Mr & Mrs R Quail

Rain Quail - Male (top) & Female (bottom)

Coturnix coromandelica

นกคุ่มอดำ

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi

30.03.11

A frustrating hour or so at Huay Mai Teng reservoir after classes finished today. Better light but still dull and two Rain Quails, a male and female, showed, but only just and didn't help the photographic cause by their incessant movement as they were busy feeding. How utterly inconsiderate of them!! Light just not good enough, birds too far away and yours truly not quite as good as he would like to be! Anyhow, all things considered, acceptable shots but no more.  The weather and the light are scheduled to get better heading to the weekend so I will endeavour to get better shots!And this little ringed plover is the shot of the day........it dropped down within 20 m whereas the Quail were probably about 50 m away and I was hiding behind the truck door !

Little Ringed Plover

C้haradrius dubius

นกหัวโตเล็กขาวหลือง

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi

30.03.11

Reservoir Blues

Common Kingfisher

Alcedo Atthis

นกกะเด็นน้อยธรรมดา

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi

29.03.11

In truth it was a frustrating day on account of the cold and poor light. Today was probably the first time I have ever been birding in Thailand when a pair of gloves might have been useful. The weather is being dominated by low pressure which is making it cold here and elsewhere in Thailand causing significant flooding. Most unseasonable weather and set to continue to the weekend. So with summer school not due to begin until tomorrow I headed once more to my favourite reservoir, Huay Mai Teng, in the hope of being able to photograph ( I originally wrote "shoot" but it doesn't sound right and I wouldn't want to give  the impression I was a huntin' and fishin' type!) Rain Quail. Cold, gloomy and no rain and that meant no Rain Quail until late afternoon when two females appeared but managed to frustrate my efforts to take their photograph.

It was impossible to take decent shots today. The low light meant I had to shoot at 200 ISO with a slow shutter speed, typically 1/8 to 1/40. It was really impossible to get a decent shot of the abundant Indochinese Bushlarks which like every other bird today were constantly on the move. Lots of interesting birds nonetheless: lesser whistling duck, cotton pygmy geese, a baya weaver in transition which because of this had me stumped for a while and one lifer in a Yellow-eyed Babbler which really took me by surprise. The distinct orange around the eye was the key feature that made ID possible. From looking at the distribution map Ratchaburi must be about this species' southern limit in Thailand. Sadly no photograph as it was skulking in scrub! The Small & Oriental Pratincoles were in place too and the Common Kingfisher, above, allowed a decent shot which might have been a great shot had the light been more favourable.

Some good news: I am off to the Philippines next week for a short break and I hope to be able to do a little birding while I am there. I am growing to enjoy my trips to the Philippines and likewise I really like the birding there.

Rain Quail at the Reservoir

Rain Quail - EOS

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi

28.03.11

Strange weather in Thailand at present: serious flooding in the South and wet and unseasonably cold, again, in the Ratchaburi area. Normally it is baking hot and dry as we move towards the Thai New Year celebrations in mid-April and the rains don't start until May. Today was reminiscent of British wet summer weather but palpably cool. So I made an afternoon sortie to Huay Mai Teng reservoir on the basis that a change in the weather might provide a few avian surprises.

Let me say a more experienced observer would have made far more of today than I did but the highlight of the identified birds were about 11 Rain Quail. No surprises that they should be out and about when it is raining.....it is in the name! The male of the species is an absolute beauty and my photograph does not do it any justice whatsoever. Alas it was not digiscoping light today. Unfortunately I wasn't set up properly when the birds were close to me and you know what happened once I was ready! I'll defintely be back for more.

Small Pratincole

Glareola lactea

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir

28.03.11

And a few Small Pratincoles dropped in briefly to say hello...... I counted 12 but they were moving around. You can see this one was feeling the cold!

A Pelagic Pasting off Phuket

Bridled Tern - EOS

Sterna Anaethetus

นกนางนวลแกลบคิ้วขาว

Phuket Island Area 26.03.11

I had the good fortune this morning to join Ike Suriwong, Phil Round and Tony, a visiting birder from Germany, for a boat trip in search of pelagic birds off Rawai beach at the southern tip of Phuket island. Pelagic birds are those species which can live in open seas and oceans. Unfortunately it poured down for most of the morning and the sea got a little bit lively. So we all got soaked and I decided to put my binoculars into the wet bag in order to protect them.

Lesser Frigatebird - EOS

Fregata ariel

นกโจรสลัดเล็ก

Phuket Island Area 26.03.11

There were plenty of birds, including some jaegers, but conditions made it difficult to see or photograph the birds. So I will not make any claims of sought after pelagic species though I did hear my colleagues mention Long-tailed Jaeger. What we did see were plenty of Frigatebirds, we reckon at least one Christmas Island Frigatebird and a Lesser. I'll give myself a tick for the Lesser but I don't think I can reasonably claim the Christmas Island. There was also a distant kettle of these birds.

Some waders

Phuket Island Area 26.03.11

Ike had prepared some “chum”, rotten fish which is dumped into the see to attract the birds. This had the desired result in attracting birds and in came some Bridled Terns and Jaegers. Alas it would be impossible to call or even claim the Jaegers as I couldn't make out any distinguishing features. There was mention of Long-tailed JAeger but I am not going to claim a bird because someone else, even if they are the accepted authority on Thai birds, says it is! The truth is I didn't actually see it and while I saw movement and shape I wouldn't stand a cat's chance in hell of recognising a Parasitic,Pomarine or Long-tailed Jaeger if I saw one tomorrow. The real point is there were jaegers but I didn't get a view of them as my binoculars were too wet! Such is birding!

Later in our trip we did see three Bridled Terns perched on a some driftwood and as conditions had eased a little I was able to get a shot with the EOS and soon after I managed a shot of a Lesser Frigatebird, which I have probably seen before off Phi Phi but which represents a lifer.

As we reached calmer water we had a look at a small flock of waders, Pacific Golden Plovers, Greater Sandplovers and some Ruddy Turnstones. Unbeknown to me the Greater Sandplover was a second lifer of the day.

I have to say this was a great way to spend the morning notwithstanding the conditions. It really has whetted my appetite for further pelagic bird trips. Many thanks once more to Ike Suriwong for organising the trip and if you are planning a trip to this area and need a guide then look no further than Ike. I think the trip was also successful because it has established that there are significant pelagic birds in the area and that it is now worthy of further exploration and survey.

Post script 28.03.11 I was copied into an email from Phil Round today and he confirms he sighted 4 Long-tailed Jaegers on Saturday. Now I am still not claiming them and I learned today that Jaegers and Skuas are the same bird! I really didn't know that and I must confess when I read the email I started to think that I had referred to the wrong bird!

The Similan Islands

Pied Imperial Pigeon

Ducula bicolor

นกลุมพูขาว

Ko Miang, Similan Islands

24.03.11

We had a very enjoyable 48 hours on the Similan Islands, Ko Si or Miang to be precise, partly driven by a wish to see Nicobar Pigeon and simple curiosity to visit Thailand's most westerly islands in the Andaman Sea. The islands' principal birding claim is they are one of few places where Nicobar Pigeons can be seen. I saw three early Thursday morning but alas the light was so poor, plus they were in a heavily wooded area, that I couldn't photograph them....well I did try but the results had to be deleted! They are really beautiful birds, unmistakably pigeons and in colour not so very different from feral pigeons, but a close look reveals a stockier bird, dark blue green plumage, hackles on the neck, striking white uppertail coverts and a sort of ridge at the base of the bill. I watched them foraging in the buildings around the national park headquarters very early in the morning. I wouldn't say they were a particularily easy find. I don't think it was as easy as step off the boat and there they are. They seem to come out first thing and last thing only but they do appear to be reasonably people friendly. 

Hill Myna

Gracula religiosa

นกขุนทอง

Ko Miang, Similan Islands

24.03.11

The one bird species you will see for sure is Pied Imperial Pigeon, a very beautiful bird indeed. I also saw Green Imperial Pigeon. I managed another lifer in the form of Hill Myna which I saw Thursday and which I really wasn't expecting. This was a difficult shot as I was shooting into very bright sunlight 

Otherwise a number of White-bellied Sea-eagles, Brahminy Kites and one unidentified raptor, a big, dark brown bird, like an aquila eagle but I wasn't set up so couldn't get a shot of it and wouldn't want to call it. Add in an Asian Koel and lots of Collared Kingfisher.

Pied Imperial Pigeon

Ducula bicolor

นกลุมพูขาว

Ko Miang, Similan Islands

24.03.11

White-bellied Sea-eagle

Haliaeetus leucogaster

นกลุออก

Ko Miang, Similan Islands

24.03.11

I have to say I am very pleased with this shot of two White-bellied Sea Eagles. It shows the real potential of digiscoping. I attach the original file. Now if I could zoom as well as pan and focus together with a cable release in one hand ...... then I reckon I might serve up a bumper shot. Maybe the key is a remote cable release! Watch this space!

These islands will not be high on most birders list of Thai birding sites. They are easy enough to get to but I reckon a boat would really be necessary if you wanted to have an extensive tour plus there are restrictions on landing on some islands and parts thereof. Ko Miang, where we stayed, was simply not accessible other than for the small strip of land around the camp site and facilities. The main attraction appears to be the marine life and the presence of dive ships in and around the islands testifies to that. I should also add that facilities are pretty basic though let me stress perfectly adequate. The beaches are pristine and the sea is beautiful blue just like in the postcard shots and it is teeming with pretty tropical fish. So these islands might make for an interesting interlude...... Be warned the whole character of the place changes between 11:00h and 15:00h when the day trippers' speed boats arrive and set down their charges for lunch; from what I could see and hear most of the visitors appeared to be Russian and some of the women might as well have been naked! Not what one expects to see on beaches in Thailand!

Banding at Laem Pak Bia

Pale-legged Warbler

Phylloscopus tenellipes

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

The real story today is Phil Round who has been banding birds in Thailand and elsewhere in the world for over thirty years and as a result has built up an incomparable knowledge of Thailand's avaifauna. Phil's recently back from a trip to Banglasdesh where he has been assisting a government agency there set up a banding project. Phil's knowledge is mind-boggling and to watch him at work is an experience in itself. So for me to join Phil, James and Tom on Saturday was a great opportunity to "assist" and indeed to learn and take a few photographs. 

Marsh Sandpiper

Tringa stagnatilis

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

(thx to Paan for the correction)

Using mist nets we trapped 28 birds of which six were retraps; the highlight of the retraps was a Black-capped Kingfisher, a migratory bird, which has returned this winter. We don't know where it went, possibly China. The highlight of the new birds was the Pale-legged Warbler above and 4 Dusky Warblers; we also banded 3 Long-toed Stints and a juvenile Cinnamon Bittern photographs of which are above and below respectively

 Cinnamon Bittern

Ixobrychus cinnamomeus

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

 Collared kingfisher

Todiramphus chloris

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

I can't think of a better way to get closer to birds and to learn about their taxonomy and structure. I must say I am lousy at it. I find it impossible to get the birds out of the net and I am not very good at taking them from the bags used to carry them to the processing station. I managed to handle a Barn Swallow and a Scaly-breasted Munia and managed to band and measure them, with some difficulty. I have no doubt I will be better next time. Nevertheless I really enjoyed myself and I took advantage of the opportunity to digiscope a few non-captive birds.

 Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

 Painted Stork

Mycteria Leucocephala

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

 Whiskered Tern

Chlidonias Hybridus

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

 Little Grebe

Tachybaptus ruficollis

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

 Grey Heron

Ardea cinerea

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

 Indian Cormorant

Phalacrocorax niger

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

 Common Snipe

Gallinago gallinago

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

 Wood sandpiper

Tringa glareola

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

 Spotted Redshank

Tringa erythropa

Kings Project, Laem Pak Bia

19.03.11

Late afternoon we had a short stop at Pak Thale and for the record observed 3 Spoon-billed Sandpipers and a number of Dunlin, possibly four; a couple of the males were changing into their breeding plumes which makes identification, in particular separation from the abundant Curlew Sandpaper, very easy. The shot below is very much for the record as the light was against us and the bird was in the shade as daylight faded. In full breeding plumage this fellows belly will be completely black and his upper feathers chestnutty and blackish.

Dunlin

Calidris alpina

Pak Thale

19.03.11

Digiscoping News

An unseasonable and unexpected blast of cold air and rain has  made Thailand remarkably cool these last few days. 17℃, which was the temperature at lunchtime today is at least half the normal temperature. No sun and rain today that was reminiscent of childhood summer holidays in the East Neuk of Fife.

So I took the rig out later in the afternoon with one specific objective: to shoot pied kingfisher. Now what is interesting is the bird in the above picture was about 120 yards away. I fixed the Kowa x20-60 zoom eyepiece to my scope and attached the camera to it. The light was not very good with grey and overcast conditions. So the above is the original shot and below is the same shot cropped and tweaked a little. Amazing really. Another huge vote of confidence for the new rig. Basically I can get a passable shot with the eyepiece zoomed in the x60 region. I wasn't able to do this with my previous rig.

Finally a Great Egret in breeding plumage. It looks quite strange because its legs are foreshortened by the rice plants. What a beauty and once more the bird was about 100 metres away.

Pratincoles

Darter

Anhinga melanogaster

นกอ้วงั่ว

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir

14.03.11

I met up with my friend Tom Backlund early this morning and we had a very plesant morning's birding at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir. What a joy for me to be on holiday and to be able to go out birding on a Monday morning.Tom has been reading this blog and the presence of the Burmese shrike and Small Pratincoles was too much for him to resist. I am glad to say we were able to locate the shrike without too much difficulty and the Small Pratincoles obliged too....... and for me there was one lifer and a number of new ticks for the patch.

Black-collared Starling

Sturnus nigricollis

นกกิ้งโกรงคอดำ

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir

14.03.11

Our first bird was a Darter, a species I thought I saw here a few weeks ago but didn't feel I could claim as it was literally a flash in the pan. This is a species I have only seen at Bueng Boraphet before. I even managed a shot of it from a distance in the early morning light; this shot also represents a further vote of confidence in my new rig. Tom then called two Black-collared Starlings in nearby trees and these too are a new species for the patch. No sign of Small Pratincoles and also no sign of Saturday afternoon's Bluethroat. Next up came a Red-throated Pipit, a further new species for the patch.

In the absence of Small Pratincoles we moved on in search of the Burmese Shrike which duly obliged at the same location my wife spotted it on Saturday. Phew! Species ⌗468 for Tom's Thai list. I say phew because I don't like to disappoint people and Tom was really after this one. Tom got some nice shots of a Black-shouldered Kite.

Oriental Pratincole

Glareola Maldivarum

นกแอ่นทุ่ใหญ่

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir

14.03.11

We moved on to the reservoir proper to a part at which I have spent a fair amount of time and Tom managed to flush some Small Pratincoles there. Phew again! Thai species ⌗469 for Tom! I concentrated on some Oriental Pratincoles which were in range so I managed a few shots of this very attractive bird and then turned my attention to the Small Pratincoles which were very obliging. The shot below is what I was looking for on Saturday! As you can see there is a resemblance between the two species but they are strikingly different in size and colouration.

Small Pratincole

Glareola lactea

นกแอ่นทุ่เล็ก

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir

14.03.11

Small Pratincole - flight shot

(© Tom Backlund)

At this point we turned our attention to quail. Tom reckons the habitat is perfect for these species and he called Yellow-legged and Barred Buttonquail in this part of the site. I have also seen Rain Quail here in the not toodistant past. Now after some consideration I am not going to claim either species both of which would have been lifers.  It just doesn't seem right: I saw both species flying off after we flushed them but didn't get the binoculars on either and really couldn't claim to have sighted any distinguishing features for either species. What is important is to know these particular species are in the locale and I will, of course, be back and will endeavour to have a more meaningful contact with them!

Indochinese Bushlark

Mirafra marionae

นกจาบฝนปีกแดง

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir

14.03.11

We drove on to the far side of the reservoir and en route we spotted a Common Kestrel flying off. On the far side we saw some Brown Shrikes, lots of Plain Prinias, a Zitling Cisticola and a Bright-headed Cisticola, my lifer for the day. A little detour in search of another part of the reservoir offered an opportunity to shoot this Indochinese Bushlark.

As always when Tom and I get together I had great day and it really helps to be with such an experienced and knowledgeable birder. Tom's view is this site could yield 100 species in a day due to the diversity of habitats in and around the area.

Back on Familiar Territory

Burmese Shrike

Lanius collurioides

นกอีเสือหลังแดง

Huai Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi

12th March 2011

Fortune certainly favoured me yesterday as I cleared Narita Airport, Tokyo before the earthquake and tsunami struck. I rather fear I might still be in Tokyo had I been any later in leaving. My thoughts and prayers are with the people affected.

So as a result of this good fortune I was able to head out to the reservoir this afternoon and had a great afternoon's birding. I saw three important species today but only managed to photograph one: the Burmese Shrike featured here. However I observed a Bluethroat, a lifer, and a number of Small Pratincoles but neither species would perform in front of my rig. I need to express my gratitude to Luna, my wife, for spotting the shrike - in her deprecating way she added it was just a small brown bird!

I got involved in a bit of  row  about this species last year. I reported an observation of it to a website over a year ago and the owner of that site "challenged" it, saying it doesn't come this far south. I was most put out! But what do I know?! Seriously I know zero about bird ranges and distribution. I was pretty sure at the time that I had called the species correctly. Anyway the experience left me feeling a little angry and annoyed but it was a useful introduction to some of the issues involved in being a birdwatcher and submitting records.

Anyway I got over it and I decided to go out and buy a camera as I didn't want to be in this position again. So the abundant crap photographs can be attributed to this experience! And once I started shooting with a basic DSLR I realised I was not getting very many decent shots so I then ventured into digiscoping. I am pleased to say this is beginning to enable me to get some decent shots of birds and I feel comfortable that this is a Burmese Shrike. I can also confirm it was shot about 15 km from the location of the "challenged" bird.

Now I make mistakes. I have made some howlers in my short birding career, and I have little doubt I will do so again. I am happy to acknowledge this. I am very clear about this: I really don't want to get it wrong and I don't want to purvey unreliable information. I am more than happy to correct any errors I may make. I think I have also learned to be a lot more cautious about calling a species and I do let a bird go if I can't get a good ID/description of it. If I am in the unreliable pigeon hole, (a good,unintended pun huh!)  I can live with it.

Back to today. I really wanted to shoot the Small Pratincoles but unfortunately too much human activity. And with the Bluethroat I initially thought I was looking at a Small Pratincole but it was only when I got it into the bins that I realised it most certainly wasn't a pratincole. I wasn't properly set up so alas no shot of this very photogenic species.

I am so grateful to be safely back in Thailand on familiar terrain.

Yatsu-Higata, Chiba Prefecture

Common Teal

Anas crecca

10th March 2011

Yatsu-Higata is a great place to get close to ducks and records suggest that it is in general an excellent place for birdwatching and photography. Non-birders may like it too as it has a fantastic state of the art observation centre with a restaurant and tea room and comfortable facilities; Tokyo Bay shopping mall is short walk form the  station and there is also an amusement park nearby. In fact non-birders could spend the day at Tokyo Disney Resort which is a few stops before on the railway line. 

Eurasian Wigeon

Anas penelope

10th March 2011

Yatsu-Higata is a tidal mudflat completely surrounded by urban life. It really is an amazing place and at the right times it will be a great place for waders too; I believe our friend Spoon-billed Sandpiper has been recorded here. There is also a small freshwater pond next to the observation centre. It is remarkably easy to reach from central Tokyo; take the Japan Rail Keiyo Line to Minami-Funabashi station, turn right out of the exit barriers and there is a board showing the way.....pretty simple, turn right out of the station , cross the road at the pedestrian bridge about 300 meters along the road, turn right again, cross the road at the lights and enter the site on the left. No more than a 10 minute walk from the station. There is a good sealed footpath making it possible to walk around the entire site. The observation centre is a further 10 - 15 minutes on from this entrance.

Northern shoveller

Anas clypeata

10th March 2011

I decided to digiscope today as the ducks were so close. However it was freezing cold so first up I had to head to the mall and get a hat, some gloves and a neck baffle. Thereafter I had a lot of fun and I split the day up with a late lunch in the observation centre: a very tasty beef curry with rice.

Greater Scaup

Aythya marila

10th March 2011

There were vast numbers of duck with Eurasian Wigeon probably being in the majority and in addition to the birds shown here there were Coot, Little Grebe, Dusky Thrush, Brown-eared Bulbul, Grey Heron, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret, Common Sandpiper, Pale Thrush, Black-winged Stilt, Common Reed Bunting, Grey Plover, a solitary Bull-headed Shrike in front of the observation centre and a very substantial flock of what I took to be Dunlin flew in about 1700h.

Black-headed Gull

Larus ridibundus

10th March 2011

I had a really enjoyable day here. I walked around the site and there are viewing areas at regular intervals with cover and viewing slots at different heights. A bit of a birder's paradise really. I am also very pleased with the photographs. They are not perfect but they show further progress and are where I want to be. Some work needed on focus and stepping down. In fact today I was in such a heaven that there were times when the birds were too close! 

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

10th March 2011

So I have a new issue: am I birder who photographs or a photographer who birds?! I think I would say at this stage I am a birder who photographs but I think I will need to ensure I allocate myself times when I shoot. That means checking out some of the blinds in places like Kaeng Krachan and at such times to forget about the list. I did this today: I simply concentrated on the birds on offer, under my nose so to speak. This means I missed out on Saunders's Gull which can usually be seen here.

Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

10th March 2011

But I had a lovely day out and really enjoyed myself today. I must make sure I have more days out like this, shooting days. I have to say I am very pleased with my new rig and I reckon there is a bit of improvement to come too. Yoroshiku!