18FEB17: Thailand Day 3 - Petchaburi Area - Pak Thale (Part 2 of 4)

I don't even remember driving from the dump to Pak Thale.  Things were going down hill pretty fast.  We arrived at Pak Thale and I almost stayed in the car.  I was not feeling well at all.  Na offered to carry my scope and tripod to the salt pans where there were shorebirds - about 1/2 mile away.  It was about 0930, hot, humid, and I had a fever.  This was, though, the place to see Spoon-billed Sandpiper.  We ran into a couple of folks returning from the pan and they reported that it was the furthest impoundment and that they had 5 Spoon-billeds in there.  We made our way to it and thankfully, there was a little shack that offered some shade.  We were looking into the sun at a ton of sleeping shorebirds.....  great.  You see, I hate viewing birds like that but Rick, he's bionic.  He can look into the sun, through the sun, over the sun, whatever, nothing deters him.  This would be a recurring theme of Rick setting up his scope AND finding birds while looking into the sun.  I had to get used to it....  :-)

We couldn't locate jack.  We were there about 1/2 hour when I finally glimpsed a Spoon-bill come out of its resting position and preen a little.  I said "Spoon-billed" in a rather weak, non excited voice.  We all got on it and that's when Bob said, "the first one you saw you were yelling and jumping up and down, this one, you were a little mellow."  55555  I was sick man!  We decided that we would try to get better light on it so we moved to our left to get the sun to our backs.  Not 10 feet into moving and yours truly steps on a piece of tin roofing, it makes a crap load of noise, the birds flushed.  I felt like an idiot.  We bailed on the peep and walked down towards a spot where we could try for Far Eastern Curlew.

While we were walking, this absolute wall of large shorebirds - measuring in the thousands - got up and started to swirl around.  We were looking for a FECU in the mass.  I had my camera on my tripod so instead of trying to pick one out, I just started shooting the whole flock in flight ala alcids.  Rick got on one and I was able to get it into my view finder and get some pics of it.  Later, much later, I would review these pictures and there weren't just one FECU in with them, but 7.  I pieced together a shooting sequence like I do the alcids at Race Point and was able to come to the conclusion of 7.  I have included that montage and a few others below.

Seven (7) Far Eastern Curlew

A wall of Eurasian Curlew

Eurasian Curlew

Far Eastern Curlew alighting

Far Eastern Curlew Rick got us on

On our way out, we stopped in the Pak Thale Bird and Nature Center.  We ran into a Brit who filled us in on the goings on with the salt farms and the estimated number of "Spoonies" in the area.  In short, this group of salt farms in under pressure for development into another thing NOT a salt farm.  No salt farm, no readily view-able Spoon-billed Sandpiper.  He told us that for only $150k, this area could be preserved for the Spoonies.  I don't have that cash but I know some who are out there do.  There are 200 of these precious peep left in the world, if you got gobs of money (hint Nuttall), do some good.  

Pak Thale Bird and Nature Center

Info Graphic on Spoon-billed Sandpiper Viewing

An Article Hanging in the Center

We finished up here and got in gear to go see Mr. Deang and his beloved Sand Spit.

18FEB17: Thailand Day 3 - Petchaburi Area - The Dump Redux (Part 1 of 4)

Today was the big Sand Spit day and I woke up sick as a dog.  Dreams of Pallas's Gull, Mongo Plover, and "White-faced" Kentish Plover were at risk.  I made it down stairs to the breakfast area of the Sun Hotel and started pounding juice.  I was running a good fever now, my chest was clogged, and my throat killed.  Couple that with serious quad cramps from dehydration and you have a sick puppy.  But...  it was the Sand Spit day....

We had a few hours to bird before taking the trip out to the Sand Spit.  We decided to go to the Dump again, hit Pak Thale, then go to the Spit.  On our first visit there, we were able to see 2 Rosy Starlings.  Remember, Rick thought he had 3.  We also missed the Brahminy Starling so this was another chance to try for that uncommon visitor. 

We arrived and Bob and Rick were off and running.  I wasn't.  I was moving pretty slowly and did not want to bog those guys down.  So I went into the dump.  Lighting was good, birds were all around, and I was able to get on the Brahminy Starling.  Let's start with Rick "I don't need a stinking camera" Heil's great hand held digiphoto followed by my enfeebled DSLR attempt:

Brahminy Starling by Rick Heil

Brahminy Starling by Yours Truly :-(

There were three Rosy Starling like Rick thought.  There was a pair feeding on a staged-for-photographers-in-a-blind perch and one was singing away. 

Rosy Starling

Here is an image with my recording of the Rosy Starling's song overlaid: 

Rosy Starling Singing

That was enough for me.  I went back to the truck and laid down....

17FEB17: Thailand Day 2 -King's Project (Part 5 of 5)

His Majesty King Bhumibol was beloved by all. He always kept his promise to Thai People - the promise that he would reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Thai people.   One of his many great achievements was the establishment and implementation of his Royal Projects.  Here is a link to a page that describes the Projects. 

The King's Project we visited is the Environmental Research and Development Project at Laem Pak Bia. For a full description, visit Nick Upton's ThaiBirding.com for a comprehensive description of the area.

We arrived at the entrance and Na worked out the details of our entrance. Thank you Na!  As Na was doing this, Rick walked the gardens towards the impoundments.  When we met up with him, he said he had a White-breasted Waterhen run across the road.  Nice!  One of the first birds that we saw was a Spot-billed Pelican - sort of a surprise for us all. It was on the water and then got up, circled, and left the area.  I was able to get a few shots off of this large pelecanidae. 

Spot-billed Pelican in flight

The place was nice in the late afternoon.  Egrets and Pond-Herons were everywhere.  Asian Water Monitors prowled the grounds, and there were shorebirds - not huge numbers, but an interesting variety.  One bird that I really enjoy is Spotted Redshank.  I saw the long staying bird at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (Massachusetts) on 04AUG90.  This species is a sharp tringa and there were several of them here:

Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank

We also had a Temminck's Stint and a Pin-tailed Snipe:

Temminck's Stint

Pin-tailed Snipe

Asian Water Monitor

One of the main reasons we came to this location so late in the day was to experience the evening flight of birds going into the mangroves to roost.  Rick indicated that he had large numbers of several species coming into roost back in February 2013.  Here is a comparison:

        Date       BCNH  BTBE  BLDR  WSST

08FEB13       55        800    1800     460

17FEB17      275       330     1200      55

Here are a few pics of the Black Drongo and Blue-tailed Bee-eater.  Difficult because it is after sunset and getting flight shots of birds in the dark is, to put it mildly, challenging.

Black Drongo flying to roost in the mangroves

Blue-tailed Bee-eater flying to roost in the mangroves

Then the real treat started.  Rick indicated that after the birds went into the mangroves to roost, out would come thousands of Lyle's Flying Foxes.  For those who have never heard of them, they are huge fruit bats the size of the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz.  We had heard them earlier in the evening and Rick said he smelled their guano.  But seeing is believing.  First one, then several, then hundreds of these giant bats came out of mangroves to go inland to feed.  It was a wee bit unnerving to have these giant mammals flying over our head at about 250' but it was exhilarating.  I tried (and failed) to get decent shots of these mammals in flight in the dark.  

Lyle's Flying Fox leaving mangrove to feed

 After that show, we drove the dirt roads of the Project, I was hanging out the truck window, and we flushed a nightjar.  We left it at nightjar sp.


We settled in for the ride back to the Sun Hotel and that's when my flu started to sink in...

17FEB17: Thailand Day 2 -Pak Thale (Part 4 of 5)

The salt farms of Pak Thale are only a short drive from Wat Komnaram.  What makes Pak Thale so important?  Read below an excerpt from the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) - 

"The Inner Gulf of Thailand has a 195 km-long section of the coastal zone from Laem Phak Bia in the west to Chonburi in the east and includes an estimated 23,500 ha of intertidal mudflats, extending over 2 km from the shoreline at low tide in places. Four major rivers, Mae Klong, Tha Chin, Chao Phraya and Bang Pakong, discharge into the Gulf of Thailand along this stretch of coastline, creating extensive areas of intertidal habitats. This site is one of the most important areas for migratory waterbirds, especially Spoon-billed Sandpiper, in the East Asian Australasian Flyway.... Nine sites have been identified including Khok Kham, Pak Thale, Lim Pak Bia and Bang Pu as globally important areas for wintering shorebirds."

In short, this place has a gargantuan amount of shorebirds including some of the world's rarest species.  (Yes I used gargantuan in a sentence, thank you very much.)  It is one of the most reliable locations to observe wintering, critically endangered, Spoon-billed Sandpiper.  Similar to the abandoned building area, there are endless salt farms.  In general, the impoundments are best birded on the incoming and high tide since this is an area that the shorebirds roost at prior to gorging themselves again on the flats of the Gulf of Thailand.  The road to the viewing area off of route 4028 is well marked:

The "Sign" up close

The must have photo....

Bob Stymeist

This picture of the sign above is nice and cool and everything but to get a real sense of the enormity and importance of the area, an aerial view is best:

Aerial View of Pak Thale area showing countless salt farms

I have put on the photo a marker where the Pak Thale Bird and Nature Center is located.  This area is just one small spot in the huge picture of shorebird migration and wintering grounds.  

Pak Thale Bird and Nature Center

After all this, we were there at the wrong tide!  In fact, some of best shorebirding in the Pak Thale Area was a salt farm right off of route 4028.  (We come back to the Pak Thale site later...)  Here are some of the great birds that were just hanging out on the side of the road:

Curlew Sandpiper

Terek Sandpiper

Long-toed Stint in flight

Whiskered Tern in flight

We then made our way to the "King's Project" and an evening of amazing experiences.

17FEB17: Thailand Day 2 -Wat Komnaram (Part 3 of 5)

Wat Komnaram is in the village of Ban Bang Kaew off of road 6022.  A Wat is a Buddhist Temple.  They are beautiful buildings on pleasant grounds.  Buddhist temples are designed to symbolize 5 elements: Fire, Air, Earth, Water, and Wisdom.  Unfortunately we did not go into a Wat on our trip but next time for sure.  This Wat, as with many other temple designs in Thailand, have chofah that adorn the ends of roofs.  Chofah are shaped like a slender bird representing Garuda - the bird-like creature that was Lord Vishnu's mount.  The Brahminy Kite is considered as the contemporary representation of Garuda. I was fortunate enough to take this photograph:

 

Brahminy Kite on chofah

Thailand can best be described as tropical and humid for the majority of the country during most of the year. The southern region of Thailand really has only two seasons - the wet and the dry. The wet season is roughly April through to October.  We were there towards the end of the dry season.  The Wat and the adjoining fields are depicted in the picture below:

Wat Komnaram

Specialties at Wat Komnaram include Oriental Pratincole and Oriental Skylark among a host of wading and shorebirds.  But first....  it was here we picked up our first rallidae - Common Moorhen.  Rick picked it out with his bionic eyes and super scope in the reeds on the far side of the pool.  Looks were heavily distorted by the midday temperatures and photos were out of the question.  Here are a few photos of the specialties: 

Oriental Pratincole Flycatching

Oriental Pratincole

Oriental Skylark

One thing about Thailand - there are birds everywhere.  Up, down, left, right - you name it. Keeping one eye to the sky is always beneficial.  

Marsh Sandpiper

Black-tailed Godwit

We finished up here and headed over to Pak Thale - THE place to see Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

17FEB17: Thailand Day 2: A Pause for Lunch

Before heading over to Wat Komnaram, we were all hot and hungry.  We had already made reservations with Mr. Deang for the Sand Spit trip tomorrow so we headed north on 4028.  We found this small, shaded restaurant at the intersection of routes 4028 and 6022 - Tham Niap Rat.  On the east side of 4028, we passed this wonderful stone sculpture of a man and a woman.  Fortunately, Tham Niap Rat had a view of this beauty:

Man and Woman

Here is a look at the restaurant.  They had rice, chicken, papaya salad, and water. Enough for me!

Tham Niap Rat Restaurant

While waiting for lunch, which in Thailand is under 2-3 minutes, I took a picture of my friend Na:

Na

There was also this beautiful San Phra Phum or Spirit House on the deck of the dining area: 

San Phra Phum

Behind the restaurant were some thickets with a very obliging Brown Shrike:

Brown Shrike

We finished up and headed over to Wat Komnaram.  

17FEB17: Thailand Day 2 -The Abandoned Building Area (Part 2 of 5)

Just down the road from the dump is a large area with many salt production ponds/ impoundments.  There just happens to be a giant abandoned building there...  oh ya, my headache is getting worse and my legs are cramping.  One of our first birds before the main impoundment area was a leucistic Wood Sandpiper:

Leucistic Wood Sandpiper

For my friends in Massachusetts, picture Forward Pool at PRNWR, then, with out a blink of an eye, multiply that by over 100 and fill each one of them with birds. This place was staggering with the volume of shorebirds.  Here is a wall of shorebirds with many Great Knot:

A mass of shorebirds with many Great Knot

From there, it was what ever you wanted.  We tallied 31 (!) species of shorebirds in this complex.  I really started feeling crummy so Na and I did some car birding before hooking back up with Rick and Bob.  It was a bird photographer's dream come true.  Right out the window were Black-winged Stilt, Black-tailed Godwit, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, etc..  This blogger sucks for putting in pictures so I will only put in a few.

Black-tailed Godwit

Broad-billed Sandpiper

Black-winged Stilt

We came across a large group of shore birds and in them were Asian Dowitcher.  Rick's mad digiscoping skills started to show themselves even more:

Asian Dowitcher courtesy of Rick Heil

And in another large pool were hundreds upon hundreds of Black-winged Stilts including this leucistic bird:

Leucistic Black-winged Stilt

We all hooked back up and continued to the far end (northeast) portion of the area.  Here we came across a lake with ducks and grebes - 5 Eurasian Wigeon were a bonus.

Eurasian Wigeon

On the other side of the lake was this one impoundment that was packed with shorebirds - and more were flying in.  The birds would cross the lake, fly over the road, and go into the impoundments.  The light was not that great (sun a little too high) but I still wanted to get flight shots of all these exotic shore birds.  So while Rick and Bob worked the mob of birds, I kept half an eye out for incoming birds.  

Sometimes it pays to be lucky.  I had just photographed a group of Black-tailed Godwit and Pacific Golden-Plover when a group of greenshank came screaming over us.  I was able to get off about 8 shots with only a few coming out.  I kept going with my flight shots when Rick says Nordmann's just landed in the pool!  We all scoped the birds out and in fact there were 15.  I mentioned to Rick I photographed them flying in and we looked at the camera back and sure enough, I got lucky.   Here are a few pics of these uncommon tringa:  

Nordmann's Greenshank

Nordmann's Greenshank

Nordmann's Greenshank

As we looked at these photos, Rick mentioned that they almost have a feel for a large Terek Sandpiper - they sure did!

On the way out to get lunch, there was this very obliging Whiskered Tern gobbling down something that appeared to be a prawn:

Whiskered Tern

Next stop is lunch, not unlike the Whiskered Tern...