Thaibirds and more

The forest is as we all know a real challenge to photograph birds. (Yes, I know, even seeing birds can be very hard at times)......so it was with great anticipation I set behind a blind at Bahng Songnok waiting to see what would show up. I was under the impression that the Red-legged Crake is a wet season visitor at Kaengkrachan so I was surprised to see this bird show up. This bird was the definite highlite of my day as I have been wanting to photography it for a long long time. Often encountered on a birding walk but seldom seen. Large Scimitar Babbler. Also from Bahn Songnok. This lovely resident warbler has an easily recognized voice. It likes bamboo in the hills. Yellow-bellied Warbler. The Golden Babbler likes it in the thick scrub. This one was lured out with playback Likewise the Red-bearded Bee-eater is a hard to find bird at Kaengkrachan. With its striking colors a definite highlight of my day at Panern Thung.

A couple of days back I managed to get closer to the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. There were 2 birds mixed in with a flock of 200 Red-necked Stints all feeding in a frenzy within 12-15 meters from the car I was in.

The dry season is just around the corner and with it comes the opportunity to see some global rarities. On the 11th I had my first trip for the season in search of Spoon-billed Sandpiper. 4 Germans were on a 10 day birding trip to Thailand and they asked me to help them with the waders. It worked out real well and it didn't take long to locate this lone bird. Each year we have a fair number of Nordmann's Greenshanks over wintering. This time we found 12 individuals. The 3rd rarity is a bird not to be counted on as it is a passage migrant. We were fortunate enough to come across a single bird: Asian Dowitcher.