Local

The most striking aspect of a brief sortie to the local rice paddy here in Ratchaburi late this afternoon was the huge numbers of Wood Sandpipers. Hundreds of them were taking advantage of the feeding opportunities from the wet rice paddy. They are quite difficult to photograph.  The highlight, however,  was a pair of juvenile Black-shouldered Kites. First time I have been aware of their quite distinct features notably the white fringing on their upper feathers and the streaking on their foreheads. I doubt if mature adults would have allowed me to get so close. The light was just against me as these shots were taken after 1800h. There were four Black-shouldered Kites in total. As you can see they were perched on wires and having a good look around for prey but fortunately didn't seem to bothered by my presence.

Huge numbers of Black-winged Stilts and Cattle Egrets; many of the latter sporting breeding plumes. But no harriers. As always a pleasure to be out in the sun-drenched late afternoon.

Local News - Cinnamon Bittern

Cinnamon Bittern - juvenile

Ixobrychus cinnamomeus

นกยางไฟธรรมดา

Ratchaburi 22.02.12

The local rice paddy in Ratchaburi, a very extensive, flat stretch of land, is now mainly under water as the next stage of the rice growing cycle begins. On arrival after work a male Pied Harrier flew past. I have to say I was very pleased to see him in his splendour. Unfortunately he didn't hang around and pose but I am just glad that I saw him. First male on the patch since before Christmas. Impressive and awe-inspiring as always. I noted 4 Oriental Pratincoles in the air from their distinct call. There were lots of other interesting sounds including at least one Thick-billed Warbler and others which were unfamiliar to my ear: none of these birds revealed themselves however. A couple of Black-shouldered Kites were doing their trademark hovers. I noted singles of the following species: Yellow-bellied Prinia, female Plaintive Cuckoo, Common Kingfisher and a juvenile Cinnamon Bittern; large numbers of Black-winged Stilts, Cattle Egrets, some starting to show their yellow neck breeding plumage, Little Egrets and good numbers of Wood Sandpiper. This blog and the Oriental Bird Club Image Database helped me identify the Cinnamon Bittern. I didn't get it immediately; in fact I had to do a little bit of work to ID this one and I was on the point of posting on Birdforum for help. Initially I thought it was a Yellow Bittern but when I checked it in the field guides and through the OBC Images I realised it wasn't right, bill not long enough and the streaking too pronounced. I pondered whether it was a Chinese Pond Heron for a while but the head is all wrong for this. Then I remembered I had some good shots of a juvenile Cinnamon Bittern from banding at Laem Pak Bia last year so I had a look and open sesame! The bird let me know it was there as it stumbled and the noise of the reeds moving enabled me to make it out. Shame about the reeds but amazing being able to  shoot at 1/5 second .... thanks to the bird keeping very still!

Cinnamon Bittern - juvenile

Ixobrychus cinnamomeus

นกยางไฟธรรมดา

Ratchaburi 22.02.12

I do like the rice paddy. It was once more drenched in golden sunshine as daylight faded and because it is flat and open there is always a gentle breeze blowing across it. This makes it very comfortable and relaxing. A very pleasant place to get away from it all!

Aquila Eagles at Norng Bla Lai, Phetchburi Province

Greater Spotted Eagle

I am surrounded by avian richness and a 35-40 minute drive today took me early afternoon to Norng Blah Lai in Phetchburi Province. This is home to wintering aquila eagles; these must be some of the most spectacular birds I have seen: big, majestic birds and a magnificent spectacle. The official count today  was 17 Greater Spotted Eagles, 5 Imperial Eagles, 4 Steppe Eagles, 3 Booted eagles, 4 Peregrine Falcons, a few Eastern Marsh & Pied Harriers, a couple of Brahminy Kites, a few Black-shouldered Kites and lots of Black Kites. These are the figures provided by Mr Paan, one of the leading lights in the raptor scene - I saw all the aquila species this afternoon, and only missed out on the Peregrines. You could say the place was buzzing - at times it was a bit like a fly past. Great to see Paan again too.

Eastern Imperial Eagle

I must add it didn't start out too promisingly. As is the tradition here the recently harvested fields were on fire this afternoon, and this meant a huge amount of smoke was being blown northwards across the main viewing area. However I noticed a number of black kites perched on a tree just above the wind and headed in to this area. 

There were plenty of Black Kites on the ground in this area and then the flyby began. In fact the Imperial Eagles came down from high and I was so excited that I messed up the shot! I've got shots of Steppe Eagles too, high in the sky, but they are good enough for identification purposes but not much else. So I won't post them here. The Imperial just qualifies for use here! Amazing to see the four aquila species on the same day in the space of a few hours.

A very pleasant afternoon today and truly sensational birding.

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

Raptors at The Reservoir

Black-shouldered Kite

This afternoon there must have been a passage of somewhere in the region of 400 raptors, all in the space of about an hour, at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi. Passage is probably inaccurate as many of these birds were coming down to roost in the nearby plantations but most of these birds are undoubtedly migratory and are headed south. I was here specifically for this but I did not expect these numbers. This follows yesterday when I observed a first harrier (female pied) and possibly a first aquila eagle (Greater Spotted Eagle?) of the winter. Both were in the distance so I only really feel comfortable with calling the harrier.

Osprey

Now raptors terrify me because I am really useless at identifying them, especially when they are high in the sky; I wouldn't want to suggest either that I am much better at it when they are on the ground. The digiscope rig is not ideal for photographing aerial birds. So I don't have a lot to show for what I saw. First of all a distant kettle of approximately 130 Black Kites. No real surprise as the reservoir is about 50 km from a major winter roost in the Khao Yoi area, Phetchburi province. (There have been reports of up to 5,000 Black Kites at this roost!)  However I have never seen so many kites at the reservoir, usually a solitary bird here at the reservoir, here and there, and once, there were four having a stroll in the launch area; three of those feature as the strap for this blog.

Oriental Honey Buzzord

Then in came a mixed group of raptors from a northerly direction blown in by a helpful wind. The dominant species in this gaggle of about 270 birds were Oriental Honey Buzzards. (Ed: Thanks to Tom Bucklund who kindly corrected my original call of Chinese Sparrowhawk  - I told you I was useless! ) However there were other species in this group. They came in drips and drabs over a period of about 45 minutes and most of these birds headed for the woods. A few crossed over the reservoir and I managed a couple of shots, including the Osprey, who came in with the other birds. I wouldn't want to make any other claims beyond numbers.

Green Bee-eater

Otherwise I love this Green Bee-eater;  this species abounds at the reservoir and the Black-shouldered Kite posed a little for me and allowed me to get closer than I expected.

Now I was planning to take off to Kanchanaburi province tomorrow for a couple of days to do some birding up near the Myanmar border. But I am going to delay that trip and head back to the reservoir and see what else comes in tomorrow.

Close to Home

Coppersmith Barbet

Don Tako, Ratchaburi

09.02.11

I did my bit for the kingdom of birds yesterday at school. A colleague told me a small bird was in one of the lower grade classrooms and that the kids were chasing it around and making it feel scared and nervous. So we went to have a look and found a little sparrow  on a ledge in a corner, clearly petrified. I took off my shirt and used it as a net to catch the bird and then managed to pick it up and release it. Most of the kids know of my interest in birds but I don't think they understood it extended to taking off my shirt!

Pied Kingfisher

Don Tako, Ratchaburi

09.02.11

Yesterday afternoon the pied kingfishers were back but a group of small boys were intent on splashing about in the stream so that scared the birds away. I managed a couple of shots. Looks as if the kingfishers are nesting  nearby so maybe a bit of stealth and fieldcraft might enable me to get into position for some decent shots........when my scope comes back. I am amazed that we have 4 species of kingfisher on our doorstep: common, collared, black-capped and now pied. 

With the boys creating mayhem in the river I headed towards the main rice paddy. Flocks of black drongos, plain-backed sparrows and a coppersmith barbet "hooting" in a nearby tree. With the scope I might have managed a decent shot. I proceeded on into the rice paddy and there I watched a black-shouldered kite hover in its very distinctive manner. And in came a male pied harrier for a bit of supper, as ever sending everything scurrying. Sadly too far away to photograph. What a mighty bird!

Black-shouldered Kite

Don Tako, Ratchaburi

09.02.11

The day before's eagle remains unidentified, not very good shots. Tom agrees it is an eagle so we can record an eagle sp. for the local patch and I must keep looking! No sign of it yesterday evening however.

Twitching Ruddy Shelduck - A Cautionary Tale

The unexpected arrival of some friends on Saturday led to a change of plans. I was planning on spending last night in Bangkok and then to head to the Bird Fair at Bang Pu this morning. Alas no. My friends are about today as well, so no trip to Bangkok and no Bird Fair.  Instead I got up early and drove south for about 90 minutes to twitch Ruddy Shelduck between Cha-am and Puk Tian beach in Phetchaburi province, about 10 km south of the main action area in Laem Pak Bia. I was also hoping to add Grey- headed Lapwing as this too has been reported in the Laem Pak Bia area.

I don't know about twitching. This is the first time I have been in the Laem Pak Bia area and not visited either the Kings Project or Pak Thale. God alone knows how many good birds I sacrificed because of the twitch and I can tell you from driving through the area that some of the salt pans were bursting with flocks of birds. However I had limited time today in view of visitors and family commitments so this was the right thing to do for me - who knows how long the RSDs will hang around for?

Remarkably I managed to find the reported location and drove in and, lo and behold, in among the hundreds of black-tailed godwits, brown-headed gulls, black-winged-stilts, four painted stork, and smaller pockets of shore birds and hundreds of egrets were eight unmistakable ruddy shelducks. Beautiful biggish ducks with a washed out orange appearance. I got the glasses on them and was thinking over how to approach the photographs when off they went! The other birds stayed but these guys simply upped and offed. I wasn't set up so sadly no photgraphs and I have no doubt they would have made a good shot!

So there is twitching for you! Fortunately I saw the target species and it becomes my latest life bird but I don't really feel as though I know this bird or that we have spent any meaningful time together! A flash in the pan so to speak.  No doubt many a birder has travelled a considerably longer distance to draw a blank. I doubt I would be prepared to go on this kind of twitch. When the Masked Finfoot was found in Khao Yai earlier this year I wasn't prepared to make the effort. I would have wanted to see it had I been in the area but I wasn't prepared to embark on a 12-15 hour round trip.
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I have to say there were great numbers of Painted Stork in the area today. I reckon I observed easily in excess of fifty birds today. A review of the above picture shows a Caspian tern, with its stonking great orange bill, in the midst of the gulls.

I made a little detour into the deserted building in Laem Pak Bia as Spooners have been reported there in the last two weeks. I was looking for an easy spot today and the possibilities were too much like hard work and looked impossible to access so I let them be. I was in pursuit of Grey-headed Lapwing and headed on. I got to the reported location but there was no sign of them so I headed on through Laem Pak Bia in a homeward direction and made a brief stop in the Wat Khao Takrao area where there were also many painted stork, grey heron and other heron. I managed to photograph this black-shouldered kite who posed a little for me.