Thaibirds and more

Splendid sunset at Kaengkrachan damm. 2 day trip to Petburi 21-22nd of September 2010 John and Gordon from Scotland did a short stop over on their way to Australia. The goal was to see as many birds as possible in a gentle but steady pace. J and G had never visited SEA before. We played things by ear and visited several sites. Khok Kham: Someone had recently seen an over summering Spoon-billed Sandpiper here. When we got there it was low tide which meant birds had left for the mudflats. The good news is that an extensive cemented boardwalk has now been put up at the mangroves and one can view the birds pretty good through a scope out there. There were thousands of birds and with so many birds around and the waters retreating we had little chance of finding the Sandpiper. Still, for John and Gordon it meant some new waders: Red-necked Stint, Long-toed Stint, Lesser Sand Plover, Broad-billed Sandpiper being a few. Mai Taeng Reservoir: This is an excellent site for River Lapwing and Rain

Martin Daniel was on a business trip to Vietnam and decided to stop over in Bangkok on his way home to England. Since this was Martin’s 12th trip with me in the field there were quite a narrow set of target birds. We decided to spend the time at Mae Wong National Park some 5 hours drive North West of Bangkok. This area is part of the Western Thailand Forest Complex which stretches over a huge area. The site is the best in the country for Rufous-necked Hornbills, Burmese Yuhinna, Coral-billed Scimitar Babbler, White-necked Laughingthrushes and White-throated Bulbul. Of these Martin had only seen the Hornbill. The prime birding area is at Chong Yen which is located 1340m above sea level. Here is a campground overlooking a forest covered valley. Main drawback with the site is the abundance of sand flies that can be quite a bother. Since September is right in the rain season it was a bit of a gamble to visit. Sure enough, we had plenty of scattered showers on our way to and up the mountain

For 9 months of the year one neither see nor hear the Rain Quail. Then during 3 months of the wet season the loud and far reaching 'clink clink' can be heard in suitable habitat such as at Huay Mai Taeng, Ratchaburi. In the grass lands and scrub near the large dam these little birds are commonly found. Their calls are hard to pin point from where it originates. I found the best way was to drive around in the grass lands by car. Normally they aren't seen well as they seem to stay within the thicket of the scrub or grasses. But as the mating season draws near they start calling and proclaiming their territory. This is best done from a rock where the male will belt out his song. They were surprisingly approachable with the car. Perhaps too occupied finding or calling their mates? And this is how I got these images. The week earlier I had seen them only on foot and through a scope but this time Carl-Johan Svensson came along and with the help of his high clearing veh