Thailand Diary

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

RE: Thailand Diary

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Monday 15/11/21 KutChum - Yasothon

A nice surprise yesterday for Paul as he was pottering about in the garden was a female/immature Blue Rockthrush perched on the roof- a local patch tick (no. 101) .

Best Wishes,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

06/11/21 and 07/11/21 - Phon Noam/Dong Por Community Forest - Yat Phu Mak Prik, Yasothon

Paul explored this new site for the first time yesterday and recorded 30 species (with 4 more additions this morning).

Apparently the site comprises a forested hill with a convenient approach road, and he stopped the car en route yesterday and clicked off a few shots of a distant small raptor which he had spotted and assumed that this would likely be a Shikra.

It was only later when checking his photos that he realised that the bird was in fact a Eurasian Kestrel, new for the Province list and another Thailand lifer for him.

Other than the Kestrel the pick of the rest were :

1 White-browed Piculet (in with a mixed flock of babblers, warblers and canary-flycatchers)

1 female Blyths Paradise-Flycatcher

2 Grey-breasted Prinias

1 Yellow-browed Warbler

8 Pin-striped Tit-Babblers

2 Puff-throated Bulbuls

1 Hainan Blue-Flycatcher

3 Indochinese Blue-Flycatchers

1 Blue Rock-Thrush

This mornings best additions were:

1 Rufous-winged Buzzard

4 Stripe-throated Bulbuls

3 White-rumped Shamas

Best Wishes,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Sunday 7th of November 2021 02:14:22 PM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Thursday 04/11/21 -Dong Por/Dong Bang Ee Community Forests- Khok Yai Reservoir.

Paul started exploring this site in April of this year and is the only birder (as far as he is aware) to have recorded any bird species. Certainly I have never been there and look forward to exploring this and many of his other new sites when possible.

His 13 visits have yielded 74 species including two new additions this morning in the shape of an Ashy Drongo and more importantly for him a Peregrine Falcon- an addition to his Thailand life list.
The bird was perched on a tree growing out of the water and it took some patient stalking through the trees to get close enough for a photo. He had to ignore several warblers and Prinia species en route.

Cheers,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

29/10/21 Ban Nom Khao/Boong Khla Community Forest Yasothon.

A 4 hour 5 Km. walk this morning was very productive with 34 species seen with many heard only.

The best were:

1 Green- billed Malkoha

1 Shikra

1 Asian barred Owlet

4 Green Bee-Eater

1 Lineated Barbet (many more heard).

1 Blue-winged Pitta (seemingly a late bird as these winter further south)

5 Ashy Minivet

1 Black Drongo

1 Ashy Drongo

6 Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

1 Black-naped Monarch

1 (male) Blyths Paradise Flycatcher

1 Brown Shrike

7 Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher

3 Common Tailerbird

2 Dark-necked Tailerbird

2 Barn Swallow

2 Black-crested Bulbul

2 Puff-throated Bulbul

2 Yellow-browed Warbler

1 Two-barred Greenish Warbler

5 Pin-striped Tit-Babbler

1 Puff-throated Babbler

4 Abbotts Babbler

5 White-rumped Shama

4 Hainan Blue Flycatcher

3 Siberian Blue Robin (inc. 1 adult male)

2 Amur Stonechat

2 Brown-throated Sunbird

1 White Wagtail (leucopsis)

Recent additions to the province list have been a long awaited Pied Harrier (22/10/21) and a Grey wagtail which Paul only noticed perched on wires in the background of one of his record shots of the odd White Wagtail from yesterday!

Best Wishes,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Friday 29th of October 2021 02:33:01 PM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

28/10/21 Thursday - Tambon Hong Saeng - a roadside stop, Yasothon

Yesterday Paul photographed an interesting alba wagtail showing a seemingly odd combination of characters over which we are both puzzling.

In terms of identification the head pattern appears to rule out everything apart from M.alba leucopsis and M. alba baikalensis (both of which breed in Siberia and winter widely in Thailand). On the face of things this bird appears to show in part the grey mantle of baikalensis admixed towards the scapulars with the black of leucopsis. The greatly reduced black gorget is simply a feature of winter plumage.
We are wondering if this is a hybrid of the two forms or could this bird simply be a juvenile male of leucopsis showing the moult from a grey juvenile mantle into adult black? In which case why would the grey of the mantle be so pale?

Neither of us have any experience of M. baikalensis nor in my case any experience of juvenile leucopsis so any thoughts from any of you with Asian encounters with either of these would be welcome.

I am attaching a photo of the famous first western palearctic record of the Durham breeding male leucopsis from April 2005 as a reference point and one of Pauls bird from yesterday.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

25/10/21 - Back in Yasothon - Phue Hi

This morning Paul had a short 35 min. scout round this small local forest patch. 8 species noted included a couple of Black-naped Monarchs, a single White-rumped Shama, 2 Yellow-browed Warblers, the first returning Raddes
Warbler of the autumn, a Hainan Blue Flycatcher and 2 Grey- headed Canary-Flycatchers.

This latter bird is a common resident in this region whose numbers are augmented over the winter. Raddes Warbler is of course very familiar to most active birders in Britain and is a regular vagrant at coastal sites in late autumn though rarely found inland in Britain. In both the U.K. and in Thailand I have never seen one perched higher than at chest level and certainly in Thailand where it is common in winter I often find them initially on call (to my ear - a rather throaty Tuc note regularly repeated). They like to forage low down through rank grass or low shrubs in a laboured style sometimes as if dragging their tail which often appears as if a bit loose.

Paul managed a couple of photos of this mornings Raddes on the same perch which if seen together portrays the bird quite well - (pity about the blade of hanging grass).

Regards,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Monday 25th of October 2021 02:11:19 PM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

A correction is due to my comments of 12/10/21 when discussing Indochinese Blue Flycatcher. I wrongly stated that it was formerly known as Hill Blue Flycatcher. This is not the case and both these closely related species remain as sympatric common residents in Thailand, with Hill Blue having a weaker demarcation between the orange of the breast and the white of the belly, orange extending further down the flanks and with a longer primary projection than shown by Indochinese. What I should have said is that Indochinese Blue Flycatcher was formerly considered as conspecific with Tickells Blue Flycatcher (and was depicted as such in the old Thai fieldguide). Tickells is now treated as extralimital and found on the Indian subcontinent (where it is of course also common).

On the subject of splits and taxonomic changes, attached is a photo taken yesterday at the Yasothon Pools site of an Indochinese Roller - Coracias affinis (formerly lumped under Indian Roller - Coracias benghalensis) showing its darker more purplish cheeks and breast.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

22/10/21 - Nakhon Phanom town - river sandbars 7 am

On this their last morning birding session Paul and Pen logged 39 species - the most interesting being: -

1 Oriental Turtle Dove

2 Little Ringed Plover

6 Kentish Plover

3 Common Sandpiper,

1 Green Sandpiper (a long overdue target for their Isaan activities)

1 Pied Harrier

20 Green Bee-eater

1 Thick-billed Warbler (heard)

1 Black- browed Reed Warbler

1 Wire-tailed Swallow

4 Amur Stonechat

1 Common Iora

2 Indo-Chinese Bushlark

They also recorded a scatter of Red-Whiskered Bulbuls at an undisclosed site. Those of you with Asian birding experience will of course regard this species as generally abundant and hardly worth a mention and in southern parts of Thailand this is indeed the case. However in the Isaan region this bird is much sought after to be kept as a cage bird on account of its gaudy plumage (I assume) so birders are urged to suppress all locations.Pauls list for the province is now on 68, with about half a dozen of these new for the province. Doubtless much remains to be discovered here and a future trip to the north of the province is on the cards for next year.

A photo of the Burmese Shrike from 21/10/21 is attached.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

20/10/21 - Huai Khaen reservoir - Nakhon Phanom Province.

Paul and Pen have embarked on a two night trip into this new and more northerly province which borders the Mekong river beyond which lies Laos.
Their first birding session produced 30 species with nothing remarkable; - the best being a single Osprey and a scatter of Amur Stonechats, almost certainly recently arrived.

21/10/21 - They added a further 25 species travelling further north stopping en route at what appeared to be promising sites, logging Asian Brown Flycatcher, Little Spiderhunter, and a Blue Rockthrush at the Friendship Bridge which I assume is a road crossing point into Laos.

From the Thai side of the river one can see in the distance far to the east the limestone hills which are the home of one of the endemic species of Laos - the Bare-headed Bulbul which will be the object of a future twitch should we ever get back to Thailand.

Paul and Pen reached the Huai Bo Luang reservoir for a longer stop which yielded a bit more quality - among 13 species there were a Pied Harrier, a Burmese Shrike, several Brown Shrikes, 6 Amur Stonechats, a Yellow-browed Warbler, and a White-browed Piculet. Later at another reservoir (Nong Yat) they logged some 250 Lesser Whistling Ducks.

In summary, according to the Ebirder listings their list of 55 species over the two days puts Paul at the top spot for the province listers. To say that this part of Thailand is underwatched, is in itself is an understatement - it is thoroughly neglected!

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

18/10/21 - Phon Ngam & Dong Pa Community Forest - Loob Nong Nor Reservoir, Yasothon.

Paul only discovered this promising site in January and appears to be the only person to have ever recorded any bird species here. His three visits have yielded 42 species so far (including today).

This morning he followed a good trail through the forest and was rewarded with his first Collared Scops Owl which flushed ahead of him and his first White-browed Piculet which showed very well. The owl is not a first for the province though the piculet is.

Collared Scops Owl is a common species in Thailand but for me is a bogey bird which I have only ever heard but never seen. I live in hope that my poor Thai owl list can only get bigger with patience..

Regards,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Monday 18th of October 2021 06:07:48 PM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Friday 15/10/21 - Khueang Kham- Nong Hoi rice paddies, Yasothon

A two hour session yielded some 46 species: -

2 Lesser Whistling Duck

2 Cotton Pygmy Goose

Feral Pigeons

2 Red Collared Dove

3 Spotted Dove

20 Zebra Dove

1 Plaintive Cuckoo

6 Germains Swiftlet

8 Asian Palm Swift

1 Little Ringed Plover

3 Common/Pin-tailed Snipe

2 Common Sandpiper

2 Wood Sandpiper

18 Asian Openbill

5 Great Egret

3 Intermediate Egret

25 Little Egret

4 Cattle Egret

15 Chinese Pond Heron

2 Black-winged Kite

1 Eastern Marsh Harrier (imm)

6 Brahminy Kite

20 Green Bee-Eater

1 Indochinese Roller

3 Malaysian Pied Fantail

20 Black Drongo

6 Brown Shrike

1 Racket-tailed Treepie

15 Large-billed Crow

3 Plain Prinia

2 Zitting Cisticola

2 Barn Swallow

2 Black-collared Starling

4 Common Myna

20 Great Myna

1 Oriental Magpie-Robin

3 Amur Stonechat

2 Pied Bushchat

3 Olive-backed Sunbird

30 Baya Weaver

10 Asian Golden Weaver

5 Scaly-breasted Munia

6 House Sparrow

3 Plain-backed Sparrow

12 Eurasian Tree Sparrow

4 Paddyfield Pipit

I dont normally input a full list of all the common stuff from Pauls observations but did this today to give a fuller picture- especially as this is a better than usual count for any site in Yasothon. Paul is presently looking out in particular for Pied Harrier on the local scene, as Pen thought she had a perched male recently while out driving on a shopping run.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Parking in Thailand in the wet season.

Paul always avoids blocking the farmers access to the fields when out checking the best wader habitats but he rather overdid things recently (actually this was back in August) and had to be towed out. Nevertheless he saw some good stuff.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

11/10/21 Kut Chum local patch

During a brief mooch around the local patch Paul recorded the first returning wintering eastern stonechat in one of the rice fields. Ebird now calls this form Amur Stonechat, the fieldguide calls it Japanese Stonechat, and in the U.K. it appears to be called Stejnegers Stonechat. This is a common overwintering bird here and if we ever get back visiting there I shall just go with the flow and log it as Amur Stonechat accordingly.

12/10/21 Kut Chum local patch

Among some 26 species this morning Paul scored with two province firsts in the shape of 1 Eastern Crowned Warbler, (an overdue passage species for which we have been searching for some time) and an Indochinese Blue Flycatcher - better known previously under its former name - Hill Blue Flycatcher.

The local patch list is now up to 97 species and onto 185 species for the province (Yes I know- behind Elton and Pennington Flash, but this is Yasothon - a birding black hole until Paul and I started recording here).

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

07/10/2 - Ban Nom Klao - Boong Khla Community Forest, Yasothon

Paul has made 8 trips to this easterly site since May and seems to be the only birder ever to pay it any attention. His interest was sparked when he found breeding Blue-winged Pittas here and with todays count of 22 species has now logged 46 site species in total. The best of todays species was an Abbotts Babbler - a further addition to the province list as well.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

06/10/21 Kut Chum, Yasothon

Paul has noticed more snakes around/in the garden of late, - (this being a regular and quite normal feature during the current rainy season).The best recent record being a Spitting Cobra in the garden, with a smaller probably harmless species brought into the kitchen by the cats this morning. The cats appeared endlessly fascinated by it and gathered in a huddle close by as if seeking approval for their initiative.

Pha Nam Yoi Forest Park

Rather naughtily Paul and Pen drove over the border into Roí Et this morning to the above no hunting area of forest with its huge temple complex and recorded a dozen species there the best of which were:

1 Shikra, 6 Ashy Drongos (all of the pale form), 2 Black- naped Monarchs, 1 Asian Brown Flycatcher, 2 Hainan Blue Flycatchers, 1 Blue Rock Thrush, and best of the lot - his first ever Blue and White Flycatcher (male) a passage migrant through here and a possible province first record.

On the minus side the Black - naped Oriole from last week was not a first but a second for Yasothon province.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

01/10/21 Friday - local sites, Yasothon.

An early visit to Yasothon Pools produced 19 species amongst which the main feature comprised 20 migrant Whiskered Terns - several of which photographed were seen to be moulting adults.

Paul moved on next to Tambon Khueang Kham with 29 species there but no waders, - (the best being 45 Asian Openbills, a White-browed Crake, and a scatter of 6 Brown Shrikes).

Tambun Sai Mun produced the star bird of the day - a Black-naped Oriole (this being another new species for Yasothon province), 2 Black-naped Monarchs, and a phylloscopus which vanished after all too brief views. This bird showed a strong supercilium and a yellow vent which set alarm bells ringing for Eastern Crowned Warbler- a species which surely migrates through Isaan but which to date has eluded both of us. Returning 2 hours later Paul failed to relocate the culprit though did meet up with a White-rumped Shama and obtained record shots of a Hainan Blue Flycatcher.

Regards,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Friday 1st of October 2021 11:10:10 AM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

26/09/21 Yasothon Pools

A visit this morning produced 26 of the regular species among which were a single Watercock and a Lesser Coucal, but also included more winter visitors - 5 Brown Shrikes and a seasonal first - an Asian Brown Flycatcher.

In neighbouring Roí Et province to the west the very active resident birder (Shaun Green) has recorded the first of the common wintering stonechats as a Stejnegeri. While wintering stonechats are very common across Pauls rice fields we have always simply recorded them as Eastern Stonechats in view of the acknowledged difficulty of differentiating between Maura and Stejnegeri, although on wintering range according to the field guide these birds should be of the latter (sub?)species. Just to complicate matters, the fieldguide gives them the name Japanese Stonechat.

Birding somehow seems to be ever more complicated (I hear some talk lately of splitting Dunnocks?!)

Cheers,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

@From Paul in Thailand@

I had some very helpful input from Peter Ericsson in Thailand. He was able to brighten up my original photo (the picture was taken on a very dark afternoon thunder clouds everywhere...) and provided a link to a photo of Japanese Sparrowhawk for comparison. For me a very good match.

Here is the link

Japanese Sparrowhawk

and attached is the brighter photo

Paul

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Friday 24th of September 2021 06:48:22 AM

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Friday 24th of September 2021 06:58:42 AM

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Friday 24th of September 2021 06:59:18 AM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Thursday 23/09/21 - Kut Chum, Yasothon

Another window strike this morning,- Paul encountered a stunned accipiter outside the kitchen window which fortunately flew off once one of the cats started showing an unhealthy curiosity.

In gloomy wet conditions Paul managed a single quite good photograph before it departed, and I hope to have this here on the thread soon for comment. There is a degree of head scratching as regards identification as there are 4/5 small accipiters from which to choose in Thailand and in my opinion these birds can often be more readily identified in flight than when perched or grounded.

As a starting point the possibilities are: Shikra, Chinese Sparrowhawk, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Besra, or Eurasian Sparrowhawk. My own view is that it appears to be a juvenile, most likely of Shikra, (the commonest small accipiter here), based mainly on head, neck and throat pattern. Three obvious tail bars on show (as a minimum), combined with white vent/undertail coverts appears to be common to all 5 candidates, so is perhaps of little use.

Paul will solicit views from Thai birders but any thoughts anyone here may have are welcome.

Regards,

Mike P.

@from Paul: Having seen several both adult and juvenile Shikra before my own feeling is that this bird is too dark for Shikra but all suggestions welcome.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Friday 24th of September 2021 12:48:43 AM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

21/09/21 - Tambon Khueang Kham, Yasothon

The state of these roadside fields varies almost daily according to weather conditions and time of day and whether or not the farmers are active on site. They comprise a mix of rice crops in various stages of growth, and muddy flats and pools with grassy margins. Paul has found them to be a prime location for waders and egrets and regularly checks them out with varying results.

This morning he recorded 35 species, and apart from the regular common passerines (and culprits such as munías and weavers attracted to the crops) the main highlights comprised the following:-

4 Black-winged Stilts, 3 Grey-headed Lapwings, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Common Sandpipers, 1 Marsh Sandpiper, 14 Wood Sandpipers, 50 Asian Openbills, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Intermediate Egret, 15 Little Egrets, 12 Cattle Egrets, 9 Chinese Pond Herons, 1 Black-winged Kite, 4 Brahminy Kites, and the star bird - a Black-capped Kingfisher (apparently a species new to Yasothon Province which flushed from the reedy margins and performed a neat fly past before exiting the scene).

The vanellus plovers are always such elegant waders to behold, and hopefully Pauls photo of one of todays birds will follow shortly.

Regards,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Wednesday 22nd of September 2021 11:45:30 AM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

19/09/21 - Kut Chum, Yasothon

Paul found a new bird for the garden today in the form of a Hainan Blue Flycatcher lying dead beneath the living room window. He found the first province record of this fine species earlier in the year, and I once had a probable some years ago with rear views of a calling individual which denied me a clinching front view, and which I had to leave as unidentified.

No doubt the species will prove to be quite common with regular coverage of the local habitats.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

18/09/21

We had a long chat with Paul and Pen this morning about the current COVID situation in Yasothon. There remains in place a lockdown situation which differs from one province to the next. For instance they cannot legally cross west into Roí Et province, but can legally venture east into Amnat Charoen and Mukdahan.
Paul had a good birding day out mainly in Phu Pha Nat.Park, Mukdahan on 16th (Thursday) adding 10 more species to his personal list for the province, 2 of which - Great Egret (6) and a Dollarbird were rather surprisingly new for the province itself.
Pick of the rest were-

Plaintive Cuckoo ( Tambon Na Si Nuan)

Blue Rock Thrush (2) (Tambon Na Si Nuan)

Species noted in the park -

Red-wattled Lapwing (7)

Cinnamon Bittern

Rufous-winged Buzzard

Lineated Barbet (3) heard only

Yellow- legged Buttonquail (4)

The Buttonquails though not new for the province were a species new for Paul - his first lifer for many months.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

17/09/21 Yasothon Province

Driving locally yesterday Paul noted a roadside perched Rufous-winged Buzzard and managed a couple of opportunistic photos of this distinctive raptor. As he remarks, this is the closest one to the home patch which he has so far found after the first record for the province earlier this year. When we first saw one back in 2017 it was in Thailands eastern extremity in Pha Taem National Park by the Mekong river overlook and immediately reminded us of a pale-eyed outsize Kestrel.

Photos to follow hopefully.

Regards,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Saturday 18th of September 2021 08:37:01 AM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

photos of Brown Shrike...

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

photos of Barred Buttonquail...

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

10/09/21 Kut Chum

This mornings main event centred on the cat bringing into the house a Barred Buttonquail which Paul managed to rescue, photograph and release out of harms way.

Yesterday the first of the winter visitors arrived appeared on the wires next to the house - a fine Brown Shrike offering a series of nice photos. Hopefully shots of this and the Buttonquail will be available shortly.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

03/09/21 Wednesday

-Chatted with Paul this morning. His foot is much better and he has been catching up on chores around the farm so birding has had to take a back seat for a while. As the main fields produce more than sufficient rice, his latest project (now underway) is to re wild the small higher fields and is planting hundreds of assorted native trees which in this climate will provide good habitat in a relatively short time frame.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

30/08/21 Roí Et province

A fine addition to the Roí Et list this morning in the form of a migrant male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher was a just reward for a local birder working his regular home patch. This begs the question of what might be passing through Yasothon in the meantime, with Paul still indisposed for some days yet..

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

No updates to post over recent days as Paul is nursing a bruised and lacerated foot presently (due to birding in flip flops).

Cheers,
Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Wednesday 18/08/21- Tambon Khueang Kham, Yasothon

A return visit today produced one Black-winged Stilt, 1 Pacific Golden Plover, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Common Sandpipers, 1 Greenshank, and 18 Wood Sandpipers in addition to singles of Great and Intermediate Egrets, with 25 Little Egrets. There does seem to be here a regular turnover of wading birds which are often disturbed by farmers understandably going about their business. One can only imagine what potential there might be if there existed a dedicated no hunting reserve in this general area.

Paul has captured a few photos of the regular common raptors hereabouts, on and around the farm - Black-winged and Brahminy Kites (one of the latter shown in active wing moult).

Regards,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Thursday 19th of August 2021 12:50:18 PM

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Thursday 19th of August 2021 12:51:01 PM

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Thursday 19th of August 2021 12:51:40 PM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Monday 16/08/21 - Tambon Khueang Kham, Yasothon

Paul returned to this site yesterday hoping to obtain closer shots of the previous days Temmincks Stint but it had not returned after being flushed by the farmer. Paul had earlier managed a few very distant shots of it shuffling about on the mud but best of all (as it flew off) had captured a clinching rear view shot of quite plain brownish wings and the obvious clean white outer tail feathers.

As consolation however he found a new mix of additional species: - 2 Pacific Golden Plovers, a Black-tailed Godwit and a Marsh Sandpiper keeping company with the usual culprits - 7 Black-winged Stilts, a Little Ringed Plover, and 2 Common and 9 Wood Sandpipers and an Oriental Pratincole. The first three species again are new for the province, with potential though for many further additions over coming weeks.

Best Wishes,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Tuesday 17th of August 2021 04:18:43 PM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Hi Rob,

Many thanks for responding. Paul and I have put this onto the thread not intending it to be a quiz bird as such, but because we just cannot decide between Cinnamon Bittern or Black Bittern. It strikes us as possibly a bit dark for the former but not quite right for the latter, and in any event likely to be a female or juvenile. Its ages since I saw either species in parts of Asia and never actually in Thailand. Paul sees both species regularly and normally finds them straightforward, but mainly flying (often over his garden!) when certainly adult males pose no i/d problem.

As you suggest, these could well amount to a series of record shots of just a dark juvenile Cinnamon Bittern;- (the cap does look dark chocolate brown rather than black). He will probably leave it recorded as small Bittern sp.

The current focus centres on waders, 12 species of which Paul has added to the Province list so far this year, one of these being Temmincks Stint found yesterday, (the first record of this autumn for the whole of Thailand) and which complements his earlier Long-toed Stint. He returned to the site this morning hoping for more photos and found instead several more wader additions- details to follow

Regards,

Mike P.

Rob Creek · Status: Offline

Hi Mike,
I wondered what input you were looking for. Did you mean theres a chance it might not be a Cinnamon Bittern, b cause it certainly looks like one judging by the images alone.
Cheers

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

@From Paul in Yasothon

Here are the Bittern images referred to in an earlier post.... all input welcome.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Saturday 14/08/2021

Tambon Song Pueai (canal bridge) Yasothon.

A great find this morning by Pen whilst out driving with Paul; - she drew Pauls attention to a party of 5 bee-eaters which they identified as Blue-throated, comprising 2 adults and 3 juveniles. These are rare passage migrants in the Isaan region and new for Yasothon province. The last record this far east apparently was 16 years ago in Mukdahan.

Regards,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Sunday 15th of August 2021 09:37:37 AM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

-A small correction to my earlier post:- the adult Whiskered Tern was of course moulting out of BREEDING plumage.

Sorry,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Thursday, 12/08/21

Yasothon Pools hosted four Whiskered Terns this morning, one of which was an adult moulting out of winter plumage. Im pretty sure that these are site firsts for Paul.

As regards Yasothon Province as a whole, he has now added 55 species to the list since the turn of the year, and since early 2017 between us we have boosted the province list by 114 species which demonstrates what a birding backwater this was up to that time.
Paul has photos of a small bittern species from the same Yasothon Pools site earlier this week which is puzzling us as it appears to be far too dark for either Cinnamon Bittern or Yellow Bittern and on probability is possibly a juv. or female Black Bittern, though we are puzzled by the extent of white spots on the very dark mantle with stronger white streaking on the shoulders, and sporting a blackish cap. (The bill and facial pattern broadly follow the typical small Bittern format shared by Black, Cinnamon, Yellow, and Schrencks Bitterns).

He regularly sees Black Bitterns locally (even flying several times recently over the garden compound) but has no experience of juvenile plumages, and I have yet to see the species in Thailand as I have never visited in summer when they are breeding in the country. Neither of us has any experience of Schrencks Bittern which we discount as very unlikely here in late summer. I have asked him to mail me photos and I shall TRY to get them onto this thread for opinions please.

Best Wishes,

Mike P.

P.S.

(A Whiskered Tern in GM again would be welcome).

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Friday 13th of August 2021 11:33:38 AM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

03/08/21 Tuesday -Yasothon province

With wader passage livening things up on Pauls local patches, he found another first for Yasothon province in the form of a Long-toed Stint which was loosely keeping company with a Wood Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover. His main target currently though is to find a Green Sandpiper, a species which has so far eluded both of us in Thailand. The leading patch worker in Roí Et province (just to the west) photographed one last week but it had moved on before Paul had a chance to catch up with it.
Thoughts of Long-toed Stint takes me back to August/September 1982 and what was then considered to be a first for Britain when one turned up on Teeside, which I made no effort to go to see as there was on offer what I considered to be a greater prize on show at Kenfig, South Wales- Britains first Little Whimbrel (aka Little Curlew). We chose the Little Whimbrel on the basis that it was the closest we might ever get to seeing the nearest living congener of the fabled Eskimo Curlew!

Since then there has been a second Little Whimbrel in Norfolk, but still no repeat showing in Britain of a Long-toed Stint - (except for one in Ireland). As a historic footnote a 1970 bird originally accepted as a Least Sandpiper was subsequently reassessed by the rarities committee as the first British record of a Long-toed Stint.
We live in hope

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Friday, 23/07/21

Paul headed east for a mornings birding at several sites in Amnat Charoen, adding a few more species to his personal list for this province, the best of which were 2 Racket-tailed Treepies, 4 Wire-tailed Swallows, a Little Spiderhunter, and found yet another breeding site for Blue-winged Pitta (1 seen).

Sunday, 25/07/21 - Huai Aeng

Lured west into Roí Et province by a report by the leading patch worker there, Paul caught up with the target 3 Painted Storks there, and was rewarded by early signs of wader movements with 9 Black-winged Stilts, 5 Little Ringed Plovers, 5 Wood Sandpipers, approximately 300 Oriental Pratincoles ( many of which were juveniles), and best of all - a River Lapwing.

This morning, Tuesday 27/07/21

Khok Yai Reservoir, Yasothon, - 3 Common Sandpipers.

Regards,

Mike P.

Tony Koziol · Status: Offline

Mike Passant wrote:
Wednesday 21/07/21
Paul related a little story this lunchtime:-
He had had a drive out to Yasothon Pools yesterday and had noted a Grey Heron on site about half a mile away, (unusual in the summer), so had walked back to his car to get his tripod, intending to take some photos. To his surprise the tripod wasnt there in the back where he normally kept it.
He phoned Pen back at home and after a quick but thorough search she confirmed that it wasnt there either. Thinking back, Paul realised that he had last used his tripod whilst photographing a Yellow Bittern four days previously over in Roí Et province, so he drove west into Roí Et and began retracing his movements searching the rice fields and wetland habitats but without any luck at all.
He returned home annoyed with himself for being so careless. The tripod would cost about £800 to replace, but more than that it had been with him in around 45 countries over the last 17 years and so meant a lot to him.
On arriving home, feeling really down, Pen took things in hand -Come on, well go back and find it!
They drove back the 80 kilometres into Roí Et and knocked on the door of the first house in the first village in that area. There they were told that a local man on a motorbike had been all round the lakeside villages asking people if they knew anything about a strange object that he had found in the marshes and he also left his name and address in case anyone should come looking for it!
Following directions given, Pen (with Paul in tow) found 4 fishermen in a boat, one of whom turned out to be the finder of Pauls tripod. The man had sat by the tripod for two hours after finding it in case the owner should return before deciding to take it home, where it now was. The man declined to accept any money, - for him this was just normal behaviour on his part. At his home in one of the nearby villages Paul gratefully accepted the return of his tripod and did manage to at least press upon the family 1000 baht for the 3 smiling children there.
Paul was pleased beyond measure, not just at the return of his tripod but more about what this says about the people of Isaan and how fortunate he is to live among them, and indeed to be married to one as well.
Regards to all,
Mike P.

That's a great outcome it just shows there are still good people around.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Wednesday 21/07/21

Paul related a little story this lunchtime:-

He had had a drive out to Yasothon Pools yesterday and had noted a Grey Heron on site about half a mile away, (unusual in the summer), so had walked back to his car to get his tripod, intending to take some photos. To his surprise the tripod wasnt there in the back where he normally kept it.

He phoned Pen back at home and after a quick but thorough search she confirmed that it wasnt there either. Thinking back, Paul realised that he had last used his tripod whilst photographing a Yellow Bittern four days previously over in Roí Et province, so he drove west into Roí Et and began retracing his movements searching the rice fields and wetland habitats but without any luck at all.

He returned home annoyed with himself for being so careless. The tripod would cost about £800 to replace, but more than that it had been with him in around 45 countries over the last 17 years and so meant a lot to him.

On arriving home, feeling really down, Pen took things in hand -Come on, well go back and find it!

They drove back the 80 kilometres into Roí Et and knocked on the door of the first house in the first village in that area. There they were told that a local man on a motorbike had been all round the lakeside villages asking people if they knew anything about a strange object that he had found in the marshes and he also left his name and address in case anyone should come looking for it!

Following directions given, Pen (with Paul in tow) found 4 fishermen in a boat, one of whom turned out to be the finder of Pauls tripod. The man had sat by the tripod for two hours after finding it in case the owner should return before deciding to take it home, where it now was. The man declined to accept any money, - for him this was just normal behaviour on his part. At his home in one of the nearby villages Paul gratefully accepted the return of his tripod and did manage to at least press upon the family 1000 baht for the 3 smiling children there.

Paul was pleased beyond measure, not just at the return of his tripod but more about what this says about the people of Isaan and how fortunate he is to live among them, and indeed to be married to one as well.

Regards to all,

Mike P.

John Rayner · Status: Offline

Mike Passant wrote:

Friday 09/07/2021
With no migration yet Paul has been enjoying some easy list building and site exploration in neighbouring provinces Si Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani to the south and east of Yasothon.
Attached (provided I dont mess it up!) is a decent record shot of a Crested (= Oriental) Honey Buzzard which he photographed recently in April in Pha Taem Nat. Pk. Ubon Ratchathani. This species may be of interest to those of you who possibly have seen this species in Israel where it is noted annually these days in small numbers amid hundreds of thousands of migrating Honey Buzzards, after famously being recorded as a West Paleactic first in 1994 by Hadoram Shirihai whilst photographing migrants from a mountaintop hide above Eilat.
Groundbreaking i/d papers by Dick Forsman and Hadoram were published highlighting the key differences from Honey Buzzard, these mainly centred upon Crested Honey Buzzard showing six rather than five distinct primary fingers lack of blackish carpal patches on the underwing, and birds being 5/10 % bulkier than Honey Buzzards.
I have found that the main confusion species in Asia can be the similarly sized Changeable Hawk -Eagle, especially when briefly glimpsed passing overhead through trees, when birds often end up as raptor sp !
Regards,
Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Friday 09/07/2021

With no migration yet Paul has been enjoying some easy list building and site exploration in neighbouring provinces Si Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani to the south and east of Yasothon.

Attached (provided I dont mess it up!) is a decent record shot of a Crested (= Oriental) Honey Buzzard which he photographed recently in April in Pha Taem Nat. Pk. Ubon Ratchathani. This species may be of interest to those of you who possibly have seen this species in Israel where it is noted annually these days in small numbers amid hundreds of thousands of migrating Honey Buzzards, after famously being recorded as a West Paleactic first in 1994 by Hadoram Shirihai whilst photographing migrants from a mountaintop hide above Eilat.
Groundbreaking i/d papers by Dick Forsman and Hadoram were published highlighting the key differences from Honey Buzzard, these mainly centred upon Crested Honey Buzzard showing six rather than five distinct primary fingers lack of blackish carpal patches on the underwing, and birds being 5/10 % bulkier than Honey Buzzards.

I have found that the main confusion species in Asia can be the similarly sized Changeable Hawk -Eagle, especially when briefly glimpsed passing overhead through trees, when birds often end up as raptor sp !

Regards,

Mike P.

John Rayner · Status: Offline

Mike Passant wrote:

A dragonfly species which I photographed on the floor of Paul and Pens kitchen in 2018 has been identified as a female of Neurothemis tullía (with a few English names :-Blackspot Widow, Pied Percher, etc.)
Thanks are due to Richard Gabb for his help and expertise. I recall seeing the species regularly on my riverside morning walks. In terms of its habitat preferences, Richard tells me that it haunts pond edges in lowland areas, and open wasteland.
Regards,
Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Friday 25th of June 2021 06:39:15 PM

Mike had trouble attaching the photo for unknown reasons (incompetence perhaps? smile

). So here is the kitchen floor dragonfly.

Cheers, John

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

A dragonfly species which I photographed on the floor of Paul and Pens kitchen in 2018 has been identified as a female of Neurothemis tullía (with a few English names :-Blackspot Widow, Pied Percher, etc.)

Thanks are due to Richard Gabb for his help and expertise. I recall seeing the species regularly on my riverside morning walks. In terms of its habitat preferences, Richard tells me that it haunts pond edges in lowland areas, and open wasteland.

Regards,

Mike P.

-- Edited by Mike Passant on Friday 25th of June 2021 06:39:15 PM

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

25/06/2021 - Friday

Paul has now found ten territories occupied by breeding Blue-winged Pittas, three in Roí Et province and the rest in Yasothon, often quite close to each other and all but one close to the meandering Chi river. This morning he visited the site of his first Pitta find for Yasothon the Bhoong Khla community forest in the eastern extremity and found another new province species, a Grey-eyed Bulbul, a most welcome addition though nevertheless an ordinary looking creature.

Speaking to him this morning I was surprised to learn that the national parks which he visited yesterday are (due to COVID restrictions) in fact currently closed for two months until mid July; this in fact is no bad thing during the breeding season. At the entrance to the first park the staff were nevertheless sat outside in deckchairs with wads of tickets to hand which they were of course unable to sell so his birding was limited to strolling around the perimeter.

At the second park a woman manning the entrance post was fast asleep in her chair so he crept in and quietly got on with some birding. Upon leaving she was very much awake and chastised him somewhat though mainly out of embarrassment that she had been caught napping.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

24/06/2021 Thursday

Yesterday Paul undertook a shortish jaunt into Mukdahan province immediately to the north of Yasothon. Mukdahan is arguably the least enthralling birding destination in Thailand. We were last there on an exploratory basis in Phu Mu Forest park when we recorded a thrilling 6 species and vowed never to return. Ironically our record of a Green- billed Malkoha was a province first.

However there are other sites;- Paul visited several new areas which included Phu Sa Doi Búa National Park, Phu Pha Thoep National Park in the morning and later several sites which he had identified as worthy of a look- Tambon Na Si Nuan Chang Wat, Nong Lom Noi, and Tambon Lao Mi. He recorded in total 41 species new for his own list for the province, three of which (Cinnamon Bittern, Little Spiderhuner, and Plain Flowerpecker) had never previously been noted in Mukdahan. The effect of this lifts Mukdahan into 75th place in the national rankings!

Earlier in the year (February) Jan Peter Kelder, another European expat, had added no less than 20 new species to the province list, and Wachara Sanguansombat a further 6 species. No doubt further exploration will pay dividends.

Among Pauls sightings yesterday the most noteworthy were probably Wire-tailed Swallow, Eurasian Jay (white-faced form) White-throated Kingfisher, Lineated Barbet, and the eternally underwhelming Plain Flowerpecker.

Regards,

Mike P.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

Wednesday, 16/06/21

With the onset of the wet season now in Thailand, the rice is growing tall and Paul is presently just logging the usual species of his local patch either in/over the garden compound and rice fields mainly in passing as he gets on with outside chores.

I have attached a couple of his photos;- one depicting one of the pairs of Blue-winged Pittas which he has discovered as breeding summer visitors to both Yasothon and to the adjacent Roí Et province as a new species for both provinces, and of a Javan Pond Heron, which he recorded in fair numbers in the greater Bangkok area. This latter species has so far eluded me in Thailand for the simple reason that I have never visited in the late spring or summer months when the species is in its distinctive breeding plumage. At other times in non breeding plumage it is not safely separable from the abundant Chinese Pond Heron, which can be taken as the default species, especially up in Isaan region.

I suppose that the same I/d problem applies to the Indian Pond Heron in the winter months, though that is a much scarcer beast in Thailand.

Mike Passant · Status: Offline

June 2nd Wednesday

Regarding the wider scene in Thailand, the current leading year lister for 2021 (ie on the Ebirder recording setup) is Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok who has uploaded some mouth watering superb photos of the scarce Rufous-bellied Eagle at the nest with young. He also obtained a flight shot of the adult which certainly is the finest depiction of this species that I have ever seen. He also uploaded excellent photos of Golden-throated Barbet, the quite common species to be seen in the Doi Pha Hom Pok Nat. Pk which we visited back in 2019.

I have been enjoying his recent article on the separation of Blyths, White-tailed, and Claudias Warblers in the field and realised that a lilting song I was hearing repeatedly on our last trip was that of Blyths Warbler and not of Claudias Warbler as I had thought.

As regards the relatively less exciting lands in the Isaan region, Paul has added a few more species to his Roí Et list and for Yasothon a new species in the shape of White-bellied Erpornis (formerly known as White-bellied Yuhina).

Cheers,

Mike P.