Southern Thailand Part 1

Our Southern Thailand tour started at 06.30 on the morning of the 9th of February with our guide, Miss Punjapa Phetsri aka 'Games'. We set off for our first site, the Thai Muang Marshes, which was approximately two hours away by car. First birds of note were Pacific Swallow, Germain's Swiftlet, Yellow Bittern and Oriental Reed Warbler. We also saw Chinese Pond Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, Great White Egret and Little Egret but these birds were to become a common sighting throughout the trip. This site was really beautiful and peaceful - we didn't see anybody except a local tending his cattle all morning! Brahminy Kite soared overhead, Cinnamon Bittern were flying over the grassland while White-breasted Waterhen and Watercock were moving about in the long grass. Games also picked out Pintailed Snipe and an Oriental Reed Warbler. A more familiar bird for us was the Wood Sandpiper which were in abundance. Walking back to our vehicle, Lesser and Greater Coucal were added to our list, along with Chestnut-headed Bee Eater. Having spent a couple of hours with our guide Games, it was apparent that she was not only birding with her eyes, she was also picking up birds from calls and finding them; Yellow-bellied Prinia and Yellow-vented Bulbul were found on calls. This is just the highlights of our sightings at this marshland. What a great start to the trip!

Yellow Bittern

Pacific Swallow

Chestnut-headed Bee Eater

Our next site was at Laem Pakarang Beach, where we saw a variety of shorebirds, including Greater Sand Plover, Red-necked Stint - and more common to us - Whimbrel, Curlew, Turnstone and Black-tailed Godwit, along with lots of Terek Sandpiper ( I just wish one would turn up on my local patch!)

Terek Sandpiper

We continued on, heading to Sri Phang Nga National Park which was close to our first night's accommodation.  We were able to squeeze in a few hours at the park before dusk; our quarry here was the Banded Pitta and Chestnut-naped Forktail.  Whilst walking up into the woodland towards the Pittas 'Stake-out', Brown-throated Sunbird and Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker were noted. Although Games heard the Forktail calling, we couldn't locate it - but there was always tomorrow!!

On reaching the 'stake-out' for the Pitta, Games produced three fold-up stools for us, as we were likely to be there for a while - but not so! Within 20 minutes, this jewel of a bird put in an appearance, and performed for about 10 minutes.  I'm sorry about the image - it really doesn't do the bird justice as the light in the forest is terrible. As I've said before - I'm not a photographer - just a birder with a camera! - even so, though, I think you'll get the gist of the bird. On my return walk to the car, I definitely had a spring in my step! Our last bird of the day was a Silver-rumped Spinetail which was flying over the treetops in the car-park. What a great first day!

Banded Pitta

After an early breakfast on our second day, we returned to our rooms to collect our bins etc when Games drew our attention to Scaly-breasted Munia and Stripe-throated Bulbul - the latter of which was actually nesting in the car-park, in a small tree no bigger than a standard rose tree! Apparently, she had nested in this same tree the previous year, and managed to fledge two chicks. Amazing!

Strip-throated Bulbul sitting on her nest

We set off again for the Sri Phang Nga National Park, arriving really early - before anybody else was about. Out target bird for today was the Forktail we'd dipped on the previous day. As we walked towards the viewing area again, Games heard the bird calling, and this time we did manage to locate it as it was feeding on the river. We had great views of it, but always a bit distant. We then walked a couple of trails in the park, spotting, amongst other things, Abbot's Babbler, Hairy-backed Bukbul, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher and Red-throated Sunbird as we went. We also had decent views of a fly-over of a Grey-headed Fisheagle, and added Greenish and Eastern-crowned Warbler to the list. Another good morning of birding, so off for a great lunch in the park, where I had chicken fried rice. Delish!

Chestnut-naped Forktail

Forest Crested Lizard

Spiny Lizard

Long Tailed Macaque

After lunch, we had a long drive to our next hotel which was near Kai Sok National Park, stopping on the way close to a bridge where Games knew of a site for River Lapwing; as we looked over the bridge, the first birds we saw were a pair if River Lapwing! Other birds of note here were Red-wattled Lapwing, Paddyfield Pipit and again ones we're more used to - Common Kingfisher, Little Ringed Plover and Marsh Sandpiper. We also saw Ochraceous Bulbul and House Swift from this bridge. We then continued to our overnight accommodation near Kao Sok, tired but happy.

 River Lapwing

Day three was another early start to bird the Kao Sok HQ where we had the following birds of note - Buff-vented, Asian Redeyed, Spectacled, and Black-crested Bulbul. Again, there was nobody about so the birds were more easily found in the quiet. Scarlet-backed and Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker were seen too, along with Yellow-bellied Warbler and Chinese Blue Flycatcher - but the bird of the morning for me was a Banded Kingfisher. It is strange, seeing these jewels of birds in a forest habitat!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any images of the above birds.

We then had another long drive for our afternoon birding which was to be at Khao Sok Lake, and we would be spending the night on a floating bungalow on the lake.

After arriving at the lake, we boarded a private boat for our 40 minute transfer to our home for the night, birding along the way. Osprey, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Grey-headed Fish Eagle and Rufous-bellied Swallow were see on the way. 

Grey-headed Fish Eagle

White-bellied Sea Eagle

After dropping our belongings in our rooms, we went back out in our boat to see what else we could find. We had a fly-over of a Pied Hornbill, Stork-billed and Black-capped Kingfisher were also noted, along with White-crowned Hornbill. Looking forward to our evening meal, and what tomorrow would bring.....

The floating bungalows

Our home for the night

Day 4, and following a good nights sleep, we awoke to see a beautiful sunrise as we breakfasted, where Christine picked up on a Striated Heron at the waters edge - along with a wild pig! After breakfast, set off in our boat for more birding. It wasn't long before Games had spotted Lesser Fish Eagle and Wallace's Hawk Eagle in close proximity to each other. Our boatman also had really good eyes, as he pointed out a Great Hornbill feeding in a fruit tree, along with Thick-billed Green Pigeon, and later, he spotted a fly-over Helmeted Hornbill.  It was then back to our floating bungalow to collect our belongings before heading back on the boat to our car - but not before the boatman picked up an Oriental Hobby for us! It was great to see so many Osprey and White-bellied Sea Eagles on the lake. 

Sunrise over the lake as we had our breakfast

Great Hornbill

Wallace's Hawk-eagle

 Wild pig

After reaching the car, we drove off towards our next overnight stop, which was to be at Krung Ching where we were birding that afternoon and again, the next day .... But I'll be posting that in part two of my Southern Thailand Tour Blog.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you've enjoyed reading part one!

Thailand (Bangkok)

Back in October 2016, my good friend Andy Howes asked if I was interested in a birding trip to Southern Thailand; having already been to Northern Thailand, I at to weigh up if it was going to be worth it!  Andy sent me a tick list for the 8 day tour, and after perusing the list I found that there were over 100 possible new species to be seen, so my answer was 'yes' to the trip. It was going to be a group of  just 3 of us, going with a company who's name is 'Southern Thailand Birding' -  the third person in our group was Christine Lynn, who I have been on a few trips with before,  and coincidentally, was on the same trip to Northern Thailand, again arranged by Andy, back in 2007! Unfortunately, having made all the arrangements, Andy caught a virus that really knocked him about, and felt he would not be up to birding for the eight days and so had to pull out. One of Christines' birding friends came to the rescue in the form of Bob Foskett (great bloke) who joined the group, so on the 6th of Feb the 3 of us boarded a Thai Air flight for our ten and a half hour flight to Bangkok. (Andy was going to Thailand anyway,and went a few days prior to our departure, as he as a son living there, and he also owns a condo in Bangkok) Arrangements were made to fly to Bangkok, meet with Andy for an evening meal, and then the following day go for few hours birding around Suan Rot Fai (also known as Wachirabenchathat Park), in Bangkok. Later in the day we were then flying down to Phuket on a teatime flight, ready to start our tour of Southern Thailand the following day, which would be the 9th of February. A few images below of some of the birds we saw in the park.

 Our first birds in the park were quite a large flock of Tree Sparrows, and during our few hours in the park they were quite numerous - wish they were so common in the UK!

The Black collared Myna above is another quite common bird on the lawns of the park.

 A good flock of about 40 Scaly-breasted Munia were also feeding on the seeds  from the lawn

                    The above bird is everywhere and has the appropriate name of Common Myna

                                                                     Pied Fantail

   Oriental Magpie Robin - I took this image for my birding buddy Pete Asher - just a little private joke between us!

                                                                          Zebra Dove

 The above bird is again quite common - it's Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus) - a split, I think.
.

                                                                    Asian Openbill

 Another common species in the park was Chinese Pond Heron; these are all over the place - on the lawns, and also around the water courses - or any where there are insects!
So, that was our few hours in the park - and well worth it, just to get your eye in on some common birds, ready for our trip south. Over the next couple of weeks I will be doing a post on our tour in the South of Thailand - it will be in a couple of parts though.
So, as always, thanks for stopping by and watch this space!

The last Twitch

Firstly, I know it's a bit late, but Happy New Year to everyone. After twitching the Surf Scoter (see previous post),  the following day, my mate Steve James asked if I fancied going to see a Blue-rock Thrush that had turned up in Stow-on -the Wolds, Gloucestershire.  There were rumblings that the bird  was an escape, but after being bitten once by not going to see the Chinese pond Heron which got accepted BOURC, we was not going to make the same mistake twice! -  so going to see the Thrush was an insurance tick until they come to a decision about the bird. It was an hour and half drive for us,  and when we got there,  there were probably over a hundred birders already there! The bird had been seen on rooves and gardens on the housing estate where it was frequenting, but had now  disappeared. Typical!!  It was a couple of hours before it was found again in it's favoured garden, and  it then flew up on to a roof where everyone got good views of the Blue-rock Thrush

Blue-rock Thrush

Didn't do much birding early January as, after getting burgled by some piece of scum just after Christmas, the Duchess and I have been busy making our home a lot more secure, so again, when Steve James messaged me with "I see the Black Scoter has returned to its winter grounds at Goswick in Northumberland" ( this bird owed us one, as Steve, John Hague and I had 'dipped' it a couple of years ago) so we decided to try again for it. On 24th of January we made the 250 mile trip to sunny Northumberland,  parking up at the golf  course clubhouse. We were ready to walk the mile or so south to where the news service had last reported it, but luckily, we bumped into another birder we knew - Dan Pointon - who told us it was just north of the golf clubs' clubhouse. The first bird we had was a Merlin dashing over the golf course -  a nice start - and so, after a 15 minute walk north up the beach, Steve got onto a small flock of Common Scoters, and in amongst them was our target bird - another BOU tick! Apart from the hundreds of Common Scoter, other birds of note were quite a few Red-throated Divers and Red-breasted Mergansres, and some Long-tailed Ducks with some super drakes on show, and the odd male Eider. We decided on our way back home that we would call into Druridge Bay Country Park, also in Northumberland -  an hour or drive south, where a Pacific Diver had taken up residence.  Steve had already been to see the bird, but after seeing the images of the bird on social media, I thought while we up that way I would try and grab a few images of the diver too,  It was a long way  to travel and a long day, but well worth it! We had a good days' birding. Below are a few images of the said bird.

                                                 The Pacific Diver having a wing stretch

                                                  Having a stretch having just woken up

As always, thanks for stopping by! My next little jaunt is to Thailand in early February, so hopefully I will have some images to share with you all from there. 

A County First.......

Just a quick post about the Surf Scoter that was found at Rutland Water yesterday afternoon (27.12.16)  When the news broke, confirming the bird as a Surf Scoter, it was a bit late for me to go for it, as the light would have been going, so I decided to go today, the 28th. After scraping the frost off the car, and with the car thermometer telling me it was minus one outside, I was hoping for a quick trip there and back - but firstly hoping the bird was still there! Arriving some 50 minutes later, I bumped into a few of the Leicestershire birding fraternity who said it was still there and showing well and could be viewed off the dam. It was cold, with a good frost - but bright sunshine - not the fog we were expecting! Walking towards the dam, I bumped into Andy Makay who soon put me on to the bird - a first county record of a first winter Surf Scoter.  I stayed for an hour or so, then headed for home and the warm.

                                                                      Surf Scoter

Surf Scoter first winter

As always thanks for stopping by...........

Canary Cruise

On the 25th November, the Duchess and I embarked the P&O ship 'Oceana' at Southampton on a cruise that would take us to Madeira, then down to the Canary Islands, from there north to Cadiz in Spain, then on to Lisbon in Portugal, returning to Southampton on 9th December - all in all, a 14 day 'chill pill' cruise with a bit of winter sun. It was not going to be bird watching holiday - in fact, quite the reverse - though having never been to Madeira, there were a couple of endemics to be had, the Trocaz Pigeon and the Maderian Firecrest, which were going to have a look for. We were at sea for 3 days before we reached Funchal, Madeira. To be honest, not a lot was seen bird-wise - there were some Sabines Gull, Gannets, Lesser-blacked back Gulls, with the most common bird being Kittewake.  I also had an adult Mediterranean Gull plus lots of Common Dolphin, which were seen most days whilst at sea. There were also a few 'stowaways' on board in the shape of a Blackcap, (which apparently had been on board since Gibraltar, on the previous cruise), a Black Redstart (which sadly was later found dead),  a Robin, and a species of Thrush

                                                                   Gannet

                                                                   Common Dolphin

                                                                 Common Dolphin

                                                            Lesser-blacked back Gull

                                                                        L.b.b Gull
Whilst sitting out on deck on the second day at sea, I got talking to another birder who asked if I was going to try for the Trocaz Pigeon; when I told him I was, he gave a site which a friend of his who lives on the island had given to him, and said was a certainty for this species and also the Firecrest - and it was only a short bus ride to some gardens north of Funchal He even gave me the numbers of the buses we needed! Brilliant -  as the site I knew of, which I had found on the internet, meant we were going to have to hire a car, and go to the north west of the island. On the 29th November, after a hearty breakfast, we went to find our bus - or more to the point - Sue found our bus - the number 37, which was going to the site ( Palheiro Gardens) We were with another couple who also wanted to see the Pigeon. The gardens were superb, with great views over Funchal; we had only walked 50 yards into the gardens and the Firecrest was heard, and soon had been ticked off. Not long afterwards,  the other endemic, the Trocaz Pigeon was noted. Other birds seen in the gardens were Blackbird, Common Buzzard, Canary and lots of Blackcap. We also noted Kestrel, Grey Heron, Yellow-legged Gull and Turnstone on Madeira.

                                                                 Maderian Firecrest

                                                                      Trocaz Pigeon

                                                                     Trocaz Pigeon

                                                                      Trocaz Pigeon

The following morning we docked in La Palma - a small Canarian island, which is a lovely port to stroll around.

Our next port of call was Gran Canaria where we docked Las Palmas, We again took a stroll around and I can't say we were impressed with the place, and didn't stay ashore for very long. On returning to the ship, I settled myself with a drink and my bins, on deck 14, to survey the port. Imagine my surprise to see, on a car-park roof 200 yds away, among the Yellow-legged Gulls, were a pair of Pied Crows!  I didn't know what the status of this Corvid was for The Canaries, so I sent a text to my mate Steve James, asking him if he could find out where the nearest population was; he replied, saying the last record for this bird on The Canaries was in 2010, and that was thought to be ship-assisted. The nearest population is in Senegal, on the west coast of Africa. ( I have reported the find to the Spanish rarities committee, and they have told me that there have been up to 3 birds there for a while, but have asked me to supply them with a report and images)  Other birds noted from deck 14....Black-headed Gull, Grey Heron, Sandwich Tern, Little Egret and well over 100 Pied Wagtails!

                                                                         Pied Crow

                                                                      Pied Crow

Lanzarote today, the port of Arrecife.  Again, not a particularly pretty town, and again, we didn't linger for long. However, there was a lovely area around the marina which we enjoyed very much, although the weather was showery. Birds of note around the marina were Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, and a nice little flock of Spanish Sparrow; there were also several Turnstone which were totally oblivious to 'Joe Public'

 Spanish Sparrow (male)

 Spanish Sparrow

 Canary

 Turnstone

 Turnstone

We had a day of cruising going north, towards our next stop - Cadiz,southern Spain. En-route, lots of Yellow-legged Gulls were seen. The Officer of The Watch had just informed us of our position (something they do every sea-day), and we were apparently 64 miles west of Morocco, when I spotted some more dolphin! I managed to get a few images, and on reviewing them, realised hey were not 'Common', but the only cetacean guide book I had with me was for The Bay of Biscay, so I was struggling to identify them, but again, on reaching Cadiz (and wi-fi!) I was able to send an image to another good mate, Dave Gray,  who was able to inform me that they were most likely to be Atlantic Spotted Dolphin - a new species for me!

We enjoyed Cadiz very much. Just walking around, we saw Robin, House Sparrow, Collared Dove, more Blackcap, and when we arrived back onto Oceana, again from deck 14, we saw Sandwich Tern and a Peregrine Falcon.

 Adult Yellow-legged Gull

 Adult Yellow-legged Gull

 Common Buzzard which we saw at Palheiro Gardens, Madeira

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

Our last port of call was Lisbon, Portugal, where we had arranged to go on a trip to the small town of Obidos, some 75 minutes away by coach. What a fabulous little town! - and what a great day we had. as we came back, the coach came through the centre of Lisbon - a city we hope to return to at some stage as it looked to be a really nice place.

Our final two days were spent at sea, crossing the Bay of Biscay. The birdlife was much the same as our outward-bound trip, although we did note several Great Skua (Bonxies), and again, we saw lots of Common Dolphin - but sadly, we didn't see any whales at all!

We had a great time, and came back feeling very relaxed!

As always, thanks for stopping by.

I would just like to take this opportunity to wish you all A Very Merry Christmas, and A Happy 2017!