Dartford Waffler

I recently had a couple of visits to Chiang Saen in Chiang Rai province which proved very interesting for some unusual winter migrants. Chiang Saen is close to lots of wetland areas including Chiang Saen lake, Yonok wetlands and The Mekong but there are interesting areas all around to investigate.
Chiang Saen Lake
The lake is not […]

This morning I had an unexpected visitor to my front yard. Whilst I am used to seeing Olive-backed Sunbirds every day, this fledgling Scaly-breasted Munia was a bit more of a surprise, particularly as it flew out of the plants at me as I was watering them.

Fledgling Scaly-breasted Munia
Photo by Nick Upton
Actually, I should not […]

I recently spent two days at Laem Pak Bia and Pak Thale (6th & 7th November). After reporting some problems with the road into the Spoon-billed Sandpiper site at Pak Thale I am happy to say that the road has been finished and it is now negotiable by any vehicle again.
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
On the 6th I […]

There are lots of great birds to see in Thailand but one of the best, to me, is the Great Hornbill. Whilst it is not the rarest bird, it is certainly one of the most memorable and any sighting is a highlight in my book: a few years ago I did a survey and Great […]

I spent a couple of days with my wife in Petchaburi province on 29th and 30th October doing some birdwatching and some lazing on the beach.
On the afternoon of 29th I headed to Pak Thale to see if I could find a returning Spoon-billed Sandpiper. A new road was being layed part the way into […]

Some time ago Louise Truslow contacted me asking where she could go to see birds in large flocks. I suggested wetlands around Petchaburi as a great place to look. The reason she wanted to know was to get some ideas for a series of oil paintings of birds.
It seems that she found what she was […]

Back in Thailand I have been going over my notes from my 5 week visit to England. It wasn’t really a birding trip, just a visit home, although I did go out birding a fair bit.
In total I saw 129 species. The best of which I suppose were Red-backed Shrike, Great Egret and Glossy Ibis. […]

There seems to have been a mini invasion of Glossy Ibises into Britain over the last week with around half a dozen birds present. Last Thursday I caught up with one at Stodmarsh in Kent, the first time I have seen this species in Britain. However, I have seen plenty of them in India and […]

One thing I have noticed over the last few weeks in the UK is how many butterflies are around. A walk around farmland and nature reserves seems to reveal a plentiful supply of butterflies of a variety of species. A few years ago the EU changed agricultural subsidies so that they would only paid if […]

Back in the UK it is always nice to catch up with some birds that I haven’t seen for ages due to being in exile in Thailand. Having been back for a few weeks and already met up with most of the commoner birds I decided to head to the shingle headland of Dungeness on a […]