Thailand Part 1: A feast fit for a King

 

Six long years has passed since my last birding trip abroad. It was an amazing adventure to Cambodia taking place just before the dreadful Covid-19 pandemic. The same companions for that trip sent me an invite to join them for another one and this time, to the jungles of central Thailand. It was going to be an eight-day exploration of a variety of habitats from the coast to the hilly interiors. A couple of months later, I found myself touching down at Suvarnabhumi Airport to meet up with Nigel, Kok Siong and our guide Arjin before heading to our first destination of the trip – the river banks of the mighty Chao Phraya in Bang Ban district.

A few days before we embarked on this journey, our guide promised us two things in our Whatsapp group. Pied Kingfishers to kick off the tour and Giant Freshwater Prawns for lunch to celebrate this striking lifer. And he delivered both as promised. Although the lighting was harsh, the aerial agilities of the Pied Kingfishers were still a breath-taking sight.

Unlike any other Kingfisher I have encountered before; this species hunts by hovering high above the waters before plunging down to capture prey close to the surface.

I am no stranger to heat as I lived all my life in this region but it was really hot here in central Thailand. With the scorching heat along this river bank, shade is a prized commodity. However, in the days to come, I have learned to welcome the heat as it played a significant role in the productivity of our birding endeavours.

Brahminy Kites were also present in the area but I doubt they are any threat to the kingfishers. This common but beautiful raptor scavenges as much as it hunts and a river like this would be able to provide a living for it.

Although the succulent river prawns were calling our names from a nearby restaurant, we spent a considerable amount of time at the river bank. One of the main reasons was because we were waiting for decent opportunities to capture the Pied Kingfishers perched. And a male bird, told by the full band across his chest, finally let down his guard and provided the memories we were seeking.

You would think this paragraph would now be about the much-anticipated local cuisine but we were held back again. However, it was not by a bird. But a Golden Tree Snake with a freshly caught Tokay Gecko. In fact, this rare sight almost overshadowed the performance of the Pied Kingfishers – almost.

Shortly after, we left the snake to savour the meal to come in peace and proceeded to have our own little feast. The prawns did not disappoint as well and it was a good start indeed for the three of us.

Since we are on the subject of food, we got to taste any array of local dishes throughout the tour. Our bird guide apparently is also a knowledgeable food guide – much to our delight. Well fed birders are happy birders and happy people are more easily pleased than hungry, cranky ones. Yes, our guide had certainly put much thought into this strategy.

Now back to the birds. We were taken to an urban park within Bangkok city next. In fact, Chatuchak which is a popular tourist destination, is not the kind of place one would expect to visit during a birding tour. But you always got to have faith in your guide especially one as accomplished as Arjin. Soon we were surrounded by a Black-capped Kingfisher and Indochinese Rollers providing ample flight shots for all the photographers present. Unfortunately, this endeavour was a little beyond the capabilities of my modest setup. The Indochinese Rollers did linger around the vicinity and resting birds are just as beautiful in my book.

Eventually I was lured away from the others by a pair of foraging Black-collared Starlings. It may be a common species to the locals here but it does not occur naturally in Peninsular Malaysia. It was a delight to observe and capture them going about their daily routine and rather vocally if I might add.

The Siamese Pied Starling is more familiar to me because it is not uncommon in the northern Malaysian states like Perlis. Like its larger cousin, this species also possesses a personality and aesthetics that is hard to resist.

Great Mynas here are the equivalent of Common Mynas back in Peninsular Malaysia. It is probably amusing to my guide and other local birders that I show so much interest in Great Mynas. Status aside, I find this species to be visually appealing.  

Elvis is in the house...

House Crows are rare or absent from this part of the country and to take their place are the bigger Large-billed Crows. The latter is no longer a common sight in Penang and a confiding individual like this one deserves a mention in this post.

Little Herons are just as common here as in Malaysia and can be found foraging along the edge of the ponds of this park.  

As always, birds are top priority for me wherever I go especially in a foreign land. But this Finlayson’s Squirrel had enough appeal to momentarily distract my attention. This species also goes by the name Variable Squirrel due to their highly variable plumage colouration and a pale variance like this individual is exquisite.

A sizable Water Monitor Lizard had its afternoon siesta interrupted unintentionally be a foreign birder exploring its territory.  

One bird that truly tugged my heart strings here in Chatuchak Park was the adorable Spotted Owl. And any diurnal sighting of an owl is usually a mesmerizing affair.

We have encountered this species before during our trip to Cambodia and observing it again after all these years certainly brought back memories of our Cambodian adventure. And now, this little fellow has become an integral part our Thai adventure as well.

At nightfall, we reached the coastal salt farming district in the outskirts of the city. Tomorrow is a big day as we will be hunting down one of the main targets of the trip and that will be covered in my next post.

Old school birding...

 

There was a time when December was a month I look forward to. The holiday season, the magic of Christmas and so forth. It is also a good time for birding as well. However, for the past few years, horrendous traffic congestions and overwhelming crowds leave very little reason to celebrate. And this season, the recent loss of a loved one compounded the situation. Thankfully, an invitation from an old friend to join him for a day of birding provided some Christmas cheer and we found ourselves at the paddy planting district of Kubang Semang in mainland Penang at first light. Waterbirds are our main objective as Dave has a soft spot for this fascinating group of birds - a sentiment that I share. A stunning adult Purple Heron was certainly a good start to our endeavour.

We came across a number of Purple Herons throughout the locality and this is a juvenile on the hunt for breakfast.

Grey-headed Lapwings are a regular sight here each migratory season but it was one of my companion’s target birds as he now resides in East Malaysia where it is rare. A couple of birds in flight caught our attention and it did not take long for us to find the first flock of this lovely bird.

I have not been out in the field as often as I used to and the Grey-headed Lapwings made me realize how much I miss birding. So, two seasoned birders who undoubtedly have a fair share of experience with this species, took the effort and time to document the encounter.

The Red-wattled Lapwing is just as attractive or even more so but it did not evoke as much emotions. In this locality, it is outnumbered and overshadowed by the former.

Talking about beauty, the weather condition was near perfect for birding this morning and the lighting brought out the true appeal of this agricultural landscape.

At this time of the year, the Amur Stonechat is a rather drab-looking grassland bird. It would be a sin not to capture some images of this individual posing in front of a sea of green.

One does not usually get to see a Slaty-breasted Rail in the open at this locality and the reason behind this bold behaviour soon revealed itself. Another rail was present and I can only presume they were having a dispute.

Reed beds can be a gold mine during the migratory season as they are favoured by open country warblers. Certain patches could harbour more than five different species and one of the most sought after here would be the Manchurian Reed-Warbler. It is not that rare. However, it looks very much like the commoner Black-browed Reed-Warbler. We had at least 2 Manchurians today and I only have a photo of its commoner cousin for show in the end.

This Yellow Bittern had the utmost confidence in its ability blend into the surrounding environment. And we just played along...

Little Cormorants are now a common sight in my home state. Despite its status, most of them are skittish and normally do not allow close approach. And whenever I come across a confiding individual, it deserves some space in my memory card. Regardless of the less-than-ideal lighting.

Lines of trees scattered around the paddy fields provide shade and refuge for the birds. For fruiting trees like this one, it is a great source of food and a small flock of Daurian Starlings took full advantage of it. When food-drunk, birds tend to be more accommodating towards birders but on this occasion the foliage was an obstacle we could not avoid.

A little patience and luck later, one Starling did wander into the open. Even though it was a female, we could not have requested for a better candidate to conclude the first part of our day out.

Along the way to our second destination, we stopped by the paddy fields of Penaga where the rare Black-headed Ibis turned up a few weeks back. I guess there is a limit to the magic of Christmas and this confiding Whiskered Tern was the only bird worth mentioning.

While waiting for the right timing to start our wader watch by boat, the jetty area along Sungai Tembus in northern mainland Penang provided enough attractions to help pass the time like this elegant Great Egret.

The colony of Black-crowned Night-herons continue to thrive here and are as confiding as usual.

A storm looms in a distance as we finally set out to sea. We were joined Afiq and Xian from Kuala Lumpur as well as Munira and her husband of the Shorebirds Peninsular Malaysia Project.

The worries immediately vanished when we were greeted by thousands of shorebirds. And a big flock flying in unison is a true spectacle of nature. Photographs and videos cannot capture the true essence of this marvel. I guess it is one of those things you have to experience in the flesh.

Asian Openbills have formed nesting colonies along the coast and huge numbers were recorded as expected. Most of the local birders are now accustomed to mass congregations of this interesting stork but it is still quite a sight.

Good photographic opportunities were far and few due to the lighting condition and distance of the birds from our boat. One of the more notable records of the trip is the presence of more than 1,000 Asian Dowitchers.

Flocks of gulls are rather conspicuous out here in the mudflats due to their size and white colouration. The majority of them were Brown-headed Gulls but we did positively identify a Black-headed Gull among them.The poles of the mussel farms are a great place to photograph resting terns and gulls and there was no exception for this trip.

Greater Crested Terns were in their usual numbers but the absence of Lesser Crested Terns was a little disappointing.

Whiskered Terns tried to distract our attention from the its larger cousins by performing admirably…

To end this post, is a dedication to my late Godfather who was the one responsible for introducing me to the world of birding. The memories I shared with Lim Ban Beng are priceless and he will be missed. This is a photo taken back in 1989 when birding was so much different. Digital cameras were not invented yet, photography “ports” were non-existent and no social media. We were on the summit of Bukit Larut and have just observed a pair of Great Hornbills flying across the valley below. A pair of newbie binoculars captured the encounter into memory and a pen and notebook immortalized it. Now, nearly 4 decades down the road, it remains to be one of the main highlights of my birding life.