Koh Kood, Trat Province

Pacific Swallow

Hirundo Tahitica

นกนางแอ่นแปซิฟิค

Koh Kood, Trat Province 14.10.12

We have been having a much needed rest on the idyllic island of Koh Kood; it is very close to the border with Cambodia and is somewhat overshadowed by its better known island neighbour, Koh Chang. It is very undeveloped and I imagine it has fantastic birds but I haven't made any serious attempt to get into the forests to see them. I rather fancy I saw a large owl make a crepuscular sortie from nearby shoreline forest in pursuit of prey and then it promptly returned to a dark perch. I have kayaked out into the bay these last two nights in the hope of a repeat. Alas no. What is striking is that I haven't seen a Collared Kingfisher or a White-bellied Sea eagle, two regular fixtures in Thailand's coastal waters, the latter especially in and around its many islands; no Brahminy Kites either.

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Pycnonotus goiavier

นกปรอดหน้านวล

Koh Kood, Trat Province 14.10.12

Pacific Swallows perch on the bamboo pier next to our resort and this fellow let me get close yesterday afternoon.(Update: I have seen this species in The Philippines but have just realised it is a Thai lifer and it goes onto the list as #366!) This shot highlights the differences between it and Barn Swallow: the Pacific lacks a black breast band and has more chestnut on its head, meaning the forehead chestnut patch extends further back towards its crown and nape. It's not a bird I see much of in the Inner Gulf margins but I believe it is fairly common in Thailand's inshore waters.

The Yellow-vented Bulbuls were perched nearby, again fairly common birds in most parts of Thailand. Lots of Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers and Common Mynas in the resort gardens. Outside in more forested areas I rather fancy we have some Arctic and Dusky Warblers and lots of Drongos. There are also lots of Jungle Crows; their distinctive "caw caw caw" sound evokes dull, grey, British autumnal weather.

On the rocks extending from our resort I have seen 3 Pacific Reef Egrets, (dark morph), 2 Little Herons and a handful of Common Sandpipers. I rather fancy the habitat would be ideal for Stork-billed Kingfisher but so far I haven't seen any. I also rather fancy this place warrants serious exploration. However we all need the rest so nothing too energetic planned. It is nice to be in a place where our little boy can run wild with other kids and the resort staff grab our daughter.

Eurasian Hoopoe

Upupa epops 

นกกะรางหัวขวาน

Don Tako,  Ratchaburi Province 11.10.12

Finally the day before we left I got set up at home and managed to photograph this Eurasian Hoopoe, the axe head bird, perched on the spars which support the roof over the bays in the driving range adjacent to our house. It's a common bird here but nevertheless very striking. Just a shame it wouldn't extend its crop.

A Busy Saturday: At the Reservoir PART 1

Oriental Skylark

Alauda galgula

นกจาบฝนเสียงสรรรค์

I made it bright and early to Huay Mai Teng Reservoir on Saturday morning. I was hoping for Savanna Nightjars but alas no. Nevertheless there was lots of activity. I rather fancy there were some Richard's Pipits in the scrub but I didn't get enough of a look at them or a shot to say with any certainty. There were definitely Paddyfield Pipit, Oriental Skylark, Indochinese Bushlark, Small and Oriental Pratincoles and all the usual suspects. Lots of photo opportunities especially a couple of courting Oriental Skylarks who obliged for the camera.

Indochinese Bushlark

Mirafra marionae

นกจาบฝนปีกแดง

 Oriental Pratincole

Glareola maldivarum

นกแอ่นทุ่งใหญ่

Small Pratincole

Glareola lactea

นกแอ่นทุ่งเล็ก

 Bright-capped Cisticola

Cisticola exilis

นกยอดข้าวหางแพนห้วแดง

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Pycnonotus goiavier

นกปรอดหน้านวล

There were fleeting shots of a few birds including Yellow-vented Bulbul and Bright-capped Cisticola. An aerial Painted Snipe was just too quick and there was an unidentified little brown job which would have been a new species.....and I hope to get it next time! Add in many Plain Prinias.......a great morning.

A Dragonfly

All photographs taken Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi, Thailand 30.04.11

The Soi List

Olive-backed Sunbird

Soi 11.02.11

ซอย pronounced Soi means street in Thai. It doesn't mean the main drag rather a smaller road, think of Sukhumwit in Bangkok and the hundreds of sois that run off it. We live in a soi and our soi like most sois has soi dogs! We have a lot of stray dogs all over Thailand.  Our soi also has a lot of birds and I think the time has come to start a soi list. I say this because I was amazed by the number of species I saw in the course of an hour while pushing my baby boy about in his pram after work in the late afternoon.

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Soi 11.02.11

Our house is situated in a small estate facing  a golf driving range. There are a couple of little side streets running off the main soi and they abut onto rice paddy but the village does not have a through road so apart from when the soi dogs kick off it is fairly peaceful here. While the area is residential it is not too built up and beyond the golf range it is very much cultivated rice paddy with pockets of trees and scrub and various natural and man made irrigation channels. The driving range is busy late afternoon and early evening so not many birds then but in the mornings there can be several hundred cattle egrets feeding on the grass.

 Green Bee-eater

Soi 11.02.11

The criterion for getting onto the soi list will be that the bird can be seen from the soi. Number one on this new list will be Pied Harrier, a male, which I watched flying over the little bit of rice paddy nearby before flying off in the direction of the main rice paddy area. Next Scaly Breasted Munia, Little Egret, Common Myna, Pied Fantail, Brown Shrike, Red-collared Dove, Spotted Dove, Peaceful Dove, Streak-eared Bulbul, White-vented Myna, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Plain-Backed Sparrow, Yellow-Vented Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Asian Pied Starling, Asian Koel (heard), Green Bee-eater, Olive-backed Sunbird and Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker. Excluding the Koel that gives the soi list a kick start of 20 species! I'll not add sightings prior to today and I will try to get photographs of as many of these birds as possible.