A few days ago I was in the area of Wat Khao Takrao, near Petchaburi, when I noticed a few Black-headed Ibises very close to the road. I very frequently see these birds in this area at all times of the year, but usually sightings are fairly distant and often made worse by heat haze, but these two birds were very obligingly feeding only 20 metres from the road and using the van as a hide I was able to take photographs of them for some time.

Black-headed Ibises

These birds are to be found in this area all year round, with adults and juveniles often seen; this often makes me think that they must be breeding in the area at some unknown waterbird colony – this is not as unlikely as it may seem with large areas of habitat available that is virtually unvisited by birders. A nearby lake known as Nong Pla Lai, and which has access restricted by a locked gate, is a likely site for any such waterbird colony.

On 17th February I found a total of 26 Black-headed Ibises in the Wat Khao Takrao area, one of the larger counts that I have personally made.