31st December 2014 East Guldeford & Dungeness

Marsh Harrier 2
Merlin 1

Scotney
Scaup 1 drake

Dungeness
Cattle Egret 1
Goldeneye 2
Kingfisher 1
Chiffchaff 1

 

 

 

Adult winter graellsii Lesser Black-backed Gull at Scotney

I don't think I've seen one quite as dark-headed as this bird giving it an almost a hooded appearance at times

 

 

 

Cattle Egret at Dengemarsh (JFC)

 

 

 

Kingfisher at the ARC pit (upper two JFC)



30th December 2014 Castle Water & East Guldeford

Great White Egret 2
Bittern 1
Smew 1 redhead
Wigeon c.400
Gadwall c.100
Pintail c.20
Teal c.150
Marsh Harrier c.6
Peregrine 1
Water Rail 1
Snipe 2
Cetti's Warbler 1 +1h
Chiffchaff 1

Water Rail at Castle Water

Common Snipe at Castle Water

 

One of two distant Great White Egrets seen in flight together over Castle Water

posture assumed when a Marsh Harrier was nearby

Bittern at Castle Water

 

 

Male Marsh Harrier at Castle Water (JFC)

 

Female-type Marsh Harrier trying to look like a Hawk Owl!

29th December 2014 Beachy & Jevington

Peregrine 2
Stock Dove 2
Skylark c.500 in rough field
Meadow Pipit 10
Fieldfare 10
Song Thrush 5
Goldfinch 3
Reed Bunting 1
Corn Bunting c.30+ in rough field

Jevington
Rough-legged Buzzard 1 juvenile

Juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard at Jevington



28th December 2014 Pett

Scandinavian Herring Gull 1 adult
Yellow-legged Gull 1 adult
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Avocet 2

Lesser Yellowlegs at Pett

it looked surprisingly small when being chased by Redshanks

 

Adult winter Yellow-legged Gull at Pett

nice to see the red orbital ring

Adult Scandinavian Herring Gull at Pett



27th December 2014 Rodmell

Little Egret 4
White-fronted Goose 4 (including 1 juvenile)
Wigeon 400
Teal 40
Shoveler 30
Redwing 20

Adult Eurasian White-fronted Geese at Rodmell

Juvenile Eurasian White-fronted Goose at Rodmell

13th December 2014 Bueng Boraphet

After enduring a bad night's sleep due to (presumed) monkeys fighting each other on the roof of our chalet we drove to the south side of Bueng Boraphet and found the reserve there. Whilst small boat trips were available we chose to head for the boardwalk and hides in the hope of seeing wintering Warblers. Unfortunately the tower hide had seen much better days, and whilst we got to the top, the view of the wetlands was largely obscured by a large tree that has clearly grown up since the tower was constructed. We had read that the boardwalk ran through an excellent area of scrub and reeds but the area had recently been cleared. In fact, large areas of the reserve seemed to have been very recently bulldozed and it was clear that large areas were being landscaped - even the road appeared new. No doubt vegetation will quickly recover in the tropical climate and hopefully the area will again become a magnet. It soon became very hot, and not knowing how bad the traffic would be on our way to the airport, we decided to call it a day. In the event the Bangkok ring road didn't prove too busy and we arrived a couple of hours earlier than planned for our flight back to Gatwick. Our flight was then delayed by a couple of hours meaning we had only 7 minutes in Dubai airport to transfer planes so it was no surprise our bags missed the flight. Arriving to a very frosty morning we were very pleased to be met by my parents.

 

Lesser Whistling Duck 500

Asian Openbill 1,000

Pond Heron sp. 25

Cattle Egret 250

Grey Heron 10

Great Egret 20

Little Cormorant 500

Oriental Darter 1

Eastern Marsh Harrier 2

Black Kite 5

Purple Swamphen 1

Black-winged Stilt 80

Greater Coucal 1

Asian Koel 1

White-throated Kingfisher 2

Blue-tailed Bee-eater 2

Ashy Woodswallow 30

Black Drongo 30

Large-billed Crow 1

Buff-vented Bulbul 8

Swallow 100

Striated Grassbird 1

White-vented Myna 100

Common Myna 100

Chestnut-tailed Starling 6

Baya Weaver 150

Amur Wagtail 2

 

Ashy Woodswallows at Bueng Boraphet

 

White-eyed River Martin statue at Bueng Boraphet

We were 35 years too late to see this species at the last site it was ever seen. Whilst present in Thailand we learnt the sobering news that Gurney's Pitta is now apparently extirpated from the Country with no sightings for over a year. Here's hoping the fortunes of Spoon-billed Sandpiper can be reversed and Thailand plays host to them for many winters to come...

12th December 2014 Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

We awoke to a group of Buddhist monks outside our tent at the viewpoint. They soon continued on their way along a narrow trail leading steeply up a nearby hill. This would be our last morning at Chong Yen and we decided to walk down the road for a good few kilometres. No dream finale but plenty of birds were seen feeding at various fruiting trees the best of which was a small flock of Pin-tailed Green Pigeons. We returned to the campsite and took one last walk along the start of the Old Umphang Road before saying our farewells to Annan. We were soon on our way to Bueng Boraphet where we arrived in the late afternoon. Being such a huge wetland it proved something of a daunting prospect to know where to start looking but we tried from a few vantage points along the northern shore seeing a couple of Oriental Darters.

Lesser Whistling Duck 250
Asian Openbill 300
Pond Heron sp. 10
Cattle Egret 100
Grey Heron 1
Purple Heron 2
Great Egret 10
Little Cormorant 100
Oriental Darter 2
Black-winged Kite 1
Eastern Marsh Harrier 1
Black-winged Stilt 20
Pacific Golden Plover 20
Pompadour Green Pigeon 4
Pin-tailed Green Pigeon 4
Mountain Imperial Pigeon 10
Mountain Scops Owl h
Indian Roller 5
White-browed Piculet 1
Kestrel 2
Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike 4
Ashy Woodswallow 10
Black-winged Cuckooshrike 2
Brown Shrike 1
Black Drongo 30
Ashy Drongo 2
Hair-crested Drongo 30
Black-crested Bulbul 2
Swallow 300
White-tailed/Davison's Leaf Warbler 3
Silver-eared Mesia 8
Striated Yuhina 10
Chestnut-flanked White-eye 8
Oriental White-eye 2 yellow morph
White-vented Myna 300
Asian Pied Starling 2
Blue Whistling Thrush 1
Taiga Flycatcher 1
House Sparrow 10
Tree Sparrow 5

 

A few barefooted monks had appeared at dawn at the Hornbill viewpoint

 

Road near Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

Forested ridges from the road near Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

 

Mountain Imperial Pigeons at Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

Mountain Bulbul near Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

Yellow morph Oriental White-eye at Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

Golden-throated Barbet at Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

Bronzed Drongo at Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

Hair-crested Drongo at Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

 

Pompadour Green Pigeons at Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

 

Pin-tailed Green Pigeons at Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

 

 Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike near Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

Immature Slender-billed Oriole near Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP

 

Annan

Whether gripping us off with another pair of Hornbills, or offering us another two cups of coffee, he was a real character, always cheerful and great company and nothing was ever too much trouble for Mr Fix-it - an all-round great guy who made our visit to Mae Wong NP all the more enjoyable and memorable

 

 Oriental Darter at Bueng Boraphet