1st image ever of a Red Phalarope in Thailand! 10th of November 2014

For some reason I have a special interest in shorebirds and try to visit whenever I can. It is rather long to get to Paktaley (2 hours drive) which makes it a bit of an undertaking.
November is an interesting month though that normally produce big numbers of birds. I reckon some of them are still on the move but most will settle for winter in the Inner Gulf of Thailand.

The prime target is always Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann's Greenshanks and Asian Dowitchers.
Having seen all of them already I spent time with everything else. I had come across a group of 30 some Red-necked Phalaropes and seen a few scattered ones in the area. I was aware of the 1st and so far only sighting of Red/Grey Phalarope some years back and so tried to see if any would be one of this kind.

Since there is still a lot of water in the pans many birds were found 'knee deep'. I set out to photograph some Marsh Sandpipers when this Phalarope came real close to me.
It wasn't until I posted it online and had it confirmed that I was sure it was a Red/Grey Phalarope.
A lifer for me and only the 2nd one for Thailand!

Needless to say, many folks have followed up on the bird and we will see how long it will hang around for!

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