Bird Sightings (October 2006)

28/10/06 : A Dark-sided Flycatcher was seen at Doi Chiang Dao on the 27th October. - Neil Lawton.

A single Spoon-billed Sandpiper was seen at its usual haunt of Khok Kham in Samut Sakorn Province. - Posted on birdforum.

Returning migrants at Huay Tung Tao, Chiang Mai included a Siberian Blue Robin and a group of 20 Garganey on the 26th October as well as a small flock of 6 Black Bazas. Recorded on the same day were Red Avadavat and a pair of Plain-backed Sparrows which had evicted Fluvous-breasted Woodpeckers from their nest hole.

The above sightings from Huay Tung Tao were taken from Tony Ball's Birdwatcher's Diary blog with his kind permission.

On the 25th October a total of 63 Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters were counted heading south in four seperate flocks from Malee's at Doi Chiang Dao. Other birds seenon the same day at the same location were 2 Amur Falcons flying south, 2 Common Buzzards migrating in the same direction, an Oriental Hobby, a Peregrine and 40 Striated Yuhinas.
A small influx of Brown Shrikes with at least 12 between Malees and the temple at Chiang Dao was noted on the 24th On the 23rd a Maroon Oriole was seen along with 12 Rosy Minivets and a Grey-backed Shrike and 8 Blue-throated Bee-eaters were seen passing south on the 22nd October. A flock of 40 Chestnut-tailed Starlings were in the area too.

The above sightings from Doi Chiang Dao were all submitted by Neil Lawton.

23/10/06 : On the 20th October, at Huay Tung Tao, a Two-barred Warbler was seen; the same date as it was recorded as a returnee the previous year at the same location! Another interesting winter visitor was a singing Dusky Warbler. Other notable birds at Huay Tung Tao were Eurasian Wryneck, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker and Pompadour Pigeon.

The above sightings from Huay Tung Tao were taken from Tony Ball's Birdwatcher's Diary blog with his kind permission.

A large Harrier roost near Chiang Saen was visited on the 19th October whith 142 Harriers counted. Approximately 70% of these were Eastern Marsh Harriers and presumably the remainder would be Pied Harriers. Also seen near Chiang Saen was a female White-throated Rock Thrush and a group of 6 White-shouldered Starlings.

The above sightings from Chiang Saen were kindly submitted by Mick Davies & Dowroong Damlamajak of Nature Thailand.

22/10/06 : An informal raptor watch, between 9am and 12pm, from Malee's garden at Doi Chiang Dao produced three flocks of Amur Falcons, totalling around 100 birds, as well as a group of 23 Black Bazas. Other winter visitors were said to be "thin on the ground" apart from good numbers of Taiga (Red-throated) Flycatchers. - Neil Lawton.

17/10/06 : An exciting winter visitor today (17th) at Huay Tung Tao, near Chiang Mai, was a Water Rail, and Tony Ball, the observer, put this down as his "bird of the year" (see Tony' blog) and it's certainly seldomly-seen in Thailand. On the 16th October a migrant Thick-billed Warbler was heard singing and a lone female Baya Weaver was also seen, both at Mae Hia.

The above sightings from Mae Hia and Huay Tung Tao were taken from Tony Ball's Birdwatcher's Diary blog with his kind permission.

Some interesting observations from Chiang Saen this month were 10 Jerdon's Bushchats (2 adult males, 3 females and 5 immature males) and 43 Grey-headed Lapwings on the 13th October, forced into a small refuge by the flooding of a large area by the Mekong river which burst its banks for 6 days. On the 15th and 16th a small roost of 23 Pied Harriers (including 10 adult males) and 1 sub-adult male Marsh Harrier was observed and on the 17th there was a small passage of raptors: Black Baza 87, Oriental Honey-buzzard 21, Common Buzzard 1, Grey-faced Buzzard 5, Amur Falcon 1 male.

The above sightings from Chiang Saen were kindly submitted by Mick Davies & Dowroong Damlamajak of Nature Thailand.

14/10/06 : Mae Hia continues to produce common migrants with a Common Kestrel and a Radde's Warbler both seen by Tony Ball on the 6th October and on the 10th a flock of 15 Black Bazas and a Blue Rock Thrush passed through. An interesting resident species was Rufous-winged Buzzard with two individuals on the 13th, also at Mae Hia, Chiang Mai.

The above sightings from Mae Hia were taken from Tony Ball's Birdwatcher's Diary blog with his kind permission.

07/10/06 : A nice sighting at Mae Hia was a female Asian Emerald Cuckoo in a dead tree on the 6th October. A few more migrants at this location were one Grey Heron and a Black-capped Kingfisher on the 3rd and a pair of Grey-headed lapwings on the 4th.

The above sightings from Mae Hia were taken from Tony Ball's Birdwatcher's Diary blog with his kind permission.

Thai Muang marsh and beach held some good birds over the last few days with resident species River Lapwing on the 6th October and Watercock and Hoopoe on the 7th. Interesting migrant species included 2 Great Crested Terns, 26 Sanderling, 6 Grey-headed Lapwings, a small party of Purple-backed Starlings and the first Common Snipe of the season amongst several Pintail Snipe, all on the 6th October. On the 7th 4 Long-toed Stints turned up and 2 Lesser Frigatebirds would have been particularly exciting. - Stijn De Win.

03/10/06 : Migrants continue to pass through Mae Hia on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, with a single immature Grey-headed Lapwing, always a nice bird to see, present along with a Dusky warbler and Oriental Cuckoo on the 29th Spetember. On the 1st of October up to 15 migrant Brown Shrikes were present as were 2 Burmese Shrikes and another bird of interest on the same day was an Ashy Drongo of the leucogenis subspecies.

The above sightings from Mae Hia were taken from Tony Ball's Birdwatcher's Diary blog with his kind permission.

28/09/06 : Further migrants at Mae Hia included 2 Taiga Flycatchers and a small flock of 4 Black Bazas on the 25th with 3 Eurasian Wrynecks present on the 26th. A non-migrant, but a bird which doesn't seem to be recorded very often, was an Oriental Turtle Dove on the 27th.

The above sightings from Mae Hia were taken from Tony Ball's Birdwatcher's Diary blog with his kind permission.

27/09/06 : Migrants at Thai Muang paddies were 21 Pintail Snipe, 1 Grey-headed Lapwing and 4 Black Bitterns, one of which was seen feeding 2 fledged young. Is this the first confirmation of this species breeding in the south? - Stijn De Win.

26/09/06 : A Spotted Wood Owl was heard calling and then seen at Thai Muang beach, Phang Nga province along with a juvenile Tiger Shrike. - Stijn De Win.

25/09/06 : A number of migrants showed up from the beginning of September at Mae Hia, near Chiang Mai with Little Ringed Plover on the 1st, (Siberian) Stonechat on the 4th, a juvenile White Wagtail on the 6th, a single Green Sandpiper on the 11th and 7 Wood Sandpipers on the 14th. One migrant of particular interest was a "grey-backed" Long-tailed Shrike of the nominate subspecies schach.

Also at Mae Hia 2 Northern Hobbies turned up on the 21st September and were still there on the 23rd along with an Oriental Cuckoo in the company of a single Banded Bay Cuckoo. A single immature Black-crowned Night Heron was also interesting for northern birders.

The above sightings from Mae Hia were taken from Tony Ball's Birdwatcher's Diary blog with his kind permission.

25/09/06 : Migrants arriving included a Grey-headed Lapwing and an Arctic Warbler in its second week at Thai Muang paddies near the golf course. More than one Pintail Snipe was also present. - Stijn De Win.