Ban Song Nok, Petchburi

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker - male

Dicaeum trigonostigma

นกกาฝากท้องสีส้ม

Ban Song Nok, Kaeng Krachan District, Petchburi Province

04.10.12

My trip to Ban Song Nok threw up two lifers today in an otherwise fairly low key trip. The undoubted highlight was a brief glimpse of a Blue-bearded Bee-eater whose identification was confirmed by its very distinct, monosyllabic call. I am not ticking this because it really was the briefest of views, I saw a clear powder blue beard, and then it was gone. I don't know at what point I would take the tick, but this was way below "better view required". I must have some sort of reasonable contact with the bird and this wasn't it!

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker - female

Dicaeum trigonostigma

นกกาฝากท้องสีส้ม

Ban Song Nok, Kaeng Krachan District, Petchburi Province

04.10.12

I will claim the Tickell's Blue Flycatcher because I got a number of clear if somewhat fleeting views of the front and rear, not enough to photograph, but enough to identify it. The Large Scimitar Babbler was too large and too near to fit in the LCD. In fact a pretty ugly bird not helped by the fact it was having a good splash and so getting wet. So Thai lifers #364 and #365.

Large Scimitar Babbler

Pomatorhinus hypoleucos

นกระวังไพรปากยาว

Ban Song Nok, Kaeng Krachan District, Petchburi Province

04.10.12

The joy however is the simple business of photographing the flowerpeckers. The Orange-bellied is sublimely beautiful and it's still there, much to Ba Ek's surprise.

Black-naped Monarch

Hypothymis azurea

นกจับแมลงจุกดำ

Ban Song Nok, Kaeng Krachan District, Petchburi Province

04.10.12

But this is not easy-peasy stuff. Light conditions in the hide area are actually very difficult for digiscoping. Slow shutter speeds are the order of the day and this is not ideal for birds which are often moving about very rapidly. Also I  often have too much magnification so can't frame the whole bird! I do think the hide is 300 mm territory. Whatever I had the place to myself today and I got a couple of decent shots, so I'm happy.

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

Slowing Down....no chance

My dear readers if only I could say I was slowing down! I had an eventful trip to Kaeng Krachan this weekend with Soorng Yingtao but missed out on the biggies: the White-fronted Scops Owl and the Brown Wood Owl. Wet and miserable if truth be told, the highlight being a nesting Greater Flameback, a lifer no less. I also missed out on a great opportunity to photograph a Silver-breasted Broadbill. The highlight was watching three Malayan Porcupines and two Brush-tailed Porcupines having a feed on Saturday night.

Soorng took me to Ban Sorng Nok on Sunday afternoon. This is possibly  the best thing to have happened in Thailand in recent years for birders and bird photographers alike. It's a resort and it  has been laid out and is managed in such a way as to encourage birds to come in and hang around. There are excellent viewing areas including hides. I didn't get the name of the nice lady who runs the place but she herself  is a bird nut and she likes looking after peole. While there were no major birds on view yesterday there were plenty of decent photo opportunities and I managed to add a further two lifers: Orange-bellied Flowerpecker and Gold-fronted Leafbird.

I forgot to mention  brief views in Kaeng Krachan of a Black-backed Kingfisher and a stunningly large Mountain Imperial Pigeon which I thought must have been a raptor on account of its size.

Alas I have no internet connection at home at the moment and have no idea when it is going to be fixed. So watch this space......a week without internet is a long time, but I am glad to say normal service has been restored.