Sunday 29 July 2012

Ban Song Nok

I took my family to Ban Song Nok, Phetchburi province, this afternoon and I think it would be fair to say that we might be seeing a lot more of this excellent place in the months and years to come. As well as being one of the best bird photography locations in Thailand, probably the best in my humble opinion, it is also a very child friendly place. These are very important considerations. I had a lot of fun in the hide but nothing exotic. It is generally acknowledged this place comes into its own when conditions are dry and our avian friends are looking for water and a refreshing dip. I have to say the proprietor, Ba Aek, a retired teacher, is a delightful lady and it was pleasant to have the opportunity to chat with her a little. We also had a memorable Yum Woon Saen for our lunch; this is a glass noodle salad, served with minced pork and lime juice and served here with some delicious dried fish. And it was also good to meet up with Peter Ericsson who has been very helpful to me in the last few weeks. Here are some of today's shots.... all fairly common birds.

Green-eared Barbet

(with grateful thanks to Dave Irving for correcting my erroneous ID of this as a Lineated Barbet)

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker -  female

White-rumped Shama

Black-crested Bulbul

Puff-throated Babbler

White-fronted Scops Owl



In the end it really was pretty simple. In fact it became a twitch. Fortunately the two White-fronted Scops Owls were perched at their expected location near the second stream just above Ban Krang camp at Kaeng Krachan National Park. The presence of a handful of photographers meant not even a perfunctory search was required. However the wet weather and the birds’ position made for a very difficult shot and I am actually delighted with this offering which has been cropped and tweaked a little. This really was drive-in birding at its easiest (and best!).

Initially I had planned to camp. As I progressed into the park from the entrance, however, it started to rain, not the heaviest downpour by any means but constant and enough to damage cameras and make photography difficult. Dreich, you could say, a great Scots word that once upon a time I used so much more regularily.....like most days of a Scottish summer! I resolved to get to the owls and not stop until I had them. A few Grey Wagtails were really the only birds that showed on the way in so I am not sure I missed much by taking this targeted approach.

The owls obliged though could hardly have chosen a more awkward position for their day roost. Tom Backlund had warned me that they would be too close for digiscoping and for sure, the shot was not easy. I ended up collapsing the tripod and sitting on the wet floor of the forest and shooting from a very uncomfortable position. However this enabled me to fit one of the owls at a time into the frame. Moreover the fact that these owls were roosting meant I could shoot with a 1/5 second shutter speed which helped me overcome some of the light issues; in real terms a much too slow shutter speed. In the end I got a few usable shots. My squatting efforts caused me to inadvertently stand on my spectacles, which unbeknownst to me had fallen to the ground, and in doing so I broke one of the arms.

Not much else on the bird front: a female Banded Kingfisher being the only other notable bird perched high up in the trees. I saw lots of beautiful butterflies and a couple of new dragonfly species. Once I had my shots of the owls I wasn’t prepared to run the risk of getting my camera or telescope wet. So I hung around hoping for the rain to end but alas no, it didn’t stop.

Now having seen my bird the prospect of a night in a tent in damp to wet conditions really didn’t appeal to me. More to the point a night in the company of my good wife and kids in any conditions will always be much more appealing so I decided to head home. I dropped by at Ban Song Nok but the good lady who runs the show said the rain meant no exotic visitors today.

So in effect my afternoon become a successful twitch with White-fronted Scops Owl becoming Thai lifer #363. I count myself fortunate because the park closes at the beginning of August. This therefore was my last chance of seeing the owls before closure.

Monday 23 July 2012

Weekend Notes

Little Tern - breeding

A bit of a lacklustre weekend on the birding front but it did take me to Huay Mai Teng Reservoir Saturday afternoon where I saw 2 River Lapwing, about 10-12 Small Pratincoles and at least 8 Rain Quail. In fact I probably heard more Rain Quail than I saw. These are the species I was looking for in the sense of confirming their continued presence or otherwise. I was pleased to see Small Pratincoles were still present; with breeding over their departure is imminent. They will not be around for much longer and their numbers are markedly down already.No sign of any Thick-Knee species though one Great Thick-Knee has been reported from the Laem Pak Bia area.

Little Tern - in transition

On Sunday I took some friends to the beach at Ban Bang Kaew, between Laem Pak Bia and Cha am; they were wanting to photograph fishing boats so I took the opportunity to see what waders and pelagic birds were around. Not a lot. Strange not seeing any gulls or crested terns but there were plenty of Little Terns in transition from breeding into non-breeding plumage, a handful of Greater Sand-plovers and a couple of dainty Malaysian Plovers.
Malaysian Plover

Lacklustre?! Just gentle and pleasant really. Birds never disappoint. For better or worse I am mightily busy. So I am struggling to devote much time to birdwatching right now. I also believe my trip to Mae Wong a few months ago marked a major shift in my outlook. I really want to get in close to the birds now and I want better shots of rarer birds: that really can only come from a much more planned and targeted approach to my birdwatching. In real terms this means at the moment I am not taking very many shots. I could but I am after better images and I understand that real opportunities at the moment are few and far between. Watch this space........I hope!

Elsewhere there are reports of great birds. Check out Dave Gandy's BangkokCityBirding for news of observations of significant migrating wader species in the Inner Gulf at the weekend; Peter Ericsson is enjoying a purple patch right now: he seems to have an amazing ability to be in the right place at the right time; you can read Peter's blog  but probably best to check him out on facebook where he posts on a regular basis.

Sunday 15 July 2012

Double Dip


Well I am sorry to say I drew a blank pursuing  Small Buttonquail and Malayan Night-heron today. A double dip. First of all I couldn't find the Small Buttonquail site so I don't know if it is there or not. On the night-heron the military academy at Nakhon Nayok is huge so with a 5 month old baby and a three year old boy plus mum in a hot car there was a limit on how much time I could spend on it. It wasn't posing! However the Nakhon Nayok site was impressive; without so much as fluttering an eyelid I had four sturnus species - the dominant species was Black-collared but there was also one Vinous-breasted and Common and White-vented Mynas. I was more than happy with this and I do believe I will be back at this site. I rather fancy it has a lot to offer.

Saturday 14 July 2012

Limestone Wren-babbler

In the end it was very easy but I almost didn't get to the site near Saraburi and was actually on the point of returning to the hotel. However I finally found the temple, Wat Phra Buddhapat Noi, and a pair of the most beautiful Limestone Wren-babblers obliged for me at the rear of the monks' quarters. Fortunately the bird required only a minimal amount of searching.

What Google maps said should have been a 30 minute drive turned into a 2½ hour epic which took me almost into Lopburi! I should add the return home was just as problematic but at least I had got my bird.    I don't use GPS but I was relying on a print out of a Google  map produced from GPS co-ordinates I had punched into Google Maps.  I reckon using a GPS would be a lot simpler!

This Limestone Wren-babbler ( thanks to Dave at  North Thailand Birding for correcting my latest attempt at rewriting the Thai checklist!) ,the calcicola subspecies, is as beautiful and exquisite a bird as any I have seen. Extraordinary detail for such a relatively small bird; rufous, light brown underparts and grayish streaking on its brown upperpparts; a very prominently streaked throat. Now that I am back at the hotel having successfully twitched the bird, it all seems worthwhile. Of course it was another lifer, Thai lifer  ⌗362.

Fantastic to be out birding for the first time in three weeks. I have been busy on the home and work fronts. So we decided to treat ourselves to a weekend away and splashed out on a decent hotel. I am going to try for Small Buttonquail and Malayan Night Heron tomorrow. I should add I have had a few looks at Small Buttonquail but haven't listed it yet as they have been of birds scurrying into the undergrowth called by others. I'll be happy if I get one of these species.