Reservoir Blues

A quick late afternoon spin to Huay Mai Teng didn't really produce much on the bird front. What was significant was the dramatic rise in the reservoir's water level. The road across the reservoir is now impassable such has been the huge volume of precipitation this last week. I had been checking records and noticed that at about this time last year I was seeing Blossom-headed Parakeet late afternoons so this was on my mind. No parakeet, no Small Pratincole, no River Lapwing, no Savanna Nightjar, not even a  Little Ringed Plover. Very ordinary fare today: Yellow Wagtail was the bird of the moment, Green Bee-eater, Red-wattled Lapwing, Paddyfield Pipit, Grey-breasted Prinia, Eastern Stonechat.......and Rain Quail, hardly ordinary fare,  were very audible but stayed invisible. The surprise package was a female Watercock scurrying into scrub, a patch tick.Then as I exited in the dark, on instinct I took a right turn and almost drove over an Indian Nightjar at ease on the red gravel track; as I watched this bird in my headlights I could discern the distant rattle of a Chinese Francolin.

More Local Ratchaburi Birding

On Sunday morning, 24th June I took Richard round to the local rice paddy where he scored with Streaked Weaver. This is my type of birding, drive in, view the bird, add the tick! Job done in a handful of minutes! Weavers, specifically Asian Golden and Streaked, with their distinctive nests are very active in the locale at the moment. We then headed to the reservoir where we had one River Lapwing and in excess of  ten Rain Quail. It would be hard to put a precise number on the quail as they were more easily heard than seen and were on the move. Clearly they have dispersed but numbers were good. The highlight of the day was a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo which flashed across the road above us on our way to the reservoir; absolutely no doubt about the ID on size and colours - chestnut wings clearly visible and white breast/belly. This observation towards the end of June suggests the bird is resident in the area.

Back to the Reservoir

It was my pleasure to show Richard Carden, from Singapore,  around the Huay Mai Teng reservoir this afternoon and he had one principal target: rain quail. I am delighted to say Richard got it but he had to work for it. As day started to close in a male and female flashed past us and landed a little away. The female showed well enough for Richard to get a good view of it. Phew!  Last weekend Richard was in China twitching Chinese Crested Tern. Elsewhere we recorded 3 - 4 River Lapwing, 3 Small Pratincoles,, an Oriental Skylark, an Indochinese Bushlark, a Greater Painted Snipe, a Yellow Eyed Babbler - good numbers of Asian Golden Weaver and Green Bee-eaters and lots of Oriental Pratincoles.

The Reservoir

The bird of the day without any shadow of doubt was Rain Quail. About 25 of them came out to feed in the late afternoon at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi. I managed a couple of decentish shots but  I feel I should have done better. I was in the hide and they were reasonably close. All I can say in my defence is they were on the move in a feeding frenzy and not exactly posing for me.

There were a few more Small Pratincoles in the same place and I rather fancy this is because there has been rain recently. I'd estimate at least six and possibly as many as ten. Likewise there were good numbers of Savannah Nightjars, at least four, and I reckon I'll get a shot of these birds in the next few weeks.

Elsewhere on the southern side of the reservoir I saw seven Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, more than I can ever recall seeing before; there were two Bronze-winged Jacanas, a single Marsh Sandpiper and a single, rather worn, Brown Shrike.

Some reservoir shotd 

shot with my "new" Canon FD 24 mm lens

Savanna Nightjar

I spent a few hours this afternoon at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi province. With migration in full swing I thought there might be possibilities of flycatchers and other passerines. Alas no. In fact very ordinary - 4 Rain Quail, 3 Savanna Nightjars, 1 Small Pratincole and 1 Oriental Honey Buzzard. The weather was awful, completely overcast with rolling thunder and lightning nearby, and strong wind. The latter was very frustrating as leaves were moving everywhere and of course this movement triggers my reactions - normally the movement is a good indicator of a bird. So no photographs today, not a single shot.

 I had good looks tonight at Savanna Nightjar ....... one was perched atop a rock and in the gloom  I could make out white on its throat. It seemed a much bigger bird than the Indian nightjar, much browner. And of course it makes a beautiful rasping sound. Thanks to Dave Sargeant I can give you a flavour of this sound. On our visit to Huay Mai Teng at the beginning of March 2012 Dave made these recordings - to my ear they are top quality. These links take you to the sound files in .mp3 format.

Savanna Nightjar 01
Savanna Nightjar 02
Savanna Nightjar 03
Savanna Nightjar 04

Early Start at the Reservoir

Rain Quail

Coturnix coromandelica

นกคุ่มอกดำ

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi Province, 22.03.12

I made it to Huay Mai Teng reservoir for a dawn start this morning and I managed to see lots of good birds but none of them came close enough to give me that really outstanding shot. Today's birds were most unco-operative indeed! Rain quail was present but they are incredibly difficult to shoot as they rarely stand up and pose. The above shot really doesn't do the bird's intricate neck markings and colouration any favours.

White-breasted Waterhen

Amaurornis phoenicurus

นกกวัก

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi Province, 22.03.12

The White-breasted Waterhen is a much more common bird than the quail but they have a similar propensity for constant movement. I wouldn't have got this close to the water hen or the quail without the hide. Maybe I need to put out some worms to draw them nearer.

Oriental Darter

Anhinga melanogaster

นกอ้าวงั่ว

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi Province, 22.03.12

Small Pratincole numbers were very low once more, no more than two in the usual area. However I had a look around and saw a few more flying about near the reservoir edge. I also saw these birds land on a small gravel island in the reservoir and I am wondering if this is where the action is. 

Finally this beautiful Oriental Darter, presumably a juvenile on account of the extensive light markings. It too doesn't like people getting close! There was also an Osprey who got away just in time. Nice few hours in the reservoir this morning.

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir

Oriental Pratincole

Glareola maldivarum

นกแอ่นทุ่งใหญ่

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi Province, 21.03.12

I never tire of Huay Mai Teng Reservoir -  the more I visit it the more I like it. On arrival this afternoon in the heat I was really in two minds about the wisdom of being out birding. I am still shaking off the lurgy and felt quite delicate. However as I drove to the water edge on the south side I picked up some water fowl in the air and they were not a familiar species. The duck situation is pretty simple here: Lesser Whistling Duck and err, more Lesser Whistling Duck. This is something which surprises me. These were not LWD with greyish heads, and a whitish upper trailing edge to the wings. I couldn't figure. I set up the scope and thought probably Cotton Pygmy-goose but they were too far away. So I decided to drive into the south side land area that is progressively growing as the water level drops. No surprises: Yellow Wagtail, Wood Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Red-throated Pipit, Paddyfield Pipit, ( x2 possible Richard's but won't claim until I can get a verified photograph), hundreds of Oriental Pratincoles, and equally vast numbers of Open-bills, Little Cormorants and Herons, and good numbers of LWD.

Red-throated Pipit

Anthus cervinus

นกเต้าดินอกแดง

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi Province, 21.03.12

I took advantage of the light to take some shots. The Red-throated Pipit is abundant at the moment and gets reasonably close but it is difficult to capture because of incessant movement.

Purple Heron

Ardea purpurea

นกกระสาแดง

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi Province, 21.03.12

The Purple Heron is a testimony to the Panasonic EVF. As I moved around I was able to confirm the water fowl were Cotton Pygmy-goose which I have never seen in the main reservoir in numbers before; usually in small numbers, singles, pairs and threesomes, in smaller pools. A large Osprey was perched on a post.

Rain Quail

Coturnix coromandelica

นกคุ่มอกดำ

Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi Province, 21.03.12

I drove to the north side for the last of the light. On arrival I was sad to note one solitary Small Pratincole. However Rain Quail were out in numbers, at least 20, like children in the school playground. They were on a piece of recently burned scrub. It doesn't matter what camera is used when the light is fading rapidly, the birds are 30-40 yards away and they have a vigorous feeding action and lot of motion - it is impossible to get a decent photograph. But I have never seen so many Rain Quail out in the open, playing and having fun.  I was happy to enjoy the show and was well aware that if I tried to close in on them I would scare them away - so I sat and observed. They were joined by a flock of Plain-backed Sparrows and two Indochinese Bushlarks dropped out of the sky to join the fun. I am going to try and got close tomorrow in the morning if I can get up early enough. 

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

The Week that Was

Pied Avocet

Recurvirostra avosetta

 นกปากงอน

Pak Thale, Phetchaburi Province

04.12.10

I am sorry some more crap photos! Better than no photo, just! Three important birds this week, one of which, the Pied Avocet, was a lifer viewed this afternoon, Saturday, on a gentle spin down to Pak Thale. My thanks to Tom Backlund for the call advising me that the avocet was here and remarkably I managed to sight it among hundreds of black-tailed godwits and a lot of black-winged stilts. The wings are much whiter than those of the stilts and it is really quite distinct notwithstanding the  bill. My Thai fieldbook describes the Pied Avocet as " หายาก" ( ha yak) which literally means "hard to find", so a bit of a rarity, but really just not very common as opposed to rare!  I would have liked to get closer not only to get a better picture but also to see its blue legs. Anyway a very nice bird for my Saturday afternoon today. The Thai name (nok bak ngorn) means "bird with a curved up bill". 

Friday late afternoon at the local rice paddy the second important bird of the week for me was an Oriental Reed Warbler which is on my list from a trip last year to The Kings Project. This time I got a decent look at it and wrote a field description of it immediately which  I subsequently matched  with pictures on the Oriental Bird Club Image Database. No photograph as my rig was in the car and I would have lost the bird if I had attempted to get it out. I was also pleased to see a solitary pied harrier hovering over the paddy which I did manage to capture above.

Black-capped Kingfisher

The third important bird for me this week was a Rain Quail seen momentarily at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir last Sunday afternoon. It showed for about 3 seconds but that was enough to see its neck, especially the black streaking, and to make me feel confident about calling it. I'll try and get a picture.I

I have been very busy this week so have only managed to snatch a little bit of birding here and there. I have been impressed by the volume of barn swallows everywhere and their exuberance and boundless energy. Everywhere I have birded this week the barnies have been out in force. I even noticed some at school where they are parking on external ledges near windows offering possibilities of some very close up photographs.

Brown-headed gulls

I missed out on a big blackish/dark gull this afternoon at Pak Thale. I tried to get it into the viewfinder and failed by which time it had gone so far that I wasn't able to get a description. It was appreciably bigger than the many brown-headed gulls which were about today. There were plenty of good birds around today but no sighting of Spoon-billed Sandpiper to report and I did have a good look at the usual site. Tom told me he didn't see it yesterday at Pak Thale but saw one at the abandoned building. 

Common Greenshank