Wat Khao Takrhao, Phetchburi Province

I simply had to get out Saturday afternoon so I headed back to Wat Khao Takrhao in Phetchburi with a somewhat forlorn hope of Comb Duck. However as always it was pleasant being out and looking at birds. I made it to the house at the far end of the main pond. The young boatman occupies that house and he and his wife were very welcoming to me today.  Later in the day I met his father. So I think I'll come back to this spot as I think it will be possible to get close to a lot of birds if I can get in early enough and get the hide up.

As before there were a lot of ducks and in addition to the good numbers of Garganey and Northern Pintail there were  lots of Lesser Whistling Duck, who put on a bit of a fly past for me. I also noted a Northern Shoveller pair, drake and female and at least one female  Eurasian Wigeon. There was a large flock of Caspian Terns and Brown-headed Gulls and lots of Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshanks and Black-tailed Godwits. From a digiscoping perspective it was difficult: birds were just too far away. I was able to get good views through the telescope of all ducks but don't really feel any of the shots are sharp enough. I do like the look of the male Garganey with his very prominent white supercilium which extends down to its body.

I rather fancy the duck to the right is a female Northern Shoveller as the bills are quite distinct; the right side bird's bill is very large and although the angle isn't good, it does look like a shoveller type bill. The unmistakable Northern Shoveller drake is below.

I love the legs on these aptly named Stilts

One of these days I will get on top of these birds and get some decent shots. However I enjoyed myself sitting out drenched in late afternoon sun with a cooling breeze keeping it just bearable. I took the few photo opportunities available and must wait for another opportunity for better shots and indeed for Comb Duck.

Wat Khao Takhrao

Pheasant-tailed Jacana

Wat Khao Takhrao, Phetchburi Province

12.02.12

I managed to bag two Thai lifers, Eurasian Wigeon and Northern Shoveller ( thanks to Tom Backlund for pointing out my error!), ⌗311 and ⌗312 respectively , this afternoon, at Wat Khao Takrhao in Phetchburi province. I saw both birds last year on my trip to Japan where they are easy to see. Today, however, it was very satisfying as I managed to pick them out in large flocks of Garganey and Northern Pintail. I've got some shots but they are not very good -  good enough to confirm ID and not much else. I'll look at them again later today to see if I can do anything with them. I am not really sure about their Thai status: I believe they are both uncommon.

I have some misgivings about publishing these shots but here they are simply for the record - quite simply the birds are just too far away. As you can see, however, there were two Wigeon, a drake, to the left and a female.

Eurasian Wigeon

Wat Khao Takhrao, Phetchburi Province

12.02.12

Northern Pintail & Garganey

Wat Khao Takhrao, Phetchburi Province

12.02.12

Northern SHoveller

Wat Khao Takhrao, Phetchburi Province

12.02.12

There were a lot of birds around today. A tantalisingly close Black-headed Ibis which moved off as soon as it sensed my presence; a very confiding female  Pheasant-tailed Jacana ; (shot of the day but no dramatic tail) lots of kettling Black Kites and thousands of ducks, but this time no Lesser-whistling Duck: mainly Garganey and Northern Pintail; there were also large flocks of Brown-headed Gulls , Caspian Tern, Whiskered Tern,and very distant Black-tailed Godwits.

I'll need to go back for more!

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.

Wat Khao Takhrao

Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

Wat Khao Takhrao

27.11.11

I made it to the right side of the big pond in the Wat Khao Takhrao area, Phetchburi Province, on Sunday afternoon but of course the birds had moved away from this area! Anyway by "right" I mean  the sun was behind me and this allowed a great view over the pond. I walked from the road and it was a little bit hard going as the path is very overgrown. I was also mindful of the possibility of stepping on snakes and other delights!

The sight, however, was truly spectacular. Medium-sized groups of ducks liberally scattered everywhere. However sorry to say they were once more too far away to get decent shots. Two species dominated: Garganey and Northern Pintail; I couldn't pick out any other species. My estimate is 1300 Garganey and 400 Northern Pintail but these are very rough figures. I would say they are way  too low as there were big flocks coming and going. Interestingly I didn't see a single Lesser-whistling Duck and I suspect the brown birds I had taken previously as this species were in fact pintails.

Whiskered Tern

Wat Khao Takhrao

27.11.11

It was a delightful spectacle and the ducks were joined by small flocks of other birds including a mixed group of Brown-headed Gulls and Caspian Terns; lots of Little Grebes; huge numbers of Black-winged Stilts; and lots of Whiskered Terns; equally generous numbers of Egrets ( Little & Intermediate) and Grey Herons. As the sun set the sky was peppered with small to medium sized flocks of ducks, a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits and a Caspian tern or two flew over along with abundant Whiskered Terns. A few Painted Stork flew in to roost for the evening.

The setting sun lit up the whole sky and for at least half an hour after sunset the sky on the horizon had a beautiful glowing dark orange layer for as far as the eye could see, which then gently merged into the dark night sky. Just a joy to be out and part of this. It really felt like a miniature Bung Boraphet.

I have started to chat with a few of the local people who work in the pond. They recognise my face and know my interest in the birds. I am hoping to get out to one of the small islets on the pond by boat next weekend and I hope this will enable me to get a more accurate count and some good shots.

On the subject of identification, a subject which causes me nightmares,  I was reading a thread on a bird group which quoted an American birder, Pete Dunne, as saying: "The only difference between experienced and inexperienced birders is that experienced birders have mis-identified a lot more birds." I rather like that!

Frustrations

I had a frustrating day with my new camera and with trying to get in close to the ducks in the Wat Khao Takhroa area in Phetchburi province, but I did see three  Greater Spotted Eagles at Wat Norng Blah Lai. They were just too far away to get a usable shot but the adult was quite magnificent perched on the branch of a dead tree. Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua, one of the leading lights of the Thairaptor Group , was present and he confirmed that Greater Spotted and Imperial Eagles have been recorded in recent weeks but the Steppe Eagle's return is still awaited. Chaiyan confirmed a Slender-billed Vulture had been observed on 17th November 2011 but hasn't been seen since. An Eastern Marsh Harrier put on a grandstand show for us but I couldn't get the bird in my viewfinder: I really needed the diopter loupe today because the sun was too strong.

During the week I have been researching on Google Earth how to best access the duck location at Wat Khao Takhrao. Sadly to no avail today but I reckon that having been there today and had another look at Google Earth on return home I am now close to cracking it. From the main road with my scope I can confirm there were still huge numbers of ducks - Garganey,Lesser Whistling Duck and a few Northern Pintail.. But there may well be other species - they are just too far away to make out. Interestingly the Painted Stork were down from about 250 to two! No sign of Black-headed Ibises today.

As I was driving around on the dirt tracks in the fishponds I stopped briefly to try to photograph a Common Kingfisher. In fact I soon learned there were at least 4 and possibly as many as 6 of them in this small area, apparently playing in pairs. What's worse they were not posing for my new camera! I have never seen so many Common Kingfishers together; normally a solitary bird.

I might have taken some great shots today with a 400 mm lens! I'll definitely need to get the diopter loupe back into use. Some practice needed with the P6000. You may have noticed no photographs today - well I have some shots but I am really not happy with them so I'll sneak this one in here of a Greater Spotted Eagle..

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.

In Search of the Big Birds

A tree with at least 3 Black Kites Perched

Wat Norng Blah Lai

Phetchaburi Province

03.01.11

Yesterday morning, 3rd January 2011, I took a trip down to Wat Norng Blah Lai in the hope of seeing the Cinereous Vulture and also was excited by the possibility of Himalayan Griffons. Alas I drew a blank on both species but there were a few Greater Spotted Eagles hanging around and a sizeable number of Black Kites. There are at least three of the latter species in the above tree photographed on the main road. There were plenty of people around in the hope of seeing the vulture but we were all disappointed. 

Northern Pintail - female

Wat Khao Takhrao

Phetchaburi 03.01.11

I decided to head off to nearby Wat Khao Takhrao and on arrival there must have been at least 1,000 Lesser Whistling Duck sitting on the big pond. I don't care how common these ducks may be I always get a kick out of seeing large flocks of birds. I didn't take photographs as they were too far away but a scan of the pond revealed 2 Northern Pintails, females, and 5 Garganeys. Further into the pond there was also a very considerable mixed flock of Brown-headed Gulls and Caspian Terns. Bliss! A visual feast and I got my deck chair out and simply observed these birds and made a few notes and sketches.

Wood Sandpiper

Wat Khao Takhrao

Phetchaburi 03.01.11

As I sat there as happy as the proverbial pig this Wood Sandpiper came into range and allowed me to take a couple of decent shots. I headed back to Wat Norng Blah Lai at midday and there was no news of any sightings of vultures so I headed home more than content with my lot this morning.