New Zealand; Day 12 - Stewart Island & Ulva Island

  Today would be our only full day on Stewart Island, or more accurately in the Raikoura National Park, since for the morning we had arranged a charter to the nearby predator-free Ulva island, which is home to a number of target birds. This plan saw us through until early afternoon, and meant we got to walk through an area of pristine coastal forest surrounded by beautiful beaches and other stunning islands.

  We made our way across from Golden Bay Wharf and arrived on Ulva Island itself at around 09:00.  This early in the morning we found the trails lively with birds, and we quickly started to see common species I had become familiar with over the last few days. Red-crowned Parakeet was nice to see well after yesterdays flyovers, and at the end of the afternoon I had a nice Yellow-crowned Parakeet as well. Kaka flew over multiple times during the morning, and at one point there was one playfully feeding low in the canopy allowing excellent views. The usual assortment of Tomtit, South Island Robin and New Zealand Fantail also entertained us during the day.

  There were two key targets for me on the island; the South Island Saddleback and the Yellowhead. Thanks to some information I was given by Dan Pointon I knew he had seen Saddleback on the edge of Sydney Beach, so that was where we went. No sooner had we arrived than I spotted a Saddleback feeding on fruits in a small tree. A huge relief as it was a bird I feared I would miss. The bird quickly moved, as did we when a large bull New Zealand Sea-Lion started chasing us, but throughout the morning we saw a minimum total of six Saddleback, involving probably two family groups. Yellowhead took a little longer but eventually turned out to be very common and we were treated to some excellent views throughout the morning.

  Once back on Stewart Island, I decided to explore the coast to the north of Oban, in the vague hope of finding Fiordland Penguin. Again, Dan Pointon had explained how to see a group of moulting birds on a small island in one of the small coves, but despite how hard I tried I could not see into the cave they were residing in, at least not enough to see if there were Penguins in it. Despite this, I decided to carry on round to Horseshoe Point to see if there were any other birds around, and after waiting half an hour there I was thrilled when a Fiordland Penguin swam past, surfacing a total of three times before I lost it. An absolutely brilliant bonus bird for my time here on Stewart Island. And as I walked back, early evening, I had my first Bullers Albatross in the harbour, although very distant from where I was viewing.

  In the evening we tried to see the Little Penguins coming in to roost off the jetty in Oban itself but sadly nothing happened by dark. Still, a flock of 120 Bar-tailed Godwit flew over us heading into the island, and a Morepork was singing near the jetty. It was a very pleasant evening. 

Species List:
Stewart Island: Mallard, New Zealand Pigeon, Variable Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Little Penguin, Fiordland Penguin, Buller's Albatross, Shy Albatross, Little Pied Cormorant, Spotted Shag, Australian Pied Cormorant, Foveaux Shag, White-faced Heron, New Zealand Kaka, Red-crowned Parakeet, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, Grey Gerygone, New Zealand Fantail, Tomtit, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Lesser Redpoll,
Ulva Island: New Zealand Pigeon, Variable Oystercatcher, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, Little Penguin, Little Pied Cormorant, Spotted Shag, Australian Pied Cormorant, Foveaux Shag, New Zealand Kaka, Red-crowned Parakeet, Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, Grey Gerygone, Yellowhead, Pipipi, New Zealand Fantail, South Island Saddleback, Tomtit, South Island Robin,

New Zealand; Day 11 - Awarua Bay & Stewart Island

  After yesterdays success, but with the light fading, I wanted to try again for the South Island Dotterel in Tiwai. I left our motel at six and drove the half hour there, before walking the additional twenty minutes to the location I saw the birds yesterday, just in time for the first light to break through. It was a little more sluggish than the previous evening, but the tide began to fall soon enough and birds began to arrive. The complexion of the arriving birds was much the same as the previous day, although the Spoonbill did not return. The South Island Dotterel did indeed return, 15 of them in fact, but only at 08:10 when I had to leave at 08:30. Still I was able to record many colour rings and take more photos in better light, although the birds were not as confiding as they were the previous day, but still pretty confiding.

  Today we would take the ferry across to Stewart Island, a beautiful pristine island home to several rare and threatened birds which I was looking forward to seeing. The ferry across would take an hour, and departed from the docks in the town of Bluff at 13:15. Surprisingly the conditions were very calm and as such it was easy to see birds as we sped along, although due to the calm conditions not much was active. What was active however were the Little Penguins, another new penguin species, and we started seeing these right out of the harbour, and would continue to see them even after we landed on Stewart Island. In addition, there was a Southern Royal Albatross among many Shy Albatross, a single Common Diving Petrel and a few Sooty Shearwaters. As we approached Stewart Island itself, a few Foveaux Shag also started to make an appearance.

  For our first afternoon on Stewart Island we decided to walk out to Ackers Point Lighthouse, a walk of a few kilometres through some mixed habitats. It was very pleasant walking under surprisingly bright and sunny conditions. In the harbour, we continued to see the Little Penguins, sometimes showing nicely close to shore. In the bushes there were so many Tui, seemingly everywhere to excess, often showing nicely as well. My first Red-crowned Parakeets flew over us at multiple points, but not allowing for any real detail to be observed, and as the evening wore on we also saw a few Kaka fly over our campsite in the small town of Oban, as well as one roosting at the back of the campsite.

  Today was very special as we had booked a Kiwi tour with one of the companies on the island, Beaks and Feathers. This company has access to the airstrip on the island after hours, and has an excellent success rate of finding the Southern Brown Kiwi which lives on the island. We met up with the tour at 21:30 and took a short minibus ride up to the airstrip, optimistic to put my last Kiwi pain behind me.

  And that happened very quickly, as no sooner had we jumped out of the car than our guide, showed us a large female Kiwi feeding right next to the road. We watched her feeding for some time, often at close range, before we continued up to the airstrip itself. Before 23:00, we must have seen in excess of five different Kiwi of all shapes and sizes. We saw them calling, we saw them running, we saw them falling over, it was absolutely brilliant, with us never being without a Kiwi for long. One of the juvenile birds even came running up to us and since I was crouched down trying to take photos, came up and started quickly pulling on my trousers before swiftly running away. There is absolutely no way that our Kiwi night could have gone any better, it was simply incredible to be a part of. 

-New Zealand Plover

Species List:
Awarua Bay: Black Swan, Mallard, Pied Stilt, South Island Oystercatcher, Variable Oystercatcher, Double-banded Plover, New Zealand Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern, White-faced Heron, Swamp Harrier, New Zealand Fantail, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Dunnock, Lesser Redpoll,
Stewart Island Ferry: Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, Little Penguin, Southern Royal Albatross, Shy Albatross, Sooty Shearwater, Common Diving Petrel, Little Pied Cormorant, Spotted Shag, Foveaux Shag,
Stewart Island: South Island Kiwi, New Zealand Pigeon, Variable Oystercatcher, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Little Penguin, Shy Albatross, Australian Pied Cormorant, Foveaux Shag, New Zealand Kaka, Red-crowned Parakeet, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, Grey Gerygone, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Eurasian Chaffinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, 

New Zealand; Day 10 - Fiordland National Park & Awarua Bay

  Our final day in Fiordland National Park was spent around Te Anu, since the forecast was for rainy weather during the day. However, that was not how it transpired, and it was in reality quite a pleasant morning in the town. We started by visiting the Te Anu Wildlife Centre to see the feeding of the two pairs of South Island Takahae that are kept there, since it is not possible to see the species any other way. It was quite cool to see such a rare bird, even though they were in captivity. The rest of the morning was still chilling out by the lakeside, with its confiding New Zealand Scaup and Black-billed Gulls. From mid-afternoon we set off in the car heading south, driving the three hours to the town of Invercargil.

  Once we finally arrived in Invercargil, we unpacked quickly and I drove the half hour down to Tiwai Bay, arriving at 19:30, to check for wading birds. Here there were two main targets for me, so it was extremely frustrating to find that I could not drive to the site I wanted, falling about two kilometres short of my final destination. I decided to persevere regardless and walked the rest of the way to the location I wanted to check, along the shoreline of the estuary.

  Frustratingly, even from two kilometres away I could see that there were no birds present on the beach, and it looked bleak that I would find either target here. However, the tide was very high and slowly dropping so I positioned myself on the west side of the Brandy Point peninsula and waited here. Helpfully this was the only location where I could actually see wading birds, with a few Ruddy Turnstones trotting about in front of me. However, as the tide began to fall, it started to expose areas of mud and sure enough birds started to arrive.

  The majority of the birds were Ruddy Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit and Double-banded Plover, with a healthy contingent of South Island Oystercatcher also present. With the scope I spent the remaining hours of daylight filtering through as birds continued to arrive until there was a couple of hundred wading birds feeding on the foreshore. Additionally, there were a pair of Royal Spoonbill that dropped in at near dark, and a few Pied Stilts were also present, a new species for me.

  The one I really wanted to see here was New Zealand Plover, the South Island subspecies of which is critically endangered with just over 100 birds left. They were one of the last wader species to arrive on the beach, landing when a large portion of the estuary was already exposed. In total four birds dropped in, all of them with colour rings, much to my relief. Since they were not too far out I tried to approach the birds with my camera, but soon realised that they were in fact approaching me, leaving me to sit still and wait. And sure enough two individuals came so close that I could have touched them had I wanted to, completely unfazed by my presence. Absolutely brilliant and a real privilege to see such a rare species so close.

  Sadly the light was not on my side, and I ended up driving back to Invercargill in the dark. Still, it was an absolutely brilliant evening, and one of the best days birding I had since arriving in New Zealand.

-South Island New Zealand Plover

Species List:
Fiordland National Park: Paradise Shelduck, Mallard, New Zealand Scaup, New Zealand Pigeon, Kelp Gull, Little Pied Cormorant, New Zealand Fantail, Silvereye, Welcome Swallow, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, House Sparrow, Eurasian Chaffinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch,
Awarua Bay: Black Swan, Pied Stilt, South Island Oystercatcher, Variable Oystercatcher, Double-banded Plover, New Zealand Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, Black-fronted Tern, White-faced Heron, Royal Spoonbill, Swamp Harrier, Common Blackbird, Lesser Redpoll, 

New Zealand; Day 9 - Fiordland National Park

  From our base in Queenstown, after a shower and a lie-in, we drove the three hours to Te Anu in the Fiordland National Park and eventually arrived at around Midday. After a short stop to grab some lunch and supplies, we continued up the Milford Highway towards the town of Milford Sound, another hour and a half drive. We needed to arrive for our cruise trip along the fiord, which departed at 15:30.

  We did make it to the cruise with limited time to spare. The cruise itself took just under two hours, traveling all the way up the Milford Sound up to the Tasman Sea and then back again. The common birds were present as usual, but in addition there was a spectacular amount of Sooty Shearwaters, which I estimated to exceed 1000 birds. We initially met the flock at the mouth of the fiord, but soon many of the birds found their way down the fiord and for the entire return journey we encountered Sooty Shearwaters passing close by. A feeding frenzy of White-fronted Terns and Shearwaters certainly had the potential for something more, and so it transpired when a group in excess of five Bottlenose Dolphins started swimming up the fiord, frequently breaching their dorsal fins above the waves. A small group of New Zealand Fur Seals were also bathing on the rocks, and the scenery was truly spectacular.

  After the cruise, at around 17:00 we had a walk around Milford Sound itself, and had more intimate Weka encounters that again failed to generate the stunning photos I hoped for. What did happen however, was a Weka attacking the lens hood of my camera, repeatedly biting the neoprene cover. New Zealand Pigeon also showed nicely, and with the tide out at this point we could see a smart White-faced Heron feeding on the exposed shoreline.

  On the way back we planned to check the riverside stops again for Blue Duck, at least as long as time would allow. On our first stop we met a German birder who said someone else had been looking at the Monkey Creek just down the valley. As such we returned to that location in the chance of something happening, but there was nothing doing. But just as we were about to leave two medium-sized birds with dark wings flew downriver, just out of the corner of my eye.

  Although not confident, I wondered, so pursued the birds down the river as best as I could. And then, as I was about to round the corner, two Blue Duck flew past me at extremely close quarters before continuing upstream. It looked as though they dropped in but alas, that is not how it transpired as further searches produced nothing. The photos I got were not great, but clearly showed the identity of the birds. Blue Duck, after much effort, was finally on the trip list.

  It was already quite late at this point, so we continued back to Te Anu, to our campsite and then to bed. Our final day with the Fiordland National Park comes to an end with some more excellent birding and finally seeing the Blue Duck. 

-New Zealand Fur Seal

-Bottlenose Dolphins

-Cicada

Species List:
Fiordland National Park: Paradise Shelduck, Blue Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Mallard, New Zealand Pigeon, Weka, Variable Oystercatcher, Silver Gull, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Sooty Shearwater, Little Pied Cormorant, Australian Pied Cormorant, White-faced Heron, Great Egret, New Zealand Falcon, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, Grey Gerygone, New Zealand Fantail, Tomtit, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, House Sparrow, Eurasian Chaffinch, 

New Zealand; Day 8 - Fiordland National Park

  After yesterdays downpour we were desperate to make up for lost time around the Fiordland National Park, both for exploring and for birding. That said, I spent the first couple of hours exploring the campsite area while Ben slept a bit more. There was nothing new, although a pair of very confiding Rifleman in the early morning gloom were easily the best views I had of this species until this point. While having breakfast a little later a New Zealand Kaka flew over, which was the final available species of New Zealand Parrot available on this trip.

  Most of the rest of the morning was spent slowly making our way up the Milford Highway towards Milton Sound, one of the most famous areas in all of New Zealand, renowned for its natural beauty. Along the way we made several stops near the river to search for Blue Duck, but it was already quite busy and we had no joy at any of the spots we checked. A New Zealand Falcon flew overhead which was probably the highlight. After passing through Homer's Tunnel we stopped a few more times, and had our first Weka of the morning at a spot called ‘the Chasm’ although it wasn’t super interesting.

  Once we arrived at the tourist village of Milford Sound we spent an hour walking along the edge of the fiord. The Weka were very tame as we expected, with a family with at least two chicks in the car park itself, taking a roadkill House Sparrow out of the grill of one of the cars. There was another individual in an adjacent park which took a fancy to some leftover pasta to feast upon. Sadly the hoped-for Kea encounter did not arise, with no sign of any particularly habituated individuals.

  On the way back down the Milford Highway, after a little eBird research told us that there was a good chance for Rockwren on the scree slopes at the entrance to Homers Tunnel, I persuaded Ben to make a stop. Conveniently, there was a tour group from the US there already, with a New Zealand guide, and they had been searching for two hours without success. Still, we decided to wait it out, and after half an hour the tour group finally picked up on a Rockwren, which they kindly brought us over to see. The bird was brilliantly confiding, showing extremely well as it moved around the rocks, and perching right in front of us. It was always mobile, however, and difficult to keep track of so our time with it was somewhat limited, even if it did show incredibly well.

  After that we drove back from the Milford Highway, three hours to the town of Queenstown further inland, where we would collect Ben's girlfriend before returning to the National Park the following day. With Rockwren safely under the belt, attention returns to trying to find the Blue Duck, before moving on to other goodies. 

Species List:
Fiordland National Park: Pacific Black Duck, New Zealand Pigeon, Weka, Variable Oystercatcher, Silver Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Little Pied Cormorant, New Zealand Falcon, Kea, New Zealand Kaka, Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Rifleman, New Zealand Rockwren, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, New Zealand Fantail, Tomtit, South Island Robin, Welcome Swallow, Dunnock, Eurasian Chaffinch, 

New Zealand; Day 7 - Fiordland National Park

  From our base in Lumsden we drove the final hour to the town of Te Anu, the gateway town to the Fiordland National Park. Frustratingly, as we began to approach the town it became apparent that the weather was not going to be on our side, and upon arriving in Te Anu, the downpour started. Initially we spent some time around the town itself hoping it would pass, but sadly it did not. With little else to do, I persuaded Ben it might be worth heading into the park to search for the Blue Duck on the rivers, since it would be quiet and there might be some activity. So that’s what we did…

  Sadly the rain did not let up, and after driving an hour along the Milford Road to the locations I wanted to check, it quickly became clear that the rain had turned the normal torrent of a river into something else, with gallons of water gushing past. It seemed that searching for the Blue Duck was a futile endeavour, and we did not stick at it for long. The rain continued to hammer down, so we decided to head to the Cascade Creek Campsite, the last campsite on the Milford Road where we had hoped to stay the night.

  After about an hour waiting at the Campsite we decided that it was probably worth heading back to Te Anu, where we might at least be able to find somewhere warm and dry to sit out the storm, hoping that it might clear up later in the day. It was as we were leaving the site that the day finally turned around, not the weather but the birds. On the fringes of the campsite, I spotted a Weka lurking between the parked cars, so we quickly jumped out in the rain to inspect this key trip target. And what a bird it was, extremely confiding and behaving extremely comically, removing logs from the fire pits and flicking away leaflitter as it foraged. An absolutely outstanding bird for its character, one of the highlights in New Zealand.

  After returning to Te Anu, the weather quickly began to pick up, and so after some afternoon snacks we returned up the Milford Road to the Cascade Creek campsite to stay for the night. The rain continued to hold off, until just a little after dark, although it remained quite gloomy throughout. Even though we arrived at the campsite quite late, we still found time for a short walk. The Weka was once again out on patrol, so we enjoyed its antics a bit more. The walk did not yield anything particularly spectacular, but we did see a pair of Rifleman and a confiding South Island Robin came bounding along the path to greet us as we walked up.

  Helpfully the forecast for tomorrow is much better, so that kept our spirits high after a very frustrating day. We spent the evening watching Long-tailed Wattled Bats fly above the forest, the first time I have seen bats here in New Zealand. 

Species List:
Fiordland National Park: Pacific Black Duck, New Zealand Scaup, Feral Pigeon, Weka, Masked Lapwing, Little Pied Cormorant, Kea, Rifleman, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, Grey Gerygone, New Zealand Fantail, Tomtit, South Island Robin, Welcome Swallow, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, House Sparrow, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Goldfinch,

New Zealand; Day 6 - Dunedin

 Today was not a birding day at all, as it was my first time visiting Ben since he moved out to New Zealand almost six months ago. We took a late morning breakfast on the beach, and then spent the rest of the day preparing for our trip to the Fiordland National Park that evening. Still, we found some time to get to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary just outside of Dunedin, a place aiming to restore New Zealands native flora and fauna in a protected reserve. The reserve is most famous for its resident pair of Takahe, but sadly we did not see them during our time there. We did have excellent views of the New Zealand Pigeon on our walk around, and in one of the enclosures we spotted the Otago Skink.

In the evening we set off on our road trip to the town of Lumsden, two-thirds of the way to our final destination of Fiordland National Park, we eventually arrived after nightfall and set up camp there. 

-Smith's Dragonfly

-New Zealand Pigeon

Species List:
Orokonui Ecosanctuary: New Zealand Pigeon, Tui, New Zealand Bellbird, South Island Robin, Welcome Swallow, Common Blackbird, House Sparrow, Lesser Redpoll,

New Zealand; Day 5 - Lake Pukaki & Oamaru

  As light broke over the mountains I headed back down to the delta at the north end of Lake Pukaki to try once again to find the Wrybill. Alas it was not possible to find any, and I ended up leaving without the bird. That said, it was a very pleasant morning to be out birding, with a low mist hanging over the marsh, and the light reflecting from the glaciers on Mount Cook. The birds were similar to the previous day, with Black Stilts being daft once again, and plenty of Two-banded Plover running around everywhere.

  By 10:30 I set off on my three-hour drive to the coast. After 10 hours the previous day, it was a struggle to get back into the car and do it again, but it had to be done. There were a few short stops on the way at a few small water bodies outside the town of Twizel. Here there were hundreds of New Zealand Scaups, and I had a New Zealand Falcon come charging through well, which is just my second of the trip.

  The coastal town of Oamaru was the destination for the afternoon. I started in the harbour hoping to find the Otago Shag here, which I did fairly easily with a few birds drying their wings on the breakwater. Additionally, there were my first Spotted Shags of the trip and a small group of Australian Pied Cormorants, all mostly roosting on the decrepit pier on the south side of the harbour. Confiding Silver Gulls were also nice to see, having mostly seen Black-billed Gulls in the recent days.

  But the undoubted highlight here was just outside the harbour breakwater, with Hectors Dolphin, the worlds smallest dolphin and endemic to New Zealand. As I was walking up the breakwater I saw the fin protrude from the water, completely rounded at the top and not pointed, indicating it could only be this species. This first individual was so close I could see the profile of the animal as it submerged, but sadly none came this close again. In the end I spent an hour watching their dorsal fins emerge from the waves at varying distances, but sometimes quite close. This was a species I had really wanted to see here in New Zealand, and I was thrilled to have made it happen.

  For the late afternoon and until the evening, I went to the Penguin viewpoint at Bushy Beach. From here it is possible to watch the Yellow-eyed Penguin as they come into their breeding colony in the vegetated cliffs there. However this was not until later, so I kept myself busy scanning the sea. Although not super lively, I had a Royal Spoonbill, three Shy Albatross, an Australian Gannet, a Sooty Shearwater and a Fluttering Shearwater during the hours I spent there. But perhaps the highlight was the roost movement of Shag with 483 Spotted Shag heading south, and 76 Otago Shag heading north.

  Then at just approaching 08:00, the first Yellow-eyed Penguin came up onto the beach and started to waddle towards the forest. This first individual spent some time pottering about and not doing much, allowing for extended views, which is more than can be said for the second bird which made a dash straight up the beach. We were viewing from a respected distance up the cliff, but through the scope the views were really excellent. A brilliant end to the day, before driving the 90 minutes south to the town of Dunedin to meet Ben, my old university housemate. 

-Hectors Dolphin

-New Zealand Fur Seal

Species List:
Lake Pukaki – Tasman Delta: Canada Goose, Black Swan, Paradise Shelduck, Mallard, Grey Teal, Great Crested Grebe, Black Stilt, Masked Lapwing, Double-banded Plover, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern, Black-fronted Tern, Little Pied Cormorant, Great Cormorant, White-faced Heron, Swamp Harrier, Australian Magpie, Eurasian Skylark, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, New Zealand Pipit, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch,
Twizel: Canada Goose, Black Swan, Paradise Shelduck, Mallard, New Zealand Scaup, Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Coot, Little Pied Cormorant, Swamp Harrier, New Zealand Falcon, Welcome Swallow, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, House Sparrow, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Goldfinch,
Oamaru: Paradise Shelduck, Feral Pigeon, Variable Oystercatcher, Masked Lapwing, Parasitic Jaeger, Silver Gull, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern, Black-fronted Tern, White-fronted Tern, Yellow-eyed Penguin, Shy Albatross, Sooty Shearwater, Fluttering Shearwater, Australasian Gannet, Little Pied Cormorant, Spotted Shag, Australian Pied Cormorant, Otago Shag, White-faced Heron, Royal Spoonbill, Swamp Harrier, Grey Gerygone, Australian Magpie, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Dunnock, House Sparrow, European Goldfinch, 

New Zealand; Day 4 - Okarito & Lake Pukaki

  After last nights disappointment, today I was keen to try and set things right, getting back to form. Unfortunately a lot of the day would be spent driving, as I travelled from Okarito to Lake Pukaki, a six hour drive with stops but obviously much longer with breaks. It turned out however to be an absolutely gorgeous drive, at least for the first three hours, travelling through lush coastal forests with beautiful mountains on one side and the Tasman Sea on the other side.

  I spent the first couple of hours birding the beach at Okarito. The sunlight was fantastic and I got very nice views of the Variable Oystercatchers on the beach, showing very nicely and looking very handsome in the morning light. The White-fronted Tern flock I had seen the previous evening were still present and showing well, especially when they were harassed by an Arctic Skua first thing. Also on the beach were both an adult Silver Gull, and an adult Black-billed Gull, both my first proper look at the species pair of the trip. A flyby pair of Little Pied Cormorant rounded off the new birds nicely.

  As mentioned, the drive along the road was lovely, although the roadworks and winding mountain passes were not easily navigated. It was on this route that I started to see the New Zealand Pigeon, and after a few short stops I finally got excellent views of one gorging itself on fruit next to the road. Additionally, I saw my first Tui of the trip on the same stop, which alighted briefly on the side of the road next to me. A midday walk up the trail at the Haasts Pass brought some nice common forest birds, such as a pair of Rifleman, but nothing new.

  Late afternoon the road passed an artificial reservoir so I made a short stop here to scan for birds. There were a few species of interest here, including masses of Black-billed Gulls of various ages. Ducks were also present, although not in huge numbers, with Pacific Black Duck and New Zealand Scaup being the standouts from this short stop.

  Finally at 18:30, 10 hours after departing from Okarito, I arrived at the north end of Lake Pukaki, just as the light was getting good. So I immediately went onto the reserve to find the Black Stilt, hoping I would be able to easily pick them out, and so it transpired with a few of these birds being fantastically confiding allowing unbelievable views. Finally, a target bird that landed easily and without any problems at all.

  The birding here was good. In addition to the Stilt there were many Two-banded Plover of all ages running around the beaches, sometimes close and confiding. New Zealand Pipit was also very approachable and I got some very nice photos here. Using the scope I was able to pick out a pair of Royal Spoonbill but very distantly on the shingle. As the light wore on a juvenile Black-fronted Tern started fishing the channel in front of me, before rounding off the evening with a nice White-faced Heron. Additionally to the new birds, there were great numbers of Paradise Shelducks and other commoner species here, making the whole experience very enjoyable.

  Sadly however, there was no sign of the Wrybill. Another check in the morning will hopefully be more fruitful.

Species List:
Okarito: Paradise Shelduck, New Zealand Pigeon, Australasian Swamphen, Variable Oystercatcher, Masked Lapwing, Parasitic Jaeger, Silver Gull, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, White-fronted Tern, Little Pied Cormorant, Great Egret, Swamp Harrier, Tui, New Zealand Fantail, Welcome Swallow, Silvereye, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Lesser Redpoll,
Haasts Pass: Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Rifleman, Tomtit, Silvereye, Lesser Redpoll,
Lake Pukaki – Tasman Delta: Canada Goose, Black Swan, Paradise Shelduck, Australasian Shoveler, Grey Teal, Black Stilt, Masked Lapwing, Double-banded Plover, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern, Black-fronted Tern, Little Pied Cormorant, Great Cormorant, White-faced Heron, Royal Spoonbill, Swamp Harrier, Eurasian Skylark, Welcome Swallow, New Zealand Pipit, Lesser Redpoll, 

New Zealand; Day 3 - Arthur's Pass National Park & Okarito

  The priority for the day, and only target, was the New Zealand Rockwren, or South Island Wren in the Otira Valley. From my campsite I headed straight there and began to work the area between the car park and the bridge, but with no joy. There was some success however, with my first Pipipi of the trip, with a nice showy group next to the trail.

  After a short trip down to the village of Arthurs Pass for some breakfast, I continued exploring the area past the bridge, since I was told that the scree slopes in this area were the best place to check and not down below the bridge. Frustrated by having wasted a morning, I spent the next three hours here but again found nothing, with no sight or sound of the Rockwren. In the end I had to leave at 14:00 to have time to complete my drive to my next destination.

  Still the morning was not a complete loss as I was able to watch some excellent Kea action when returning to Arthurs Pass. Around 10 birds were hanging around, and they were very confiding and full of character. One small bush on the ground had three Kea in it, and they were pouncing on any food left out in the open, and generally just causing chaos.

  The drive in the afternoon took me along the West Coast Road, which was truly stunning. Along the way I stopped off at some sewage stink pits, where there were a few waterbirds, including my first New Zealand Scaup, Pacific Black Duck and Grey Teal of the trip. There was also another tick a small group of four South Island Oystercatcher that flew south down the beach.

  My destination for the night was the small town of Okarito, surrounded by pristine forest. There were a few birds to try to see here, and since I arrived with some daylight left, I had a chance to check for my first one in a small marsh on the edge of the lake here; the New Zealand Fernbird. With a little persuasion, I managed to get one bird to come out of the vegetation for me, so that was one problem I did not have to worry about in the morning.

The evening plan was to go on a tour to look for the Okarito Kiwi, but alas, fate was not in my favour. An hour before the tour I found myself locked out of the car, with the engine still running. Fortunately, I had the keys still with me, and although the buttons were not responding to the car I could use the manual key to open it. Or I could of done, had the manual key actually been cut, which it wasn’t. So I had to call out a mechanic to open the car for me, which meant I missed the Kiwi tour. Ian, the guide, had suggested if the mechanic came quickly I could find them in the woods and join them, but I could not locate them when I tried. A shame, but these things do happen on birding trip.

Species List:
Arthur’s Pass National Park: Californian Quail, Kea, New Zealand Bellbird, Pipipi, Tomtit, Silvereye, Lesser Redpoll,
Hokitika Water Treatment Plant: Canada Goose, Black Swan, Paradise Shelduck, Australasian Shoveler, Pacific Black Duck, Mallard, Grey Teal, New Zealand Scaup, Australasian Swamphen, South Island Oystercatcher, Black-billed Gull, Kelp Gull, Great Cormorant, Yellowhammer,
Okarito: Variable Oystercatcher, New Zealand Fantail, New Zealand Fernbird, Lesser Redpoll, 

New Zealand; Day 2 - Arthur's Pass National Park

  I had a busy day planned, so it did not help that I slept terribly with the wind battering the tent throughout the night and my jetlag kicking in so that I was well awake two hours before light. Still, what better place to wake up than the beautiful Hawden Valley in the Arthurs Pass National Park. Already before dawn a Morepork was singing although I did not try to find it.

  The birding in the valley was very enjoyable, although it took me a good hour to find the right trail. Once I had managed this however the birds, although low in abundance, were extremely confiding and South Island Robin, Tomtit and New Zealand Fantail all showed phenomenally well, especially the Robin which would hop around my feet. Grey Gerygone, New Zealand Bellbird, Silvereye and then the tiny Rifleman were also present, although less confiding. Rifleman was a species I really wanted to find at this site, to relieve pressure later in the trip, and throughout the morning I encountered four individuals.

  At 11:00 in the morning I headed back to camp and packed up, heading to Arthurs Pass village for some supplies before continuing onto the Otira Pass. Sadly at this point, the morning, which had been blustery throughout, finally turned to torrential rain, so I decided to stop in the village for lunch at a small café there. As I was leaving, the rain continuing to fall, a photographer pointed out a Kea sitting on the roof of the coffee shop across the road. A bird I was desperate to see, I was thrilled at being able to see one at such close range, as it preened itself under the overhang, trying to keep out of the rain.

  I birded the Otira Valley, but in the rain it was futile and I saw nothing. At a loose end now, I decided to return early to the Hawden Valley and bird again in the afternoon. This worked well as it was not raining at this end of the National Park. In addition to more of the species I had seen in the morning, I also found the Yellow-crowned Parakeet, which showed nicely on the forest edge. Not the rarer of the two species in the valley here, but still not common and a nice way to offset the damage done by the weather.

  At night, once I had put up my tent in the Hawden Valley Campsite, I was serenaded by another Morepork and this time got flight views of the bird as it passed me by, closing out an excellent first-day birding in New Zealand. 

Species List:
Arthur’s Pass National Park: Paradise Shelduck, Kelp Gull, Great Cormorant, Swamp Harrier, Morepork, New Zealand Falcon, Kea, Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Rifleman, New Zealand Bellbird, Grey Gerygone, New Zealand Fantail, Tomtit, South Island Robin, Silvereye, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Dunnock, House Sparrow, New Zealand Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch, Yellowhammer,

New Zealand; Day 1 - Arrival & Arthur's Pass National Park

  As one trip ends so another begins. Since I was already halfway there, I decided that after Thailand I would continue, alone, to New Zealand for a few weeks to visit an old university housemate who had moved out here, and spend some time also trying to see as much of the wildlife as I could. Despite being half way there, it was still a nine-hour flight to Sydney from Bangkok, followed by a three hour wait and a two-and-a-half hour flight to Christchurch before I finally arrived. Once arrived and through passport control, my tent and boots had to be checked for biosecurity, with the tent requiring a cleaning before I could continue.

  With the car then collected, I was able get on my way, driving the 90 minutes to the Hawdon Valley in the Arthur's Pass National Park where I would start my New Zealand adventure. Along the way I saw many common European species introduced by the settlers, and a few Australian Magpies as well, just for good measure. I managed to arrive in Hawdon in reasonable time, and once I put my tent up I had a walk around but only found Song Thrush and Yellowhammer. Still, the location was spectacular, and the stillness of the environment made it a wonderful location to camp in. 

Species List:
Hawdon Valley: Song Thrush, Yellowhammer,

Thailand; Day 20 - Khok Kham & departure

   We had one final morning in Thailand before we needed to head off to the airport, and we had selected a hotel near to the Khok Kham salt plans just outside of Bangkok, to offer us another chance to see the Spoon-billed Sandpiper, on the off chance we might have dipped it in Pak Thale. Fortunately we did not miss out on the bird there, but we were still excited to see it again, hopefully a bit close than we had seen it before.

  In the end we spent about an hour and a half birding the pans, and in that time we did indeed manage to see a Spoon-billed Sandpiper, with one just two pans over but seemingly a bit close than it had been at Pak Thale. Through the scope we got excellent views of the bird as it fed, and chased around by the Red-necked Stints. Other waders present were all common species, but a distant Osprey was a trip tick, the final one we would get.

  We set off to the airport at 10:30 and arrived around midday, giving us plenty of time to organise ourselves and for me to prepare for the next phase of this extended adventure…

Species List:

Khok Kham: Feral Pigeon, Red Collared Dove, Spotted Dove, Asian Koel, Germain's Swiftlet, Black-winged Stilt, Tibetan Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Brown-headed Gull, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern, Painted Stork, Oriental Darter, Little Cormorant, Indian Cormorant, Little Egret, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Osprey, Brahminy Kite, Eastern Jungle Crow, Common Myna, Great Myna, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, 

Thailand; Day 19 - Kraeng Katchan & Bangkok

 So comes round our final day in Kraeng Katchan, and our last full day in Thailand. To try and see the White-fronted Scops Owl in the park we awoke at 04:30 so that we could be in the park as early as possible and maybe spend an hour of darkness searching for the bird. We entered the park at exactly 05:00, the first people through the gate, and we could tell immediately with two PALM CIVETS seen, as well as the foot of an Elephant which had been feeding by the side of the road. We saw the damage on the vegetation, heard the crashing and saw the movement in addition to the foot, but we had clearly spooked the animal as we approached and it did not reappear, the sounds of the vegetation crashing slowly receding into the bamboo.

Our search for the owl was unsuccessful, although we heard two individuals we could not locate them and the day-roosting bird was once again not present. We spent a little time birding along the road around the three stream crossings where we had searched for the owl, for the first hour of light, but the birds were generally slow. A WHITE HANDED GIBBON was sat right above the road, showing very nice and even urinated on PC. The only new bird in this hour was the long overdue Ochraceous Bulbul, not a spectacular species.

We headed back to the BAN KANG campsite for a short breakfast and to bird around this area. The previous day SH and KF had found a Forest Wagtail on the river behind the campsite, but by the time the rest of us had twitched it, the bird had already moved off and we did not relocate it before we had to leave. This morning we made it our second priority after the owl, and were relieved to refind it quickly, feeding away on the river directly behind the camp. Although distant upstream, it was nice to see such an attractive bird after searching optimistically all trip.

For the rest of the morning we spent exploring around the campsite and nearby trails. In the end we did pick up a number of new bird species, including the inspiring Olive Bulbul and smart Streak-throated Woodpecker. A Large Woodshrike was nesting in the grounds of the campsite, and this species was a feature throughout the morning despite having missed it on previous days. Finally we rounded it off with a smart male Hainan Blue Flycatcher feeding over the stream. The birding was very enjoyable, with a large mixed species flock keeping us entertained throughout the morning.

After yesterdays Broadbill success, we only had one species left to try and find in the park and it was the most difficult, the stunning Black-and-red Broadbill. Whilst exploring the area around the Youth Hostal, I received a WhatsApp from RH saying he had found the bird back at the main campsite. Although it had moved on by the time I reached him, I followed the flock up the river and was rewarded with phenomenal views of Silver-breasted Broadbill, as well as better views of Banded Broadbill before finally seeing two off the stunning Black-and-red Broadbill, right at eye level as they followed the river, whilst I was birding on the road. It was a brilliant species to round off our time in Kaeng Kratchan.

After a final lunch at Baan Maka we set off on our two hour drive to Bangkok, where we would prepare for our flight the following day. 

Species List:

Kaeng Krachan National Park: Spotted Dove, Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Germain's Swiftlet, Crested Goshawk, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Greater Flameback, Streak-breasted Woodpecker, Silver-breasted Broadbill, Black-and-red Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Scarlet Minivet, Swinhoe's Minivet, Black-winged Cuckooshrike, White-bellied Erpornis, Black-naped Oriole, Large Woodshrike, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Great Iora, Ashy Drongo, Hair-crested Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Sultan Tit, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Ochraceous Bulbul, Olive Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Yellow-browed Warbler, Pin-striped Tit-Babbler, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Common Hill Myna, Asian Brown Flycatcher, White-rumped Shama, Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Taiga Flycatcher, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Blue-winged Leafbird, Forest Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, 

Thailand; Day 18 - Kraeng Katchan

   For our penultimate day in Krang Katchan National Park, we spent the morning birding along the road up from the bottom campsite, in the area known as the river crossings. The dirt road through here passes through some excellent forest and has the potential for the best birding in the whole park. We started just after first light and birded the area until midday.

  In total we saw nearly fifty species of bird. Although many were species we had encountered before, there were some new species for me including Oriental Dollarbird which flew around overhead calling nosily, Black-thighed Falconet which was distant but a treat to see and a fabulous feeding group of Thick-billed Green Pigeon. There were not as many mixed species flocks encountered as the previous day, but it was still a phenomenal mornings birding.

  Of course the target for many birders visiting the park are the Broadbills on offer here, and during the morning we had great success with four different species. The previous day we had already seen the striking Silver-breasted Broadbill, but this morning we found a pair constructing a nest. Banded Broadbill and Black-and-yellow Broadbill were both stunning but were always high in the canopy and difficult to see in their full glory. Finally there was Dusky Broadbill, for which we had information on an active nest, making our search for them much easier. There were three individuals blogging around the nest area, of this rather unspectacular addition to our Broadbill list.

  In the afternoon we returned to the park and I opted to bird down the main road after we passed a watering hole that had a RED MUNTJAC drinking from it which flushed as we drove past. In hope that it would have returned if I walked down, but alas it did not. Birdwise it was quite limited, with the only new bird for me being Chestnut-headed Beeeater, but with a nice flyby from three Black Baza and a pair of Crested Honey Buzzards. The deer was of no concern, since we saw it again as we drove out.

  Before dark we checked out a local reservoir just down the road from the Baan Maka Lodge, where we planned to do a night walk and where we had been having our meals. There was information that here there would be a roost of the Chestnut-headed Beeeaters but we only saw a few individuals that were flying around. It was not a total loss however, as in addition to the beeeaters, we also had a Common Hill Myna, which was a lifer for me.

  At night we return to Baan Maka to do a night walk around the lodge grounds. This was recommended to us by John Saddler who was also staying at the lodge, as a way to see Bengal Slow Loris. We had not even left the restaurant area by the time we encountered the Slow Loris, which showed very nicely. Other goodies on the walk included Collared Scops Owl and several lizards and spiders. 

Species List:
Kaeng Krachan National Park: Red Junglefowl, Red Collared Dove, Common Emerald Dove, Thick-billed Green Pigeon, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Large-tailed Nightjar, Common Moorhen, White-breasted Waterhen, Red-wattled Lapwing, Bronze-winged Jacana, Little Cormorant, Little Egret, Medium Egret, Crested Honey Buzzard, Black Baza, Crested Serpent Eagle, Besra, Collared Scops Owl, Brown Boobook, Orange-breasted Trogon, Great Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Oriental Dollarbird, Coppersmith Barbet, Green-eared Barbet, Greater Flameback, Black-thighed Falconet, Dusky Broadbill, Silver-breasted Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Scarlet Minivet, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Malaysian Pied Fantail, Ashy Drongo, Hair-crested Drongo, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Blyth's Paradise Flycatcher, Common Green Magpie, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Common Tailorbird, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Barn Swallow, Black-crested Bulbul, Streak-eared Bulbul, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Yellow-browed Warbler, Radde's Warbler, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Pin-striped Tit-Babbler, Rufous-fronted Babbler, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Common Hill Myna, Great Myna, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Blue Whistling Thrush, Taiga Flycatcher, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Ornate Sunbird, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Blue-winged Leafbird, Scaly-breasted Munia, Grey Wagtail, 

Thailand; Day 17 - Kraeng Katchan

 For our first full day in Kaeng Krachan, we departed our lodging at 05:30, knowing that the park gate was just around the corner. Once through the park, we commenced our drive up to the very top of the park and the top campsite. This took significantly longer than expected and we did not arrive until 07:30, by which time it was already light with activity beginning to bustle around us. Our target up here at the top was Sun Bear, which a friend from Spurn, John Saddler, had seen here two days previous after the reliable individual at the lower campsite had gone missing.

Upon arrival at the top, we sussed out where the bear had been seen and that we would be keep a vigil there. They had seen it arrive at 08:00 so we knew we hopefully would not have to wait longer before knowing if we were in luck. Sadly though, the café staff informed us they had not seen the bear for a while. Still, with optimism running in our veins, we staked out the area regardless. It was not bad for birds, with a Dark-sided Flycatcher buzzing around and three Yellow-vented Flowerpeckers showing extremely well in the area.

And then, at 08:15, the bear arrived. Who knows where it came from, but we looked down at the area where kitchen scraps were thrown and there it was, with sleek glossy black fur and impressive claws. Although initially it was sat comfortably, it soon stuck its face into the waste food and spent a good half an hour there, meaning we barely saw the animals face at all. Still, once it had finished gorging itself on leftover rice, it began to walk up the hill, around the café seating area and then crossed the road, and it was here that we got truly excellent views. And not only did we see it cross the road once, a little later on it crossed again right in front of us. Although seeing it scoff rice without a care was a little bit disappointing, seeing it stride across the road on two occasions comfortably made it one of the absolute highlights of the trip.

We birded the top area of the road until around 10:30, birding back down the road from the top. Along the way we picked up a few birds but generally the birding was slow. Fantastic views of Great Hornbill were the highlights, as they really were impressive birds. Other goodies included Speckled Piculet and Red-headed Trogon, but otherwise we were left to commoner species. We did have two species of monkey at the top however, with the commoner DUSKY LANGUR mixed in with BANDED LANGUR, although we only realised this later on when checking photos.

On our way back down the mountain, just below the dam area, we found a nice mixed species flock so stopped off to bird the area. What started as a quick check became an extended hour filtering through the impressive flock which constantly revealed new bird species. In total I had seven new species during this phase of the morning, including highlights such as Sultan Tit and Buff-rumped Warbler. The best of this time however was a fantastic GIANT SQUIRREL picked out at the very last minute. Honestly, this thing was about a meter and half long including tail, and absolutely spectacular beast with striking plumage to go with its impressive size.

After lunch and a few errands, we birded the afternoon around the lower campsite. Although not as birdy, we still had one of the birding highlights of the day with three Silver-breasted Broadbill showing nicely and displaying in response to tape. Additionally there were six other new birds, including highlights of Ruby-cheeked Sunbird and Orange-breasted Trogon, the latter of which took some significant effort to find but eventually managed views of the back of a female.

A lot of the afternoon was dedicated to mammals as well. The campsite was full of the DUSKY LANGURS with a few individuals showing nicely before dropping fruit on us. There was also a distant WHITE-HANDED GIBBON which was a mammal we really wanted to see but until this point had only heard. Although distant, it was perched conspicuously and now we can hope to see more during the next few days. We finished the day staking out a watering hole not far from the entrance gate, where there were reports of GAUR visiting. In the hour we spent there we had views of five individuals of these impressive bovines, including an absolutely outrageous adult male. A fine way to round off a brilliant day birding, and a brilliant day mammal watching. 

Species List:

Kaeng Krachan National Park: Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Large-tailed Nightjar, Asian Palm Swift, White-breasted Waterhen, Red-wattled Lapwing, Little Cormorant, Little Egret, Striated Heron, Great Egret, Black Baza, Asian Barred Owlet, Orange-breasted Trogon, Red-headed Trogon, Great Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-throated Kingfisher, Green-eared Barbet, Blue-throated Barbet, Speckled Piculet, Greater Flameback, Buff-rumped Woodpecker, Common Flameback, Silver-breasted Broadbill, Scarlet Minivet, Swinhoe's Minivet, White-bellied Erpornis, Ashy Drongo, Hair-crested Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Blyth's Paradise Flycatcher, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Sultan Tit, Black-headed Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Streak-eared Bulbul, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Flavescent Bulbul, Yellow-browed Warbler, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Pin-striped Tit-Babbler, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Dark-sided Flycatcher, Oriental Magpie-Robin, White-rumped Shama, Chinese Blue Flycatcher, Blue Whistling Thrush, Taiga Flycatcher, Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Blue-winged Leafbird, Grey Wagtail, 

Thailand; Day 16 - Petchaburi & Kraeng Katchan

   Before setting out for the day, I had a quick walk around the neighbourhood we had been staying in in the early morning light. Despite being suburban and arable, there were some nice birds to see with Oriental Reed Warbler, Blue-tailed Bee-eater and Brown-throated Sunbird both being new for me. A Yellow Bittern was feeing on the back of the river beside our rented house, and I got my first Water Monitor of the trip, which was swimming in the middle of one of the estate ponds. A lively start to our morning.

  The first destination was the rice fields to the north of the town of Petchaburi itself. The fields were almost totally dry, with evidence of recent burning present all over. Our main target here was the critically endangered Yellow-breasted Bunting, which we hoped to find around the site. Although we were prepared for a search, we found our first individuals as soon as we got out of the car and they were an everpresent feature of the morning. However, seeing them perched up proved a challenge and generally flight views were all that we were afforded. Still, a few individuals perched up, including a stunning male.

  Although the bulk of the birds present were common species, there were a few excellent standouts. A immature Cinnamon Bittern was probably the highlight of the morning, as it watched me from the bush it perched up into. Asian Golden Weaver and Black-browed Reed Warbler were both lifers, as was Pink-necked Green Pigeon, finally the first Green Pigeon of the trip. Overhead we spent time scanning for raptors and were rewarded with two Greater Spotted Eagles, as well as throngs of Brahminy Kites and Black Kite.

  In the afternoon we drove to the Kraeng Katchan national park, our finally birding destination of the trip. Although not our lodging, we called off at Ban Maka Lodge for lunch, as we needed to arrange access to the birding hides for the following days. But as luck would have it, the most popular hide of Dab Toon was available that afternoon, so that is where we decided to spend our afternoon. We arrived around 15:00 but the activity did not pick up until after the first hour had passed.

  The birding in the hide was brilliant, with five different species of gamebird in total, including three Partridges. The first was Green-legged Partridge, which came and went throughout the morning. Followed by Bar-backed Partridge, which came out immediately into the open and fed for a short while, before it scarpered before finally a pair of Ferruginous Partridge came out at the end of the afternoon, feeding right out in the open. Additionally there was a stunning Kaliji Pheasant male with a striking tail, and a constant convayabelt of Red Junglefowl feeding away in the background, including at least two adult males.

  Additionally to gamebirds we had a few boisterous groups of Greater and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrushes coming and going, showing well and picking off various bits around the feeding site. There were less small birds than at other feeding sites we had visited, but we still had our first Indochinese Flycatchers and Abbot’s Babblers, as well as Siberian Blue Robin. Sadly neither of the two Siberian Blue Robins we saw were adults.

  Despite the brilliant birding, the highlight was arguably the mammals. In addition to the SQUIRRELS and TREE SHREWS, we were hopeful to see the MOUSE DEER that is known to visit and about two hours into our vigil it did indeed come down. And it was extremely comical, stuffing fruits into its face that were far too big for it to swallow, only to force it down after about a minute, taking a break and then doing it again. It stayed out in the open for about 15 minutes in total, happily struggling to eat fruits and providing excellent entertainment of an animal we probably wouldn’t even see otherwise.

  We were also extremely lucky to have a pair of Yellow-throated Marten visit us on three occasions. These mammals were spectacular, almost a meter and a half in length including the tail with beautiful markings of the dark head contrasting with the yellow body and breast. Again another secretive animal that we probably not have seen outside the hide, but that we got amazing intimate views of. The fact they kept returning made us cautious that they might prevent the secretive gamebirds from visiting, but we need not have worried and we left with nearly a full house. The afternoon simply could not have gone any better. 

Thailand; Day 15 - Pak Thale

   After successfully seeing the Spoon-billed Sandpiper the previous evening, the pressure was off for our morning birding in the Pak Thale salt pans. And it truly was a magnificent spectacle with thousands of wading birds on offer of a wider variety of species. It did not take us too long to relocate one Spoon-billed Sandpiper but it was again quite distant and we never saw it any closer to us. Through the scope the views were still good, but it was a shame we did not see an individual closer.

  Sifting through the throngs of other waders we eventually managed to suss out our next target, with Nordmanns Greenshank proving quite common once we had worked out how to separate them confidently from Common Greenshank. Asiatic Dowitcher was another species we wanted to see having seen a few the previous evening, and we were treated to a large number of flybys with mixed flocks of Black-tailed Godwits. Great Knot was another eastern species that was very common, as was Red-necked Stint. We were only able to pick out two Long-toed Stint though among the masses, and these were not close.

  In the afternoon we had booked to go on a boat trip with local bird guide Mr Daeng to a sandbar further out at the edge of the mangroves, where we hoped to find a couple of new species of plover as well as an Egret species. Sadly though we missed out on most of our targets, although not for a lack of trying, with a good few hours spent checking the birds on the beaches without success. It was tough going but still enjoyable, with the plovers proving especially tricky to decipher.

  In the end we saw many individuals of Malaysian Plover, one of our targets, and occasionally they were confiding. We saw a few females as well, which were surprisingly striking once we actually saw them. Sadly though, the White-faced Plover we were searching for did not materialise, despite our best efforts and searching through the birds present for an extended time period. The birding was generally good, and we enjoyed other lifers with Collared Kingfisher and a summer plumage Javan Pond Heron.

  What this did mean however was that our entire afternoon was spent on this activity. But this was just as well, as the sun took its tole on us and our evening meal was chaotic affair, meaning we returned home late and exhausted. 

Thailand; Day 14 - Pak Thale

   The day started abruptly when last nights party in Chiang Mai caught me out, and I did not set an alarm. A phone call at 05:50 asking where I was and why I wasn’t at the car quickly brought me to my senses, and I was our the door and packed in a matter of minutes, ready for our flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. Still it did mean that I spent the rest of the day exhausted and tired. Fortunately the day was mostly to be spent travelling, with only limited birding in the late afternoon.

  At the end of the afternoon we finally arrived in Petchaburi, a state on the Malay Peninsula where we would spend the rest of our time in Thailand. The birding was to involve mostly searching salt pans for wading birds, in the quest for the very rare Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Although afternoon is not the best time, we still set off to try our luck.

  The first set of salt pans had a lot of waders on, mostly Marsh Sandpipers, but there was excellent variety allowing us to get to grips with East Asian species. Obviously Red-necked Stint was new for me, but it was the only one. Good species we found here included a smart Long-toed Stint, in total for this site we clocked up an impressive 19 different species of wader. Non wading birds included our first Brahminy Kites flying overhead, as well as Caspian and Whiskered Terns, as well as Brown-headed Gulls.

  For the last hour of light we switched up and went to the main wader watching hotspot of Pak Thale, where we would stand the best chance of finding the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. There were more waders here, but the bulk of the birds were plovers, of the Greater Sand Plover, Tibetan Sand Plover and Kentish Plover varieties. Among them we picked out our first Great Knots of the trip, with a big roosting group.

  At almost the last minutes of light Rob managed to pick out the one we wanted. Although distant and with the light fading, we could still see the delightful little beak of the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, nestled among the Red-necked Stints and Broad-billed Sandpipers. Although viewing was not ideal, it was still brilliant to get our main target so early into our time here, and a delightful little bird as well. What a great start to our time in the south.  

Thailand; Day 13 - Chiang Saen & Chiang Mai

 Today would mostly be spent travelling down from Chiang Saen to Chiang Mai, from where we would fly out the following morning to continue our travels in the south. We had been very successful in our time around Chiang Saen and so had little in the way of new targets to search for, the only species that had eluded us so far being Small Pratincole. As such, we first headed to the Meekong River at Rim Khong restaurant, as we had the previous day, in the hope that there might be some on the shingle spits where there were none yesterday.

Sadly it was not to be. The previous evening had been a prelude to Chinese New Year and fireworks had been going off all night. Were it this or simply the extensive development along the river, there was no sign of any Small Pratincoles here. Generally birding was slow, but we had nice views of Red Avadavat in the reeds there. There was a big surprise however, when I picked up a small gull species flying up river. I grabbed the camera and fired off a few photos before I lost it behind the island in front of the beach. I was in for a shock when I checked the photos; the bird was an adult Black-legged Kittiwake! Although the photos were not clear, it is possible to see the black ocular spot and the clean black wingtips. Apparently this was an incredibly rare bird for Thailand, especially this far inland, and since it was in the middle of the river it may well be a first for Laos as well. Apparently it has already been accepted by the Thai rarities committee, or so I am told.

After the disappointment of the Rim Khong section of the river, we also tried a few other areas for Small Pratincole, but the areas we wanted to check were now all built up and there was no sign or habitat for the Pratincoles. A disappointing dip, but hard to complain after the incredible few days we have had in the area. By this point it was mid-morning so we started our drive south. Half way down the drive, just to the east of the city of Chiang Rai, we visited a large lake Nong Luang where we hoped to find a few last waterbirds.

And we were in for the waterbird surprise, when Sarah picked out a cracking drake Baers Pochard among the Ferruginous Ducks. With none of this species reported in Thailand yet this winter, this was a huge surprise for us, and a massive bonus bird for our trip. It was always distant and we had to photograph it through the scope, but it was often active and in view, with the fudge ducks for comparison. Otherwise there was just common waterbirds in the area, with Cotton Pygmy Goose and Tufted Duck both being new birds for our trip.

Thrilled with our bonus stop, we continued on our journey south, arriving in Chiang Mai early afternoon. Once we had checked into our hotel and sorted the car out we drove the short distance from the city to the Huai Hong Khrai royal gardens, which have a population of Green Peafowl. Although this population is not truly wild, it was still our only opportunity to see a stunning species that we otherwise would not get to on our itinerary.

Initially we were not sure how to find the birds, but fortunately we spotted two very quickly as we drove along the road into the grounds. Around the lake we then saw several more, oftentimes distant but sometimes much closer and we were very satisfied with our late afternoon birding. The site was generally quiet, but it was nice to see our first Red Junglefowl of the trip, with a cracking male, as well as our first Striated Heron of the trip.

That evening, I headed out in Chiang Mai with a friend from University. It was certainly a messy night, but an excellent way to finish off our time in the north of the country. Before the next phase in the south. 

Thailand; Day 12 - Chiang Saen

   With very little in the way of outstanding targets in the Chiang Saen area, we decided to spend the morning birding the wetlands around the harrier viewpoint we visited two nights ago, on the island of the Pa Mak No Temple. The wetlands were lively with birds, but there was little in the way of new birds. The highlight, and only new bird of the morning, was a surprise Yellow Bittern that showed well as it crept out of a small patch of reeds in the middle of the marsh. Other goodies included another, or the same, flyover Great Spotted Eagle and a singing Paddyfield Pipit in the field adjacent to the car.

  Once the temperature had begun to soar, we left the marsh and decided to check the Mekong River next to the Rim Khong restaurant, a well-known location to see Small Pratincole. Sadly there were none present in the half an hour we spent there, but the river was busy with people traffic and the haze made birding difficult. We decided to call it a bad job and return in the morning when the conditions would be better. Despite the issues, we had a few waders including our first Greenshank and Temminck’s Stint of the trip.

  For the afternoon we birded the area around the eastern end of Chiang Saen Lake to try and find some ducks and other wetland species that we are missing. Unfortunately we ended up looking directly into the sun, so most the birds ended up being silhouettes and impossible to identify. A change of location eased the situation, although the birds were more distant, we still managed to find Ferruginous Duck and Garganey between the rafts of Common Coot and Lesser Whistling Duck. In the fields adjacent we also found our first Eastern Yellow Wagtails of the trip, and there were good numbers of Little Cormorant and Oriental Darter.

  At the end of the afternoon we found a nice vantage point in order to watch the harriers. Based on what we had seen the previous evening, we presumed that the roost site must be up at this end of the lake somewhere. And so it transpired, with the dusk bringing both Pied Harriers and Eastern Marsh Harriers to an area of surface vegetation on the north side of the lake across from us. By the time we departed there were an estimated 17 Pied Harrier and 20+ Eastern Marsh Harrier flying over a small area of lake, finally giving us the spectacle we wanted when we started searching for them two nights ago. 

Species List:
Chiang Saen: Lesser Whistling Duck, Garganey, Indian Spot-billed Duck, Ferruginous Duck, Little Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Red Collared Dove, Spotted Dove, Zebra Dove, Greater Coucal, Asian Koel, Plaintive Cuckoo, Large-tailed Nightjar, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Grey-headed Swamphen, Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Red-wattled Lapwing, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Bronze-winged Jacana, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Temminck's Stint, Asian Openbill, Oriental Darter, Little Cormorant, Yellow Bittern, Chinese Pond Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Medium Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis, Black-winged Kite, Crested Honey Buzzard, Greater Spotted Eagle, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Pied Harrier, Shikra, Asian Barred Owlet, Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Asian Green Bee-eater, Coppersmith Barbet, Lineated Barbet, Eurasian Wryneck, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Ashy Woodswallow, Black Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Brown Shrike, Long-tailed Shrike, Racket-tailed Treepie, Barn Swallow, Streak-eared Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Black-collared Starling, Siamese Pied Myna, Chestnut-tailed Starling, Common Myna, Great Myna, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Taiga Flycatcher, Amur Stonechat, Pied Bush Chat, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Purple Sunbird, Plain-backed Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Richard's Pipit, Paddyfield Pipit, Olive-backed Pipit,