Fill-in post from Toronto

I hope you like Long-tailed Duck, or Oldsquaw if you want to go old-school. It was in Toronto that I first found a Long-tailed Duck and I returned there this week to find the lake flat calm and the ducks visible from my hotel window.

I visited the lake shore in Toronto City, Leslie Street Spit and High Park, but the big story was the love-affair with the ducks. There were other birds too; Mergansers showed well as did Common Golden-eye and I even got a picture of a White-winged Scoter.

There will probably be at least three posts, most of them featuring the Long-tails, but here are a few pictures to keep you clicking until I can wade through the pictures and select a few to accompany the posts.

Bohemian Waxwings, Woulham, Kent, March 2013

There has long been an inexcusable omission from my British list; Bohemian Waxwing. My individual country lists are not usually very important, but the Bohemian Waxwing is a special bird and deserving of a special effort. I think that every other bird watcher in the country must have seen them, photographed them and ticked them with a flourish after last year’s glut of the Scandinavian visitors, but I had missed out. Today it was my turn at last.

I had heard of a flock in a village close to home and had taken a little drive out there to find 32 Bohemian Waxwings sitting in the bare tops of a couple of trees. They were silhouetted against a heavy sky, but they were added to my British list with some ceremony just the same.  A few at a time dropped down into a bush laden with red berries which hung over a wall from a garden, but only stopped for a few moments before returning to the treetops while another handful came down to feed.

But of course I am greedy and found disappointment even on such a momentous occasion. The light was poor and my photos were dull and lifeless. For many birds, the sighting is the important thing and the photo is simply a record for myself and (if the photo is approximately in focus without too much camera shake), for the blog.I wanted to mark this occasion with something better.

On my way home from the airport this morning, the sun was shining and the air was still. I really wanted a better picture of these glorious birds, so I took a slight detour to see if they were still there. When I arrived at the village, they were nowhere to be seen. I took a couple of turns around the vicinity, including a stretch of the River Medway on my wanderings, but couldn’t see or hear them.

I had previously met Ken who told me that they tended to come down for a feed at around 09.00 in the morning and 16.00 in the afternoon. At 08.58 I was returning to the corner where I had seen them before and I heard their sleigh-bell-like call (thank you to www.xeno-canto.org for the recording). As predicted, just on 09.00, the first group came down to feed in the overhanging bush.

The light was perfect and I was delighted to see them so well. They were very approachable, but I was worried that my closeness was making them nervous and that was why just a few fed, hurriedly, for a short while before retreating back to the treetops. I returned to my car to watch from there, but dog-walkers and pedestrians passed right beneath the bush without disturbing them.

A young lady who lived in the house stopped to say “Hello” and told me that they had arrived a week or so ago. She was not a birder, but had quickly contacted someone who was, who in turn posted the notice that I had seen.

Thank you to both of them. It was a beautiful encounter.
There were fewer birds today, but Alice mentioned that numbers fluctuate and 38 had been the highest count to date.

City Park, Denver, Feb 2013

They are always there - the voices in my head. Like the constant honking of a large flock of Canada Geese, they struggle against each other to make themselves heard until one catches my attention. ‘Paranoia’, ‘Self-pity’ and ‘Guilty Conscience’ will all have their say, but only I can hear them. Sadly the little voice known as ‘Check Your Roster Carefully’ has been strangely mute this week. If it had chirruped at the right time, I might not have missed my trip to Johannesburg. My boss at the airline was sympathetic, but The Management at 10,000 Birds have started ‘proceedings’.

I was de-rostered, then re-rostered but, with the greatest of respect to Denver, a snow-bound morning there does not quite compare with 2 days in South Africa. Having said that, the first thing I saw on getting down from the bus at 17^th Ave and Madison St., was a pair of lions.

I had chosen to come to City Park (Google Earth ref; 39°44'45.35"N 104°57'16.41"W) as it was likely to be navigable today. Snow had fallen last night, but the ploughs had already been busy clearing the roads and paths by the time I reached the park at 07.30. The roads were still a little icy, but the fresh snow had been swept away and walking was easy.

Before crossing the road, I was stopped by a Brown Creeper that allowed me to approach very closely while it picked through the furrows of a rough-barked tree. I did not identify the tree; if anyone has any thoughts, they will be warmly welcomed.

Across the road is Ferril Lake. Canada Geese were obvious already and their continuous honking provided the backing track for the morning. They looked as if they had been frozen into the ice and their lack of movement was rather disconcerting. In a tiny patch of open water a few ducks were seen. The Northern Shoveler may have been north of its normal winter range according to Sibley, so I made a point of getting a recognizable photo. On returning home, I noticed that the eBirders of Denver frequently record them here during the cold months. With them were a few Common Golden-eyes and Ring-necked Ducks.

Much to my shame, I missed the Cackling Geese. I noted that the Canada Geese were rather small, but didn’t spot that some of them may have been Cackling Geese. All the photos that I took contain Canada Geese, with no sign of the shorter neck and bill or the rounded head of the Cackling Goose. eBird reports from the park often mention both geese which makes me think that I should have looked more closely. One goose that stood out was a domestic Greylag?

A soft call attracted me to a tree with hanging seed-heads. House Finches were feeding on the seeds and sat very well in the splendid early morning light.

Beyond Ferril Lake is the Duck Lake. Google Earth’s image of the lake shows an island with white-washed trees, so it was no surprise to find a colony of Double-crested Cormorants there. 

Many were in their nests with a few birds flying around carrying nesting material and gifts for their mates. The Denver eBirders record that the cormorants have only just begun to return after the winter.

Fox Squirrels were very common in the park today. I presume that they hibernate to a greater or lesser extent, but there were plenty of them abroad on this cold, late- February morning. The bare trees made them very easy to find.

Black-capped Chickadees were also quite common in small flocks of 3 -5 birds. They were feeding busily and appeared to ignore my presence close to them. Red-shafted Northern Flickers were seen quite regularly through the morning.

I had worked my way to the South-western corner of the park, close to the junction of 17^th Ave and City Park Esplanade. There is a bus stop at Google Earth ref; 39°44'37.95"N 104°57'23.20"W. To round out the day a ‘Keeeer’ (thank you to www.xeno-canto.org for the embedded call) overhead and a shadow crossing the road, alerted me to three Red-tailed Hawks as they passed, low overhead.

Birds seen; 19

Canada Goose 800, Mallard 1, Northern Shoveler 1, Ring-necked Duck 4, Common Golden-eye 18, Double-crested Cormorant 50, Red-tailed Hawk 3, American Coot 2, Ring-billed Gull 30, Downy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 7, Black-billed Magpie 5, American Crow 6, Black-capped Chickadee 18, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Brown Creeper 3, European Starling 25, House Finch 25, House Sparrow 8.

City Park lies to the east of downtown Denver, north of 17^th Ave between City Park Esplanade and Harrison St. Bus no. 20 has 4 request stops along the avenue and costs $2.25 from downtown Denver, just 2 miles away. It backs onto the zoo which may account for a few unrecognizable calls close to the fence.

Bang Pu Mai, Bangkok, Feb 2013

The tide at Bang Poo (Bang Pu Mai) was predicted, by 2 different sources, to reach its height around 07.30 this morning. It was pretty high when I arrived and looked as if it was still flowing strongly. My plan had been to arrive around high tide, check out the heron and egret roosts, then take a moment at the hide overlooking the roosting ponds. Hopefully by this time the tide would be receding and I could repair to the sea path to watch the waders flying out to greet the mud.

In case you feel slightly uncomfortable about this picture, it is a montage of the only bird that I managed to get in focus as it flew over.

Where I went wrong was not realising that a 3.9 meter tide would come up very high and would then need to drop substantially before any mud was revealed. Thus it was that I had to wait nearly four hours after the predicted high before any birds began to emerge from the mangroves and onto the mud. Even then, they were slow to feed. To get the most from this site, may I suggest that you refer to this link which gives a very good account of what to look for and what to expect. My account here is a simple snapshot of my visit and a bit of an update.

Pond-heron

I started at the heron and egret roost that can be found close to the main road at the entrance to the site. Pond herons were plentiful, but the two local species are almost indistinguishable. I did manage to winkle out a couple of Javan Pond-herons that had assumed their breeding plumage early. The spot marked on the map at the above link is not viewable, but Great Egrets, Little Egrets and a Black-crowned Night Heron could be seen at Google Earth ref; 13°31'15.27"N 100°39'9.50"E.

In the little village area Asian Koels, Oriental Magpie Robins and Chestnut Munias were quickly seen.

Back by the pier, the tide was seeping up onto the promenade and Dr Seuss Fish that seemed to dislike the water, found relief from the wet by crawling up onto rocks and floating debris.

As you look at the pier, you will notice a pair of metal gates that lead from the Visitor Centre into the mangroves on the left. A path runs parallel to the shoreline from here and the roosting ponds are very close by. Turn left and you will quickly come to a two-storey hide that gives good views of thousands of birds which have been driven inland by the rising tide. I estimated about 2500 Black-tailed Godwits and 500 Brown-headed Gulls. Other species seen in smaller numbers included Common Redshank, Marsh Sandpiper and Pacific Golden Plover. I was surprised not to see any ‘peeps’ or Charadrius plovers.

Most of the birds were crowded onto the bare earth of the roosts, but a few Common Greenshank, Black-winged Stilt and Wood Sandpiper poked around in a bit of open water just in front of the hide.

I followed the path further into the mangroves and found that the other hides and screens had been allowed to fall into disrepair. A fleeting glimpse was had of a few Common Ioras and a Plaintive Cuckoo flew across the path and stopped to look back at me. A ditch had attracted some Great Egrets and three Painted Storks.

The best find in the mangroves was the canopy walk. The mangrove canopy is not actually very high, but the raised walkway put me level with the Golden-bellied Gerygone which had been wheezing at me all morning. The walkway is not mentioned at www.thaibirding.com, nor is it shown on the Google Earth picture which needs updating. Follow the path through the mangroves and you will find it easily enough.

The walkway leads out onto the sea path and back along the shoreline. A hide has been built out from the shore at Google Earth ref; 13°30'55.83"N 100°39'27.95"E. It had also seen better days and there was a bit of maintenance outstanding. It overlooks a protected zone which has been sheltered from the ravages of wave and tide by a barrier of bamboo stakes driven into the mud about 100meters from the shore. Many of the stakes have been lost to the tidal action and float in a matt against the artificial, rocky shoreline. Common Sandpipers find good pickings amongst them.

I assume that the barrier has been put in place to provide conducive growing conditions for the mangrove which has extended its reach along the shoreline in both directions. Since the Google Earth picture was taken, the areas behind the barriers on both sides of the pier have almost filled up with mangroves.

 At last the mud began to show. Three Pacific Golden Plover and two Common Redshank came down and just stood, looking at each other. A few Little Egrets and pond herons chased fish and crabs while a Black-capped Kingfisher swooped down to pick something from the surface of the mud. Eventually more plovers and redshanks flew out from the mangroves and with the benefit of more pairs of eyes, began to feed. A few Eurasian Curlew showed up at the same time as a large flock of Brown-headed Gulls. They were followed by Common Greenshank, but still there was no sign of the Bar-tailed Godwit.

I reckoned that the small area un-colonised by mangroves would not be big enough to accommodate the godwits and that they would probably wait until the tide receded beyond the barriers and then come out to feed on the huge expanses of mud that would be available to them at low tide. I headed for the pier as the first of the godwits began to fly out from the sanctuary of the mangroves. By the time I reached the pier, they were streaming out in small flocks and the open areas of mud quickly filled with gulls and godwits.

Whiskered Gulls tried to compete with the brown-headed Gulls for the affections of the laridophiles that come to the pier to feed them. A small stand sells revolting things that the gulls and terns appear to find irresistible. This was nearly four hours after the predicted time of high tide and I could easily have taken a couple of golden early morning hours at Muang Boran on the way here without missing anything.

 

Birds seen; 41

Painted Stork 3, Indian Cormorant 30, Little Cormorant 1, Grey Heron 3, Great Egret 25, Little Egret 20, Javan Pond-heron2, Black-crowned Night-heron 1, Pacific Golden Plover 40 Black-winged Stilt 60, Common Sandpiper 6, Common Greenshank 15, Marsh Sandpiper 35, Wood Sandpiper 8, Common Redshank 35, Eurasian Curlew 7, Black-tailed Godwit 2500, Brown-headed Gull 2000, Whiskered Tern 120, Common Tern 1, Spotted Dove 2, Zebra Dove 4, Plaintive Cuckoo 1, Asian Koel 5, German’s Swiftlet 20, Black-capped Kingfisher 4, Collared Kingfisher 1, Golden-bellied Gerygone 4, Common Iora 3, Brown Shrike 1, Pied Fantail 20, Barn Swallow 20, Yellow-vented Bulbul 3, Streak-eared Bulbul 10, Common Tailorbird 5, Plain Prinia 4, Oriental Magpie Robin 12, Great Myna 10, Common Myna 2, Eurasian Tree Sparrow 15, Chestnut Munia 6

For a previous post from Bang Pu Mai, follow the link below;

Visit the dedicated Oriental page for more from Thailand, including; Lumphini Park and Pak Thale

Muang Boran Fish Ponds, Bangkok, Feb2013

Muang Boran is an area of fishponds. It is close to the Ancient City which, just to cause confusion, is also called Muang Boran. In common with taxi drivers everywhere, mine obtusely misunderstood me and took me to the Ancient City. Twice. Even with a map he showed no local knowledge. My goal was just 1 mile from the taxi rank, but I had to direct him myself. If you go there, please ensure that you know how to get to the fish ponds from the motorcycle taxi rank. See the end of the post for directions.

The first pond is directly ahead as you cross the little bridge once you arrive. It held plenty of birds this morning, but unfortunately looked directly into the sun as it rose above the chemical factories. Cotton Pygmy Geese cackled as they sought a safe distance from the bank. 

Pheasant-tailed Jacanas and Bronze Jacanas, ticked and grunted. Using the scope I found a Common Kingfisher, Little Egret, Indian Cormorants and various pond herons. The Ardeola species here are so similar that it is extremely difficult to tell them apart if they are not sporting their breeding colours. They are both very common at this time of year.

To my left were a ditch and a few scrubby trees. Streak-eared Bulbuls, Pied Fantails and a Brown Shrike were found here. One of my target birds for the day, a Striated Grassbird called from the top of some reeds. Close by was a female cuckoo that I took to be a Plaintive Cuckoo on account of a nearby male.

Yellow-bellied Prinia

Acrocephala warblers are said to be abundant here, but every time that I managed to get a decent focus on anything in the reeds, it turned out to be a Plain Prinia or a Zitting Cisticola.

Only when searching the reedbeds for rails, crakes and bitterns did I eventually come across Black-browed Warblers, another target species for the day. White-browed Crakes were easy to find again. I was hoping for a Baillon’s Crake, but settled for a Ruddy-breasted Crake in its absence.

I misread my map and went slightly off my intended route. Retrospectively, I was pleased to be in the wrong place at the right time when a Monocled Cobra swam across an open ditch ahead of me. I had to move quickly to catch up with it. It may have been intending to cross the bund that I was walking along, but once it saw me, it disappeared into the grass to the side of the path. Actually, ‘path’ is a poor word to use to describe the overgrown raised barrier between two ponds. The wet grass was up to my knees with reeds and rank vegetation on either side. Now that I had seen a cobra, I felt the need to brush my tripod through the grass ahead of me as I walked heavily along. A second cobra made me jump as I came within two or three steps of it. It made a frantic dash towards a hole into which it disappeared like a piece of spaghetti being shlurped up.

There had been plenty of birds to see up until now, but in ponds 8 and 9, the numbers increased dramatically. A big flock of Lesser Whistling Ducks took to the air from the roosting area at Pond 8. There were many other birds there including Asian Openbill Storks and Indian Cormorants. I should have taken more time to check it over, but the heat was starting to get to me and I preferred to move on. I was back on the main paths now and they are well cut and maintained.

From a shady spot beneath a small acacia tree, I watched large numbers of Cattle Egrets, Intermediate Egrets and Great Egrets instead. The heat was becoming intense now and I had not given myself adequate chance to acclimatise. My water had run out and I had to return to the little shop by the footbridge at the entrance. For the chance of a refrigerated drink I couldn’t object to taking a few pictures.

Birds seen; 55

Lesser Whistling Duck 500, Cotton Pygmy Goose 30, Little Grebe 40, Asian Openbill 30, Indian Cormorant 40, Little Cormorant 3, Yellow Bittern 8, Purple Heron 6, Great Egret 30, Intermediate Egret 50, Little Egret 8, Cattle Egret 400, Brahminy Kite 1, White-breasted Waterhen 6, Ruddy-breasted Crake 2, White-browed Crake 15, Eurasian Moorhen 4, Red-wattled Lapwing 6, Black-winged Stilt 30, Pheasant-tailed Jacana 15, Bronze-winged Jacana 10, Common Sandpiper 2, Green Sandpiper1, Wood Sandpiper 8, Oriental Pratincole 8, Whiskered Tern 150, Spotted Dove 8, Zebra Dove 2, Plaintive Cuckoo 3, Greater Coucal 1, German’s Swift 5, Common Kingfisher 2, Blue-tailed Bee-eater 5, Indian Roller 3, Brown Shrike 2, Long-tailed Shrike 2, Black Drongo 15, Pied Fantail 15, Large-billed Crow 2, Dusky Crag-martin 1, Barn Swallow 80, Red-rumped Swallow 1, Yellow-vented Bulbul 6, Streak-eared Bulbul 6, Black-browed Reed-Warbler 2 , Striated Grassbird 4, Zitting Cisticola 25, Yellow-bellied Prinia 5, Plain Prinia 25, Oriental Magpie Robin 2, Stonechat 5, Great Myna 10, Common Myna 10, Asian Pied Starling 20, Eurasian Tree Sparrow 30, Asian Golden Weaver 35.

For a previous post from Muang Boran, follow the link below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/muang-boran-fish-ponds-bangkok-june-2012.html

Visit the dedicated Oriental page for more from Thailand, including; Lumphini Park and Pak Thale.

Use the train line to get as far south as possible. The last station headed towards the coast is called Bearing. From here, ask the taxi driver for Muang Boran (pronounced Boulan). Unless he is a keen birder himself, he will probably want to drop you at the Ancient City. A bridge crosses the river that runs alongside the road and can be seen at the Google Earth Coordinates;13°32'19.01"N 100°37'21.14"E. In fact, you need to go a further 500 meters beyond the bridge for the Ancient City. pull in just before the footbridge that crosses the dual carriageway. There is another bridge crossing the river to the left. You are very close now.
You can either continue with your taxi if you feel confident directing him, or change to a local motorcycle taxi here. Either way, you may end up having to give directions.
Cross the bridge and pass two apartment blocks on the left. Turn left after the second block. Follow the road around and you will come into a village. Take the first right and follow it around until you come to the village motorcycle taxi rank. Turn right here and the ponds are 100m ahead of you at Google Earth coordinates; 13°32'27.71"N 100°38'0.13"E. Check out Google Earth and bring a mental map with you.Nick Upton writes a great Site that has a map. You can find it at;