A Bunch of Everything Else

So this post will be a mix of photos I took within last month. There are many photos I've taken and processed but haven't put up here in this blog. Last month's birding mainly covered around Furui-chi and Sekino-e area. There were some interesting migrants passing by during the last week of May. These included Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Whiskered Tern, Cattle Egrets, Red-rumped Swallows and House Swifts. Most of these had already gone except the swift and the swallow which seem to be nesting somewhere around here.

I like the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis coromandus). It looks so beautiful in the breeding plumage. Too bad there are not so many in Beppu. I only saw 2 birds feeding in the field. One was still in its non-breeding plumage and another one, which is the one in the above photos, has already completed its moult.

About 4-5 male Oriental Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus orientalis) were singing in the reeds both around Furui-chi and Sekino-e areas. These birds are extremely shy. I think they're much more approachable in their wintering grounds like Thailand, for example. I got many photos of this species in Thailand but those shots are not very attractive because the birds always stay close to the ground with messy backgrounds. I have to try harder to get some better shots of them while singing.

I took quite a lot of photos of this Whiskered Tern at Sekino-e. The bird only stayed for 2-3 days but it was quite obliging comparing to other special birds around there. It allowed me to get pretty close to it and often flied close to me. I tried capturing some flight shots but the results were not so good.

It used the rock in a small pond near the field as a resting spot.
Before taking off, the bird always stretches its wings first.

Here's a photo of the lotus field at Sekino-e.

Intermediate Egret

House Swifts

And the below shots were all taken at Asami on the same day I took photos of the Green Pheasant. The place was a small cultivated area located on the hill and bordered with thick forest and city. In the forest, I found several flocks of Red-billed Leiothrix, Siberian Meadow Buntings and surprisingly a Common Kingfisher. It was perching around a small stream in the forest. I've never seen the species in habitat like this before. Lots of Oriental Bush Warblers were singing on treetops in the morning and followed with lots and lots of Lesser Cuckoo's songs.

Red-billed Leiothrix

Oriental Bush Warbler

Here's a fledgling of the Meadow Bunting.

This female Grey Wagtail was very busy collecting foods for her youngs. It seemed like the nest was very far away so I just couldn't follow the bird to see its chicks.

And a panoramic view of Asami area where I photographed the pheasant to finish up with.

Nam Kham Nature Reserve 2010/01/01

More photos and story from the trip to Nam Kham Nature Reserve in Chiang Rai. The first day we arrived around noon and spent time chatting at the car park with many people whom I hadn't met for a long time. Inside the reed bed, Phil and Andy were packing the bird ringing stuffs and ready to go out for lunch. Dr.Mong and I decided to stay at Nam Kham wishing for some warblers to come out at the waterhole. The male Siberian Rubythroat at the first waterhole was very aggressive and we failed to see the Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler, which was the main target of the day. The Rubythroat was the real problem. It spent time chasing every bird that came near its territory. Dr.Mong decided not to put worms into the feeding area for it anymore because it has made this rubythroat became too aggressive. Everytime it hears the sound of people coming into the hide, it pops out from thick bush and checks if there's any worm inside the feeding area or not. It's the tamest and easiest rubythroat I've ever seen, but seemingly not in a good way.

A flock of White-rumped Munia likes to come and drink water from the waterhole.

A juvenile Scaly-breasted Munia was joining the flock also.

Then came the male Siberian Rubythroat

An immature White-rumped Munia

After I've been sitting in a hide for several hours, I went out walking around the pond on the west of the area. Many egrets, mainly Little and 1 or 2 Intermediate, were feeding there. I waited in a hide for few minutes and came a male Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) landing on a dead tree in the middle of the pond. Other birds feeding there include Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), Citrine/White Wagtail, Common Kingfisher, Barn Swallow, Common Sandpiper, Common Moorhen and surprisingly a Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio).

A male Pied Kingfisher

An uncommon Green Sandpiper

A flock of egrets

A non-breeding Intermediate Egret

I went back into the hide, still wishing for the Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler to come out. People saw it coming to the waterhole around 4pm, but we didn't succeed in seeing any. There were many birds trying to come down to the waterhole but were chased away by the bad rubythroat. Once the rubythroat was away, many little birds suddenly came down to the waterhole including the secretive Baikal Bush Warbler (Bradypterus davidi), Dusky Warbler and Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis). One Chestnut-capped Babbler (Timalia pileata) was trying to come down to the waterhole but it was too wary and flushed away because of the shutter sound. That night we camped at the parking area. There were sound of Lesser Whistling-Ducks and Spot-billed Duck coming to the pond at night but all flew out before dawn. Several Black-crowned Night-Herons were flying around and calling at night as well as the Collared Scops-Owl (Otus bakkamoena) and the Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus) which I saw one silhouetting at dusk.

Guess we've taught a bad habit to this Rubythroat.

A Dusky Warbler

A very beautiful yet super shy Chestnut-capped Babbler

A view from the blind to the waterhole inside the reedbed

I've had enough of this Rubythroat to last me a lifetime.

A secretive Baikal Bush Warbler taking bath, shame it was already too dark.

The same Dusky Warbler

And the Oriental Reed Warbler, not so common here in Nam Kham area.

Egrets roosting at dusk

And a beautiful sunset at the pond to finish off with.