an extended fishing trip.

It was on my mind today that I haven't seen a Long-tailed Shrike for a long time. They are not usually falling off the branches but one or two usually make an appearance.

I didn't shoot a single frame today either. That's fine by me.

I reckon it's now time to focus on Waders and the sea. That means Laem Pak Bia and the Inner Gulf. Of course nearby Wat Norng Blah Lai will also be on the agenda and I wonder if the aquila eagles and harriers will be rejoined this year by vultures and griffons. Who knows what else will visit us this year? A mouth-watering prospect.

Thick-billed Warbler

Streak-eared Bulbul

Ratchaburi

12.11.11

I have finally shaken off the trots I am happy to report which means I was able to go out birding for a few hours in the local rice paddy this afternoon in Ratchaburi. A frustrating sort of afternoon as the light was really poor so no decent shots. Pity because the weather, especially the light, has been good all week with lots of decent sunshine. Not today!

On arrival lots of Common Snipe in their usual spot. I decided to seek out raptors and the Thick-billed Warbler. So I took a walk along the side of the railway and stumbled upon a male Pied Harrier at a good distance, too far away for photographing but a feast for the eyes as he lorded it up: "fit for purpose" sprung to my mind. He didn't hang around for long. Good however to note his continued presence in the rice paddy.

I then sat out in a small sala, in effect a DIY sun shade, but nothing of interest came out or appeared. A male Pied Harrier flew in briefly but headed off  almost immediately. I then managed to sight a pair of distant Greater Racket-tailed Drongos; not very common in this area. All the usual suspects. I decided to head back to the car after a pretty fruitless 90 minutes.

As I was walking back along the side of the railway a small brown bird flew into the foliage on the railway embankment. I managed to pick it up in my bins from the movement of the foliage and I got enough of a view to be able to say it was a Thick-billed Warbler. Head above the bill all dark, throat buffer than the rest of the breast, bill distinct, I would say the  upper mandible is very broad. However a real skulker and not a perfoprmer, a very different looking bird from the Oriental Reed Warbler. Nearby I could hear the distinct tak tak tak call of another Thick-billed. So a lifer, no less and one to be pleased about. I wouldn't be calling this one had I not asked for help with a difficult Oriental Reed Warbler ID last week. That got me looking at the field guides and listening to sound recordings of its call so when the bird did show I knew what I was looking for.

A good day! In fact it was a really great day because I have sourced a replacement Nikon P6000. Maybe will have it in about 10 days or so as it in the US of A.

Concerns about Northern Lapwing

This comes from The Guardian, my favourite UK newspaper. I presume it is about Northern Lapwing, a bird I recall from my non-birding days when spending a Christmas in North Wales; there were huge flocks of these birds cascading about the airforce base at Valley in Anglesey; a truly magnificent sight. Not so far away were some Chough too which were considered a rarity. I think a very occasional vagrant Northern Lapwing reaches Thailand as the species is on the Thai list.

The Betsey Trotwoods

Zebra/Peaceful Dove (Nikon P5100)

Geopelia striata

Ratchaburi  05.11.11

Saturday was an interesting day. It ended with me having the worst diarrhoea ever and which is still continuing as I write Monday morning. The diarrhoea wiped out Sunday save for a trip to the doctor. But Saturday before being afflicted, I headed out early to the local rice paddy in Ratchaburi. I took a wander into an overgrown part of my cul-de-sac and I think this area looks very promising.

Streak-eared Bulbul (Nikon P5100)

Picnonotus blandfordi

Ratchaburi  05.11.11

I didn't see it other than for a fleeting glance but I certainly heard a Thick-billed Warbler.......a really distinctive monotone tak-tak-tak coming from the undergrowth which marries up with recordings. So I'll need to stake out this area and see if I  can get a shot of this bird. Not much else to report, a female Pied Harrier, Wood Sandpiper, Common Snipe and Asian Brown Flycatcher and lots of common birds.

Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Fuji FinePix F100fd)

Merops philippinus

Ratchaburi  05.11.11

I went back to the rice paddy later Saturday afternoon. My P5100 wouldn't power up so I found myself using an old Fuji Fine Pix F100fd with the Kowa universal adaptor. This camera is not ideal for digiscoping as it has largish zoom capacity (5x) and it doesn't really allow much control over exposure. You can't compensate or set to Aperture priority.What was significant was using the Kowa universal adaptor which I have to say worked a treat. It can be a bit fiddly but I have to say I liked it and of course this opens up so many more possibilities in terms of a replacement camera. The Canon S95 is on obvious contender.

The results with the Fuji were perfectly acceptable once correctly set up and I have to say the autofocus worked really well. See the Blue-tailed Bee-eater above, perfectly passable. Anyhow the good news is the Nikon P5100 mysteriously powered up later in the afternoon but then came the "Betsey Trotwoods" and boy did they come!

Oriental Reed Warbler

My bird watching this last week or so has been in short snatches, and restricted to the local rice paddy in Ratchaburi. On this evening's 45 minute snatch, this Oriental Reed Warbler posed a little for me and I don't think there can be much doubt about its ID. It's probably the same bird from Wednesday as it was in the same tree. Less than half an hour's difference in the time of the shots, however a huge difference in quality: these were shot at ISO 64. The bird is showing its features too, so no issues about its identification. I am also very pleased with the Nikon P5100 as a temporary solution. I have found a new part of the rice paddy, a sort of secluded cul-de-sac and I am hoping to venture upon some harriers and perhaps some surprise species parked there. I have seen Pied and Eastern Marsh already in this area and I am just hoping we'll bump into each other again, at least long enough to get a few shots. Maybe a Thick-billed Warbler too!

On Identification

Oriental Reed Warbler

Ratchaburi

02.11.11

On a fairly regular basis I struggle with bird identification. I make no bones about it and I own to making mistakes; periodically I make what the teacher in me might describe as “howlers”! Most of them can be found on this blog! There are a couple I’d like to keep secret......the swan goose comes to mind! At times I envy my more experienced peers who can identify a bird on body shape, wing shape,  “jizz” or call or some other detail on the basis of a very brief or distant observation.

Often this difficulty pertains to common species: Tree Sparrow and House Sparrow and Lesser Sand-plover and Greater Sand-plover spring to mind as species which can be difficult to separate. I am confident with the former but not the latter species.  This difficulty extends to the more complex species such as bushlarks, pipits, warblers, terns and gulls.

Black Drongo

Ratchaburi

02.11.11

I love reading Dave Gandy’s blog at the moment because it is a master class in flycatcher identification. Likewise the daily bulletin from the Raptorwatch at Chumphon; Dave Bakewell's blog is a brilliant example of a teaching blog especially on identification and pelagic birds. All really assist in helping to identify difficult species. I also admire the expertise and knowledge of the writers.

Of course some of the rarer species do help the cause such as Spoon-billed Sandpiper with its eponymous bill. Hard to see how even I could get this one wrong and I doubt if any record would be accepted which did not include a photograph of its celebrated bill. Of course digital photography helps but it is by no means the complete panacea. Take the above shot of what I take as an Oriental Reed Warbler, (“ORW”), photographed in the local rice paddy, Ratchaburi, on Wednesday.

When I observed the bird with my naked eye I thought it was possibly a Brown Shrike on the basis of size and colour. I took a closer look with my binoculars which showed, of course, that it was not a Brown Shrike. I thought it must be an ORW on size and location. I started to shoot in the diminishing light thinking it was an ORW. It was of course difficult to get a decent shot on account of light and the fact that the bird was most unhelpfully jumping about! When I got home and looked at the one usable shot on my computer, doubt crept in. My very inexpert mind started asking, “Can it be a Plain Prinia?”, a very common bird in the rice paddy. To my eye it had a real resemblance to this species.

White-throated Kingfisher

Ratchaburi

02.11.11

I got the field guides out and had a look online at the photographs on Oriental Bird Images. Still doubtful but 80% for ORW. I really didn’t think it was a Plain Prinia on the basis of size; it was too big. I also thought the eye was too dark and it had a trace of a dark eyeline. I sent the shot off to Tom Buckland for his thoughts. I have deep respect for Tom’s judgement in these matters. He came back with a possible Thick-billed Warbler (“T-BW”), but he wasn’t sure and he wasn’t saying “definite” ORW.

Next to the Identification Q&A section of Birdforum.  rockfowl advised it is an ORW as T-BW has a much more “open face” and its lores are much lighter; halftwo reckons a T-BW is more of “a skulker” and wouldn’t be out in the open above water. kiwiguy has been trying to ID some of his photographs which might be T-BWs and he is confident mine is not one. Tom has just texted me and said he has had another look and in the absence of a supercilium he will go with ORW. Phew!

 Fortunately this Black Drongo delivers what the field guide says it should!  The key field mark is the white “loral” spot, the white mark between its eye and the end of its bill. Otherwise I might have been struggling to separate it from the Crow-billed species. And the very common White-throated Kingfisher isn't a challenge on my ID skills.

I am very glad I asked for some help and didn't rush into an (other!) incorrect identification. Thanks all round guys.