New Bird Spot......
Well, after seeing my first Red Avadavat at
Pak Phli a few
weeks ago, I ventured out for a bit of local birding as the end of month bank
balance wouldn’t allow me to go any further afield. I headed for my usual
Kingfisher site to see if much was about. The water level had really dropped,
with some parts reduced to just puddles!! Not much here then. On the way back I
remembered an old farm track I had visited a long time ago. The red gravel
surface kind of reminded me of
Pak Phli, so I got to wondering if it could produce
anything similar.
In my mind were Bluethroats and Pipits, but as I parked up
and had a scan around with the binoculars, the first birds I saw were two
bright red spectacles… Red Avadavats!!!! I had never dreamt of seeing them here
in Patthumtani especially as the one I had seen at
Pak Phli had been a first
for me. I managed a few terrible shots before they were gone. This track looked
promising!! Throughout the morning I didn’t see them again, but there were
plenty of other birds about. Munias, Stonechats, Plain Prinias, Zitting Cisticolas,
Streaked Weavers, Brown Shrikes, 5 – 6 Black Shouldered Kites and a single
Paddyfield Pipit completed that morning’s trip.
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| Black Shouldered Kite |
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| Plain Prinia |
I decided to make the trip again the following day, but this
time to arrive just before sun rise. Sunday morning, I parked up in the
darkness just before sun-up. As soon as the sun broke, those little red sights
started to appear. It really was difficult to keep count with them as they
flitted to and fro in the scrub field. There were definitely over a dozen of
them, but still too far to get any decent shots. It was only when I drove a
little further along the track, I found the perfect spot where they seemed to
congregate.
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| Red Avadavat |
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| Red Avadavat |
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| Red Avadavat |
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| Red Avadavat |
In an instant, everything seemed to up and fly in a panic, which
was when I saw it!!
As I looked up I was suddenly aware of a female Pied Harrier
no more than 10 metres from me. “Damn! Damn!! Focus will you!!” The camera (or
me) seemed to freeze and focusing seemed to take an absolute age!! I did manage
to get off a few half decent shots, though. The Reds didn’t hang around after
this and I didn’t see them again. Mostly the same birds were seen again after
that with the addition of a snipe bobbing his head up and down in the rice
field.
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| Pied Harrier |
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| Pied Harrier |
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| Pied Harrier |
I will take another look in again next week to see if I can get some
better shots of the Reds and hopefully the male Pied Harrier will put in an
appearance….
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