No River Lapwing Today!

Paddyfield Pip

Circumstances allowed me to make a dash from my morning teaching duties to Huay Mai Teng Reservoir to check on the status of the river lapwings. Not a whisper of one! Now there was a fair amount of human activity in their normal area so this absence does not mean they have moved on. There were a lot of paddyfield pips and other pipits/larks too but I wasn't able to photograph them. In this same area there were at least 30 oriental pratincoles, a yellow wagtail, 2 common sandpiper, 2 plain prinias and a white-throated kingfisher. No pied today.

I then dashed back to Ratchaburi for my afternoon class and at 5:30 pm I headed out  to see if yesterday's river lapwing was still on the premises of what I will call the Rose Garden rice paddy. In very poor light I took these photographs of a white-throated kingfisher and a juvenile little heron, a really beautiful plumed bird. No river lapwing here!

I have my new photographic parts and if these shots are more in focus it is because of the Hoodman. My new tripod head is also making it easier too as the scope/camera is more balanced. The light was poor so I will reserve judgement.  So watch out for some decent bird photographs!