Suan Rot Fai in late July

I did the patch yesterday morning (Sunday, 27th) for the first time in a month.  The park is not exactly inspiring in mid summer, but there was enough to justify the trip with the first birds encountered being a pair of Stork-billed Kingfishers calling loudly and flying around the park at considerable altitude.  This behaviour made me wonder if I was seeing an adult and newly fledged chick - perhaps they have bred in the park?!

city centre Stork-billed Kingfisher

Other notable birds were TWO Chinese Pond Herons - very surprising to see here in mid-summer.  They were a breeding plumaged bird (presumed to be the same individual seen in late June) plus a second bird in almost full non-breeding plumage, with a few vestiges of maroon on the neck and head.  A juvenile Shikra was chased across the park by a murder of Large-billed Crows, and I had a brief encounter with a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (without rackets) which might be either a post-breeding dispersant or an an escapee  from the weekend market.

Javan Pond Heron

Chinese Pond Heron

Chinese Pond Heron

CPH - note maroon tones in neck & head feathers

First hand-reared spoon-billed sandpiper returns to breed

Some great news here

12th July - Thailand Tattler

I spent this afternoon looking for waders ar Khok Kham with a recently arrived Canadian expat birder.

We struggled a bit to locate the wader flocks, arriving too late to see birds on the mudflats due to the rapidly rising spring tide, and birds seemed to be well spread out over the saltpans.  Eventually we found a flock of Common Redshank and on close approach in the car we soon found that they were joined by three Grey-tailed Tattlers (the first time I've encountered this species in Thailand, and only the second time ever, having twitched the Scottish bird almost twenty years ago!).

G-t Tattler amongst eastern Common Redshank

The Common Redshanks numbered approximately a hundred whilst other waders encountered were two Common Greenshank, three Pacific Golden Plovers, two Greater Sand Plovers, c. 20 Lesser Sand Plover, two Black-tailed Godwits, and approximately 80 orientalis Eurasian Curlews (pictures below).