Dartford Waffler

Independent Birding at Zaamin National Park | Birding in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a surprising country with a wide variety of landscapes, ancient historical monuments, some interesting food and drink as well as good infratructure that makes the country easy to travel in independently. However, my wife and I pushed this a little further than most travelers to the country by visiting Zaamin National Park where [...]

City Park Bird Abundance | Birding in Thailand

For those of us lucky enough to travel internationally to see birds it quickly becomes apparent that in some countries birds are abundant while in others birders have to work harder to see a wide range of species. This was brought home to me most recently spending a morning at Sri Nakorn Kuean Khan Park [...]

Touristing & Birding at Petra | Birding in Jordan

For those of us who travel with non-birding partners it can sometimes be tricky to balance enjoying time together somewhere interesting and the craving to maximise the opportunity to see new birds in new places. Personally, having a good holiday with my wife is the most important thing when planning trips together but doing some [...]

Rainy Season Birding at Pathum Thani Rice Research Centre | Birding in Thailand

There can be times of the year when bird watching hits a trough because a lack of activity, unhelpful weather or overfamiliarity with a smaller selection of species than at other times. In Thailand these factors are all true in the rainy season with a large number of species absent, on their breeding grounds further [...]

Mountain Birding from Chimgan | Birding in Uzbekistan

I have always loved immersing myself in mountain landscapes but over recent years my opportunity to do so has been limited with much of my time spent in tropical forests and wetlands in Thailand so when the opportunity presented itself to spend some time birding in mountain habitats in Uzbekistan I took it without having [...]

A Morning at Suan Rot Fai: Thailand Birding

February 12th, 2015

Nick

Yesterday morning I found myself with some free time in which I decided to head into town and visit Suan Rot Fai where a Hartert’s Leaf Warbler has been in residence for a few weeks. The information I had been given by others who had already seen the bird was that it had been occupying an area near the toilets close to the butterfly and insect house, so that is where I headed to, arriving around 7am.

Other information that I had read online suggested that the bird had been loosely associated with a Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher which was easy to locate due to its frequent vocalization. Within a few minutes I had located the Flycatcher as well as a Taiga Flycatcher and a pair of Black-naped Monarchs. It did not take long for the Hartert’s Leaf Warbler to follow in their trail and I was able to observe it several times as it foraged for insects. Each time the small flock disappeared it was easily relocated by the noisy Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher. Excellent, the target bird was located and seen well very quickly but there were to be some problems. Read more »

Lung Sin Waterhole – Thailand Birding

January 1st, 2015

Nick

Last week I made a visit to Lung Sin waterhole at Kaeng Krachan national park. As ever it was a popular place with birders and photographers and it was essential to book a place in the hide; the staff at Ban Maka did this for me.

There has been no rain for many weeks in the area and the forest in which the waterhole is sited was very dry, meaning that birds and mammals have few other options for water in the area. Although many birds came to drink and bathe at the waterhole, the level of activity was not as high as I have seen at other times; I think that this was mainly due to the cool weather and breezes.

We saw many species of birds in our afternoon at Lung Sin waterhole, with the most exciting bird being this Slaty-legged Crake. Read more »

Six Months Back Home: British Birding

November 15th, 2014

Nick

After spending 6 months back home in UK, I recently returned to Thailand. While I was home I got out as much as I could to go birding, mostly within an hour’s drive of my mother’s home in Kent, although I did have a few short trips into Suffolk, Norfolk, East Sussex, East Yorkshire, The New Forest and South Wales.

It is always nice to go back home and see some birds that I rarely see as well as a few new ones. For me many of the seabirds and winter migrants are species that I have seen very little of over the last 10 years so it is always good to see them as well as many of the less common resident birds. On this blog posting I will mention some of the birds which were highlights for me over the last 6 months. Read more »

Dartford Warbler Excitement – Birding in Britain

September 16th, 2014

Nick

Today I spent a day in Suffolk, visiting Thorpeness, Sizewell, Minsmere and Dunwich Heath. All four locations provided me with views of some nice birds on a lovely sunny day, including one which was a lifer and another which is my all-time favourite bird! On top of this a wide variety of birds throughout the day gave me an impressive day list of waders, woodland birds, gulls, waterfowl and other species. Read more »

Limestone Wren Babbler in Kanchanaburi – Thailand Birding

May 16th, 2014

Nick

More than 10 years ago I visited Hellfire Pass, in Kanchanaburi, because I was interested in the history of World War II from that area. As the site was partially forested I took my binoculars and was lucky enough to see a pair of Limestone Wren Babblers, the crispifrons race rather than the calcicola race that is normally seen at Saraburi.

Last week I revisited the site to see if the Wren Babblers could still be found there and was pleased to easily find a pair within about 20 minutes of entering suitable, rocky habitat. What was most interesting about this sighting was that it occurred in exactly the same spot as I had seen them over 10 years ago.

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Photos from Huay Mae Taeng Reservoir – Thailand Birding

May 16th, 2014

Nick

A few days ago I got up early and drove to Huay Mae Taeng Reservoir in Ratchaburi province; leaving at 5am I was there for around 6.30. Unfortunately the water level was high so there was only a little marginal habitat in which to find birds, on top of which a large area on the south side of the reservoir was being infilled – hopefully this is not another wetland that is being turned into a sterile, steep-sided fishpond. Despite this I was able to find quite a few interesting species including Rain Quail, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Chestnut-capped Babbler, Oriental Darter and Small Pratincole.

Some of the photographs taken at Huay Mae Taeng on 14th May 2014 follow.

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Nesting Small Pratincole – Thailand Birding

May 3rd, 2014

Nick

A few weeks ago I found myself in the town of Chachoengsao with time to kill, so I drove out to Klong Si Yat Reservoir, a location I had passed in 2013 on my way to somewhere else, in order to see what I could find there.

Most of the species I found were the typical birds of open-country and water’s edge but a few interesting birds included Vinous-breasted Myna, Oriental Darter and 2 pairs of nesting Small Pratincoles. Numerous oriental Pratincoles were also nesting at the reservoir, but they had chosen mud and grassland to nest on, whereas the Small Pratincoles were nesting on an area of rocks and stones. It was unbearably hot on the day I visited Klong Si Yat and the Small Pratincoles looked like they were suffering as they protected their eggs. Several times the male and female changed over, with the incoming bird having waterlogged breast and belly feathers. Presumably this behaviour is to provide some cooling to overheating eggs.

Some of the photos I took of the Small Pratincoles on their nest follow;

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