Today, whilst working on the computer, I was alerted to the sound of a chattering Barn Swallow outside. On looking up, I noticed a single swallow on the same TV mast that I photographed some swallows on a few weeks back: Late Winter Migrants.

In fact Barn Swallows are pretty much always found in Bangkok through the summer in small numbers, but this incident reminded me of some of the winter visitors that I saw over my recent 4-day trip from 8th to 11th May: Kaeng Krachan, Tung Bang Jak & Khao Yai, 8-11th May 2008.

8th May - Kaeng Krachan
3 Fork-tailed Swifts
“A few” Chinese Pond Herons
Small numbers of Barn Swallows
1 juvenile, pale marph Oriental Honey-buzzard

9th May - Kaeng Krachan
2 Chinese Pond Herons
Small groups of Barn Swallows

10th May - Tung Bang Jak
3 Oriental Reed Warblers
17 Barn Swallows
7 Whiskered Terns
1 Indian Pond Heron
3 Chinese Pond Herons

11th May - Khao Yai
2 Brown Shrikes
7 Barn Swallows
1 Chinese Pond Heron

We also saw a couple of passage migrants; 1 Crow-billed Drongo near the Khao Yai Bat Cave on 10th May and 1 Japanese Sparrowhawk attacking a pair of Red-wattled Lapwings at Khao Yai on 11th.

I will continue to look for migrant species over the next week or two.

I recently got home after a four day birdwatching trip to Kaeng Krachan, Tung Bang Jak and Khao Yai with four Japanese ladies led by Shoko Sakaeda. Quite frankly the forest birding was very slow, although what we lacked in quantity we made up for in quality species. At this time of the year virtually all the winter migrants have departed and there are just simply lfewer birds to be found. Many of the resident birds populations are increased in the winter by migrant individuals too so even common species like Ashy Drongo, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Black Drongo and Black-winged Cuckooshrike were few and far between.

I have posted a trip report with some notes on our accommodation and other useful information for others who may be doing similar trips here: Kaeng Krachan, Tung Bang Jak & Khao Yai, 8-11th May 2008.

Some of the highlights of the trip were; Oriental Pied Hornbill at Kaeng Krachan and Khao Yai; Great Hornbill and Tickell’s Brown Hornbill at Kaeng Krachan; Black-thighed Falconet, Black Eagle, Mountain Hawk eagle, Changeable Hawk Eagle and Crested Serpent Eagle at Kaeng Krachan; Japanese Sparrowhawk and Shikra at Khao Yai; Black-and-red Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Silver-breasted Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill and Black-and-yellow Broadbill at Kaeng Krachan; Orange-breasted Trogon at Kaeng Krachan; Indian Pond Heron, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Purple Heron, Asian Openbill, Streaked Weaver, Asian Golden Weaver and Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker at Tung Bang Jak; Bamboo Woodpecker at Kaeng Krachan and Stork-billed Kingfisher at Khao Yai & Kaeng Krachan.

Although the birding was slow, we got quite lucky with mammals with White-handed Gibbon, Dusky Langur, Black Giant Squirrel, Grey-bellied Squirrel, Burmese Striped Squirrel at Kaeng Krachan and Variable Squirrel, Pig-tailed Macaque, Sambar, Barking Deer, Dhole and Asian Elephant at Khao Yai. We saw one bull elephant early in the morning and two young elephants in the dark at about 7pm on the road towards Haew Narok - both very memorable sightings.

At this time of year birders in Thailand are witnessing the end of the spring migration and it is interesting to note the last dates that many of the commoner species are seen. Today, as I was driving to the market, I saw 6 Barn Swallows swooping around a wood yard in the suburbs of Pra Pra Daeng, southwest Bangkok. I imagine that the wood had attracted a fair number of insects which in turn had attracted the Swallows. I guess it is possible that these will be the last of the Swallows for a while.

This incident reminded me of another, about a week ago. A storm was rolling in and a whole load of Barn Swallows began to collect on TV masts opposite my bedroom. I took a couple of pictures at the time but forgot about them until now. Here is the best one which shows a group of Barn Swallows shortly before they all flew off as the storm approached.

Recently I seem to be making a habit of going birdwatching at the wrong time of day, and yesterday I decided to go to Suan Luang for the last few hours of light as I was bored with lurking around the house. Although Suan Luang can be quite a nice birding spot in the morning, I wasn’t expecting too much on this visit as the park gets busy in the afternoon. However, with such low expectations I was pleasantly surprised with a nice selection of birds.

These days they seem to be charging people 10 baht to enter the park, which I guess is fair enough considering how well-kept it is. Just a little way into the park many of the most common species were very obvious; Common Myna, Oriental Magpie Robin, Peaceful Dove, White-vented Myna an loads of Streak-eared Bulbuls, many feeding fledged youngsters. I sat in a shady spot near the water for a few minutes and a pair of Pied Fantails squabbled nearby and a pair of Common Ioras fed overhead. Despite being avery common bird, Common Iora is an attractive species and interesting to watch as it collects caterpillars from the trees.

Moving on I hoped to find a few more birds around one of the ponds which is allowed to get a bit overgrown and usually attracts a number of species. It proved a good strategy with a number of Brown-throated Sunbirds, 2 male Plaintive Cuckoos, a pair of Koels sitting still in a tree, a White-breasted Waterhen walking around on lillies, 3 Black-crowned Night Herons and a Little Egret. Overhead a few Asian Palm Swifts and House Swifts were feeding and the only migrant I saw passed by; a single Barn Swallow. On other occasions this pool has been more productive and in the early morning I have found some interesting migrants. This pool is labelled on my map on thaibirding.com as “Night Heron Colony” - Suan Luang.

Moving along I stopped on a little bridge and witnessed a three-way tug-of-war between a Streak-eared Bulbul, a female Oriental Magpie Robin and a Common Myna. They seemed to be fighting over a large grasshopper or something similar, and predictably, the larger Myna won the battle. Staying on the bridge I then noticed a pigeon feeding in a tree, and after looking through my binoculars I saw it was a female Pink-necked Green Pigeon; nearby a pair were also feeding. The male is a particularly nice bird and seeing this species in the park made the trip worthwhile. A Javan Pond Heron in breeding plumage walking on the lillies was also a nice sight.

I spent some time taking some photos of Suan Luang for the thaibirding.com website. Here they are.

After the photo session I decided to begin my way to the back gate of the park. I had been hearing Coppersmith Barbets everywhere the whole time but now as it began to cool down I also began seeing them everywhere. Another nice bird on the way out was a very tame Long-tailed Shrike which sat on a lampost as people jogged right next to it. I managed to walk right up to it and take a photo; unfortunately the light was beginning to fade and the picture isn’t as good as it should have been.

I saw a few other species on the way out; a pair of Olive-backed Sunbirds, 2 Asian Pied Starlings foraging on frshly mown grass, 2 Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers chasing each other around, a pair of Yellow-vented Bulbuls bathing in a puddle and a pair of Paddyfield Pipits with a very nicely marked juvenile, allowing me to approach very closely as they hunted for insects on a sports field.

Close to the back gate there was a very noisy and well-attended aerobics session in progress where the chance of seeing any birds was zero so I walked out of the park to get a drink. I saw 31 species in the 2 hours I spent in the park, which I guess isn’t bad, although most of them were the most common species that can be found in Thailand.

Bang Pra is an excellent site for seeing a wide range of species, with woodland, grassland and wetland habitats it is possible to see a high number of excellent species here. Combined with an afternoon at wetlands near Bang Poo and some coastal birds at Bang Poo itself, an excellent day of birdwatching is possible; this is exactly what Dierdre Robinson and I did on 26th April. Dierdre had contacted me as she had just one day in Thailand before moving on to a volunteer job in Bhutan and as she hadn’t been to Thailand before, these three locations offered an excellent chance of seeing a lot of nice species well.

Having picked her up from the Queen’s Garden Resort hotel near Suvarnampum airport we arrived at Bang Pra at the peak of the bird activity. Before we had got out of the car we had been treated to the site of a flock of White-crested Laughingthrushes feeding on the road and calling to one another, several White-throated Kingfishers, Indian Rollers and Greater Racket-tailed Drongos; impressive birds all. After parking the car we made the most of the high level of bird activity. There seemed to be Lineated Barbets in every tree, giving us fine looks at this handsome bird and Racket-tailed Treepies seemed to be following us around. Within a short distance of the car park we also saw an Asian Brown Flycatcher - a late departee, a single Lesser Whistling Duck and excellent views of several Yellow Bitterns.

The level of bird activity in the region of the car park and small lake was quite remarkable and other species included Black Drongo, a migrant leucogenis Ashy Drongo, 2 colourful Black-headed Bulbuls, Sooty-headed Bulbuls, more White-crested Laughingthrushes and Green Bee-eater. Also notable was the high number of Hoopoes we saw. I usually see Hoopoe at Bang Pra, but this morning they were everywhere and I can only assume that the resident population had been increased by passage migrants. Before we had gone very much further we saw another good bird, Crow-billed Drongo. This passage migrant isn’t so often seen and many birdwatchers with long lists are still looking for it. As we moved alongside the woodland a pair of Vinous-breasted Starlings caught my eye. Unfortunately, Dierdre missed them as they flew into the woodland quite quickly but when we went into the trees to hunt the starlings out Dierdre noticed a Spotted Owlet watching us. As we returned its stare another flew away into the woods and eventually the bird that we had such a good view of joined it.

With Greater racket-tailed Drongos and Hoopoes all around us we moved towards the grassland, seeing a Green-billed Malkoha on the way. The grassland habitat here used to be excellent for many species of quail, but now the raised water level and overgrazing of what grassland remains has degraded the habitat severley and we didn’t see a single quail. We did, however, hear a number of Chinese Francolins and they taunted us as we searched for them. One bird high in a tree was particularly frustrating as we should have been able to see it but just couldn’t. Still, we saw a lot of birds in the grass and at the water’s edge: Indochinese Bushlark and Australasian Bushlark were seen side by side and each was performing its own characteristic song - Indochinese from a post and Australasian from the sky. We also found a number of Paddyfield Pipits, a lovely Bright-headed Cisticola and many Zitting Cisticolas.

I was interested to see quite a number of winter migrants still present - it is always nice to note the latest dates that wintering species are seen. Those that we saw included numerous Oriental Reed Warblers in song, several Black-browed Reed Warblers, also singing, 2 Brown Shrikes, an Osprey, a few Chinese Pond Herons, 2 Common Sandpipers, 1 Little Ringed Plover , 2 Red-rumped Swallows and 1 tschutschensis Yellow Wagtail. Of course, these were far outnumbered by the breeding species such as Green Bee-eater, Red-wattled Lapwing, Oriental Pratincole and Black-winged Stilt which seemed to be everywhere we looked.

Waterbirds were a little thin on the ground and they also suffer from habitat degradation here, but we got good views of Painted Stork, Great Egret, Little Egret, Little Cormorant, White-breasted Waterhen, Javan Pond Heron and Chinese Pond Heron (Both very handsome in their breeding plumage) and a flight view of a male Watercock.

With the sun becoming unbearable we headed towards some shade but it was difficult to ignore new birds as we ran into a small colony of Baya Weavers, several Rufescent Prinias, Plain Prinias and Grey-breasted Prinias. Also a pair of Chestnut-capped Babblers was very nice indeed. However, with these successes we went back to the car for a drink and a rest. After a short break we decided on an early lunch and to head towards Soi 119 for new birds. This decision was taken because Dierdre had a broken toe and the idea of birding from the car sounded like a good one.

So, a few hours later we found ourself at Soi 119, and that after I said I was unlikelt to come back here very soon. Well, this time things were much more birdy and we saw a good selection of waterbirds here. Striated Grassbird, Bronze-winged Jacana, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Barn Swallow and Whiskered Tern were all quick additions to our day list at a very productive spot near the University building.

A little further along we found more Jacanas and as we wondered whether the gathering clouds were going to drench us we found a beautiful male Asian Golden Weaver sitting up on a post just begging us to watch him.

As we moved along we found some excellent pools where we found some very attractive species; 10 Cotton Pygmy Geese, White-browed Crake, male and female Watercock, Intermediate Egret and several White-winged Terns in full breeding plumage were very spectacular. With so many interesting and attractive birds to see it was difficult to move on but I wanted to give Dierdre a good look at Asian Openbill Storks. This was easy to do and we spent some time observing this species and we were amazed at the huge number of old snail shells in the area, these having been discarded by the storks. Close to the storks we found a single Grey-headed Lapwing which seemed to be very far south at a time I would expect it to have departed.

Although we had seen plenty of Baya Weavers, we hadn’t  seen any males so I kept stopping to find some. When I finally found a male we got out of the car and viewed this busy little bird and as we did a large V of Indian Cormorants flew overhead, a juvenile Brahminy Kite passed by and 2 Parakeets whizzed past us. I couldn’t identify the Parakeets, but they seemed green-headed but too small for Alexandrine; I suspect they were feral Ring-necked Parakeets, a species which I have heard is starting to establish itself in Thailand as it has done in England. However, the best bird of the day (at least for me) was just aboput to show itself. Behind us a starling had landed on a wire and was calling harshly. Through binoculars the light wasn’t good enough for me to be sure of its id, so I got the scope on it. The bird turned out to be a juvenile Rosy Starling, a new bird for me as I have always missed this species in UK and in Thailand - it is not at all common in either country. We had quite some time to watch this bird and eventually it flew off into some palm trees.

With a good haul of species and in need of a rest we headed to nearby Bang Poo. We parked up and walked along the pier to get a drink. However, we couldn’t ignore yet more species as we strolled along. Good numbers of Brown-headed Gulls were still present but most of the birds were sub-adults and had not yet come into breeding plumage. Plenty of Pacific Golden Plovers were also easily seen but this was the only shorebird species in any number; we also found a few Lesser Sand Plovers, 1 Common Greenshank and 1 Whimbrel. 2 Black-capped Kingfishers were also late wintering birds, very welcome by us, and a number of Little Herons was another new bird for the day. Other notable birds were around 100 Whiskered and White-winged Terns yet to depart for their breeding grounds.

After sitting in the air-conditioned restaurant on the pier, drinking coconut juice we were reinvigorated for a few last birds before leaving and we stood on the end of the pier to get good views of the shorebirds. As I was scanninsg the distance for something I took a moment to rest and spotted an Indian Pond Heron in breeding plumage right in front of us! This unusal bird for Thailand is being seen increasingly at this time of year when it can be separated from the Javan and Chinese Pond Herons but this was the first time for me in Thailand, although I had seen plenty in India. Eventually it flew away and we walked to the car as the rain finally began.

A little drive around Bang Poo found us 3 new birds for the day - Black-crowned Night Heron, Collared Kingfisher and Pied Fantail. Who can believe it took us all day to find a bird as common as Pied Fantail? I guess strange things like this is what makes birdwatching interesting and certainly unpredictable. With these species and a massive number of birds for the day I took Dierdre back to her hotel and we said goodbye.

Having dropped my wife off in Bang Na, on the morning of 20th April, I had most of the day to kill so I took a trip to Soi 119 (about 4 km beyond Bang Poo) which I had scouted out a few weeks earlier: Soi 119.

Last time I didn’t go beyond the entrance road to a large university (can’t remember its name) and I started there quickly seeing Cotton Pygmy Goose, Bronze-winged Jacanas, Moorhen, Egrets, Mynas and the very noisy Striated Grassbird. My real aim, though, was to see what the rest of the area had to offer.

It has to be said that I was a bit disappointed. The site has most of the same species as at nearby Muang Boran Fishponds but in nowhere near the same abundance. I spent quite some time driving around and covered a large distance to find birds.  Only in a few places did I see groups of egrets although Asian Openbill Stork was present in large numbers. Eventually I found 2 Pheasant-tailed Jacanas in splendid breeding plumage and I found a small colony of Baya Weavers, watching them busy at their nests. One pool had a few lingering waders including 1 Common Snipe, 5 Long-toed Stints, 4 Black-winged Stilts and a Wood Sandpiper but with the heat and the lack of good places to stop I decided to cut my visit short.

I guess I will still be going to Muang Boran Fishponds for my waterbirds!

Asian Golden Weaver is not at all common in Thailand and becoming increasingly rarer due to habitat destruction, although it can be found at a few sites I know; the most reliable being Muang Boran Fishponds where it is easy to get fairly close  to a nesting colony without disturbing the birds. Ashley Banwell had contacted me with a small list of species that he was interested in seeing; for someone with as large a life list as he has finding lifers isn’t so easy but Asian Golden Weaver stood out as one species on his list that I knew I could help him with.

At 5am I met Ashley at The Hotel Manhattan in Sukhumvit Soi 15 and we headed off to Muang Boran Fishponds before the traffic built up. Because of the problems with parking and security, it is a good idea to park at Bang Poo, just a few kilometres beyond Muang Boran and get a taxi back to the fishponds and this is what we did.

As soon as we were into the site the birdwatching began and one of the first we saw was a male Asian Golden Weaver - that didn’t take long! However, it was quite distant and we were happy to wait for better views. There is always an abundance of waterbirds here and we quickly saw Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Little Egret, Little Cormorant, Black-crowned Night Heron, White-browed Crake, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Javan Pond Heron, Chinese Pond Heron and an impressive male Watercock, always a good bird to see.

Striated Grassbird is very abundant here and it didn’t take long before we were hearing them all around us and they are always easily seen, perched high up on posts and trees singing away. The open aspect of this site means that most birds can be viewed well and it is a great spot for getting pictures. Both Brown Shrike and Long-tailed Shrike gave good photo opportunites and Oriental Pratincoles were everwhere just waiting to be photographed. We also briefly saw an Oriental Skylark and Zitting Cisticolas flitting around in the grass.

Further along a large pond held plenty of waterbirds and we added Intermediate Egret, Pheasant-tailed and Bronze-winged Jacanas to the list. Pheasant-tailed breeds here, there are not that many places in Thailand where it does, and it can be found easily and in good numbers all year round here; they certainly look striking in their breeding plumage.

As we walked towards where the weavers breed we came a cross a tschutschensis race Yellow Wagtail and several Oriental Reed Warblers before hearing some weavers. I was expecting it to be Asian Golden as they are the commonest weaver at this site but it turned out to be a male Streaked Weaver! This is quite an uncommon species and one that I had managed not to see before - an addition to my life list and the Muang Boran Fishponds list. A couple of female Asian Golden Weavers also appeared but it was a singing reed warbler that Ashley spotted that got our attention. It crept up the reeds and sung from the tops and the song was quite different to the plentiful Black-browed Reed Warblers. We got a decent look at it and its slightly longer bill and thin dark eyestripe reaching only as far as the eye identified it as Manchurian Reed Warbler.

Eventually we decided to go straight to the weaver nest site and we got superb views of beautiful male Asian Golden Weavers making their nests and displaying to the females, all at close range. After admiring these birds and photographing them we decided to head off to Petchaburi as Ashley wanted to spend the next 2 days at Kaeng Krachan looking for White-fronted Scops Owl and Giant Pitta - ambitious indeed.

A few hours later, after lunch, we arrived at Tung Bang Jak, a little before Petburi town and we soon saw the photogenic Green Bee-eaters that are so easy to see here. Ashley got some nice photos of these beautiful birds before our attention was caught by some more weavers calling from the reeds. 2 female Asian Golden Weavers were soon joined by a superb male and then 7 male Streaked Weavers popped their heads out - suddenly these species were common! After enjoying these busy little birds we moved a little further down the road seeing most of the usual species that can be found here; Pond Herons, Egrets, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Asian Openbill Stork, Plain-backed Sparrow, Red-wattled Lapwing, Mynas and Black-shouldered Kite; before finding our third weaver species for the day: Baya Weaver. This species is by far the most common here and it was strange that this was the one we found last, but all of Thailand’s 3 weaver species in one day (actually a few minutes) was quite pleasing as they are attractive little birds in their summer plumage.

We stopped for a while to watch a farmer in the rice fields and it made a nice picture to see a more or less traditional form of agriculture in action with lots of large waterbirds in attendance. This is a scene which is absent from many Asian countries where most birds have been trapped and hunted out of existence in farmland.

Having admired this scene and reflected upon how nice it was that lots of birds can still be found outside of national parks in Thailand it was quite upsetting to find a mist net strung up beside the road. I can only think that it was left in order to trap birds for the cage bird trade, the merit-making trade or for the table. If it was left unattended by a ringer I would be most annoyed at their idiocy for any birds that were caught in this net would die very quickly in the midday heat and humidity. Click on the thumbnail below and you can see a close up of the net which shows that it is inded a mist net and not something else.

After the mist net incident we found some Bronze-winged Jacanas, 100s of Asian Openbills and a beautiful pair of Pink-necked Green Pigeons perched on a wire. Keen to add some shorebirds to our tally we then moved on to Pak Thale.

The Spoon-billed Sandpeipers seemed to have left Pak Thale a while ago but we were expecting to see plenty of other species. Unfortunately shorebirds were pretty thin on the ground here, most species are well into their migration I guess, but this is a good time of year to find Grey-tailed Tattler and we saw 3 here. Other birds included Red-necked Stint, Kentish Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Little Tern, Curlew Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Spotted Redshank and Common Sandpiper. A walk to the shore produced 3 Curlew and a Whimbrel but with little else we decided to go to the sand spit.

On the way we spotted a group of shorebirds which included breeding plumage Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint and Spotted Redshank.

After finding a boat we slowly headed out to the spit and I spotted a pair of Blue-throated Bee-eaters above the mangroves; an uncommon bird this far north. The tide was in and we could see a group of roosting shorebirds, hoping that perhaps a “White-faced” Plover might still be around. Unfortunately, as we landed,  two other birdwatchers decided that they didn’t want us for company, got up in a hurry, and walked straight at the shorebirds flushing the whole group!!!!!! Quite amazing how thoughtless some people can be! Luckily our boatman said he could land us at another spot where we got nice views of Malaysian Plover, Kentish PLover, Sanderling, Lesser Sand Plover and 2 Greater Sand Plover, all in breeding plumage, making sure we didn’t disturb the birds. No sign of the “White-faced” though.

With time ticking by we took a look at roosting terns getting very close-up views of Lesser and Great Crested Terns alongside Caspian, Common and Little Terns as well as Brown-headed Gulls due to the skill of our boatman. On the way back a Black-capped Kingfisher was still hanging around.

Our last stop of the day was to look for Black-faced Spoonbill, but it wasn’t to be seen. Instead we got 5 Painted Storks and Grey Heron alongside a number of egrets, all chasing fish around. In the nearby scrubland we found both Blue-tailed and Green Bee-eaters and the ever-present Indochinese Bushlark as well as a Paddyfield Pipit with an injured leg. That was it, a good day of birding with one lifer for both of us. All that was left was to drive to Ban Maka near Kaeng Krachan to drop Ashley off for his quest. The drive took a bit longer than expected but Gunn and Beverly at Ban Maka were very welcoming and quickly prepared food for us. We also added another bird to the day list - Large-tailed Nightjar which was everywhere near Ban Maka, you couldn’t possibly miss it if you went there at night.

On 17th April my wife and I were itching to get out of the house so we made our way to Phuttamonton Park even though it was midday. This is a large park on the Bangkok/Nakorn Pathom provincial border and whilst it is covered in trees, previous visits had found it to be rather sparsely populated by birds. The understorey of large areas of the park are highly manicured and I guess this makes for a rather sterile environment although there are corners of the park that are unkempt and should hold some wildlife.

We had some lunch at the canteen near the entrance and drove around a little in search of somewhere quiet to sit. We found a spot next to a pool and watched the large terrapins and catfish swimming around. I managed a rather fuzzy terrapin photo.

Nearby a pair of Red-wattled Lapwings were busy defending their chicks from a number of interested Indian Rollers and a large water monitor lizard. After a number of aerial attacks the monitor lizard wandered off looking quite unimpressed.

Phuttamonton Park seems to have lots of monitor lizards and I saw a few attempting, and failing, to catch birds. One was trying to creep up on a group of foraging Peaceful Doves and another attempted to stalk a Greater Coucal. In the past I have seen monitors trying to stalk Pond Herons and Egrets, but I have yet to see a successful hunt.

Another interesting event was a tiny squirrel which climbed down a close-by tree and then came and sat under the chair I was on. As if that wasn’t strange enough it then headed over to the water and went for a swim! I wondered if it would get snapped up by the terrapins or catfish, both of which could have easily taken it, but it seemed to manage its little swim okay. Perhaps it was just hot as it didn’t actually go anywhere, it just swam around in a circle.

As things cooled a little I walked around and hunted for birds. I found a Coppersmith Barbet and a flock of 20+ Black Drongos feeding alonside more than 10 Black-naped Orioles; presumably they were a migrating group. I also watched a flock of roosting Black-crowned Night Herons and Little Cormorants and as I did so a flock of 7 Red-billed Blue Magpies flew across the lake - a very nice sight indeed.

Other birds that I saw that I haven’t already mentioned were Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Collared Kingfisher, Oriental Magpie Robin, Pied Fantail, Common Iora, Olive-backed Sunbird, Common Myna, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White-vented Myna, Streak-eared Bulbul, Large-billed Crow, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Lesser Coucal, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Spotted Dove and Red Collared Dove.

Although I didn’t see a huge number of species I am sure that birders who make the effort to get here early in the morning and walk around the scruffy corners of the park will find a fair bit more.

Having survived the worst of the Songkran water fighting I was joined, on the 15th April,  by Mark Thomas, Jenny Atkins and Jason Goodwin for a day of general birding around Petburi province. After a little trouble finding it, I collected them from the Twin Towers Hotel near HuaLompong station at a little after 5am and we headed off to Laem Pak Bia.

On arrival we stopped at the spot which has been favoured by a pair of Black-faced Spoonbills all winter, not sure if they would still be around at this late time in the season. At first very little was to be seen at this spot; Indochinese Bushlark, Plain-backed Sparrow, Green Bee-eater, Collared Kingfisher, a Painted Stork and many egrets but just as we were about to move along, Jason spotted a Spoonbill in flight. Unfortunately, although we could clearly see it was a Black-faced Spoonbill it landed way out of sight. As we waited for it to emerge again we added White-winged Tern, Whiskered Tern, Curlew Sandpiper and Blue-tailed Bee-eater to our tally before some workers flushed the spoonbill again. This time we had longer flight views but again it landed way beyond where we could see.

Although the Spoon-billed Sandpipers seemed to have moved on some weeks back we headed to Pak Thale for an outside chance that one might be lingering. It was not to be but we did see 5 Red-necked Phalaropes coming into breeding plumage along with Gull-billed Tern, Red-necked Stint, Long-toed Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank and Curlew. Little Terns seemed to be nesting on a dry salt pan which to me didn’t seem to be a good choice as it could get reflooded at any time.

With the sun beating down on us a Dusky Warbler and Common Tailorbird weren’t enough to detain us any longer and we headed to the boat yard for a drink. After some ice cold water we hired a boat to take us out to the sand spit in search of “White-faced” Plover. First of all though we landed on the sand bar to view the roosting terns. We had a great selection of species here with a single Caspian Tern, around 20 Great Crested Terns, 3 Lesser Crested Terns and many Common and Little Terns - great opportunities for photographers! Further out to sea we could also see Whiskered and White-winged Terns and we were lucky enough to get 3 White-winged Terns land on the sand bar to bathe. One bird was in complete breeding plumage and stood out beautifully amongst the other species.

On to the sand spit we easily found Malaysian Plover nesting and spotted a Grey-tailed Tattler, an uncommon passage migrant in Thailand. Also present were Kentish Plover, Sanderling and Little Terns. Out on the mudflats Jenny spotted 2 Pied Avocets in flight - another very uncommon species in Thailand - and Javan Pond Herons were nice in their breeding plumage. Amongst the other species a Chinese Egret was spotted, its distinctive behaviour helping separate it from the similar Pacific Reef Egret - subtle structural and plumage details such as the shape of the head plumes and the bill structure could also be seen when it came into close range.

As we proceeded to leave I spotted a Greater Sand Plover in breeding plumage and as I looked at it through my telescope I saw what seemed to be a “White-faced” Plover in the background. Whilst we watched this bird Mark noticed that it had a black ring on its left leg and a yellow/green ring on its right leg. Although this bird had a white-face (all white lores) and was quite striking when it turned face on, I later found out from Phil Round that this combination had been fitted to Malaysian Plovers from the nest - thus this bird was a Malaysian Plover and not a “White-faced”. Indeed, the genuine “White-faced” Plovers are so distinctive that I really should have ruled this bird out beforehand: take a look at photos of the “real thing” - “White-faced” Plover.

After a welcome lunch at the boatyard we drove to Tung Bang Jak, an area of rice agriculture and reedy areas in search of waterbirds.  We spent and hour and a half birding along the quiet road finding a good number of birds including Asian Golden Weaver, large and numerous flocks of Baya Weaver, Green Bee-eater, Brown Shrike, a lingering Siberian Stonechat, Indian Roller, Plain-backed Sparrow, Chestnut Munia, Purple Heron, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Watercock, hoards of Asian Openbill Storks and Cattle Egrets and Bronze-winged Jacana amongst many other species. This area is always good for birds and a large number of species can be seen quickly, particularly in the early morning, but as our visit proved, it is also worth a look at any time of the day. The traditional styles of agriculture in this area make for a patchwork of habitats and as in many parts of the world, where extensive agriculture occurs, biodiversity remains high. The sight of a herd of ducks being shepherded around by a couple of herders was pleasant and some photos were almost obligatory. The herder told me that he had 4000 ducks under his care!

With time pressing on we went back to Laem Pak Bia to spend some time in the King’s Project area. This spot is really good at dusk as many birds come in to roost in the mangroves. In the reeds we found Oriental Reed Warbler and Black-browed Reed Warbler. White-breasted Waterhen was easy but Ruddy-breasted Crake only gave us fleeting views. However, the roosting birds were good; large numbers of Black Drongo and Mynas came in as usual but a surprise was 1500-2000 Bee-eaters, most of which were Blue-tailed Bee-eaters with a few Green Bee-eaters. It was an amazing sight with clouds of birds circling before they chose their roosting spot. At the same time we enjoyed a very nice sunset.

As this proceeded large numbers of Black-crowned Night Herons were exiting the magroves and after seeing a few huge fruit bats we got into the car to search for nightjars. After a brief drive we found 2 Indian Nightjars on the road and got excellent views of them at close range. Always a good ending to the day!

After lazing on the beach at Bang Saen for most of the afternoon yesterday, my wife and I moved on to Bang Pra reservoir in Chonburi province to look at the late afternoon birds.

The non-hunting area is suffering badly from high water levels reducing the amount of grassland habitat and overuse of what remains both by livestock herdsmen and people driving around in vehicles. Compared to the amount of grassland habitat that used to be at Bang Pra, very little remains and what is left is in poor condition with almost no marginal habitat remaining. In the 2 hours I spent there, however, I managed to see a good selection of species although numbers of waterbirds were very low.

What allows birdwatchers to see so many species at Bang Pra is that there is wetland habitat, grassland and woodland all next to each other and in the short time I spent there I saw a good range of birds from all three habitats. Green Bee-eaters nesting, Rufous Treepies foraging a few feet away and large numbers of Oriental Pratincoles were very nice sights.

These are the species I saw from 4.30-6.30 pm as the weather became pleasantly cooler.

Whiskered Tern, Little Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Chinese Pond Heron, Javan Pond Heron, Black-winged Stilt, Red-wattled Lapwing, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Oriental Pratincole, Black-shouldered Kite, White-breasted Waterhen, Common Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Black Drongo, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Large-billed Crow, House Swift, Asian Palm Swift, Barn Swallow, Green Bee-eater, Indian Roller, Hoopoe, Lineated Barbet, White-crested Laughingthrush, Taiga Flycatcher, Indochinese Bushlark, Paddyfield Pipit, Yellow Wagtail (macronyx), Grey-breasted Prinia, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Asian Pied Starling, White-vented Myna, Vinous-breasted Starling, Oriental Reed Warbler, Spotted Dove, Peaceful Dove, Racket-tailed Treepie, Rufous Treepie and Oriental Magpie Robin.

I also heard Chinese Francolin in the distance and a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo that had learned to mimic perfectly the sound of a car central locking alarm system - that tells you something about the overuse of the site by people in vehicles!