Thai Birds

It's a time of transition in the bird world marked by the departure of the huge flocks of migratory shorebirds which, during the northern hemisphere's winter, populate the salt fields, marshes and shores of the Gulf of Thailand around Petchburi and further north to Bangkok and the Chao Phaya estuary. Now as a novice I find it very difficult to distinguish shorebirds and to assert with any confidence that such and such a bird is a little stint as opposed to a sanderling, a red-necked stint, a Temmick's stint or a long-toed stint; it might also be a green sandpiper, a wood sandpiper, or a common sandpiper though these birds tend to be larger! This is even allowing for the fact that I have the help of a turbo charged top of the range scope from Kowa of Japan. I guess this is the great challenge of watching birds here and anywhere else: confidently spotting the species.

One helpful factor is that may of the remaining shore birds have started to sport their breeding suits and this has made me reasonably confident that in the last few days I have been looking at little stints and pacific golden plover. The male of the species in general wears the best threads! We have seen a lot of birds in the last few weeks: some delightful oriental pratincoles guarding a nest in a dry rice paddy from yellow wagtails, cotton-pygmy geese, little grebes, purple swamphens, pheasant tailed jacanas, bronze winged jacanas, brahminy & black shouldered kites, wood sandpiper, common moorhen, little stint, pacific golden plover,ruddy shelduck, asian openbills, painted stork and the full range of usual suspects, often referred to as "commoners"; what is common about a collared or white-throated kingfisher I ask?! I have seen these all within a 25 km radius of Petchaburi from my car!

There is a lot of breeding activity and noise. Little terns are particularly loud!

We are going south for a few days so expect reports of further new species and sightings. I have to say how much fun this dalliance with Thai birds is giving me. Watch this space.