A global Big Year while working full-time (?) (2 Viewers)

Lerxst · Apr 23, 2018

Week 17 update:

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 20

Total to date: 943

37.7 % of goal, 32.7 % of year used

Sites visited: Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam

Another weekend with a lower count than I had hoped. This national park is well-suited for a more relaxed birding weekend; several blinds lie a short distance from accommodations. It was fairly birdy except for midday, when the sun was far too oppressive.

Some nice new birds such as Brown-backed Needletail (damn, those are fast), Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Bar-bellied Pitta, and the dreaded Lesser Coucal.

legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-3/

Next week: our first trip to Australia

Lerxst · May 1, 2018

Greetings from the Sydney airport (easily the best airport we have seen these past four months)

Week 18: April 24 - May 1, Sydney, Australia

Working Days: 3

New species identified: 104

Total to date: 1048

41.9 % of goal, 34.6 % of year used

Sites visited: Several small parks in the Sydney area; National Parks including Royal, Ku-ring-gai Chase, and Cattai

Our original plan was to have four days for birding; due to thunderstorms in Bangkok Friday night, we were significantly delayed and got into Sydney around mid-day instead of early morning. Luckily the rain stopped in Sydney around then, and in three and half days we picked up 104 new birds, with 99 of those being life birds--this was our first time setting foot on this continent.

We had a fantastic guide who took us to numerous sites with specific targets in mind at each - and he usually always delivered. We were rather amazed that in this wonderful city with so much greenery, parks, and reserves, not to mention such diverse and colorful bird life, that we saw not a single soul out birding. Our guide told us that this was not at all surprising; twitching is not a popular activity here. (Hmmm. Where is the British heritage?)

Too many great birds to list, but especially rewarding were the Superb Lyrebird, Scarlet Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Eastern Rosella, and Australian Brush-Turkey, our first megapode. We were also lucky to see a small family of Glossy Black-cockatoo.

Pictures at https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-3/

Lerxst · May 7, 2018

Greetings; time for another update.

Week 19: May 2 - May 8, Sichuan, China

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 36+?

Total to date: 1084+?

43.4 % of goal, 36.5% of year used

Sites visited: Mount Balang Pass and Wolong areas

We picked up at least 36 new birds for the effort... maybe a few more, depending on how the analyses of a few photos and audio recordings goes... these Phylloscopus warblers are going to drive us to distraction.

Most of the weekend was spent up in the alpine meadows around Mt. Balang, which is stunning. Saturday's Big Day featured some really crap weather, including snow, but we picked up some goodies like Snow Pigeon, Tibetan Snowcock, Alpine Accentor, and Snow Partridge.

With the new tunnels that were finished just a few years ago, the time needed to get up to this area is only on the order of about three hours from the airport at Chengdu. I'm not sure if there are any faster ways to get up into Himalayan peaks from a major city - certainly one cannot do so from Kathmandu. So this trip was rather rewarding in that we got to see the kind of mountain scenes that we naively thought we would get in central Nepal.

There isn't a lot up here in terms of infrastructure, and the concept of a "rest area" apparently doesn't exist. Irritable Bowel Syndrome sufferers, be aware. Actually, one does not even need IBS to get into trouble in this regard, as in this part of the world it is quite easy to eat food of questionable cleanliness. Enough said.

More details at the link...(birds, not bowels)

https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-3/

Lerxst · May 14, 2018

Happy Monday again from The Land of Smiles. Time for an update....

Week 20: May 9 – May 15, Jakarta, Indonesia

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 42

Total species to date: 1127

45.1 % of goal, 38.5% of year used

Sites visited: Mount Gede-Pangrango, Jakarta area

Our first trip to Indonesia started with a flight delay, an hour of sleep, breakfast at 3:30AM, 'night' birding starting around 4 AM, about four kilometers of hiking up Mt. Gede-Pangrango with about 40% of the population of Java joining us, and a return to the car after dark that evening. Our guide was a real taskmaster and at times we cursed his name. But he got us some damn fine birds and it was worth the pain.

It seems like one out of every five of the local men that were hiking up the trail smoked, and it was disturbing to find the smouldering butts they frequently tossed on the ground. Many also kindly shared their favorite music with us, in full low-fidelity, mono glory, happily masking those obnoxious bird calls and other objectionable sounds of the natural world. But again, it was worth the pain.

The bird of the trip was a Javan Woodcock, and I'm not sure how our guide found him deep in the dark woods. We also stumbled upon a Barred Eagle-owl, and many Sunda endemics were present, including the fantastic Javan Trogon.

During our half-day on Sunday, we birded around Jakarta. This included a boat trip out to see the two Frigatebird species that frequent the area, Lesser and Christmas Island.

More here: https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-3/

Lerxst · May 20, 2018

Update time...

Week 21: May 16 - May 22, Sichuan, China

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 24

Total species to date: 1151

46 % of goal, 40.4% of year used

Sites visited: Longcanggou, Chengdu area

Not the best weekend to date; Saturday was fine but Sunday was very rainy and we had very little time. Very few birds gave good looks or posed for photos. But lots of warblers were singing, and since I'd spent the last week studying their calls, I was ready for them. Large-billed Leaf Warblers in particular were abundant. Had a very short view of a pair of Grey-faced Liocichla, and a Lady Amherst zipping across the road.

Sichuan is certainly a gorgeous area and was worthy of two trips.

Next, we have a long weekend in Borneo (Sabah), which should bring a lot of new species.

Nohatch · May 20, 2018

Good luck in Sabah next week Mike! Not sure if you're planning to head up Mt. Kinabalu but it's no longer possible to go beyond Timpohon Gate without a pre-arranged guide. Some of the trails were closed as well when I was there (March '17) but Silau-Silau was very productive (Whitehead's Trogon & Broadbill). Crocker Range is good too for mid-altitude species and pretty close to Kota K.
Thanks for the regular updates and great to see you're still well ahead of target!

Cheers,
Joost

Lerxst · May 21, 2018

Nohatch said:
Good luck in Sabah next week Mike! Not sure if you're planning to head up Mt. Kinabalu but it's no longer possible to go beyond Timpohon Gate without a pre-arranged guide. Some of the trails were closed as well when I was there (March '17) but Silau-Silau was very productive (Whitehead's Trogon & Broadbill). Crocker Range is good too for mid-altitude species and pretty close to Kota K.
Thanks for the regular updates and great to see you're still well ahead of target!

Cheers,
Joost

Joost:

Thanks for the note. Yes we have a guide and yes we are headed to Kinabalu. Hoping to get a significant species bump. Wish it was easier to get there from Bangkok...Borneo looks amazing, but this is the first trip of our Asia stint in which we need to change planes midway. Not a good idea when flying AirAsia, with their frequent delays.

-Mike

Lerxst · May 29, 2018

Update time:

Week 22: May 23 – May 29, Sabah, Malaysia

Working Days: 3

New species identified: 42

Total species to date: 1193

47.7 % of goal, 42.3% of year used

Sites visited: Kota Kinabalu, Mt. Kinabalu area

Some photos in the usual place: https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-3/

Well we had a long weekend here in Sabah, and I was hoping for a Borneo Bump (>60 birds?) to my year list, but it didn't happen. We got some great birds, but not the number I was hoping for: we got as many here in almost four days as we did near Jakarta in two. Around the village and on the trails at the base of Kinabalu, it was very quiet and the birds were few and far between. Maybe late May is just not a good time to be here? The weather was lovely, and we did not get rained on during the day.

We got one of the Whitehead's specialties (the broadbill, easily the bird of the trip) and finally the horribly skittish White-crowned (Bornean) Forktail. (Are any forktails not skittish as hell?) Black-capped White-eyes and Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrushes were about the only birds that seemed common. Everything else was a lot of work. But it is a very nice area with good food and lodging right there, so maybe we'll be back at some point.

Next week, the mountains west of Beijing.

Lerxst · Jun 4, 2018

Happy Monday from the Land of Smiles...

Week 23: May 30 - June 4, Beijing, China

Working Days: 4

New species identified: 21

Total species to date: 1214

48.6 % of goal, 44.2% of year used

Sites visited: Summer Palace, Baihuashan, Xiaolongmen, Yeya Wetland

I took Friday off work and we headed to Beijing on a 1:00 AM flight, with the original plan being to spend some time visiting culturally interesting sites such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. We decided to forego the crowds at both sites and focus on a more birdy area and a bit of culture too - so we spent half the day at the Summer Palace. Not great birding (it was in the 30s) - and in the evening our guide met us and we drove out to Mt. Baihua.

Mt. Baihua, or Baihuashan, is not an eBird hotspot, surprisingly. It is a good place for warblers and nesting White-bellied Redstart. Other nice sites such as Xiaolongmen are not far from there. And an hour to the north you will find a very nice wetland (Beijing Yeya) that looks like it would be an outstanding place during migration.

Some highlights include Mandarin Ducks along a mountain stream, nesting Willow Tits at the summit of Baihuashan, the car-alarm-like calls of Chinese Leaf Warblers, Amur Falcons, and the diurnal Little Owl, perched on a cable at midday just like any other raptor. And finally, Common Cuckoos, seen as well as heard. Maye that seems a little silly to European birders, but given the paucity of cuckoos of any kind in the north-central US where we normally live, it is a real treat.

But just 21 species to add to the list. And the rest of June does not promise to be bird-rich for us, as we have some non-birding commitments soon. This coming weekend we head back to our favorite nearby national park in Thailand, Kaeng Krachang, with the hope of mopping up some stragglers we missed last time.

Lerxst · Jun 10, 2018

Update:

Week 24: June 5 - June 11, Petchaburi, Thailand

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 9

Total species to date: 1223

48.9 % of goal, 46.1% of year used

Sites visited: Kaeng Krachan National Park, Baan Maka

Tough weekend with terrible weather in Petchaburi, Thailand. This was the first weekend since mid-February that did not involve our getting on a plane. That was very nice. The drawback is that we have diminishing returns here in areas that we can reach by car. Just nine birds to add to the effort. That's pretty good, because by the end of Saturday we had only one, and getting any more seemed far-fetched. Sunday's weather was marginally better and our guide did a nice job finding us some goodies such as Red-bearded Bee-eater, Black-backed Dwarf-kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, and Dusky Broadbill; all lifers.

The next few weekends will have much less birding, as we are going to spend time with our youngest son; he just finished high school and his graduation present is to come hang out in Bangkok, Singapore, and Japan with us. He isn't a birder but will tolerate his bizarre parents doing a bit here and there... We will still be working in Bangkok during the week. Hoping we can get a few new birds around Tokyo and Singapore, but I fully expect to be back in the red for my goal progress shortly.

https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-3/

Lerxst · Jun 18, 2018

Update:

Week 25: June 12 – June 18, Tokyo, Japan

Working Days: 4

New species identified: 9

Total species to date: 1232

49.3 % of goal, 48.1% of year used

Sites visited: Yoyogi Park, Kasai Rinkai Park, Imperial Palace

Not much birding to report on - this was mostly a cultural / recreational weekend with our son. Approaching the midpoint of this effort and still a bit ahead of the game. Highlight species included Skylark, Little Tern, Varied Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, and White-cheeked Starling.

Next week will be a similar outing in Singapore.

Lerxst · Jun 25, 2018

Here is my update at the halfway mark for the year. We had very little time to bird this weekend as it was more of a family trip down to Singapore. But the two birds we got were good ones - Pied Imperial Pigeon, a lifer, and the endangered Straw-headed Bulbul.

Week 26: June 19 - June 25, Singapore

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 2

Total species to date: 1234

49.4 % of goal, 50% of year used

Sites visited: Dairy Farm Nature Park

We used to live in Singapore back in 2002.A lot has changed in sixteen years, including, happily, the addition of recent parks and natural areas/reserves. We wanted to visit the relatively new Kranji Marshes in the north, but only had time for one place, so we chose the more accessible Dairy Farm Nature Park, which did not exist last time either. If we needed more than just a few Singapore birds we'd come back for a birding intensive weekend as it is quite nice and warrants a longer visit.

Next week we head back to Tokyo to send our son back to the US.

Lerxst · Jul 2, 2018

Update time:

Week 27: June 26 – July 2, Tokyo

Working Days: 4

New species identified: 7

Total species to date: 1241

49.6 % of goal, 51.9% of year used

Sites visited: Mt. Takao, Kasai Rinkai Park, Tokyo Port Bird Park

This was our last weekend with our son, so not too much birding. It was very hot and very windy, but we enjoyed the mountains to the west of the Tokyo. We saw a male Narcissus Flycatcher which isn't a bird we will easily forget. Decidedly in the top five of all the birds seen so far this year, and far more brilliant than the field guide makes it out to be.

The two parks in Tokyo bay that we visited are first-rate: lots of hides, trails, habitat variety, and comfortable visitor centers. If only every city had places like these! There is nothing like them here in Bangkok. Our bird lists from Tokyo are not too impressive, but this is the middle of summer and there is not a lot here at the moment. Would love to return during migration.

https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-4/

For July, we have the following lined up: a weekend in Bangkok to go after a handful of species that have evaded us so far; a return to Kuala Lumpur, to do the same thing there; a short weekend in southern Sri Lanka, and then a four day trip to Darwin, Australia. That should get the numbers back on track after a slow June.

Farnboro John · Jul 2, 2018

I'm definitely rooting for you to make this, and I found it quite funny that your latest entry does smack of "right, that's the family obligations out of the way, on to the main event" - not least because I find the same sentiments infiltrating my own mind..... good hunting in the second half!

John

Lerxst · Jul 8, 2018

Farnboro John said:
I'm definitely rooting for you to make this, and I found it quite funny that your latest entry does smack of "right, that's the family obligations out of the way, on to the main event" - not least because I find the same sentiments infiltrating my own mind..... good hunting in the second half!

John

Thanks John. We did take a bit of a breather this weekend. This would be a heck of a lot easier and more enjoyable if we didn't have these $#%^& day jobs to attend to during the week!

Here is this week's update...

https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-4/

Week 28: July 3 - July 9, Bangkok

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 3

Total species to date: 1244

49.8 % of goal, 53.8% of year used

Sites visited: Chaloem Kanchanaphisek Park, Bang Krachao, Subpattana Alley

Not easy finding new birds around here now, so getting three this morning feels like a huge win. This was our first weekend, since coming to Thailand six months ago, in which we did not travel. We actually slept in on Saturday morning. It was really strange.

But then on Sunday it was back to normal, up at 5:00 and out into the sticky heat. This was a good opportunity to seek out new sites, and it paid off with a few lifers including a totally unexpected White-browed Crake. We found him, along with Oriental Pratincoles and an Asian Golden Weaver, as we walked along a busy country road south of Bangkok. Several locals pulled over trying to help us during this outing, assuming that we were lost. It must always look quite inexplicable to folks here (and everywhere, I guess), seeing a couple of obvious foreigners carting their bins and cameras and backpacks along in what many would consider a very non-scenic place.

We explained as best we could that we were looking for birds.

I always get the impression that people think we are insane.

Maybe we are?

stuartvine · Jul 9, 2018

Lerxst said:
I always get the impression that people think we are insane.

Maybe we are?

You've just succinctly described birders.

Lerxst · Jul 16, 2018

Update:

Week 29: July 10 - July 16, Malaysia

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 30

Total species to date: 1274

51.0 % of goal, 55.8% of year used

Sites visited: Bukit Tinggi, Krau Forest, Hulu Langat area

Nice to get some decent numbers this weekend after a slow June. Our fantastic guide Weng took my list of targets and went right to work and produced a lot of them, in a seemingly effortless manner.

If I had a choice as to a SE Asia city to base this year out of, I'd pick Kuala Lumpur over Bangkok - we always do great in Malaysia. And the flight options out into the Sundas are much better. From Bangkok you can fly direct to Jakarta and Bali and that's it.

That's really the problem with this endeavor: there are still a lot of prime sites we could get good numbers from, and they are not too distant, as the tern flies, but for flights from Bangkok, and a weekend to work with, they are a logistical nightmare.

For example, Sandakan, Malaysia, on Borneo. Not really that far, and they have Bristleheads, which we could not get in (relatively) nearby Kinabalu. But it would require a two-stop flight, and leaving on Friday afternoon gets us there at 7:45AM Saturday, assuming no delays (LOL). Then we'd have to turn around and be wheels-up at 2:25PM on Sunday. That's maybe 1 to 1.3 days of birding time, if all goes well. Having only one day or so to bird, when rain is a strong possibility, is not a good approach. But that's what we have.

Might end up doing it anyway. I want that dang Bristlehead.

But for this week... lots of photos here, including a swiftlet in a tree: https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-4/

Next weekend, Sri Lanka.

Lerxst · Jul 23, 2018

Greetings from Bangkok; it is once again update time:

Week 30: July 17 - July 23, Sri Lanka

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 42

Total species to date: 1316

52.6 % of goal, 57.7% of year used

Sites visited: Sinharaja Forest Reserve and environs

Photos at:

https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-4/

We were not originally planning to come here this year, and my expectations were not high, given the timing. We'd been here in May 2016 on eBird's Global Big Day and had a tough outing due to rain.

But we had a really good couple of days with nice weather and only one massive blood stain courtesy of a fat leech (and this transpired an hour after starting the drive back to the airport on Sunday night - after showering and getting in to an apparently clean vehicle, and while thinking that all the dirty business was behind us... I had the shoes off and my legs propped up on the seat beside me, relaxing quite nicely, and then, ah, that sensation of wetness, then the reaching down in the dark and touching that unmistakable rubbery lump... joy. And then spending the remainder of the journey feeling all manner of imaginary parasites crawling on my person, and scouting through the backseat with the smartphone light...)

We wanted endemics and endemics is what we got. Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Junglefowl, White-eye, Thrush, Blue Magpie, Frogmouth, and Scimitar Babbler were particularly nice finds. The other highlight was a Serendib Scops Owl - another bird I'd never have found alone, deep in thick foliage up a hillside.

We spent the entire time at Sinharaja Forest Reserve, which takes about three hours to reach from Colombo. There are several hotels in the area that cater to birders. The travel time and bird list make it perfect for a weekend. We went with an operator called Birding Sri Lanka, which we had used before. The local food is fantastic.

Just don't expect the leech socks to be 100% effective.

Next up: Darwin, Australia, for four days starting Thursday

Lerxst · Jul 30, 2018

Sawasdee krub from Bangkok.... time for another update:

Week 31: July 24 - July 31, Northern Territory, Australia

Working Days: 2

New species identified: 77

Total species to date: 1393

55.7% of goal, 59.6% of year used

Sites visited: Kakadu, Pine Creek, and Darwin areas

Excellent trip to a wonderful part of the world. We had a very good guide and often lots of activity. I only dipped on a couple of birds that the others got, namely Misteltoebird (which I hope to get on our next trip to Oz) and Gouldian Finch (which means I blew what will likely be my one chance at that scarce and lovely bird. Such is the outcome of visually-impaired birding.)

As always, pictures and additional comments are here: https://legallyblindbirding.net/2018-gbwy-4/

Lerxst · Aug 5, 2018

Not much to update...

Week 32: Aug 1 - Aug 6, Bangkok

Working Days: 5

New species identified: 1

Total species to date: 1394

55.8% of goal, 61.5% of year used

Sites visited: Bang Pu Recreation Center

The wife and I have been sick ever since returning from Australia last week, so it was good timing in that we had no travel plans this weekend. We instead used the little energy we could summon to go look at shore birds on Saturday, hoping for something new, and that is what we got - Lesser Sand Plovers.

Not going out today (Sunday) - resting up for another work week and then three days in Cairns, where we hope to make up for the low score this weekend.

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