Asian Golden Weaver - female
Ploceus hypoxanthus
นกกระจาบทอง
Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi,
10.11.12
Rufescent Prinia
Prinia rufescens
นกกระจิบหญ้าสีข้างแดง
Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi,
10.11.12
There really only was one place I wanted to go birding this morning and that was Huay Mai Teng Reservoir. I decided on a new approach: take a walk with binoculars only and then have an hour in the hide for photography. This worked well. It seems the main action at this current time is on the southern side of the reservoir. There is an extensive flat area of marsh, swamp, grass and scrub. This time last year the area was completely submerged. This year the water level hasn't yet covered it.
Rufescent Prinia
Prinia rufescens
นกกระจิบหญ้าสีข้างแดง
Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi,
10.11.12
There was a beautiful cool breeze blowing as I got to grips with the first birds of the day, a rather raggedy Lesser Coucal, followed some Green Bee-eaters and Drongos. There were a lot of Cattle Egrets as always loitering around the herd of cattle that usually hangs around some ramshackle huts at the road head. Immediately a Chinese Francolin's unmistakable rasping call could be heard someway off. Booted for once, I took to the track and was soon up to my thighs in water as I crossed a short flooded section. In fact I had made a conscious decision to wear boots as opposed to sandals so I could walk with impunity and not worry unduly about snakes and insects.
There were a lot of Oriental Skylarks in and around this area quite easy to distinguish on account of most of them being crested. I would estimate between 10 - 12 but they were on the move so difficult to be precise. The were also 8-10 Richards Pipits which are now easier to separate from the default Paddyfield: totally different flight action when flushed and of course the vocalisation, the shreep is quite distinct from the Paddyfield's cheep. Thank you once more, Phil Round. A Pheasant-tailed Jacana and two Common Moorhens flew across my bows so to speak while an Eastern Osprey hovered above me in search of a bit of breakfast.
Rufescent Prinia
Prinia rufescens
นกกระจิบหญ้าสีข้างแดง
Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi,
10.11.12
As I walked I could hear Rain Quail but not as many as on recent visits and I managed to flush a few; I suspect I also put up a few Barred Buttonquail but they are up and away so quickly that it is very difficult to call them. There were also a lot of Purple Heron, as many as 12. I recorded Small, Intermediate and Great Egrets for good measure too. I have an unidentified fly-catcher, a little brown one which didn't seem to be Asian as it lacked any grey and it wasn't Taiga as it didn't have any white lateral patches on its tail. I think next time I might carry in the hide and rig and set up here for some photography as there were lots of calls coming from the scrub.
A pleasant and wet walk. I set up the hide for an hour and managed some shots of an Asian Golden Weaver ( female?) and a Grey-breasted Prinia. (Ed. correction: now that I have processed the images I believe it is a Rufescent Prinia; strangely enough a Grey-Breasted has a ....err, a grey breast! This one doesn't. For me the longer, supercilium, going a little behind the eye and the graduated tail with light tips swings it to Rufescent. Please advise if I have this wrong!) There were some very interesting calls too coming from the scrub but nothing showed.
As I packed up a Common Kestrel was visible hovering nearby showing brown upper wings with black primaries and a dark tipped longish tail. What a perfect start to the day!
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