The Early Bird: Black-headed Ibis at Wat Khao Takhrao

I managed an early start this morning and made it to Wat Khao Takhrao in Phetchburi province before first light. What a hive of bird activity! I have never seen such a variety and number of birds scattered all over the pond. The highlights were six Black-headed Ibis and eight Otters, species unknown - the latter were having a blast and rather frustratingly took off at my arrival and ran into the ibises causing them to take to the air. I managed a couple of shots of the Ibises - in all likelihood there were probably more than six as they were on the move, but six represents my maximum count at one given moment with three on the ground and three flying in to join them. The ducks were too far away to really identify anything other than male Garganeys. Nothing stood out on size, like Comb Duck or Ruddy Shelduck. There were more waders than I have ever seen here and in particular huge numbers of Black-tailed Godwits. And setting the scene were lots of screeching Caspian Terns. There was one unidentified raptor, with a rather thin long body and a suggestion of lighter uppers, but I couldn't identify it and won't be able to. Unfortunately I could only manage an hour or so as I had some business to attend to. But great to be on holiday and out early looking at great birds.

Duck Bonanza at Wat Khao Takhroa

This afternoon I felt unusually listless as I headed out birding. The plan was to check out a new site in Samut Songkhram province and then head on to Norng Blah Lai. I never found the new site and as I was in the area I ended up driving to the Wat Khao Takhrao area in Phetchburi province. What a piece of good fortune because the large pond was once more full of waterfowl. An even better result was that I was able to drive along a recently reclaimed track, that previously could only be accessed by foot. The bad news - the ducks were too far away to photograph and my cause was not helped by  an Eastern Marsh Harrier who was buzzing them.

I managed a few shots and I was in pole position with the sun behind me; unfortunately the birds wouldn't come any nearer. Most of these shots are between 400 - 800 m away, in hot weather over water. I think they more than suffice as record shots but a real shame I couldn't get in close to get detail. Anyhow the ducks made a fantastic if somewhat noisy spectacle. They were widely scattered and well mixed up so it would be impossible to provide anything other than a very rough estimate - 700+ Northern Pintail, 400 + Garganey and between 2,000 and 3,000 Lesser Whistling Duck. I am quite surprised that there were more Northern Pintail than Garganey - I would expect it to be the other way around.

During a conversation with Tom Backlund during the day he said there is a view that the high number of eagles in the Norng Blah Lai area this year may be attributable to the serious flooding in the Chao Phaya/central plains area last year. I wonder if the presence of such big numbers of ducks here this year is also similarily attributable.

The male Northern Pintail is a truly elegant bird with his chocolate head and the white,vertical line which starts behind the ear and broadens into the neck. Three Cotton Pygmy-Geese in an adjacent pool looked decidedly ordinary. Of note, one Black-headed Ibis but among the ducks nothing particularly groovy or unusual that I could see. I believe this area warrants further investigation in the near future.

I hung out and simply watched the show for an hour or so. A Booted Eagle drifted over languorously; a few Caspian and Whiskered Terns too. I have to say I have a charmed existence.

Pak Thale & Wat Khao Takhrao

Black-tailed Godwits

20.11.11

I made it down to Pak Thale, Phetchburi province this afternoon but dipped out on all the biggies. Not a problem as I have seen most of the sought after species: I am looking for Eastern Curlew and Long-billed Dowitcher, neither obliged today. I would also like to put a tick against Grey-wattled Lapwing which has been reported in the area. Not today. So no Spoon-billed Sandpiper today but it has been reported on a regular basis since mid-October, with a maximum count of three birds. Basically I just didn't have the energy or enthusiasm to seek it out. I couldn't see it in the usual places so I headed on in pursuit of other birds. As a resident here in the Kingdom I have that luxury!

Black-headed Ibis

20.11.11

On my way to Pak Thale I made a short detour  via the Wat Norng Blah Lai area in search of eagles. Not a sign of anything other than a female Pied Harrier and a Black-shouldered Kite in this area; not even a Black Kite. There was, however, a very large flock of Black-tailed Godwits ( 400 -500 birds I would estimate) sitting in a recently sewn rice field and they were good enough to give me a sort of fly past, which very clearly shows their key fieldmarks. (An update 25.11.11:per Phil Round and Nick Upton there has been a confirmed sighting of a Slender-billed Vulture last week in the Norng Blah Lai area -  now that is a mega!)

Black-headed Ibis - juvenile

20.11.11

There were plenty of shore birds, gulls and terns in and around Pak Thale. The resident flock of Curlews was as close to the main road as I have ever seen it. On the basis of the information on www.thaibirding.com I headed to the nearby village of Bang Kaew, near a large temple, Wat Komnaram. Bingo! Five Black-headed Ibises with a mixture of Painted Stork and Grey Herons and in their midst about 100 Garganey. A juvenile Brahminy Kite was buzzing the birds. The birds were just too far away to get  decent shots but I did my best. There was also a small flock of Brown-headed Gulls mixed up with some Black-naped terns.

Garganey

20.11.11

Brown-headed Gull

20.11.11

Garganey

20.11.11

I then headed on for the Wat Khao Takhroa area, about 20 km to the north of Pak Thale. A feast of waterfowl. It would be impossible for me to provide an estimate but easily in excess of one thousand ducks, large numbers of Garganey and also Northern Pintail. However the sun was setting and it was in my eyes plus most of the birds were a considerable distance away. So even with the scope, making out IDs was difficult and photography was simply out of the question. I am not sure how many, if any, of these duck were Lesser-whistling, the more common resident species. Add in 200-250 Painted Stork, many Grey Herons and Egrets and at least one Black-headed Ibis........I know where I am going this weekend unless news reaches me of a mega somewhere else. I also know where I would be today if I wasn't at work!

Common Snipe

Ratchaburi

19.11.11

On Saturday afternoon I managed a few hours in the rice paddy in Ratchaburi and noted a Watercock, a male and female Pied Harrier and an Eastern Marsh harrier in amongst good numbers of Wood Sandpiper and Common Snipe plus one brief view of a Thick-billed Warbler announced by its call. 

Trithemis Pallidinervis?

Ratchaburi

19.11.11

Lastly I received my new Nikon P6000 from the US of A. The P5100 has done a good job as a stand-in these last few weeks but I am mightily relieved to have a P6000. I really like this camera for general use and it is outstanding for digiscoping.

Laem Pak Bia: A Great Day's Birding

 Black-faced Spoonbill
Platelea Minor
นกปากช้อนหน้าดำ
Pak Thale, Petchaburi Province

I always have a great day's birding when I join up with Tom and our trip to Laem Pak Bia on Saturday was probably one of the best day's birding I have ever had. From my perspective it is great to bird with such a knoweldgeable and experienced birder and we both saw some great birds.

No sooner had we started just to the north of Cha-am in Bang Kao hoping to see Ruddy Shelduck than Tom is saying "Look a parakeet" and sure enough a noisy, small, green mass darts in off the sea and moves rapidly inland. That's as far as the identification went but it would literally and metaphorically have gone over my head had I been on my own. Bang Kao did offer great views of eight beautiful Painted Stork in the early morning sun and a host of shorebirds and brown-headed gulls and an Eastern Marsh Harrier glided over just as we were leaving. I am not sure about the status of the RSDs. No sign of them this morning nor later in the day when I returned to collect my car. [Update from T Backlund: one RSD was seen here on Monday 29.11.10]

Black-headed Ibis
Threskiornis Melanocephalus
นกช้อนหอยขาว
Wat Khao Takhrao, Petchaburi Province
27.11.10

Next stop at the abandoned building in Laem Pak Bia where we bumped into three Hungarian birders who confirmed the presence of a Long-billed Dowitcher and a Black-faced Spoonbill further north at Pak Thale. This news had Tom itching. Nothing much to report here but we went into the King's Project and had a nice time photographing a Little Grebe and Grey Heron. We were looking at a flock of black-tailed godwits parked in a salt pan nearby when the loud crack of canon fire from the nearby temple caused their sudden flight. These miniature style canons are used in temples to mark the beginning of events or the arrival of a special time. Tom got his camera out and started shooting the flock of birds. The resulting photographs show the presence of an Asian Dowitcher in the flock - by any standards a very decent bird. Of course this was the surprise in the can, so to speak, as neither of us was aware of this bird in the flock and Tom only realised it when he processed his photos on getting home. Elsewhere in a  flock of brown-headed gulls we saw a few Caspian Terns with their distinctive big bright orange bills.

Red-necked Phalaropes
Phalaropus Lobatus
นกลอยทะเลคอแดง
Red-necked Phalarope
Pak Thale, Petchaburi Province
27.11.10

So we then headed north to Pak Thale to what is known as the Spoon-billed Sandpiper site in pursuit of the Black-faced Spoonbill. There were plenty of shorebirds, thousands, but we were looking for a flock of egrets with the Black-faced in their midst. We had a fruitless march around during which Tom pointed out some Red-necked Phalaropes "spinning" in one of the salt-pans. Very elegant and really distinctive birds and lifers for me! We noticed that our Hungarian friends had come back to this site so Tom went off to check locations with them while I photographed the phalaropes. Fortunately we were looking in the wrong location so off we went. This meant I wasn't able to photograph the two Spoon-billed Sandpipers which were in the salt pan and of course when we came back they had gone!

Anyhow we walked into another salt pan as directed and the Black-faced Spoonbill was there surrounded by between 45 - 50 Painted Stork. What an amazing sight! I was grateful for the digiscope as I was able to get some decent record shots. We were probably between 150 - 200 meters away and this is the last sort of bird you want to scare off. A second lifer, a real beauty of a bird and something of a rarity in these parts.  

Photo credit © Tom Backlund
Asian Dowitcher
Limnodromus Semipalmatus
นกช่อมทะเลปากยาว
Kings Project, Petchaburi Province
27.11.10

We then headed north to Wat Khao Takhrao and after a spot of lunch we went in pursuit of the reported Black-headed Ibises. Over lunch I made the mistake of looking at my photographs and decided to change the  exposure setting as I thought my photographs were too dark. Well as a result my pictures of the Ibises are a bit washed out. I had the correct exposure! We quickly found the Ibises sitting in a bit of a marsh, two adults and a juvenile. Nearby a Black-shouldered Kite and Black Kite were perched in trees. I had already seen the Ibises before at Bueng Boraphet but nevertheless great birds to see and look at.

Thereafter we went back to Pak Thale in vain pursuit of Spoon-billed Sandpiper and we had a spin around the marshes and rice paddies looking, also in vain, for Grey-headed Lapwing. Pak Thale yielded lots of Marsh Sandpipers, Curlews, a small flock of Gull-billed Terns, and the usual suspets including one Sanderling. I think I had a Temminck's Stint, a stint with greenish legs, but it flew before I was able to be sure. I am happy to report there are lots of birds, lots of birds indeed. 

Tom headed home so we drove back to Bang Kao. From there I checked on the Ruddy Shelducks, nope, and then I drove back to see if I could take some more photographs of the Black-faced Spoonbill; not a bird to be seen at the site. I then headed home with an eye open for Grey-headed Lapwing but to no avail. 

What a great day's birding!