Frustrations!? Not Really!

Little Cormorant

Khao Yoi, Phetchburi Province

19.02.12

A frustrating sort of day I suppose. The early start did not materialise and so when Tom Backlund called from Wat Khao Tahkrao I was still in bed. He reported two Comb Ducks. Wow! This confirmed my intention to head there in the afternoon. However if a week is a long time in politics then an hour is a long time in birding. No guarantees the birds would still be there in one hour, never mind later in the day.

Osprey

Wat Khao Takhrao, Phetchburi Province

19.02.12

When I did make it to the site early in the afternoon  I couldn't find the Comb Ducks. I had a good look for them. I am completely sure the birds had gone because later in the afternoon two Eastern Marsh Harriers began buzzing the assembled waterfowl out of their post-prandial slumbers. This went on for about thirty minutes and would have raised the Comb Ducks had they been resting or reclining. They are so big they would really have stood out. Alas no, not today, but a fantastic record for Tom and his mate.

Whiskered Tern

Khao Yoi, Phetchburi Province

19.02.12

I did, however, get an unexpected solitary Nordmann's Greenshank. In it came to the tail of a large group of ducks, distinct yellow legs and a slightly upturned, stout black and yellow bill. What was significant initially was its solitary status in amongst thousands of ducks. I thought Greenshank and then as I looked more closely I realised it was no ordinary Greenshank, or should I say Common Greenshank. I was really rather pleased with this. It would have been nice to have been able to get in a bit closer to this distant bird to get a decent shot. So again a little frustrating.

Purple Heron

Khao Yoi, Phetchburi Province

19.02.12

I fluffed a chance to get some decent shots of an Osprey. Shrubbery got in the way, however, but this only became obvious when I looked at the shots on a computer screen. Unfortunately the shrubs I was using for cover have cast shadow over the images when I thought I had a clean view of the bird. When I put my rig into the open the bird promptly legged it! Earlier on my way to the site via Khao Yoi, I managed to get a Thick-billed Warbler in focus in the LCD and was about to click when it flew off. Sometimes it can be like this!

But notwithstanding the frustrations I saw some good birds effortlessly today and managed a couple of decent shots of more common birds when I stopped off in the Khao Yoi area. A huge Steppe Eagle flew over the Wat Khao Takrhao site and as I drove towards the highway I stopped to watch a Greater Spotted Eagle and a Booted Eagle on Drongo Lane; this is where I first went birding in Thailand a few years ago. I wonder what I would have made of a Greater Spotted Eagle in those early days when I can distinctly recall being unable to separate Little and Cattle Egret! As I drove home I noted two kettles of Black Kites, each numbering about 30, the first quite literally above the Khao Yoi crags and the second a little bit to the north, near the roost site. So not such a bad few hours really!

A Quiet Weekend

A very welcome visit from a nephew, Andrew, and his girlfriend combined with the remnants of a nasty throat infection meant little birding activity this weekend. Of course I took everybody out to the rice paddy for the final hour of Saturday afternoon and I am delighted to say I was able to show my wife, her mother and Andrew and his girlfriend a solitary Grey-headed Lapwing. It was like a magic hour because there were also plenty of Common Snipes, Wood Sandpipers, a few Spotted Redshanks, White-breasted Waterhen, a Brown Shrike, a White-throated Kingfisher, a Common Kingfisher, and all the usual suspects; in the last light of the day a male and female Pied Harrier put in an appearance,  an Eastern Marsh also flashed around and the distinctive fluttering hover of a Black-shouldered Kite revealed its identity against a very dark sky. My guests loved it!

Sunday we had a boat trip on the Meklong River at Amphawa Market, Samut Songkram. A Little Tern, a fair few Whiskered Tern, plenty of Blue-tailed Bee-eaters and a Brahminy Kite hovering around. We headed to the Khao Yoi Black Kite roost for the final light of the day and I counted between 250 - 300 Black Kites on the ground. My guests were really impressed by the spectacle.

Roll on the Christmas break - I am looking forward to doing some serious birding.

Black Kite Roost, Khao Yoi, Phetchburi Province

Black Kite roost

Khao Yoi, Phetchburi Province

11.12.11

I had a pleasant spin around Phetchburi province this afternoon with my family. I had no idea of how close our initial bird watching sorties were three years ago to the Tung Bang Jak and Norng Blah Lai area. These were sort of random explorations where we simply turned right off the highway after the Makro store. I have no recollection of seeing any raptors on these trips. Today we had the spectacle of a very high Imperial Eagle., high in the sky above the village of Bang Jak. A sumptuous feast for the eyes.


There wasn't much happening late afternoon in the Wat Norng Blah Lai area, a few Eastern Marsh and Pied Harriers. So we headed to the Khao Yoi Black Kite roost -  it seemed quieter than last time but still at least 250-300 kites present.

Wat Norng Blah Lai, Phetchburi Province

Greater Spotted Eagle

Aquila clanga

นกอินทรีปีกลาย

Wat Norng Blah Lai 03.12.11

I took my two and half year old son, Benedict, out with me this afternoon and we had a very pleasant time in the Wat Norng Blah Lai area, Phetchburi province. It's a 30 minute drive from home. We had one Greater Spotted Eagle, Eastern Marsh Harrier and Pied Harrier. Two resident Black-shouldered Kites were trying to mob an Eastern Marsh, (f), but she took it all in her stride and gracefully side-stepped their onslaught. What was striking was the difference in their sizes -  the harrier really dwarfs the kites.

Black-shouldered Kite

Elanus caeruleus

เหย่ยวขาว

Wat Norng Blah Lai 03.12.11

I could only manage a silhouette of the Greater Spotted, but this shot really captures the atmosphere as the sun sets. The last couple of hours in the day are often fantastic The kites were much more obliging. However they were only about 50m away! As we drove around we also noticed a couple of Black Kites trailing the rice harvesters in the hope of a snack. These are the first Black Kites I have seen in this area this year.

White-throated Kingfisher

Halcyon smyrnensis

นกกะเด็นอกขาว

Wat Norng Blah Lai 03.12.11

As Benedict slept peacefully I was able to stop in the Khao Yoi area on our way home and watch the Black Kites coming in to roost. Over the next few weeks the count here is likely to rise to several thousands but tonight a modest 300-350. At 17:50h photography is just not an option now but they make an impressive sight as they crowd coconut trees; tonight about 100 of them were on the ground in freshly cut rice. I didn't see any kites coming in from the north tonight which surprised me as they do come up to Ratchaburi and Huay Mai Teng during the day.

I have to say things are warming up quite nicely

Big Bird Convention in Khao Yoi

Painted Storks

My friend Tom Backlund texted me yesterday afternoon to tell me he had just seen several hundred Spot-billed Pelicans and an equally  large number of Painted Stork in the Khao Yoi area of Phetchaburi Province.  (I have amended this because Tom's text said "sev hundred" which I took to mean "seven" and he has now corrected me! So probably not a record!) So there really was only one place to head for today! The habitat here is predominately fish farming ponds.

Spot-billed Pelicans

Well the big birds did oblige. There were plenty of Spot-billed Pelicans and Painted Stork. I really don't know how to count such large flocks. The pelicans were exclusively in the air and I would estimate between 300 - 400. The Painted Stork were more obliging in photographic terms but equally difficult to count. In real terms a spectacular show as they formed huge kettles. There were thousands of egrets in attendance too. But photography was difficult! Well digiscoping was difficult, the simple act of framing moving birds in the viewfinder was beyond my powers and apart from a few storks in trees, none of the big birds were on the ground.

Painted Stork - juvenile?

There were also a couple of Brahminy Kites on the premises, keeping an eye out for opportunities. Also some Collared Kingfishers which unhelpfully stayed in the shade and otherwise might have given me a great shot

Brahminy Kite

I stayed in bed this morning and had a long lie instead of heading to the reservoir. I am glad I did so. It's good that the big birds appear to be in such vigorous good health and I hope I can make it back to Khao Yoi soon and hopefully some better shots. I am not sure how long this convention will last!

Collared Kingfisher

Phetchaburi Province: A Few Birds

By sheer coincidence I live close to serious bird action and today's photos indicate what is on offer less than hour from my home. Today once more to Khao Yoi, a 30 minute drive from home, just down the Petchkasem highway. Firstly an aerial shot of a black kite. 

Black kite, milvus migrans, Khao Yoi, 23.01.10

These birds abound in Khao Yoi and I have read one recent report of several thousand of them roosting in the area. Yesterday we saw about 20 kites today there were about 10 or so. The snap shows the limitations of my equipment but the key diagnostic is the fan tail. The birds in the blog strap are also black kites photographed at Huai Mai Teng Resevoir a few months ago.

Next a female pied harrier, I believe, which was in the same area checking out the kites with a friend. I saw the bird when it was just above the ground and the diagnostic white uppertail-covert band was visible as it cavorted about before soaring off. Unfortunately my camera was in the car when it was just above the ground!

Pied harrier, circus melanoleucos,  Khao Yai 23.01.10

I then headed off to count waterbirds and I couldn't resist this purple swamphen. There were two in a pond but this is the best shot. This is a pretty common bird but I really like its colouring.

Purple swamphen, porphyrio porphyrio,  Khao Yoi 23.01.10

I have to say the Asian Waterbird Census has really been great in terms of my development as a bird watcher. I now understand how difficult it is to count birds due to the amount of movement. Take a disused fish pond......it might contain 1-2,000 birds, most of which are fairly common: black-winged stilt, chinese pond heron, marsh sandpiper, green sandpiper, greenshank, common redshank, spotted redshank, little egret, grey heron and the like. Enter yours truly, and I start counting when all of a sudden the birds fly 100 metres further up the pond to join several hundred similar birds. How do you know which ones you have counted and which ones you don't?! 

Oh and then there are the not insignificant problems of separating the greenshanks from the marsh sandpipers.Well let me say I think I can distinguish marsh sandpipers from greenshanks, the latter have a stouter bill and it has a slight upward tilt. They are also more slender. I have seen so many birds of both species over the last few days I think I can finally separate them. Now a little work on green and wood sandpiper. 

Green sandpiper, tringa ochropus,  Khao Yoi 23.01.10

I headed off in search of raptors at about 17:15h and I wasn't alone. I met a group of Thai birders who had sighted steppe and imperial eagles during the day. I managed a couple of shots of this eastern marsh harrier. I like the one of including a sunset  which for artistic purposes is uncropped!

Eastern marsh harrier, circus spilonotus,  Khao Yai 23.01.10

Not bad birding for a few hours in the afternoon about 30 minutes from home!