Viator's 2011 List (1 Viewer)

[viator]

Sep 3, Thailand

The start of a 1 week visit to central Thailand and the first year bird was at Bangkok airport.

639. Asian Openbill

We headed north from the airport towards Khao Yai National Park picking up a couple of cormorant year birds on the way.

640. Little Cormorant
641. Indian Cormorant

Having arrived at Khao Yai and setting up camp at Pak Gluay Mai Campsite which was to be home for the next four nights the only other year bird for the day was also a lifer.

642. Moustached Barbet

 

[viator]

Sep 4, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

After raining the majority of the night, as it was to do each night in Khao Yai, plenty of birds in the area of our camp site but only one new bird for 2011.

643. Common Green Magpie

With the Thai rainy season in its final month the waterfall's of Khao Yai were at their best. A visit to Heo Sawat Waterfall added a lifer in several Black-throated Laughingthrushes which were seen nearby.

644. Black-throated Laughingthrush

Mid-afternoon we headed up the road to Khao Khieo Viewpoint, the highest accessible point in the region - higher up is controlled by the military due to the summit being an air defence radar installation. The star bird of the day however strolled across the road in fading light after we'd gotten back down the mountain; the Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo was one of my 3 main targets for Khao Yai, one more target to come but the other was invisible.

645. Mountain Hawk Eagle
646. Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo

Photos below of a Moustached Barbet, the view from Nong Pak Chi Observation Tower and Heo Suwat Waterfall

 

[viator]

Sep 5, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

After breakfast we headed south towards Heo Narok Waterfall and the first year bird was seen enroute.

647. Hainan Blue Flycatcher

The trail to the falls produced one of the best bird waves of our time in Khao Yai but only one new year bird, but again it was another lifer.

648. Sulphur-breasted Warbler

The last two birds of the day were seen at the old golf course late in the afternoon.

649. Grey-headed Woodpecker
650. Great Hornbill

Despite having three lifers the best animal of the day for me was also a lifer in a highly venomous Banded Krait.

 

[viator]

Sep 6, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

651. White-browed Scimitar Babbler
652. Black Eagle
653. Collared Scops Owl
654. Savanna Nightjar

For the second day running the highlight wasn't a bird, but this time a Dhole feeding on a kill. The first photo below, the others are a Stripe-throated Bulbul, Rhinocerous Beetle sp, Sambar and some caves.

 

[viator]

Sep 7, Thailand

After breakfast it was time to leave Khao Yai National Park with the destination being Nakhon Sarwan and Bueng Boraphet.

On the drive through the park, the second of my three target birds was strolling along the side of the road, a Siamese Fireback. The other target which was a dip was Eared Pitta.

655. Siamese Fireback

As we headed north a paddy field near Saraburi yielded the next new bird.

656. Black Bittern

Further north and another paddy field stop added a flock of Oriental Pratincoles and a Javan Pond Heron with enough breeding plumage to id it.

657. Oriental Pratincole
658. Javan Pond Heron
659. Greater Painted Snipe

As we approached Bueng Boraphet is was clear the lake was in the midst of a major flood meaning we couldn't get close to the major birding areas. The bird watching park was about 800m down the road from where the water closed the road. We still managed a couple of new birds though.

660. Glossy Ibis
661. Pied Kingfisher

Photos below of: Asian Golden Weaver, Oriental Pratincole, Pied Myna, Pheasant-tailed Jacana and the flooded Bueng Boraphet

 

[viator]

Sep 8, Thailand

A change of plan was decided upon overnight and after some early morning checking of the open country on the edge of the greatly expanded Bueng Boraphet lake we headed down to Kanchanburi.

The early morning in the farmland and scrub south of the lake gave me two lifers, the first a deadly Russell's Viper swimming in flood water, and the second one for the bird list in a Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker.

662. Eurasian Hoopoe
663. Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker

A paddyfield full of Asian Openbills, Egrets, Wood Sandpipers, Stilts and other waders in Suphanburi Province enroute to Kanchanburi gave me the other year bird of the day in a couple of Ruff.

664. Ruff

Once in the Kanchanburi area it was taken up with touristy things around the various World War 2 memorials yielding no new birds.

 

[viator]

Sep 9, Phetchaburi Coastline, Thailand

After spending the morning in Kanchanburi we headed down to the Phetchaburi coastline around Pak Thale with all its waders.

665. Pale-legged Leaf Warbler
666. Painted Stork
667. Little Stint
668. Broad-billed Sandpiper
669. Black-tailed Gull
670. White-shouldered Starling

 

[viator]

Sep 10, Phetchaburi Coastline, Thailand

671. Mangrove Whistler
672. Asian Paradise Flycatcher
673. Plain-tailed Warbler
674. Eastern Crowned Warbler
675. Gull-billed Tern
676. Caspian Tern
677. Indian Nightjar
678. Western Barn Owl

 

[viator]

Sep 11, Phetchaburi Coastline, Thailand

With a mid-afternoon flight from Bangkok back to Singapore there was little time for birding in the morning before driving back to the airport. There was however one new bird for the year in several Spot-billed Pelican's flying overhead.

679. Spot-billed Pelican

The week finished with 223 species and took my Thailand list to 470.

 

[viator]

Sep 18, Pulau Ubin, Singapore

A surprising omission for my 2011 SG list was Greater Coucal which is now #146 the list.

 

[viator]

Oct 2, Pulau Ubin, Singapore

Another morning walk on Ubin added #147 to my SG year list, several White-winged Terns.

 

[viator]

Oct 9, East Coast Park, Singapore

A mid-morning stroll along East Coast Park produced a big surprise in a single Bridled Tern. Whilst they're currently on passage through Singapore Straits they normally stay on the Indonesian side of the shipping lane rather than the Singapore side. This is also a new bird for my Singapore life list.

680. Bridled Tern

 

[viator]

Oct 12, Hong Kong Park, Hong Kong

A brief 3 day business trip to HK with hopefully some decent birding time on Friday. Today though I was able to spend the last 45min of daylight in HK Park but unfortunately steady rain meant there wasn't much around and everything was just a silhouette in the bad light.

However of the 9 species seen well enough to id 4 are new for 2011.

681. Light-vented (Chinese) Bulbul
682. Yellow-crested Cockatoo
683. Black-eared Kite
684. Masked Laughingthrush

 

[viator]

Oct 13, Kowloon Park, Hong Kong

Only time for 30min before sunset in Kowloon Park today meant only one new bird for 2011 - the feral Alexandrine Parakeets

685. Alexandrine Parakeet

 

[viator]

Oct 14, Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong

With business completed I had a day off before my flight back to Singapore in the early evening. The day started as my other days in HK had been, raining! However by early afternoon it had cleared up when I decided to leave so as to be able to make my flight on time.

686. Collared Crow
687. Eurasian Magpie
688. Azure-winged Magpie
689. Grey-streaked Flycatcher
690. Buff-bellied Pipit
691. Grey Treepie
692. Gadwall
693. Northern Shoveler
694. Chinese Blackbird
695. Black-faced Spoonbill
696. Manchurian Reed Warbler
697. Little Curlew
698. Pied Avocet
699. Pechora Pipit

 

[viator]

Oct 23, Pulau Ubin, Singapore

Two new birds for my 2011 Singapore year list taking the total to 150. Both terns in, a single Common Tern and two Whiskered Terns

 

[viator]

Oct 26, Central Catchment, Singapore

With today being a public holiday I spent the morning in the Central Catchment. Whilst no new 2011 world list birds, there were 7 new 2011 birds for Singapore taking the tally to 157.

These were;
Blue-winged Leafbird
Asian Paradise Flycatcher
Greater Green Leafbird
Crested Goshawk
Cream-vented Bulbul
Eastern Crowned Warbler
Rufous-tailed Tailorbird

 

[viator]

Oct 26, Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, Singapore

After spending the morning in the jungle, I spent a few hours at Sungei Buloh for the waders before torrential rain set in. I'd been hoping to see the first Black-winged Stilt to visit 6 years which was there on Sun and Mon but it had left so missed out on a new bird for my SG life list.

Since it was only my second visit to Buloh for the year and the first since Autumn migration really got underway so a few new birds for the SG year list but none for my 2011 world year list.

Lesser Sand Plover
Black-tailed Godwit
Marsh Sandpiper
Red-necked Stint
Curlew Sandpiper
Broad-billed Sandpiper

Photo below of a saltwater croc that swam directly below me from the mangrove boardwalk.

 

[viator]

Oct 29, Panti Bird Sanctuary, Johor, Malaysia

The start of a two day trip to Panti with fellow BFer ChinaBirds (aka Nick) and his first visit to Malaysia. Having eventually negotiated my most complicated border crossing from Singapore into Malaysia we headed to Panti.

We spent the morning hiking the 270 milestone trail which in addition to Nick's steady supply of lifers got me a few year birds.

700. Chestnut-winged Babbler
701. Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo
702. Spotted Fantail

After a roadside lunch stop it was off to Bunker Trail to get Nick more lifers and me a couple more year birds at the end of the day when a large number of species were coming in from every direction.

703. Dark-throated Oriole
704. Dusky Broadbill

Just the one photo for this report, a Finsch's Bulbul

 

[viator]

Oct 30, Panti Bird Sanctuary, Johor, Malaysia

A full day on the Bunker Trail with ChinaBirds again getting a good supply of lifers and year birds. For me just the two year birds.

705. Brown Fulvetta
706. Dark-sided Flycatcher