Asian Dowitcher
Limnodromus semipalmatus
นกซ่อมทะเลอกแง
Don Hoi Lod, Samut Songkhram
29.12.11
I was a dutiful husband this morning and changed a tap in our kitchen which has been making a terrible racket for the last few months. What I thought would take 20 minutes turned into a 4 hour job so no birding today until this afternoon. So back I went to the salt pans near Don Hoi Lot, Samut Songkhram province to test my assertion that this area would be worth further investigation.
Common Redshank
Tringa totanus
นกทะเลขาแดงธรรมดา
Don Hoi Lod, Samut Songkhram
29.12.11
I had a lot of fun observing and photographing the more common species:
common redshank,
brown-headed gull,
little egret. There were a few raptors on the scene : a
Brahminy Kite buzzing the gulls, a pair of
Pied Harriers, female and juvenile, equally struck terror into the gulls just by flying over and a scruff bag
Osprey flew over a couple of times. There were significant numbers of
Greenshanks and
Marsh Sandpipers, a couple of
Little Heron, a
Common Kingfisher flew low over the water and lots of egrets and
Whiskered Terns. There were a few
Caspian terns also for good measure. Conditions were well-nigh perfect: a gentle breeze mitigating the heat of a strong sun.
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidion nilotica
นกนางนวลแกลบปากหนา
Don Hoi Lod, Samut Songkhram
29.12.11
I also made the bird below a Black-headed Gull but the Birdforum gurus reckon it is a Brown-headed Gull.. I simply don't have the knowledge or experience in these matters. I was persuaded mainly by the dark iris; the Brown-headed has a noticeably lighter iris. If you want to offer an opinion please do so! I am not interested in controversy, let me stress, I just want to better my identification skills!
Brown-headed Gull
Larus brunnicephalus
นกนางนวลธรรมดา
Don Hoi Lod, Samut Songkhram
29.12.11
I decided late afternoon to head out into the saltpans and try to get some shot of a flock of Brown-headed Gulls. I made it to a shelter which was still a bit too far away from the gulls. There was a
Gull-billed Tern within range and then a steady flow of
Marsh Sandpipers and
Greenshanks started to arrive in the pond nearest to my position. At about 1740h I noticed the arrival of what I thought was a Godwit and in my idle sort of way I thought I should get a shot of it and check out if it was Bar-tailed or Black-tailed. I knew immediately it was a dowitcher when I got the bird in my viewfinder - a distinct black, straight bill. For purely selfish reasons,
ie my list, I rather hoped it would be a Long-billed Dowitcher but I thought it was more likely to be
Asian Dowitcher. My maestro
Tom Backlund has confirmed the ID as Asian.
Marsh Sandpiper
Tringa stagnatilis
นกซายเลนปึง
Don Hoi Lod, Samut Songkhram
29.12.11
I first saw Asian Dowitcher on the intertidal mudflats at Koh Libong, near Krabi in the south of Thailand, almost two years ago, so no lifer. This time, however, it was much, much nearer and because of this the shot is about 100 times better!
Common Greenshank
Tringa nebularia
นกทาะลขาเขียว
Don Hoi Lod, Samut Songkhram
29.12.11
The
Asian Dowitcher turned a pleasant afternoon into a memorable one. I did not realise the Asian is a much more threatened species than Long-billed; it may simply be in Thailand that the Long-billed is much rarer. But globally the Asian has an
IUCN Red List status of 'Near Threatened' and numbers are estimated to be approx 23,000, (
BirdLife International). I also did not realise that Don Hoi Lot is a
Ramsar site on account of the large numbers of
solen regularis, or razor clams, or as my Thai hosts would say, "hoi lod" ( หอยหลอด). The Ramsar site must be specifically the mudflats of the Maeklong estuary. This may also explain why it is not a wader hotspot: the presence of these molluscs must mean a significant human presence and a resulting high level of disruption, especially at low tide.
Such a Perfect Day
Sunset at Don Hoi Lod
