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

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 Owlet. 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.

The checklists of birds recorded:

1. Bang Ban riverside

2. Chatuchak Park