Thai Birds 'n' Pieds....Never Get out of the Hide !!

“Never Get out of the Hide”, “Never Get out of the Hide” I had been watching Apocalypse Now, the previous week and the line from “Chef” kept rolling over in my head “Never Get out of the Boat”

In my case it was “Never Get out of the Hide”……..

Pied Kingfisher

Saturday morning I met up with Ray Pearce to hopefully get some decent shots of the Pied Kingfisher at Bang Ban in Ayuthaya. Almost as soon as we got there, a pair were to and fro, busy burrowing into the river bank making their nest. They were a little far off for any decent shots, and we were shooting directly into the rising sun, so I decided to go back to the truck for my own hide and move further up the bank. 

Pied Kingfisher, Shooting straight into the sun

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher Extreme Aerobatics

Ray joined, sitting behind a blind and we trained our lenses on a branch overhanging the river a few metres away. The Pieds were still busy coming and going, but we both wanted that special shot on the branch. Waiting, for what seemed like about 3 hours with nothing playing ball, I decided to see if there was a better spot to shoot the nest builders. That was when it happened!!! Literally, just as I stood up and took four steps, IT HAPPENED!! A pair of Pieds landed on the branch 2 metres from my lens.         Dam, If only I had waited another 30 seconds, I could have been getting those shots we were craving… Instead the male and female were staring straight at me with no camera…..  The trauma just left me thinking “Never Get out of the Hide”, “Never Get out of the Goddam Hide”

An hour or so later, one kingfisher made a brief stop on the branch, giving the chance to rattle off 3 three shots, and then he was gone.

I will be taking a trip back there in about 4 weeks as I think they could be feeding young by then, which should give some good photographic opportunities. I’ll just have to remember next time…. “Never Get out of the Hide”, “Never Get out of the Goddam Hide !!!!”  

If anyone would like to join me next time drop me a line at thaibirdspot66@gmail.com  or leave me a comment at https://www.facebook.com/ThaiBirdSpot/

Holiday Time. Part 2

The following Monday was work again, so I decided to leave early again to have another look around my local patch. This time was much more productive and was probably one of my best days. First was my second ever sighting of a Common Kestrel, followed by Brown Shrikes, my first Stonechats of the year, a large flock of Common Terns, a fly past of 14 Painted Storks. Then a drive down “Kingfisher Lane” turned up 8 Common Kingfishers, 4 White-throated Kingfishers and my first 2 Black-capped Kingfishers of the year. Also along the lane, a Yellow Bittern, Grey-headed Lapwings, Blue-tailed Bee-Eaters and White-breasted Waterhen were seen. Around the corner, along the rice fields, one field was being worked and it was full of Pond Herons, Egrets and surprisingly another group of Painted Storks. A raptor, which I think was either an Eastern Marsh or Female Pied Harrier circled overhead and lastly a Purple Heron passed by. What a fantastic afternoon and all in just over 2 hours!!!

Common Kingfisher

Marsh Harrier

Field full of birds

Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater

White-breasted Waterhen

Purple Heron

Tuesday, as promised to my daughter, a trip to the beach was the order of the day. I wasn’t going to let the opportunity of driving the “scenic” route to Cha-Am through Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia get away. More Painted Storks and I lost count of how many Black-capped and Collared Kingfishers were seen along the road. Sadly they were all “wire shots” so I didn’t bother with any pictures. After 3 nice days at the beach with seafood and beer we headed back the same way. Not so many Kingfishers were about, but 4-5 Spot-billed pelicans circled around Laem Pak Bia. An hour at Pak Thale turned up more Painted Storks, some of the usual waders and a Black-shouldered Kite happily feasted on a freshly caught rodent. Sadly I didn’t find any Spoonies.

Spot-billed Pelican

Painted Stork

Painted Stork

A drive around Wat Takrao in the rain produced more Black-capped and Collared Kingfishers, Purple and Grey Herons, Brahminy Kites and Plaintive Cuckoos. Overall a good days birding.

My final day before getting back to work was a couple of hours around the local patch again. Many birds were observed again, Common Kingfishers and Blue-tailed Bee-Eaters were the stars for some cracking shots..   Well that’s it until Christmas/ New Year holidays. That will surely be a return to Mae Wong for the elusive Crested Kingfisher.

Collared Kingfisher

Grey Heron

Holiday Time. Part 1

So, with two weeks break approaching and the truck just about finished, I had made it my plan to have as many trips out as possible.. My first day off was Monday, but still had to work in the evening, so I left a couple of hours early to check out my local patch. Sadly nothing much to report. Tuesday morning, 3:30am and I was off to Mae Wong. I arrived at around 7:30 to be greeted by the usual Red-billed Blue Magpies at the Ranger station. As much as I tried, I just couldn’t get that shot that I wanted. I have seen so many great shots of these awesome looking birds, but they will just never stay still for me.

Red-billed Blue Magpie

Up to Chong Yen, the road was under construction and looks to be re-surfaced soon. About half way up, I saw my first Kestrel and got a few shots. As I took a look in at Khun Namyen, a flock of Rufous-necked Hornbills passed over in the distance. No chance of any pictures, but things were looking promising… A single Blue Rockthrush posed nicely for a few shots. I stopped to take a quick look at the hide just before Chong Yen, but it had been removed and the area is now really overgrown, although there is still room to put your own personal hide.

Kestrel

Blue Rockthrush

Up at Chong Yen, I headed straight to the ledge behind the Ranger station for the Grey Peacock Pheasant. First out was a Buff-breasted Babbler and then after about 30 minutes a female Peacock-Pheasant appeared.  She didn’t stay around for long, and soon disappeared back into the undergrowth.

Rain had been threatening all morning, so I opted for a drive back to Khun Namyen and do some birding along the road. Pretty much as soon as I got down there, the heavens opened!! This was really no fun. I tried birding from the car, but it was really a complete washout..

Grey Peacock-Pheasant

I headed back to Chong Yen, where surprisingly it was still fairly dry and spent the rest of the afternoon in my hide on the ledge. Black-throated and White-necked Laughing thrushes were the only birds to show up, but I managed to get some cracking close range shots. A Green Magpie was calling and I caught a quick glimpse, but he wouldn’t play ball to show himself. As evening drew in, I decided to head back down to the Headquarters campsite for the Crested Kingfisher in the morning. Also the Kun flies were having fun biting me!!

Black-throated Laughingthrush

Black-throated Laughingthrush

White-necked Laughingthrush

I set up at the campsite, cooked some curry up and settled in for the night in the back of the truck. It turned out it was really more comfortable than I had expected, until about 1am, when the rain blasted me in the face through the window, so I had to close it, which made it a little uncomfortable with the humidity.

Up before sunrise, a coffee and a bite to eat, then off in search of the Crested Kingfisher. The river was flowing really fast and was difficult to get to the places I had seen them before as the rapids were very strong. I spent a couple of hours sitting it out and looking, but nothing showed.

I decided to head back home and call in at Huay Kha Kaeng Wildlife Sanctuary on the way back. I arrived there at about 10:30am and got straight to work looking for Black-headed Woodpeckers. There were many Rufous Treepies and Flameback Woodpeckers, but again my targets were not playing ball. I saw and heard many Black-headed, but they were always distant and wouldn’t allow me to get close. I left the park around 2pm. On the way out a Hoopoe landed right in front of me, crest up, but again he saw me before I even had the chance to pick up the camera. I arrived back around 6pm and finished the trip off nicely with a few Leos!! 

Rufous Treepie

The End of the Ear(ed) Ache

The year long Ear(ed) Ache finally came to an end this weekend. After seeing pictures on social media last week of the first feeding Eared Pittas at Luung Sin’s, I just knew I had to drop everything and get there as soon as I could. Last year I had made the trip 5 times with no luck of any decent pictures. The first trip of 2015 only rewarded me with a beak, as the hen was tightly tucked up in her nest incubating her eggs. The following three trips looked promising, but only to be greeted with disappointment on each visit as each time the nests had been raided by natural predators and left abandoned. I got one final chance in October as a late breeding pair had been discovered and were feeding. The final visit was looking good until this trip was also dashed by an unfortunate and terrible accident involving a young lad on a motorcycle and the front of my truck. The whole day was spent at the police station whereas it should have been spent in the jungle. 2015 did not finish as a good year!!

So, after seeing these recent posts, I got my spot reserved (thanks to Ray Pearce) at Luung Sin’s. After spending the evening at a friend’s party, getting up at 3am was not an easy task, I kid you not! But nothing was going to stop me from laying this Ear(ed) Ache to rest, once and for all.

Eared Pitta

Eared Pitta

Arriving at 6:30am, I met up with sin and he showed me to the site. The fantastic Eared Pitta didn’t take long to show up with his beak full of worms. Feeding was constant with trips by the male being made every 5-10 minutes. Although I had the whole place to myself until around 9am, the light was not too good and it was proving difficult to see the bird out in the open for decent shots. Intermittent rain showers didn’t do too much to help either.

Eared Pitta

Eared Pitta

As the morning drew on, some better shots were coming my way and I was beginning to feel that I had some good shots in the bag. Suddenly I was distracted by an accipiter which landed in a nearby tree. I grabbed the camera off the tripod and rattled off a few handheld shots. Initially I thought Crested Goshawk or Crested Honey Buzzard. When I got home and checked the pictures and with a little help from Peter Ericsson, we concluded that what I had shot was actually a Jerdon’s Baza, an excellent lifer to add to an already great day for me. I stayed until midday improving on my Eared pictures (I think) until it was time to leave. Finally, the Ear(ed) ache was gone…..

  

Eared Pitta

Jerdon's Baza

Jerdon's Baza

Cinnamon Bites...

Not being able to get away to Kaeng Krachan as planned last weekend, I opted to spend a couple of hours around my local rice fields. The rice was just being harvested, so there was a fair bit of activity going on with Munias being the most in abundance. I noticed a head pop up from the threshed rice, which I immediately identified as a Cinnamon Bittern. The Cinnamon Bittern is one of those birds that I have only briefly seen before, with limited chances of getting a decent shot. I snapped off a few shots of the distant head only to then notice another and then another. Cinnamon Bitterns seemed to be popping up all across the field. It kind of reminded of the arcade game where heads pop up, which then you have to hit with a mallet……  

Up and down they bobbed until a brave one appeared in the open. The brave lad seemed to encourage the others, as within five minutes I managed to count fourteen at one time. There must have been over twenty in the one field as they kept appearing and disappearing. I am not really sure about the Cinnamon Bittern’s courtship behavior, but there did only seem to be one female that was attracting the attention of all the males. Everywhere she flew the males would follow, then luckily she landed reasonably close to me so I could get a few half decent shots. After about 30 minutes they all seemed to disappear into the rows of cut rice straw. It seemed that I had been extremely lucky and arrived at just the right time.

After the Bitterns had gone, a single male Watercock appeared followed by a pair of Black-shouldered Kites which gave a nice aerial display, hovering and diving for prey, although I didn’t see them actually catch anything. The next afternoon I return to the same spot, but nothing was about… It really must have been one of those “right place, right time days”…

Red Alert.. Strawberry Fields.

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.

Black Shouldered Kite

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.

Red Avadavat

Red Avadavat

Red Avadavat

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. 

Pied Harrier

Pied Harrier

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….

Got the Blues....

Pak Phli

As my last trip to Pak Phli failed to turn up any Bluethroats, one more trip was in order before going back to work on Monday.  I actually planned for Wednesday, but Tuesday night was too long so didn’t make it….. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday… same same… Saturday morning I woke up at 4:30, gotta go gotta go…..

 I arrived at just after 7 am. As I drove along the approach road, the first bird sighted was a Black-capped Kingfisher. A striking bird and one of my favourite kingfishers. As usual, hundreds of Black Kites lined the road roosting in the Eucalyptus trees.

Black-capped Kingfisher

Long-tailed Shrike

I drove down past the second bridge towards where I had seen the Bluethroats before, a single Long-tailed Shrike posed nicely, soaking up the morning sun. I chose my spot and went about setting up the hide.. Well, I hadn’t even taken the rest of the gear out when the first female Bluethroat flew down, right in front of me, almost with a look on her face of “Ok so I’m here, where are my worms!!!”

Bluethroat

Bluethroat

Rosy Pipit

Stonechat

Bluethroats, Stonechats, Plain Prinias and Rosy Pipits showed really well and it was interesting to note the pecking order… It seemed the Stonechats would warn off the Bluethroats, the Bluethroats chased away the Rosy Pipits and when a Prinia arrived, all dashed for cover….

A brief visit by a Chestnut-eared Bunting was the first lifer of 2016 for me, and it also put on a great display of mobbing a Bluethroat..

Chestnut-eared Bunting mobbing a Bluethroat

Chestnut-eared Bunting

 The second lifer of the day for me came in the form of a bright red flash passing to my left, as I peered out of the side flap of the hide, there it was, a Red Avadavat!!! A fantastic little bird with its striking red plumage.. It stayed around for such a short time I only managed 3 quick shots. Next time, I will remember to take some finch seed with me.

Red Avadavat

With the sun getting higher now and the birds becoming less frequent, I decided to have a drive around the perimeter road before heading back.The first bird I came across was the Plain-backed sparrow, with such a striking mix of colours to its plumage, why on Earth is it called “Plain”??? A Striated Grassbird was delightfully emptying its lungs a little further along the road, and then a Purple Heron just about rounded off my morning. 

Plain-backed Sparrow

Purple Heron

Striated Grassbird

Pak Phli is a wonderful place for birding at the moment, and being only a couple of hours from Bangkok it’s well worth a vist…