Pak Thale & Laem Pak Bia: Breeding Plumages

Red-necked Stint

Calidris ruficollis

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Pak Thale 22.04.12

I am as red as a beetroot from too much sun but it was worth it as I managed to get shots of a lot of common waders in their breeding plumages during a day out in Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia today. It was hot, very hot. And I learned why White-winged Terns are so called! 

Red-necked Stint

Calidris ruficollis

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Pak Thale 22.04.12

I made it to Pak Thale just before 0800h, with high tide being about 0600h. Apart from the usual mass of Curlews there were no significant flocks of waders to be seen. On the road to the sea and mudflats there were a few Red-necked Stints and Long-toed Stints, resplendent in their breeding plumages. If I am going to be correct the Red-necked Stint is probably in pre-beeding plumage, sort of halfway there. 

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonias hybridus

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Pak Thale 22.04.12

Not to be outdone the terns also change there plumages at this time of the year. Above a shot of a non-breeding Whiskered Tern; below the shots show non-breeding and breeding together and a separate shot of the breeding, perched on a pole. In view of the paucity of birds at Pak Thale I decided to head south to Laem Pak Bia where I met with a lot more birds.

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonia hybridus

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonia hybridus

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

You can see the differences between the two plumages here; in the breeding plumage the bird is a much darker gray and the belly is a very deep grey; also the mask or cap in the breeding plumage is completely black, without the very conspicuous white forehead in the non-breeding bird. It is not immediately obvious from the photgraph but a close look shows the breeding bird's bill and legs are a deep, dark red.

Indian Cormorant

Phalacrocorax fuscicollis

นกกาน้ำปากยาว

Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

An Indian Cormorant perched with his diagnostic long thin, yellowish bill and bluish eye.

Spotted Redshank

Tringa erythropus

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

I love this Spotted Redhsank - he looks as if he has been up a few chimneys! I don't know if it is the light but even his legs appear to have darkened. However this redshank will get a lot darker in the next few weeks.

Little Heron

Butorides striata

นกยางเขียว

Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

This Little Heron didn't seem to mind me being so close. I reckon I was within 20 feet. He was much more focused on finding lunch. The shot below shows the reach I get from digiscoping - the bird is facing in a different direction but otherwise the distance is the same.  The shot below is a handheld shot with the 14-44mm Panasonic lens at 40mm. I was unsuccessfully trying to get a flight shot of a Whiskered Tern in breeding plumage.The close-up above is about 90% of the original frame. With all digiscoping the problem is getting the bird standing still for long enough to focus and shoot and this is exponentially increased the closer you are to the bird.

If you look closely at the top there are some Pied Avocets in amongst the egrets and stilts - the main record of the day was 20 Pied Avocets.  The shot below is my best effort of a Whiskered Tern in flight with the camera and the 14-45 mm lens; it is heavily cropped but not bad given that I couldn't really see the bird in the viewfinder. Maybe my next purchase will be a lens with a bit more reach for ordinary camera use.

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonia hybridus

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareola

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

There were some good birds in the Kings Project at Laem Pak Bia notwithstanding the fact that the main pools are still under reconstruction and therefore don't have any water in them. The Wood Sandpiper is much more distinct in its breeding plumage, its upper side being very speckled. The Lesser Whistling Ducks, below, are the first I can recall  seeing in the Kings Project. They are very common so no surprise whatsover to see them here. They allowed me to get reasonably close too,  standing completely immobile to avoid detection.

Lesser Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna javanica

เป็ดแดง

Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

Spotted Redshank

Tringa erythropus

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

There were a few Spotted Redshanks in the Kings Project but they really didn't like me trying to take their photographs. But perhaps my favourite bird of the day, the Long-toed Stint in breeding plumage, sublimely beautiful. I wish my pictures could do justice to its primaries. Not an easy bird to photograph as I discovered today. It too was very camera shy!

Long-toed Stint

Caladris subminuta

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

White-winged Tern

Chlidonias leucopterus

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

I had a look round the Abandoned Building, little there,  and then decided to make a day of it and took a boat out to the sandspit. En route I saw a Common Kingfisher,  the only kingfisher of the day. As we approached the sandspit, the above White-winged Tern really made identification ever so easy. Of course now I understand why it is called "white-winged"!This is one of these birds that I find very difficult to separate from Whiskered Tern in non-breeding plumage. I think it is fair to say I wouldn't have separated it in non-breeding plumage. I saw three White-winged Terns in breeding plumage today including the one below was having a bit of a splash. I love the Greater Crested Tern below - it was like a toddler playing in the waves. ( I know about toddlers and water having my own one!)

White-winged Tern

Chlidonias leucopterus

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

Great Crested Tern

Thalasseus bergii

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

Great Egret

Ardea modesta

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

Breeding plumage also transforms the egrets and the above Great Egret is another sublimely beautiful bird; note the "rhubarb" stalk legs and the ultramarine area between the base of the bill and the eye.

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonias hybrridus

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

There was an enormous amount of tern activity on and around the sandpit today and I tried desperately to get a decent flight shot; they were moving too fast for me to catch in the digiscope. The above non-breeding Whiskered Tern is the best of a bad lot.

Sanderling

Calidris alba

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

Sanderling

Calidris alba

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Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

There are usually a couple of Sanderlings on the sand spit and today I noted three. They are always fairly active. The above photo shows a touch of  breeding plumage.

Malaysian Plover

Charadrius peronii

นกหัวโตมลายู 

Laem Pak Bia 22.04.12

Finally a single Malaysian Plover. My mate Tom pointed out the leg flag indicates it was banded in South West Australia. We are not sure about this, however, as we are not aware this is a migratory species plus we know some of the sand spit plovers have been banded as part of research projects. So we are waiting to hear from the experts.

Another cracking day.