Grey-headed Lapwing on the patch

Suan Rot Fai 0610-0845 hrs, before work.  Early morning produced  nothing much commuting over the park until I glimpsed a large bird moving away from me with deep, purposeful wing beats, but almost immediately lost to view.  I was convinced that it was a Grey-headed Lapwing, but on the views I got I could not entirely rule out a simple Pond Heron error!  I thought I'd lost it, and was a bit gutted, given that this would be only my third record of the Lapwing for the patch, but a couple of minutes later I heard a wader-like call ans sure enough the bird passed back over, long enough for me to get views to confirm the ID and grab a couple of crappy record shots.

Grey-headed Lapwing

Other migrants were in evidence with a Two-barred Greenish Warbler heard, my first Eastern Crowned Warbler  of the autumn (amazing that I have not run into one yet this year, considering they start turning up in August!), four Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warblers, two Yellow-browed Warblers and a Thick-billed Warbler heard tac'ing in dense cover.  Aside from the warblers were my first two Black-naped Monarchs of the winter, five Brown Shrikes, more than ten Taiga Flycatchers and five Asian Brown Flycatchers.

17th & 18th Oct

migrant Blue-tailed Bee-eater

 I spent both Saturday and Sunday mornings on the patch, and following on from an migrant Osprey being seen by another regular birder during thw week, my eyes were mostly skyward.  The highlight on Saturday was, rather incongruously a flock of 32 Indian Cormorants heading north - a new patch bird (and a reward for looking skyward!). I see Little Cormorants occasionally (indeed I encounter  one on both days this weekend), and have seen migrating Great Cormorants over Bangkok in the past, but this is the first time I have seen Indian Cormorant in the inner city. Other Saturday birds on the patch included a single Dusky Warbler, flyover Amur Wagtail and Siberian Stonechat, a single Accipiter spp and three leucogenis Ashy Drongos.

Indian Cormorants

Sunday's patch highlights on the patch included a Red-rumped Swallow, only my fourth record in the inner city, but all have been in October, so guess there is regular passage if you bother to look at hirundines closely, a male Black-winged Cuckooshrike, two Thick-billed Warblers, calling Ashy Minivet, and an adult female Shikra. 

I also had what I am now convinced is a Sakhalin Leaf Warbler  calling - whilst the calls between PLLW and Sakhalin LW are similar (but are straightforward to separate on sonogram), I have spent some time listening to recordings on Xeno Canto and it is clear to me that Sakhalin LWs call is slower, lower-pitched and a seems to drop in pitch (whereas PLLW's call seems to be a constant tone or rises a little) -  this fits with my experience of hearing many "pale-legged leaf warblers" over the last seven years on the patch, which utter two subtly different calls.

Red-rumped Swallow

ad. fem. Shikra

Away from the patch I spent late Saturday afternoon at Khok Kham  for some waders.  Amongst the commoner waders I was sifting through I found a single Asian Dowitcher (with 100+  Black-tailed Godwits), single Sanderling and Turnstone (in a flock that consisted of about 1,000 Lesser Sandplovers, 20+ Broad-billed Sandpipers and 100+ Curlew Sandpipers.  Other waders seen included 10+ Great Knot and a couple of hundred Marsh Sandpipers, plus small numbers of Red-necked Stints and Pacific Golden Plover.

Whilst I didn't get to see it,  the first Spoon-billed Sandpiper of the winter was reported at Khok Kham on Saturday (17th), with another bird seen at Pak Thale today (18th).

Red-necked Stint

Black-winged Stilt

Back on the patch in Bangkok, following 10 days non-birding in Europe.

Whilst I have been away there has been a lot of rain in Bangkok and Suan Rot Fai was looking extremely verdant this morning.

I only had an hour free and activity may have reduced by early morning rain, but I picked up both Asian Brown and a Taiga Flycatcher plus a Pale-legged/ Sakhalin Leaf Warbler.