The evening before another birder had seen a Spot-winged Starling with many Chestnut-taileds above the restaurant, and so after our look at the lake side at dawn finding some Bitterns and Crakes and a stunning Stork-billed Kingfisher, we set about finding the Starling. Thankfully the Chestnut-tailed Starlings had returned and it didn’t take too long to find the female Spot-winged Starling. Not only this we lucked upon a Purple-backed Starling and a couple of White-shouldered Starlings.
Jake went off to see the Sibe Rubythroat again whilst Ian and I stayed in the gardens hoping for the Violet Cuckoo but we had to settle with the standard birds. We were then informed that our next site (Samnak Maiteng Res.) was flooded and therefore our potential targets would be near impossible to find. This therefore meant we could take our time at Petchaburi Rice Fields and then change our plan by heading for Bueng Boraphet Lale instead where a couple of the critically endangered Baer’s Pochards have been seen very recently. Andy Pierce also kindly gave me coordinates for some Yellow-breasted Buntings, something we were very thankful for. This did mean losing a half a day but it has so far worked in our favour.
It didn’t take long to reach the rice fields and after a long circuit of good looking habitat we eventually found our target, and plenty of them, at least 80-100 Yellow-breasted Buntings!! This was brilliant to see this near-threatened species, and we soon found why. Whilst doing a circuit we came across some illegal mist nets. I wasted no time in getting Ian’s knife and tearing the things apart whilst Jake extracted a Baya Weaver, and I did the same with a Streak-Eared Bulbul. It was good to do our bit, but unfortunately were too late for two Scaly-breasted Munias that had died in the nets. What was even more depressing was being sent a video from a Thai birder we had met there that the farmers had burnt down all the bushes in which the Buntings were using to make them scatter from their fields........very depressing.
The Thai birder mentioned above had come to twitch the Jacobin Cuckoo that we saw with ease, but we weren’t too bothered by it in all honesty. We did more circuits around the rice fields catching up with several Grey-headed Lapwings and a Pink-necked Green Pigeon.
We then started the long drive north, eventually arriving six hours later at Nakhonsawan, and was my first proper bit of driving over here, and I loved it. Weaving between traffic and beeping lots was my type of driving. We checked into a plush hotel and fell asleep instantly being now completely exhausted after six full days in this lovely country.
Highlights for the day with lifers displayed as (L) after the species:
Yellow Bittern - 2
Black-headed Ibis - 2
Glossy Ibis - 1
Osprey - 1
Pied Harrier - 2
Greater Spotted Eagle - 1
White-breasted Waterhen - 6
Ruddy-breasted Crake - 1
Watercock - 1
Bronze-winged Jacana - 5
Pheasant-tailed Jacana - 5
Grey-headed Lapwing - 20
Pink-necked Green Pigeon - 1
Plaintive Cuckoo - 2
Jacobin Cuckoo - 1
Blue-tailed Bee-Eater - 20
Lineated Barbet (L) - 1
Freckle-breasted Woodpecker (L) - 1
Stork-billed Kingfisher - 1
Black-hooded Oriole - 2
Bluethroat - 1
Spot-winged Starling (L) - 1
Purple-backed Starling (L) - 1
White-shouldered Starling - 1
Chestnut-tailed Starling (L) - 75
Yellow-vented Bulbul (L) - 2
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker - 2
Yellow-breasted Bunting (L) - 80+
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Purple-backed Starling at Baan Maka
phone scoped by Jake
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| Dawn at Baan Maka Lake |
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| A lucky Baya Weaver at Phetchaburi |
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For a couple of hours this was Bunting corner,
until the bushes got burnt down.
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| Some scenes on route to Nakhon Sawan |
