Early Winter

Apologise for being away for a long time. Haven't been out birding ever since I came back to Japan, but I still have loads of photos that I took in Thailand though. Life was so different then, going out birding almost everyday and now I've got no time to go birding at all. Anyway, here's some photos of  waders I took at Cho Lae back in September. They are the first few migrant species that normally show up in Thailand, the Wood Sandpiper and Common Redshank.

An adult Common Redshank moulting into non-breeding plumage

A shy male Greater Painted-Snipe

Without noticing me sitting in the hide, it seemed pretty relaxed.

Even though not a migrant species, the Greater Painted-Snipe is always welcomed. Its elusive behaviour makes it so difficult to get a decent shot of. This time I was using a photographic hide, so the above male bird was confiding enough to show up relaxed and let me photograph it nicely. Being in a hide can make your day extremely productive or just simply a waste of time if no bird actually shows up, so it's pretty similar to buying lottery. Chances are you might get some really good photos of elusive birds so closely, or pack up the hide and drive home furiously after hours of nothing.

Wood Sandpiper moulting into non-breeding plumage

It was really curious about the hide.

It caught a lot of these fat yellowish worms.

Always cautious

A short video of the Wood Sandpiper while feeding and resting

Early Morning Waders

This is going to be the last post for waders photos that I took during my short visit to the Gulf of Thailand in early April. I only had few hours in the morning for birding at Laem Pak Bia. The only target for my last day was the beautiful Red-necked Phalarope which is a scarce bird in Thailand. You can see photos of them here. However, I didn't only take photos of the phalaropes but I also took lots of photos of other waders that were feeding nearby. I really had fun taking photos of them in the nice early morning light. The most numerous species in that area was the smart Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis). They really do look better in breeding plumage.

Marsh Sandpiper in breeding plumage

There was quite a good number of them.

Some birds still hadn't gone through much of the moult.

The morning started as I spotted few Javan Pond Herons in stunning breeding plumage perching by the roadside. I took few photos of them, then I spotted another pond heron hiding in the bush nearby. I was a bit surprised to find that it's an Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii), a scarce but occasionally found bird at Laem Pak Bia. The bird was still going through a moult from non-breeding to breeding plumage.

Indian Pond Heron moulting into breeding plumage

Male Black-winged Stilt

Female Black-winged Stilt

Note the brown mantle of the female

Flock of Painted Storks with few Cattle Egrets

Apart from the Red-necked Phalarope and the Indian Pond Heron, there was nothing quite special. But I did enjoy taking photos of common birds a lot, as the lighting and the weather were extremely fine. It was so relaxing to sit there taking photos of small birds that were walking all over the place in front of me. I even enjoyed taking photos of the abundant Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus), a species I'd never thought that I'd take photos of them seriously until I went to Japan. Most of them were moving in pairs. Male bird has completely slightly glossy black wings with completely clean white head, while the female has black wings with brownish mantle and greyish mottle on the head and hind neck.

Non-breeding Marsh Sandpiper

Love it when it fluffs up its feathers.

Feeding on the same kind of artemia as the phalaropes

I really like its spotted breeding plumage.

There were few other species of waders apart from the Marsh Sandpiper and Red-necked Phalarope that were feeding within the same area. These were a single Sanderling in non-breeding plumage, few Common and Spotted Redshanks, a Common Greenshank and some Curlew Sandpipers. The Sanderling was my favourite. It kept frightfully running towards me. Probably it wanted to forage near the place where I was sitting but it was also afraid of my existence. Anyway, it eventually came foraging right in front of me. Its tiny body almost completely filled the frame.

The unusually tame Sanderling

Shame it was still in non-breeding plumage.

Common Greenshank moulting into breeding plumage

Common Redshank in non-breeding plumage

Another shot of the Black-winged Stilts (male in front with female in the background)

Curlew Sandpiper starting to moult into breeding plumage

Stretching; showing its completely white rump

Waders at Khok Kham II

This post will still be about my half-day visit to Khok Kham on April 7. Even though it was mainly overcast throughout the afternoon, there was also a short period of sunlight around 4pm. It was around the time when I moved to another area where I was told that a Spoon-billed Sandpiper was spotted few days earlier. There were lots of waders scattering around the area. I scanned the salt pans and spotted a flock of waders with high concentration of Red-necked Stints. I assumed that the Spoon-billed Sandpiper should be among that flock so I slowly made my way towards that flock of stints. Along the way, it's impossible for me not to stop for taking photos of other waders that were around me. Here's a selection of some of them.

 Pacific Golden Plover in breeding plumage

This one has just started to moult.

Female (?) Lesser Sand Plover in breeding plumage

Female Ruddy Turnstone in breeding plumage

Lesser Sand Plover was obviously the most numerous species in the area. Most of them were already in their colourful breeding plumage making it a very beautiful sight. Pacific Golden Plover was also numerous but tended to scatter throughout the area rather than staying together in flocks. They sure looked really smart in breeding plumage. Several Ruddy Turnstones were also found sitting along the dikes but they proved to be much shyer than the ones I photographed in Japan few years ago.

Male (front) and female (back) Black-winged Stilt in breeding plumage

Grey Plover in non-breeding plumage

Red-necked Stints in breeding plumage

Male Lesser Sand Plover in breeding plumage

The race schaeferi shows completely black forehead. 

This Broad-billed Sandpiper looked stunning in its full breeding plumage.

Curlew Sandpiper assuming breeding plumage

Another individual with more brightly coloured plumage.

I realised as I was lying on the muddy ground trying to creep towards all these birds that I actually enjoyed it a lot. It was really difficult to get close to them but at the end, I found it really rewarding. I could get photos of so many species of waders in such a short period of time. I actually thought that if I had my telescope with me, I could probably have picked out several more species from the distant groups. I spent my time taking photos of waders until the very last minute before it got almost completely dark. As I came walking back to my car with satisfaction, I met Gerry from Birds of Thailand and Beyond. I told him where the Spoon-billed Sandpiper was and I was glad to know that he also saw it. Hope I can come back to this wonderful place again in the next wader season.

Common Redshank in breeding plumage

Another stretching shot

A very confiding Broad-billed Sandpiper

The abundant Red-necked Stint also looked stunning in its full breeding plumage

Eastern Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa melanuroides) assuming breeding plumage

The very first sight of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper!

More photos of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper here