Quest for the Holy Grail

 

At the break of dawn on the second day of our tour, we were enjoying a simple breakfast and a glorious sunrise at the vast expense of salt ponds in the Khok Kham conservation area. And what can be found in such a habitat you may ask. Allow me to enlighten you. This is the wintering ground for a remarkable and rare little wader known as the Spoon-billed Sandpiper or more affectionately called the Spoonie.

Birds leaving roosting sites to forage in first light can be breath-taking. And it is no different here. I was especially drawn to the flocks of Painted Storks making their way towards the coast. There is no denying I have a soft spot for large water birds. Even more so if they are uncommon to me.

When there was finally enough light to begin our exploration of this important bird area, we carefully walked into the salt farm along the bunds. Flocks of waders that started to congregate in the shallow ponds were an indication of things to come and I could hardly contain the excitement building inside of me.

Now finding a Spoonie among the thousands of other peeps was not going to be easy. But we had help. A local guide that goes by the name of Tee weaved his magic scope and after about thirty minutes, we were staring at the unique bill of this critically endangered species.

In order to obtain any decent images, we had to rely on our field craft to reduce the distance. Here is Tee giving us some pointers on how not to be lumbering visiting birders and spook the subject away...

The observation did not last as long as I would have wanted when the entire flock of waders in that pond took flight and vanished. To be honest, I was still elated with this encounter as it was the closest and longest I have ever been with a Spoonie.

With the target in the bag, we began to open up to the other species that find sanctuary here. I do not encounter the Black-bellied Plover quite often and a lone individual resting along the outer edge of one the ponds was a welcomed sight.

A wary Pacific Golden-Plover did not provide any opportunity for an improvement shot.

I am a simple man and I tend to keep things simple in my life. Thus, I miss the days when Lesser Sand-plovers have not undergone the split. Having said that, here are some images of what should be Tibetan Sand-Plovers.

The Khok Kham conservation would be a good place to scan through the hundreds of confiding Sand-Plovers present here for the almost identical, Thailand’s first Siberian Sand-Plover but that task would be above my ‘bird’ grade.

The Curlew Sandpipers are rather confiding today as well. I took a keen interest in these common migrants for any stumpy-looking individuals or even better, have blackish bellies for the possibility of the rarer Dunlin. From this blog post, I am sure you know how it worked out.

Black-winged Stilts, especially the male bird, is the definition of elegance in the wader world.

The Marsh Sandpiper is another wader that oozes with poise and grace.

Here is a Pond-Heron in non-breeding plumage doing what Pond-Herons do. Next please...

The scenery at the salt ponds is actually quite lovely. Naturally, it took a while for me to realize that. Once I am in full birding mode, everything else becomes secondary.

We then sat down along a bund to take a breather and recuperate from the heat.  I always emphasize that successful birding is very much luck as well. A flock of waders suddenly alighted in the pond right in front of us and our man Tee triumphantly alerted us from a distance. I could hardly believe it when my eyes picked up the now-familiar jizz of a Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Point most certainly proven...

I could not be sure if this second bird is a different individual but it was a lot more confiding. I think we managed to crawl and slide our way to as close as possible without overstepping our boundaries.

The superstar appeared relax and was constantly feeding which at times, made it difficult to obtain images without the bill submerged in water.

Please forgive me if this post contains a high number of Spoon-billed Sandpiper images. It is not a new bird to me. In all my years of birding, I have recorded it twice before. But nothing like this. This is heaven-sent for a water bird lover like me and I took full advantage of what I have been given. The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is often considered the holy grail of wader watching in this part of the world. After this prolonged and intimate encounter, I can see why. It was a true privilege indeed.

The radiating tropical sun on our backs and a confiding Spoonie in front of our lenses. It does not get any better than this.

Once I have obtained more than enough images, I was able to let myself occasionally swap the camera with the binos and made this incredible encounter complete. And here is one final image of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper for good measure.

When the exhilaration of the Spoonie subsided, I started to take notice of the other waders present in the same pond. And a mixed flock of Great and Red Knots resting nearby was hard to ignore now.

The problem with roosting or resting waders is that you sometimes cannot isolate a single bird out for photography. For the knots, despite all my best efforts, I could only obtain images of a Great Knot alone.

Smaller peeps require some scrutiny to ascertain their identities. Red-necked Stints, due to their similarities to a Spoon-billed Sandpiper, provided some suspense on this beautiful, sunny morning. This image depicts the two species almost side to side. Hide the bill and most mortals would be in trouble.

Broad-billed Sandpipers sport distinct facial markings that make them slightly easier to identify. And they performed well for our photographic efforts. This wader site provided an incredible morning of memorable experiences and that is something I have been missing in recent years. It is sad but there are simply no wader sites left in my home state that can even come close.

For those unfortunate souls who dipped out on the Spoonie, there is a larger-than-life statue of the bird at the visitor centre that could perhaps provide some solace.

And from here, we took a long drive into the wild interiors of central Thailand. Kaeng Krachang National Park is the largest national park in the country and it was the next destination in out itinerary. Will our lucky streak continue? The answer to that will be in my next post.

Checklist of the birds recorded at Khok Kham: https://ebird.org/checklist/S307844600

Better late than never

 

There was only one reason I found myself at the swamp forest of Air Hitam Dalam in mainland Penang for the second consecutive time and it was to attempt for the rare migratory Slaty-legged Crake again. In fact, it could well be my final try as spring migration will draw to a close soon. This species would be a significant addition to my life list and naturally, anxiety was high despite my calm appearance. After all birding is about luck and lady luck has been unkind to me so far.

As I patiently waited for the distinguished visitor to reveal itself, I tried my best not to be distracted by other species present in the vicinity. But a little brown job flitting about the foliage of the forest could not be taken lightly especially at this time of the year. During passage, one has no idea what might decide to make a stopover at one of the few remaining forests in mainland Penang. Upon further scrutiny, it turned out to be an Asian Brown Flycatcher. It may be a common migrant to this part of the world but a confiding individual like this deserves some attention.

The resident pair of Mangrove Blue Flycatchers serenaded the locality with their pleasant territorial calls. The striking colouration possessed by these birds also helped to pass the time during my tedious wait for the Slaty-legged Crake.

There is not much aesthetic appeal to be found on the Abbott’s Babbler but an adult bird with a recently fledged juvenile in tow indicated yet another successful breeding season for this robust undergrowth dweller.

A Blue-winged Pitta in full view would have normally made my day because pittas are such amazing creatures. However, I was a man on a mission today and the stunning beauty of the Blue-winged Pitta did not have the usual influence over my emotions.

I sighed in relief when the Slaty-legged Crake finally strolled into view. It was a young bird as it lacks the colour intensity of the adult birds. Not that it mattered. I was transfixed on the rhythmic gait of the crake. The exhilaration was intense and I struggled to keep my hands steady as I accumulated digital memories of the encounter.

Almost as soon as it appeared, the rare migrant disappeared back into the swampy undergrowth and the performance was over. I managed to obtain the images I wanted but most importantly, acquired a lifer which is a rare thing for me nowadays.

My companion and I decided the explore the surrounding areas but by then, the temperature had started to soar. A lone Dollarbird seemed unperturbed by the scorching heat and took no effort to seek some shade. Inevitably, the harsh lighting made photography of this attractive bird difficult.

April is the best time to catch the Pond-Herons in their breeding plumages before they undergo the journey back north to breed. We recorded all three species on this trip but unfortunately, none were confiding enough for any memorable photographs. This mediocre image of an Indian Pond-Heron foraging in a sea of paddy stalks still managed to wriggle its way into this blog post. Being the rarest of them all has got absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with it.

The scrubland habitat was ideal for Red-wattled Lapwings and we found several individuals in the vicinity. The absence of any other notable species cut short our exploration here and we turned our attention to the coast.

The timing of our arrival at Kota Kuala Muda was ideal with the rising tide pushing the waders and other water fowl to the high tide roost. However, it was a case of so close and yet so far. There was no safe walking access to the roost and inevitably, we made our way as far as the sandy beach was willing to take us.

We had some consolation in the form of Common Terns. A few of these graceful coastal terns decided to roost on the beach and they provided the best photographic opportunities here.

One of them has a deformed lower mandible but judging from its overall appearance, life goes on as normal for this determined individual.

Some waders were also found roosting close to shore but the heat wave was too overwhelming for any decent photographs. Nevertheless, the sight and sounds of thousands of roosting water birds is always a breath-taking affair. As Hor Kee did a final sweep of the roosting flocks for any surprises with his scope, I took the time to enjoy the spectacle before we wrapped things up for the day.