Pak Thale & Laem Pak Bia

Red-necked Stint

Calidris ruficollis

นกสติ๊นท์คอแดง

Pak Thale, Petchburi Province 09.10.12

An early afternoon high tide and the prospect of good light drew me to Phetchburi's famous stretch of the Inner Gulf. The theory is the high tide will move the waders off the mudflats into the salt pans. This proved true today. On arrival at Pak Thale there were huge numbers of Eurasian Curlews and Whiskered Terns in separate flocks. Mixed up with some of the curlews was a large number of Black-tailed Godwit with a liberal sprinkling of Whimbrel; I counted two Bar-tailed Godwits. About 350 Great Knot and lots of Red-necked Stints and Marsh Sandpipers. But no Spoon-bill Sandpiper. A strange dearth of Curlew & Broad-billed Sandpiper.

White-faced Plover

Charadrius alexandrinus dealbatus

นกหัวโตขาดำ

Laem Pak Bia - sand spit, Petchburi Province 09.10.12

On to Laem Pak Bia which was strangely quiet. Two Spot-billed Pelicans and about 30 Common Greenshanks. I was eager to string some of these into Nordmann's but alas their legs were all wrong. Nine Grey Plover and a solitary Pacific Golden. Not much else and three Red-necked Stints at the Abandonned Building and nothing else.

White-faced Plover

Charadrius alexandrinus dealbatus

นกหัวโตขาดำ

Laem Pak Bia - sand spit, Petchburi Province 09.10.12

So I decided to head out to the sand spit with Mr Deng. Almost immediately we chanced on two White-face Plovers. Good numbers of Malaysian Plovers and we also had two stationery Terek Sandpipers; first time I can recall these birds seeing these birds stand still. Lots of Sanderling. L.ots of Lesser Sand-plover

Terek Sandpiper

Xenus cinereus

นกชายเลนปากแอ่น 

Laem Pak Bia - sand spit, Petchburi Province 09.10.12

The sand spit is possibly one of the nicest places to go birding in the Inner Gulf. Beautifully warm, end of day and Mr Deng is the epitome of calm and serenity. Nice afternoon.

A Very Wet Afternoon in Laem Pak Bia

Great Egret

Torrential rain meant my efforts to locate the Great Thick-knee at the Abandoned Building area in Laem Pak Bia were unsuccessful. The problem was the volume of surface water on the dirt tracks and I had to get my truck onto a sealed surface to avoid getting stuck or worse. It really was no fun and at various points my truck was effectively out of control; fortunately the terrain is flat here but on a sloping surface this might have been deadly. I did learn from some birders that the bird had been seen in morning. I am in the privileged position of having seen the Great Thick-knee in each of the last two years but a couple of friends are itching to add this species to their lists and are actively contemplating a long distance twitch. In view of this I would have liked to confirm a positive sighting.

So the weather was the story today. Not surprising really. This is the rainy season and it does tend to hammer down, often in short bursts. The only real problem tends to be the effect on unsealed roads of which there are many. Later in the afternoon I almost got stuck at the King's Project as my tyres were struggling to get traction.

Common Redshank juv

With grateful thanks to Dave Gandy & Phil Round for the ID

The good news is there were plenty of waders and in amongst all the usual suspects I was pleased to note Pacific Golden Plovers and Grey Plovers. There were also good numbers of Black-tailed Godwits and Curlews and a fair few Whimbrel too; add in some Greenshanks and Marsh Sandpipers. I didn't see anything unusual but observation conditions weren't so good but I did scan the godwits and curlews for  black bills; unfortunately most of the birds were a distance away and they were roosting with their bills tucked away so pretty difficult to make anything out.

Greater Painted Snipe

There were 7-8 Spot-billed Pelicans two of which I managed to photograph. I am pleased with the shot as they were about 80 yards away and the light was poor. I was also pleased to get all of the Great Egret in the frame and could only have wished for better light to do this elegant bird justice.

I must confess to struggling with the ID of the "tringa". It's those reddish legs that have thrown me. I would expect some red on the bill for one of the Redshank species and on consideration I would expect the legs to be a much richer red. I would say Wood Sandpiper. In Shorebirds ( Hayman et al.)  Woodsandpiper legs are described as "...dull yellowish, usually greenish or brownish-yellow, always looking pale at a distance." That possibly solves the leg issue and of course the bill is undoubtedly that of a Woodsandpiper: once more Shorebirds notes "...a blackish distal half and an olive-green or yellow-green base." I have just learned what "distal" means: furthest away from the centre of the body. So I would say Wood Sand. Of course I would appreciate confirmation or correction.

Update: Dave Sargeant suggests a female Ruff as the reddish legs for a Wood Sandpiper are "off"; looking at the bill which I now see has some decurving, I think he might be right!  Tom Backlund is of the view it is a Wood Sand as "...the bill and legs are way too long..". Dave Gandy thinks it is a juvenile Redshank and he's sure! Fascinating stuff. Well I had to seek Phil Round's opinion because I don't know what it is. From Phil: "Dave Gandy has it right!! It is a juvenile Common Redshank. The legs are far too orange for a Wood Sandpiper. Enough of the back can be seen to show the even upperparts spotting typical of juvenile Tringa. The dull purplish-flesh (no red) to both mandibles indicate juvenile Common Redshank. Also, we already know that we get a massive wave of juv Common Redshanks passing through LPB in mid-August." I am very happy to get this sorted out. Thanks to all for their help and contributions. This process underlines what a complex and challenging task bird identification can be.

The Greater Painted Snipe knew I was near and refused to come out and pose. I'll need to develop my Photoshop skills in order to learn how to remove the strands of grass which are disguising this truly beautiful bird. I have moved one strand which crossed its bill but the others will require a much more precise procedure which I haven't learned yet!

Wat Khao Takrhao & Laem Pak Bia

Milky Stork

Benedict and I headed off to Phetchburi province this afternoon for a look at Wat Khao Takhrao and thereafter onto Laem Pak Bia to coincide with high tide. I do hope I can start many more blogs with this introduction! It was fantastic to be out birding again and it was great to have Benny with me.

There was little to suggest that we were going to run into anything interesting. The drive through Khao Yoi was unremarkable. We saw a small flock of Painted Stork as we drove through the swamp to Wat Khao Takrhao. At Wat Khao Takrhao I was prepared for a good number of Painted Stork and some Spot-billed Pelicans and I was hoping there might be some sign of Great Thick-knee.

The story however was Painted Stork, in their thousands. Impossible to count: there was a huge central core of about 1,200 birds in the middle area of the big pool and then there were smaller groups scattered everywhere. A scan revealed a pair of Spot-billed Pelicans and then Black-headed Ibis, 16 of them: quite unexpected I hasten to add. There were also a handful of Whiskered Terns and 50-60 Lesser Whistling Ducks. In terms of waders there were good numbers of Black-tailed Godwits, some Common Greenshanks, Marsh Sandpipers and Wood Sandpipers.

Asian Dowitcher

As we headed towards the temple I noticed some Godwits in one of the many pools and at this time of the year, with waders on the move, you dismiss them as a group of Black-tailed Godwits at your peril. I got a glimpse of a long, black bill with my bins and then of an incredibly strong whiter supercilium; I had the scope up in no time and all I knew was that it was neither Black-tailed nor Bar-tailed on the basis of the bill colour. I was hoping it would be a Long-billed Dowicher but that is just because I want lifers. Of course I didn't have a field guide with me so I had to get some shots of it. A call to Tom Backlund confirmed the likelihood of it being Asian. I think the photo confirms it is indeed Asian. I wonder where this fellow has come form and I wonder where his journey will end. While I took the shot Benny did splendid work in advising the oncoming traffic to be quiet!

We then drove to Pak Thale which rather surprisingly was as good as bird-free; I must confess it is almost virtually water-free right now as most of the salt pans are empty. Strange not being able to see a Curlew or a Lesser Sand-plover. No doubt it is going to get very busy here over the next few months.

We then headed down to Laem Pak Bia. Given the near dearth of birds at Pak Thale I thought they must all be down here. Five Spot-billed Pelicans and a small group of Painted Stork and little else other than some Redshanks. Except there was a Milky Stork in the among the Painted Stork. Now this bird has been around for a few weeks so I was really pleased to connect with it and I managed to get a few shots of it.

The Milky Stork is a pretty rare bird and in fact has an IUCN rating of Vulnerable. Its numbers are in decline with its stronghold in Sumatra, Indonesia. It pops up here infrequently usually in solitary numbers, tending to associate with flocks of Painted Stork. As you can see it could easily be confused with Painted Stork. The most obvious difference is the Milky does not have any pink feathering and the visible black feathers are restricted to the outer fringes of the wings when the bird is standing; the bill colour is different, a yellow pink whereas the Painted is orange, reminiscent of Cheddar cheese. I also rather fancy the Milky has a head fringe which appears to be lacking in the Painted; what I mean is the feathers extend more onto the Milky's forehead.

No sign of Great Thick-knees and not a lot else but a great afternoon and a great selection of birds.

Nordmann's or Common Greenshank?

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Laem Pak Bia - Abandonned Building, Phetchburi Province

16.04.12

Our journey home went smoothly until we reached the point where the Hua Hin/Cha-am bypass road rejoins the Phetchkasem Highway, (the Phetchkasem proper, Highway 4, goes through Cha-am and Hua Hin, the latter a notorious bottleneck); we hit a wall of traffic extending northwards as far as the eye could see and it wasn't even crawling. We know the roads in this area very well so we were able to divert to north Cha-am and then proceed north along the coastal road which passes through "Thailand Birding Central" - Laem Pak Bia and Pak Thale. As it was on our way we stopped at Bang Kao. A quick scan of the beach showed a Greater Crested Tern; that became the target and as you can see I got a shot of it. Quite an ugly bird really! The shot shows the key diagnostics: yellow bill, dark sides - the Lesser Crested Tern, a rarer bird, is smaller, has an orange bill and is lighter. I can never remember these distinctions in the field!

Greater Crested Tern

Thalasseus bergii

Bang Ban Kao, Phetchburi Province

16.04.12

We proceeded north and decided to head into the Abandonned Building at Laem Pak Bia. There was a huge flock of Black-tailed Godwits, perhaps 1500+. I have never seen so many but big flocks like this are not uncommon here. Then a group of Greenshanks grabbed my attention, ten in total one of which was an on its own own and nearer to me.(see top photo) I thought: "Bingo! These are Nordmann's Greenshanks".  75% of me still thinks this a correct call though the 25% doubt is substantial. The problem is the birds legs are in water and so it is hard to evaluate their actual size as the depth of the water is unknown. Pro Nordmann's: shape, structure: angular,stocky,"ventral", not much of a neck although that could be deceptive, no brown in the scapulars, basal half of bill is greenish. Pro Common: I could hear some calling and Nordmann's are generally silent; then I get them wrong and I just don't have the experience or knowledge to say definitively what it is. But herein is the great joy of birding, the challenge, if you like. What is it? I can't say with certainty and I am happy to acknowledge this. My call is Nordmann's. I've put some feelers out. One has come back 90% sure it is Nordmann's. We shall see. Feel free to comment!

Update 17.04.12 Thanks to Peter Ericsson and Phil Round for putting me right: it is a Common Greenshank. Peter wrote :"Bill is too long and pointed for Nordmann's. Legs are also too long" and from Phil: "Common Greenshank (breeding plumage) due to length of the legs and pointed bill."

Thirty-three Pied Avocets at Laem Pak Bia

Encouraged by Saturday's unexpected Spoon-billed Sandpiper at Khok Kham and feeling energetic, I decided to head to Laem Pak Bia this afternoon. I had no expectations. I decided to start at Bang Kaew a small fishing village to the south of Laem Pak Bia to check out what was on the seashore. Nothing unusual but plenty of great photo opportunities and I had a bit of a laugh talking to the fisherman and explaining in my basic Thai how the very prominent brown head on the Brown-headed Gull was its breeding plumage. For a digiscoper it is important every now and then to have good light and co-operative birds. It makes a huge difference being able to shoot at fast shutter speeds. I got that here. In fact soon after the light changed as rain clouds began covering the sky moving from west to east.

At Laem Pak Bia there wasn't much too get excited about although small flocks of waders were on the move. What drew my attention however was a distant group of white birds with a black lateral ridge on their heads - I thought these might be Pied Avocets and so walked in and sure enough, Pied Avocets, quite  a rare bird in Thailand. I made two separate counts, about 30 minutes apart,  both of which matched at 33 birds. Now that was exciting and excitement levels increased as the flock took to the air and swooped and cascaded before settling down again in the salt pans. The effect of this is brilliant due to the monochrome colouring - it really enhances the effect of synchronisation as the birds move.

Four Spot-billed Pelicans were roosting further up in the same saltpan - large immobile lumps looking from a distance like large bean bags. Probably very tired after a long flight. First of the year and it will be interesting to see how their numbers build. Also noteworthy was a distant aerial group of at last 50 Painted Storks, but this species is resident year round and numbers in general are high. So a pleasant afternoon.

In the fading light to the Kings Project which is still under repair. All the pools remain empty and they appear to have hacked down a lot of the perimeter trees favoured by roosting starlings. Little of note here but a Peregrine Falcon perched on a radio transmitter and allowed me to shoot it.

Sterna albifrons

now you know why if "albifrons" means "white forehead"

Pak Thale & Laem Pak Bia

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

Calidris pygmeus

นกชายเลนปากช้อน

Laem Pak Bia 12.03.12

Thanks to school holidays I was able to meet up with Dean Nicholson from British Colombia, Canada yesterday who contacted me as a result of reading this blog. In the end we decided to hit Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia, Thailand's premier wader sites. Dean brought Hans Matheve, from Belgium, whom he met in Kaeng Krachan a few days earlier. Hans brought his non-birding girlfriend along too. So in real terms we were mob-handed! Much more importantly we managed to meet up in Phetchburi on time and at the agreed location - no mean achievement!

Our first target was Black-faced Spoonbill, two of which have been reported regularily and appear to favour salt pans near the gas holders at Pak Thale. We had a good look but couldn't locate them. We did see good numbers of Painted Stork however and we had some debate about whether a whitish bodied bird, with black fringing at the base of its wing edges as it stood up, was a Milky Stork, another regularily reported rarity from the same area. We agreed it wasn't. I have to say that having just reviewed the photos on Oriental Bird Images I think we might have got this wrong and that it was in fact a Milky Stork!

In Pak Thale we had to work to find Spoon-billed Sandpiper but we did in the end see one in salt pans towards the mudflats. Hans called it and he and Dean walked in a little bit to get better views. Phew! Always a relief to sight this fellow and I was delighted for our visitors. Lots of Lesser Sand-plovers, some Greater Sand-plovers,  good numbers of Kentish Plovers, a fair few Broad-billed Sandpipers, a handful of Great Knot, and the resident flocks of Curlew and Black-tailed Godwits.

Next up we headed to the sand spit at Laem Pak Bia. I had arranged beforehand that Mrs Daeng would serve an early lunch at 1030h and I have to say it was perfect. Mr Daeng got us onto the sand spit and the undoubted highlight was a Pallas's Gull, identified by Hans as first winter. In fact Hans gave a mini-lecture on why it was a first winter and its key diagnostics: grey streaking around the eye, long thin bill with black tip, streaking on the neck, white upper tail covert....... So helpful to have such expertise to hand when this type of bird is in front of you. No less Thai  lifer ⌗322 for me. I have to say this gull is huge and dwarved the Brown-headed Gulls and Crested Terns which were keeping it company; a brief aerial display confirmed other key diagnostics not to mention its comparative enormous size.

Five Lesser Crested Terns were in a mixed flock of Greater Crested Terns, Brown-headed Gulls and Little Terns. Abundant numbers of plovers with 6+ Malaysian Plovers but no White-faced. One solitary Chinese Egret and on the way back we had a Heuglin's Gull on a small sand flat opposite the sand spit: once more a massive bird, dwarfing the four Brown-headed Gulls which it was with.

We decided to keep our focus on waders so next we went to the Abandoned Building and Dean got very lucky here with a number of lifers including Ruff, Indian Nightjar , Indochinese Bushlark and Plain-backed Sparrow.. It was good to see birders putting themselves out to get a decent view of Plain-backed Sparrow because as I have often said before, it isn't plain. Dean flushed the nightjar which left a fledgling behind. I hope they manage to reconnect


We then decided to head north back to Pak Thale for the final chapter in our day's birding. Even though it was low tide there were still good numbers of waders in the ponds near the mudflats. Here we were excited by the possibility of a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper but after exhaustive enquiry and observation, we decided we couldn't claim it and that it was more likely a Long-toed Stint! Our cause was not helped by distance and the fact that the bird was onnly showing its rear quarters. We also took a lot of time observing Curlews feeding on the mudflats and were drawn into the possibility of one being Eastern: it appeared darker, had a longer bill which seemed to start straight and only curve downwards at about three-quarters of its length. We looked, looked and looked but it wouldn't give us a sight of its uppers or unders so we had to give up on it as a "curlew species". A number of very busy Terek Sandpipers were seen busily feeding on the mudflat.


A great day's birding indeed. Thanks to Dean and Hans for their expertise and good company. As we drove into Phetchburi town I stopped the car to view an unfamiliar shape in the sky, quite low down. Mmmmmmm, a kite! As in a toy kite! 


So few photographs? Yup! On Wednesday I went to the Eastern Seaboard, alternatively the Pattaya overspill, where I bought a second hand Panasonic GF1. It was such a good offer I could hardly refuse it. The package included an Electronic View Finder. Well I managed to leave the EVF at home! So I decided not to bother with photography today. Not an auspicious start but I have high expectations that once I have learned the camera.


I did fiddle with a loupe and managed a usable shot of Spoonbill Sandpiper. In this instance the bird is of no consequence. What is significant from a photographic perspective is even though  the bird was 60 - 70 yards away, the focus and sharpness is a significant improvement. I doubt whether I would have been able to produce a usable image with old faithful, the Nikon P6000. To underline this check this two shots of a Yellow-vented Bulbul taken Wednesday at Bang Phra Non-hunting Area, Chonburi province.

The above is uncropped and I haven't tweaked it in anyway. It's an unremarkable, bland shot of a bird that is a bit out of reach. However the focus is sharp. So look at the same image cropped below. Not a great image either but the detail is good and as far as I am concerned it is a significant improvement on old faithful. The crop would have been much more blurred. The new camera enables finer focus.

So upwards on the learning curve I proceed and I hope there will be a corresponding improvement in the quality of my images, once of course I have learned the new camera and system and so long as I remember to bring the EVF!

A Day in Pak Thale & Laem Pak Bia

White-faced Plover

I consider myself a very fortunate fellow to be able to jump in my truck and be in Pak Thale, Phetchburi province in a little over an hour. Just after 0700h I was viewing two Black-faced Spoonbills there. I wanted this species for my year list! What incredible birds with their very striking cooking spatula-like bills. Fortunate indeed, to have easy access and by virtue of this, never really feeling under pressure.

Chinese Egret at ISO 800 

I then headed back to Phetchburi at my leisure to pick up Padraig Quinn, a Birdforum contact.  I had  agreed to show him round the area. We had some great birds today and great to go birding with a kindred spirit.

As a novice and having done next to no birding in the British Isles I really don't know what species Padraig would be interested in. So a delight to stop for Greater Coucal, Collared Kingfisher, Asian Openbill and Red-wattled Lapwing. Pak Thale was a bit disappointing: we had a good look but couldn't find Spoonbill Sandpiper. Plenty of Marsh Sandpiper, Common Redshanks, Spotted Redshanks, Kentish Plovers, Little Cormorant, a solitary Indian Cormorant, huge numbers of Eurasian Curlews,  few Long-toed Stint, lots of Red-necked Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, more Broad-billed Sandpiper than I can ever recall seeing, but no Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

We headed south to Laem Pak Bia for lunch and over a well-needed cold drink we decided it would be a good idea to head out to the sandspit. Mr Daeng was booked but he got us an alternative; instead of waiting we had a quick scout around the main Laem Pak Bia site. Padraig added  Green Bee-eater and Great Knot to his list of lifers. Lots of Gull-billed Terns,too. I rather fancy I saw Red Knot but conditions were hazy and the birds were a distance away, so no claims.

Off we then went out to the sandspit in near perfect conditions where the birding was quite fantastic: Greater Crested Tern, Caspian Tern, Brown-headed Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Little Tern ( I called it a Common, don't know why!) a Sanderling, a fair few Malaysian Plovers, lots of Greater and Lesser Sand-plover, Great Knot, Red-necked Stint. Nice and easy birds and they were putting on great aerial displays every so often. Then our boatman received a text to say Mr Daeng has located two Spoon-billed Sandpipers on the island nearest to land. So we legged it and Padraig located one Spoon-billed Sandpiper and I think we were both mightily relieved,  and grateful to Mr Daeng for letting us know. We only saw one but it showed well.

Next up Mr Daeng put us on a Whited-faced Plover, an exquisite little bird. Then the final coup-de grâce: 2 Chinese Egrets as we headed back in the gloom. I even managed some shots notwithstanding the poor light. What sublime beauty. Mr Daeng told us there had actually been three. Who cares?! One is erfectly adequate!

So a classic Spoon-billed Sandpiper - on the sandspit. A great day and great conversation, or should I say "craic" or perhpas the less affected "crack"!? .

Pied Avocet at Laem Pak Bia

Pied Avocet

Recurvirostra avosetta

นกปากงอน

Laem Pak Bia

16.01.12

It is Teachers Day today and we got a day off  so I headed to Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia in the afternoon, against the tide. There were huge numbers of Curlews and Black-tailed Godwits at Pak Thale, in fact there were large number of waders in the pools towards the sea, but I couldn't make out any Spoon-billed Sandpipers or Nordmann's Greenshanks. I made some effort to seek out Spoon-billed Sandpiper in fact but sorry to say I drew a complete blank. Lots of frantically feeding Red-necked Stints which raised hopes but no sign of that famous spoon bill.

Grey Heron

Ardea Cinerea

นกกระสานวล

The King's Project, Laem Pak Bia

16.01.12

In view of recent experiences with gulls I will never treat a flock of gulls again with indifference or disdain. They may well contain treasure!  Try as I did today, and I tried all the way down to Laem Pak Bia, but I couldn't find anything other than Brown-headed Gulls with a few Caspian Terns. I did however find a solitary Pied Avocet having a feed. I  was measuring up the front cover shot when a lorry load of workers followed by a cavalcade of motor cycles approached and I had to move as I was blocking the narrow track. The noise scared the bird away. Such is life. The Thai field guide describes Pied Avocet as " หายาก", "ha yak", meaning "difficult to see". I saw sixteen of them in the air on my previous visit. So always pleasing to see, and in this instance, photograph the rarer species. 

White-breasted Waterhen

Amaurornis phoenicurus

นกกวัก

The King's Project, Laem Pak Bia

16.01.12

I went into the Kings Project looking for photo opportunities. It is strange there at the moment as the main ponds are all empty. They have been drained due to maintenance. There are still plenty of birds but not as many photo opportunities. I managed shots of a Black-capped Kingfisher, a Grey Heron and a White-breasted Waterhen: fairly common species but all definitely camera shy; hard to get close to these birds without scaring them. It's these birds which really cry out for a handheld camera with a decent lens: they are difficult to digiscope simply because they  don't allow much time.

Black-capped Kingfisher

Halcyon pileata

นกกะเด็นหัวดำ

The King's Project, Laem Pak Bia

16.01.12

It simply takes one good bird to make a good day and today Pied Avocet did it for me.

Laem Pak Bia: Gull Crazy

Heuglin's Gull (2w)

I decided late morning 3rd January 2012 to head to Laem Pak Bia in Phetchburi province.  It was an amazing day and any initial concerns about travelling later in the day, after the morning high tide and into busy roads with New Year trippers heading back home, were soon diminished. First a Black Kite circled above me a little bit down the Petchkasem Highway from home and then the  eagles put on a completely unexpected show for me, also above the highway, this time as I passed the Norng Blah Lai area: 2 Booted Eagles, 2 Greater Spotted Eagles and 1 Steppe Eagle. Just like that!  They hung around long enough for me to stop the car, get out and have a look.

Heuglin's Gull (2w)

Initially Laem Pak Bia was very quiet. I went into the Abandoned Building but nothing to get excited about here. A couple of Black-tailed Godwits, a few Red-necked Stint and, on the way out, a Common Kingfisher. The track out into the salt pans was blocked so access was impossible.

I then drove up to Laem Pak Bia proper past the King's Project and large flocks of waders were visible on my left and almost on cue they took to the air and moved towards the sea; mainly Great Knot I believe. I headed down the side road onto the sea side salt pans proper and met with a small flock of Curlew Sandpiper and Red-necked Stints. I could see huge flocks of birds massing further in and proceeded on towards them. These birds were on the move as I approached which provided great views of fast moving waders: thousands of birds.

I then witnessed one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my short time as a birder: a small flock of 16 Pied Avocets put on an aerial display, first of all as a group within a much larger group of waders and then they broke away on their own and swooped and swerved above the salt pans for a few minutes before disappearing. I want to know how these birds can perform with such poise and ability and at speed and not crash into each other! The avocets' colours, a very bright white with pronounced black primaries and other black markings on the scapulars and coverts, really enhanced the spectacle. I was in no doubt about this identification even though this was only my second sighting of Pied Avocet.

No photographs sadly but I was just happy to observe. I proceeded further along the track: huge flocks of Plovers and Great Knots, lots of Marsh Sandpipers and Spotted Redshanks, and plenty of other smaller waders. For my efforts I was rewarded with 4 Nordmann's Greenshanks and no sooner was I set up to photograph them than off they went. This looks to be avery reliable spot for Nordmann's as I saw them here on my last visit. Then all went quiet and I decided to investigate a flock of gulls.

This is when it got complicated! In the middle of a large dispersed group of Brown-headed Gulls there were some big gulls that were definitely not Brown-headed. I counted nine of them in total. They really do stick out as they look so different and are considerably larger. Unfortunately I was facing into the sun plus the birds were 200 - 250 m away. Add in my real inexperience with such complex species. But I was buzzing, I was excited, because I really didn't know what I was looking at it.

So I legged it round to the main road and walked into the salt pans. This way I managed to put the sun behind me. For the first time in a long time I switched to the 20-60 zoom eyepiece and cranked it up to 50 mm. In view of the wind I also had to shoot at between 200 to 800  ISO in order to use a fast enough shutter speed to eliminate shake. So these are not the clearest shots but they serve their purpose for records and for assisting with IDs.

Twenty-four hours later I am still struggling to ID most of these gulls. I've had a lot of help from Lou Salomon, a BirdForum member, who called the pictures above of the second winter Heuglin's Gull.  But I have also learned from my efforts that the identification of large "white-headed gulls" remains highly problematic. Let me quote Craig Robson, A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South-East Asia, on this subject:

The systematics and identification of all taxa formerly considered as races of either Herring Gull L. argentatus and Lesser Black-backed Gull L. fuscus occurring worldwide have received much attention in recent years. There is growing evidence, based on the study of qualitative differences in morphology, moult, behaviour, ecology,voice and mitochondrial DNA sequences, that several forms, previously regarded as subspecies of either one of the above-mentioned species may, in fact, be better considered full species. Among the most perplexing taxa of all are those that occur or are likely to occur in South-East Asia." ) (My underlining).

So I am mightily relieved to learn it is not simply me! But I do want to learn more about these amazing birds. I am not going to even attempt to ID these birds. I am happy to admit I am out of my depth. So if you can assist with ID please feel free to comment. There are some enquiries pending too so maybe I will be able to make further progress with the IDs.

For me, a perfect day! I am so glad I made it down to Laem Pak Bia. Ah, as I write, I have just finished my first day back at work. I have a very busy schedule over the next two months so I am not sure I am going to be doing a lot of birding.  But what a great  time I have had this last week or so, a great fix. The not insignificant matter of the birth of our second child is imminent, mid-February, and work will be crazy in the build up to the end of the academic year at the end of February. I am not complaining.......

The Birds of Phetchburi Province

Nordman's Greenshank

Tringa guttifer

นกทะเลขาเขียวลายจุด

Laem Pak Bia, 12.12.11

A long pleasant day birding in Phetchaburi province which must have the best concentration and variety of birding in Thailand. A second consecutive Monday holiday so what else can a birding teacher do?! 

Temminck's Stint

Calidiris temminckii

นกสติ๊นท์อกเทา

Laem Pak Bia, 12.12.11

The highlights were 15 Nordmann’s Greenshanks and Thai lifer, #305, Temminck’s Stint, which I caught up with at the Abandoned Building, Laem Pak Bia.

Long-toed Stint

Calidris subminuta

นกสติ๊นท์นิ้วยาว

Laem Pak Bia, 12.12.11

In the really noticeable early morning cool Pak Thale was quite disappointing: a huge flock of Eurasian Curlews but I couldn't see any Far Eastern in their misdst; nearby a mixed flock of Brown-headed Gulls and Caspian Terns.. At 06:00h the water level was high with a high tide not due until about 08:15h so yesterday's tide must have been very high indeed.

Eurasian Curlew

Numenius arquata

นกอีก๋อยใหญ่

 Pak Thale, 12.12.11

I headed south to the Abandoned Building in Laem Pak Bia and took advantage of the photo-opportunities provided by some small waders that came in close including the Temminck's Stint. The Long-toed Stint is a particularily good-looking bird. I would have to say the pool to the right of the building is as near as damn near possible for a sure thing in so far as Temminck's is concerned. I reckon between three and four birds of that species are hanging out there. Quite a few other birds are passing through too and there were even two Painted Stork on top of the building,  a number of egrets including the Great Egret pictured below a Wood Sandpiper, and Little Ringed Plover. The Black-tailed Godwit at the top of this blog was shot there previously. There is also a big flock of Spotted Redshank, Marsh Sandpiper and Black-winged Stilt parked in the pond adjacent to this on the other side of the track.

Caspian Tern

Sternus caspia

นกนางนวลแกลบแกสเปียน

 Pak Thale, 12.12.11

After lunch I slowly worked my way up towards Bang Kaew. There is a massive concentration of birds about 1 kilometre north of the King's Project, with birds loading the pans on both sides of the road. Great Knot seemed to be the volume bird but in amongst this lot and notwithstanding the sun, I picked out most of the usual suspects but also 15  Nordmann's Greenshanks and 1 Ruff. The Nordmann's even gave me a little pose, not great but enough to capture a record shot.

Great Egret

Casmerodius alba

นกยางโทมใหญ่

 Laem Pak Bia, 12.12.11

Bang Kaew and Wat Komnaram had no waterfowl and no sign of either Painted or Milky Stork. On a hunch I headed north to Wat Khao Takhrao and there were no waterfowl present there.

Little RInged Plover

Charadrius dubius

นกหัวโตเล้กขาเหลือง

 Laem Pak Bia, 12.12.11

As I was in the area I drove over to the Khao Yoi Black Kite roost site and they didn't disappoint. En route I drove into a dried out fish pond and there must have been 20 - 25 kites enjoying an afternoon rest on the ground. Normally I expect to see the kites flying into the roost at a reasonably low height, a bit like the queue of planes waiting to lnad at Heathrow Airport, London; tonight a lot of the birds were dropping out of the sky from high up. I don't know if this means anything - maybe  the high birds are new arrivals. However it was an impressive spectacle as always.

A very large flock of waders

The rice is being harvested right now and this was going on in the field next to my viewpoint. By good fortune the harvester flushed the very fine looking female Watercock (below), a bird not easily seen or photographed. I was set and ready for the capture for once and this bird parked itself within range and had a good look around before shooting away. This allowed me to get a couple of shots.

Grey Plover & Great Knot

Laem Pak Bia, 12.12.11

A really excellent day's birding with a good variety of birds.

Waterhen

Khao Yoi 12.12.11

Black Kite

Khao Yoi, 12.12.11