Twitchers at Nam Kham

Well, it was back in February 9th, only 2 days after my arrival back at home in Thailand. I headed right to Nam Kham Nature Reserve in Chiang Rai Province with Nuk, one of my birding colleagues, in search of the 2 rarities which appeared to be regular visitors to a waterhole inside the nature reserve area. These 2 rarities are White-tailed Rubythroat (Luscinia pectoralis tschebaiewi) the mascot of the nature reserve, and the Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler (Cettia major). However, we've also been informed that the former has been absent from the waterhole for quite a while, as there was one bird photographer who put out worms in hope of attracting the bird, the worms instead brought out 2 aggressive male Siberian Rubythroats (Luscinia calliope) which finally made the shyer White-tailed Rubythroat disappeared. Mealworms are prohibited within the reserve area since then.

Male Siberian Rubythroat (Luscinia calliope)

Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus)

Baikal Bush Warbler (Bradypterus davidi); female/non-breeding?

Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata)

Another male Siberian Rubythroat (Luscinia calliope)

We arrived at Nam Kham around 8 o'clock and went straight into the Cettia Hide, where both of the rarities were found. We were welcomed by the common stuff like Baikal Bush Warblers, Dusky Warblers and of course, Siberian Rubythroats. I didn't try the Rubythroat Hide, which is further in the reeds, since I didn't know that another rarity, the Chinese Bush Warbler (Bradypterus tacsanowskius) has just been found a few days earlier at that hide. We waited in the Cettia Hide until around 3:30pm, when the Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler made its first appearance at the waterhole. It was already dark at that time, since the waterhole is located deep in the middle of reeds. The bird was very skittish at first and didn't come down to the waterhole. It later disappeared and showed up again at 4:00. This time it came down to the waterhole, but was chased off shortly after taking bath by the male Siberian Rubythroat. It appeared again at 4:30 and this time it took a really long bath before flying back into the reeds by itself.

Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler (Cettia major)

Baikal Bush Warbler (Bradypterus davidi); heavily spotted breast (male?)

So we failed to see the male White-tailed Rubythroat, but at least we've got to see the great Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler. These two birds were extremely rare before Nam Kham Nature Reserve was established. With extensive research and well protection, a great number of rare species is constantly reported from the area. The nature reserve is now a private area owned by Dr. Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, the chairman of my local bird club, Lanna Bird and Nature Conservation Club (LBNC), but is normally open for birders and researchers.

All videos captured by Nuk; apologies for my noisy shutter sound

Nam Kham Nature Reserve 2010/01/02

The next morning we woke up at 5am before sunrise and walked up to the blind next to the large pond waiting for ducks but none were seen. Dr. Mong said that water level might have been too low for ducks to stay and feed in the pond. Dawn at Nam Kham was beautiful with a small group of Barn Swallows sunbathing on a dead tree. A Common Kingfisher, Common Moorhen and 2 shy White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) were also seen at the pond. When the sun has risen high enough, a flock of Little and Intermediate Egrets came feeding all over the pond. I spent time taking photos of some Little Egrets that came walking near the blind.

The setting moon at dawn

A nice and warm morning.

A White-breasted Waterhen

Barn Swallows warming themselves up with morning light

A non-breeding Great Egret

A non-breeding Little Egret with an unfortunate shrimp

Love the reflection of the bird

That morning Phil and Andy caught a Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler again and I was so happy to be able to see it. I went into the hide waiting for some birds to come to the waterhole. Many people from the G04Get group came and saw Baikal Bush Warbler coming to take a bath at the other waterhole inside the reedbed. I saw nothing special today, just the same badass rubythroat, munias and Dusky Warblers. The only interesting thing was a male Red Avadavat that came down to the reeds in front of the blind but disappeared just a few moment later. I went to the other hide and got quite many photos of another ringed male Siberian Rubythroat. I'm sure it's the same bird that I saw last year. A female Jerdon's Bushchat (Saxicola jerdoni) was a real surprise but she wasn't kind enough to give me a pose or two. Because we all have to drive back to Chiang Mai today and it's quite a long way to go, we had to leave Nam Kham around noon. I packed my things and said goodbye to this wonderful place and promise to come back again if I could.

A male Oriental Magpie-Robin; note color rings for resident birds

The same Siberian Rubythroat

And Mister No.2

This guy is much tougher to photograph.

Some more shots of the first bird before leaving

And White-rumped Munias

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.