Ogden Water

   The jetlag was finally begun to reside a little, which meant today I was able to get out birding. It helped that the poor weather had eased a little and it was actually nice to be out birding again. Yesterday there had been a flock of Whooper Swans on Ogden, and since the weather was still quite dull it followed that they would still be present.

  I headed to Ogden at around 08:30 to find all 21 birds from the previous day still present on the water. They were not particularly vocal, leading me to think they may have moved on whilst I walked down to the waters edge. Once there however the birds were quite happy and would swim near to the sides at times as well, allowing for some nice shots of them.

  After Ogden I headed to Soil Hill for a look round, where I had a flock of 15 Whooper Swans flying north. It is impossible to know if these are some of the same birds from Ogden, but it is certainly a possibility. A nice return to Calderdale birding after six weeks away. 

Whooper Swan

Thailand; Day 6 - Chiang Dao

   Our only full day in Chang Dao was spent at the nearby monastery, just a short walk up the road from our accommodation. The actual temple itself was up a flight of apparently 500 stairs, but this passed through some stunning forest, and this was where the birding was done. We spent the early morning birding around the lodge, and while there were a few nice birds, there was nothing that we had not seen already.

  Once in the temple grounds, we quickly started to see birds. Although there were a lot of stairs, because we were moving slowly we did not exhaust ourselves going up and we picked up birds along the way. We started with a nice Great Iora in the canopy above us, followed by Black-hooded Oriole and our first of the brilliant White-throated Fantails, although we would see more during the day. Continuing up the mountain, we also had a nice Pale Blue Flycatcher and our first Hornbills of the trip, with a pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills passing over us as we hiked. Once we reached the top we had probably the bird of the morning with a stunning Violet Cuckoo which showed nicely despite the strong midday sun. Despite the heat, on our way down we added a few more species with a nice Velvet-fronted Nuthatch.

  After lunch the team headed off to a nearby wetland but I decided to stay behind and return again to the monastery forest. Obviously the forest was quieter but there were still a few nice birds. The highlight was walkaway views of Streaked Wren-Babbler, which were incredibly confiding and frequently scuttled along next to the path. There was also a nice Streaked Spiderhunter, although high up in the canopy, and Blue Rock-Thrush was a good trip tick.

  I stuck around until after dark to try to find some owls, and was able to find a Mountain Scops Owl near the summit which was a new species for me. The other species I tried did not come in or respond to the tape, but at least four other species were singing during the two hours I spent searching.

  The undoubted highlight of the evening was an unbelievable Indochinese Flying Squirrel. I was simply scanning the canopy for something when a shape flew through the light. Assuming this would be an owl, and quite pleased about this, I followed it to where it landed, upon which it became clear that it was in fact not an owl, or even a bird, but a Squirrel. It then scuttled up the tree it was in and began to feed on the abundant figs growing off the trunk. Unfortunately it had a strong aversion to the light, and it was very difficult to get photos of them. 

Species List:
Chiang Dao: Spotted Dove, Violet Cuckoo, Himalayan Swiftlet, Chinese Pond Heron, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Mountain Scops Owl, Asian Barred Owlet, Brown Boobook, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Peregrine Falcon, Black-hooded Oriole, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Common Iora, Great Iora, White-throated Fantail, Ashy Drongo, Bronzed Drongo, Eastern Jungle Crow, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Common Tailorbird, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Barn Swallow, Striated Swallow, Puff-throated Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Yellow-browed Warbler, Pin-striped Tit-Babbler, Streaked Wren-Babbler, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, White-rumped Shama, Pale Blue Flycatcher, Hill Blue Flycatcher, Blue Whistling Thrush, Taiga Flycatcher, Blue Rock Thrush, Black-throated Sunbird, Streaked Spiderhunter, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Blue-winged Leafbird, Golden-fronted Leafbird, White-rumped Munia, Grey Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit, 

Thailand; Day 5 - Doi Inthanon National Park & Chiang Dao

  For our final day in Doi Inthanon National Park we birded the dry forests at the bottom of the mountain on the Mueang Ang KM13 road, a less birdy area but with a different composition of species than those we had seen at the top of the mountain. We unfortunately arrived late, having spent some time around the Motho Homestay with a few birds such as a Blue-winged Leafbird and Small-billed Minivet visiting the trees around the house.

  Once we started birding along the road, we picked up a few bits but it was generally quite slow going. The standout bird was a stunning pair of Black-naped Monarch which showed nicely in the adjacent forests. Otherwise most of our attention was spent on the good numbers of raptors that passed over, including Crested Goshawk, Crested Honey Buzzard and Crested Serpent Eagle, a full house of crested raptors. A distant Collared Falconette was also nice, but was a struggle even with the scope. Around lunchtime we found another area slightly further along the trail which was a bit wetter, and here we added more birds including Golden-fronted Leafbird, Black-headed Bulbul and Pin-striped Tit-Babbler.

  With the temperature already hot, we started our three-hour drive north to the town of Chang Dao where we would spend the next couple of days. We arrived at our next hostel, Malee’s Nature Lovers Bungalows, early evening and were delighted to find that it had a raised balcony where we could scan the nearby woodland. Although it was late, we had our first Stripe-faced Bulbul and Sooty-headed Bulbuls, both common species but new for us. Whilst visiting a nearby restaurant we had our first Asian Fairy Bluebird come to visit us.

  At night we had our first serious session out looking for owls, after we were informed of a few nice species in the area. In two and a half hours we had some excellent success, with brilliant views of Brown Boobook near the entrance to the wildlife sanctuary, and a Collared Scops Owl on the road to the nearby monastery. The Scops Owl proved especially problematic, and it took us some time before we actually managed to see the bird. However, once we did it showed nicely for all of us. It is always a good feeling when an owl session produces the goods. 

Species List:
Doi Inthanon National Park: Spotted Dove, Green-billed Malkoha, Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Crested Treeswift, Chinese Pond Heron, Crested Honey Buzzard, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Asian Barred Owlet, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Collared Falconet, Ashy Woodswallow, Black Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Barn Swallow, Black-headed Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Pin-striped Tit-Babbler, White-rumped Shama, Taiga Flycatcher, Purple Sunbird, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Grey Wagtail,
Chiang Dao: Spotted Dove, Himalayan Swiftlet, Black-crowned Night Heron, Collared Scops Owl. Brown Boobook, Striated Swallow, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Verditer Flycatcher, Taiga Flycatcher, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Grey Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit, 

Thailand; Day 4 - Doi Inthanon National Park

   For our second morning in Doi Inthanon National Park we birded the 34.5 kilometre trail off the main road, which was a tarmacked road through a nice area of forest. It is a popular area with birders to access the forest, and in the hours we spent there we enjoyed many mixed species flocks with a few new birds for us, such as White-browed Shrike-Babbler and Rufous-backed Sibia. We also managed to finally see the Golden-throated Barbet that has been tormenting us since we got here, with its call constantly going on in the background.

  One of the reasons we decided to bird this trail was because we were told by our friend Sam Pitt-Miller about a feeding station well down in the valley where he had seen several interesting birds for us. As such we visited the feeder with our own worms to see if we could have the same success. And we did, with Slaty-breasted Tesia, White-gorgetted Flycatcher, Himalayan Shortwing and the absolute highlight with a Pygmy Cupwing that visited twice, but on both times passed through extremely rapidly. Whilst we were waiting, we also had a small group of Spectacled Barwing pass through.

  After a lunch stop at Mr Daengs we returned to the Yee Lee resort hide we had gone to the previous day where we had enjoyed some nice birds visiting a hide overlooking a stream. Sadly, the forktails we had hoped for did not visit in the hour we spent there, and the birds we did see were all the same as the previous day. Helpfully, once again, Sam came to the rescue and tipped us off to another location to check for forktails, on the river next to the Rong Fai Fa Ban Khun Klang Restaurant where we were delighted to have a Slaty-backed Forktail showing nicely, if a little distant and always remaining wary. In addition, there was a smart White-crowned Redstart here, a stunning riverside inhabitant.

  At the end of the afternoon we decided to visit the hide complex at Rang Bon Doi, slightly lower down the mountain, and as such had a completely different species composition visiting the feeders and watering hole. Despite arriving quite late, much to the surprise of the owner, in the 90 minutes of light we enjoyed brilliant birding with a constant stream of birds passing through. Although we only recorded 10 species, each one was new for us. The highlights were a fantastic pair of Orange-bellied Leafbirds drinking from a small bamboo puddle, and a pair of White-tailed Robin which were absolutely stunning birds. Plus we had a lot of mammal activity, with Northern Treeshrew and Himalayan Striped Squirrel both making appearances. The squirrels were especially entertaining as they were ever-present and constantly chasing each other around the site. 

Species List:
Doi Inthanon National Park: Spotted Dove, Asian Palm Swift, Asian Barred Owlet, Golden-throated Barbet, Short-billed Minivet, White-browed Shrike-babbler, Clicking Shrike-babbler, Yellow-bellied Fantail, Japanese Tit, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Pygmy Cupwing, Barn Swallow, Striated Swallow, Puff-throated Bulbul, Grey-eyed Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Yellow-browed Warbler, Davison's Leaf Warbler, Slaty-bellied Tesia, Grey-throated Babbler, Buff-breasted Babbler, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Yunnan Fulvetta, Spectacled Barwing, Rufous-backed Sibia, Oriental Magpie-Robin, White-rumped Shama, Large Niltava, Small Niltava, Verditer Flycatcher, White-gorgeted Flycatcher, Hill Blue Flycatcher, Lesser Shortwing, Himalayan Shortwing, Slaty-backed Forktail, White-tailed Robin, Slaty-backed Flycatcher, Taiga Flycatcher, Plumbeous Water Redstart, White-capped Redstart, Daurian Redstart, Black-throated Sunbird, Mrs. Gould's Sunbird, Little Spiderhunter, Blue-winged Leafbird, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Grey Wagtail, 

Thailand; Day 3 - Doi Inthanon National Park

   The plan for the day was to spend the morning on the summit of Doi Inthanon, the highest peak in Thailand. To avoid the masses of tourists, we started as early as possible which meant arriving before sunrise. Unfortunately one of the side effects of this early start meant that it was an astonishingly cold four degrees when we arrived. But we had a hot coffee and started birding as soon as the light began to improve, birding the Ang Ka Nature Tail, a boardwalk just down from the summit, known for its many species on offer.

  Although the species total was limited, we enjoyed some fabulous birding along the boardwalk, with the undoubted highlight being a set of three Rufous-throated Partridges feeding right under us and not at all concerned by our presence. Additionally, we managed some excellent target species with Himalayan Shortwing, Dark-sided Thrush and the Doi Inthanon race of the Green-tailed Sunbird. There were also brilliant commoner birds, although the leaf warblers proved extremely problematic, eventually deciding we had seen Ash-throated Leaf Warbler and Davinson Leaf Warbler.

  The boardwalk was short but we did many loops looking for our targets, so we did not finish until late morning. The summit area was extremely busy, so we drove slightly down the mountain to the Kew Mae Pan area of shops and restaurants, as here there was another nature trail we decided to try. However, before we started we found out that a group of photographers were throwing mealworms down behind the toilets for birds, and this brought out several goodies such as Slate-coloured Flycatcher, Large Niltava and Silver-eared Laughingthrush. We enjoyed spending time watching the birds.

  The trail itself was three kilometres long, and for the most part not birdy at all. It obviously didn’t help that it was the worst time of day for birding and that the trail itself was incredibly steep and busy, meaning that we spent very little time actually scanning the canopy, generally focusing on the understorey and keeping ourselves together as we quickly tired. Still, we managed to find a nice Snowy-browed Flycatcher and a female Himalayan Shortwing. At the top of the trail, where it opened out into a stunning vista, there was a singing Hill Prinia.

  Once we got back towards the end of the afternoon, we decided to check out a hide just above the town of Doi Inthanon that we had heard about. Since the actual site restaurant was not open, it took some time to find the hide but once we did there were some excellent birds on offer; Daurian Redstart, female Lesser Shortwing, Plumbeous Water Redstart and a female Hill Blue Flycatcher. But the best bird at this site was a Pygmy Cupwing, a species we had searched for all day without success which Sarah and Kate found in an ornamental area just downstream from the hide. An excellent end to an excellent day, which saw us birding relentlessly from dawn until dusk.

Species List:
Doi Inthanon National Park: Rufous-throated Partridge, Peregrine Falcon, Grey-backed Shrike, Yellow-bellied Fantail, Japanese Tit, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Hill Prinia, Pygmy Cupwing, Mountain Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Ashy-throated Warbler, Davison's Leaf Warbler, Slaty-bellied Tesia, Mountain Tailorbird, Chestnut-flanked White-eye, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Yunnan Fulvetta, Silver-eared Laughingthrush, Dark-backed Sibia, Bar-throated Minla, Common Myna, Dark-sided Thrush, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Large Niltava, Verditer Flycatcher, Hill Blue Flycatcher, Lesser Shortwing, Himalayan Shortwing, Blue Whistling Thrush, Red-flanked Bluetail, Slaty-blue Flycatcher, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Plumbeous Water Redstart, Daurian Redstart, Grey Bush Chat, Mrs. Gould's Sunbird, Green-tailed Sunbird, Grey Wagtail, 

Thailand; Day 2 - Doi Inthanon National Park

   For our first full day in Thailand, and our first-day birding, we started the morning a little later with a nice breakfast at the accommodation from the night before, with some casual birding around the grounds. Although all the birds we saw were common species, I still had a few new birds including Chinese Pond Heron and Streak-eared Bulbul, but nothing exceptional and we were soon on our way to our first proper destination, the Doi Inthanon National Park.

  We arrived at the main gate around 09:00 and purchased our tickets, before driving another 40 minutes into the park to reach the birding areas. Once we arrived at the second park checkpoint, we parked just up the road and birded a trail known as the jeep trail. This was a trail that had been suggested to us, but presumably thanks to our late morning arrival, it was extremely slow birding and the flocks we did encounter moved too fast with the birds moving too quickly for any good identifications. That said, we still had a few nice birds including Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Yunnan Fulvetta and a brilliant group of Slaty-bellied Tesia that showed incredibly well, for Tesias.

  A quick break and drinks stop around lunchtime gave us some time to refresh, before heading to the Kings Garden above the town of Doi Inthanon. This was obviously a very artificial environment, complete with well-tendered flowerbeds and mowed lawns. However, there were a few birds for us to find here, including beautiful male Black-throated Sunbird and Mrs. Gould's Sunbirds. Additionally, there were a few migrant species we are familiar with from Western Europe, such as Taiga Flycatcher and Olive-backed Pipit.

  At 17:00 we left the gardens and traveled to our accommodation for the next three nights, the Motho Homestay. The lodging was nice, a chalet with two rooms situated well off the main road in a quiet rural area flanked by forest. After arriving we crashed out a bit, but still spotted a distant Verditer Flycatcher showing well despite the range.

  After a slow start, it was a very pleasant day to have been birding around the Doi Inthanon National Park, and with more days yet to come, we are looking forward to seeing what we can find. 

-Himalayan Striped Squirrel

-Yunnan Fulvetta

-Rufous-winged Fulvetta

-Slaty-bellied Tesia

-Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

-Black-throated Sunbird

-Great Windmill

-Red Lacewing Butterfly

-Black-striped Frog

Species List:
Doi Inthanon National Park: Feral Pigeon, Spotted Dove, Asian Koel, White-breasted Waterhen, Chinese Pond Heron, Asian Green Bee-eater, Clicking Shrike-babbler, Common Iora, Black Drongo, Ashy Drongo, Bronzed Drongo, Yellow-bellied Fantail, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Japanese Tit, Common Tailorbird, Barn Swallow, Wire-tailed Swallow, Striated Swallow, Mountain Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Streak-eared Bulbul, Flavescent Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Yellow-browed Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Slaty-bellied Tesia, Mountain Tailorbird, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Yunnan Fulvetta, Common Myna, Eyebrowed Thrush, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Verditer Flycatcher, Blue Whistling Thrush, Little Pied Flycatcher, Taiga Flycatcher, Black-throated Sunbird, Mrs. Gould's Sunbird, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit, Common Rosefinch, Himalayan Striped Squirrel

Thailand; Day 1 - arrival

   So begins the first day of the next birding trip, and the first in 2024. This time I was travelling with a group of friends from Spurn; Paul Collins, Sarah Harris, Rob Hunton and Kate Fox. We had fancied heading to Thailand for some time, and we finally got it arranged for early this year, with the hope of visiting some of the northern national parks and then heading to the south for a few other birds.

  We left Manchester on the 28^th, departing at 08:00 in the morning, and arriving at our change in Bahrain early in the evening. After a four-hour wait there, we then continued on to Bangkok, arriving in Thailand at 09:00 in the morning. Here we had a six-hour wait before we would take an internal flight up to the city of Chiang Mai in the north, so that gave us some time to bird around the airport. We had plenty of Painted Storks fly over, and had even a few new birds with Great Myna, Asian Palm Swift and House Swift.

  Late afternoon, around 15:00, we boarded our flight north and finally reached the end of our travels. We quickly picked up the car, a Nissan X-Trail we reserved through Europcar, and set off out of the city to a small homestead to the south, halfway between Chiang Mai and the first national park we would visit in the morning, which Paul had reserved through booking.com. We were absolutely exhausted at this point so showered and crashed, ready to get started with the birding the following day. 

Species List:
Suvarnabhumi International Airport: Feral Pigeon, Red Collared Dove, Spotted Dove, House Swift, Asian Palm Swift, Painted Stork, Little Egret, Great Egret, Red-rumped Swallow, Common Myna, Great Myna, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White Wagtail, 

Sandbeach Outflow twitching Red-breasted Goose

   After our success with the Northern Waterthrush we continued on to the Essex coastline where there had been a Red-breasted Goose seen among the rafts of thousands of Brent Geese on the arable fields there. So we spent the rest of the daylight hours here enjoying some very pleasant birding, with a wide variety of species on offer.

  Sadly, despite searching through over 5000 Brent Geese during the afternoon, we failed to find the Red-breasted Goose. It was reported at another location around lunchtime so we headed there, but ultimately failed in our quest. Still, it was very enjoyable and we still had some rare goose action with a Black Brant and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose at the second location we checked. 

  In addition the birding was excellent, with flocks of Corn Buntings being the highlight, a species I see so infrequently in the UK. There were also groups of waders around, especially Golden Plover in the fields. Despite the dip, it was an excellent afternoons birding. 

-Dark-bellied Brent Geese & Marsh Harrier

-Black Brant & Dark-bellied Brent Geese

-Corn Bunting

Species List:
Sandbeach Outflow: Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Black Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Common Pheasant, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Pied Avocet, Grey Plover, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Cetti's Warbler, Goldcrest, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, European Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, Common Linnet, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting, 

Heybridge Creek twitching Northern Waterthrush

   I headed down to London for a weekend of visiting David Darrel-Lambert, and on the Saturday we decided to spend the day out birding in the adjacent county of Essex, where there were a few interesting birds on offer, the most notable of these of course being the Northern Waterthrush that turned up about a month prior. Since its initial discovery, it had become more erratic in its sightings in the small creek it had frequented, and we did not know how long we would have to wait before we might actually see the bird.

  We arrived on site at 07:25, just as the visibility started to improve. Maddeningly, it turned out the bird had briefly visited at 07:18, and as such we had just missed it, although seeing it in the near darkness would not have been a particularly exciting. Still, that meant we had to wait around, and in the end we endured two and a half hours in the freezing cold waiting for the bird to return, which fortunately it eventually did.

  The bird returned at around 10:00, calling loudly as it flew in. It then spent about 5-10 minutes moving up and down the creek feeding on the edge of the frozen waterway before flying into a nearby tree and then off again at height. During its short stay it offered absolutely brilliant views jumping across broken reed stems and walking along the edge of the ice, well worth the long and painful wait. 

-Northern Waterthrush

Species List:
Heybridge Creek: Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Tufted Duck, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Cetti's Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, Common Reed Bunting, Northern Waterthrush, 

Rishworth Moor

  It was a stunning winter day, with frosty ground and clear blue skies. After a walk around Soil Hill in the morning I decided to take the car out and try to work on my Calderdale year list, checking out a few locations with resident species that I could see nicely and easily. One of these that I was especially keen to see were the Twite on Rishworth Moor.

  The previous week I had visited with Harry Coghill, and although we did see three individuals at one location, they quickly left and we had no further sign. Consequently, today I returned hoping to get some better views and hopefully some photos in nice light. It took a few hours of checking different locations before I eventually found them, back at the first site I had checked. Here there were only two individuals, but they were busy tucking into seed that seemingly kept them occupied, allowing me to approach reasonably close without disturbing them. 

  It is sad to see the decline of the species even during my time in Halifax, with this now being the last site to find them, having previously seen them at several different spots in years gone by. How much longer the colony here lingers, only time will tell. 

-Twite

Species List:
Rishworth Moor: Common Goldeneye, Stock Dove, European Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Wren, White-throated Dipper, Mistle Thrush, European Stonechat, Grey Wagtail, Twite, Common Reed Bunting,