Thursday, October 27, 2011

Two new herons

Bangkok is now on a five-day weekend, thanks to the flooding situation around the city (this is in addition to Monday of this week being a holiday!).  As such I did SRF first thing this morning - there were not many people using the park, with many having left the city or staying home in fear of the flood! The park itself is dry, and getting drier day-by-day, now that the rains have stopped. Our house is also totally flood free (for now).

Birding this morning was really quite productive, with me getting two patch ticks - firstly a real bogey bird in the form of a pair of Great White Egrets (amazingly common in Thailand, but seemingly not so in the inner city) - and the other being a 1cy Cinnamon Bittern that flushed from the Lilly Pond, showing well in flight a couple of times.  I have previously found a dead Cinnamon Bittern close to my house (in Nov 2008), and Graham Gordon saw one in Suan Rot Fai in April this year, so this is a species that has been "on the cards".  Other highlights this morning were a pair of Black Bazas  circling low over the park at about 7am (I presume they had roosted in the park) and a Peregrine.

1cy Cinnamon Bittern

One of two Great White Egrets

Passerine migrants were somewhat more run-of-the-mill, with one or two Eastern Crowned, one Arctic and one Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, at least five Asian Brown  and 15+ Taiga Flycatchers; a single leucogenis Ashy Drongo a showy Brown Shrike (very preoccupied with devouring a large bush cricket),  ten or so Barn Swallows and four Black-naped Orioles.  I also spent some time checking open grassland for pipits, in the hope of picking up a Richard's, but only came away with six Paddyfields.

1cy cristatus Brown Shrike

Asian Barred Owlet

Asian Openbill

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