Hi Folks, a brief run down of our trip if anyone is interested. This was a family holiday so birding was sporadic!
Arrived Singapore, Thursday the 3rd Dec.
Fri. 4th Dec, Birded Sime road and McRitchie reservoir from 7-9am. Awesome. Highlights – Blue winged Pitta, Mugimaki Flycathcer, Yellow Bittern.
Then headed to Jurong lakes area including the Chinese and Japanese Gardens (great!)
Mon 7th did a walk to Upper Pierce Reservoir in the am. Rubbish!
Flew to Phuket the same day.
Thursday 10th went to Phi Phi island to snorkel – not much. Too bumpy to get a fix on the frigatebirds to sort out Lesser from Christmas Island.
Friday 11th up at 4am. Guided by Ike Suriwong - Awesome guy and very knowledgeable! (website - http://phuketbirdwatching.familyphuket.com/) 2.5 hours drive from Karon Beach (1.5hours from airport) to Sri Phang Nga National Park. – AMAZING!! There is great accommodation there also. And Cheap! Check Nick Upton’s site http://www.thaibirding.com/ for details. Hornbills, Bulbuls and many others Galore!! No Banded Pitta or Forktail though.
Drove back towards Phuket and turned left at the first major T-junction for the Phang Nga river crossing. Stopped here to see River Lapwing and Chestnut-headed Bee-eater and others.
Drove to Laem Pakarang. Wader site on the beach scooping Nordmann’s Greenshank and Chinese Egret!
Drove to Thai Muang Golf Course to finish the day with Red-wattled Lapwing and others at 6.30pm.
Back to Karon and home by 8pm. Huge day. 97 species, 40 lifers!
Birded around Karon and Patong mainly the rest of the time. Outside the post office on the foreshore at dusk was roosting Chestnut-headed Bee-eater. Also Red-breasted and Alexandrine Parakeet.
Saturday 19th Dec: After my success north of Phuket (Sri Phang Nga, Laem Pakarang and Thai Muang), I had another half day out with Ike on Phuket Island visiting:
Ton Sai Waterfall (ordinary except for 1 fruiting tree in the car park with 2 different Bulbuls and 3 different Flowerpeckers), Future plan estate - an abandoned housing estate next to the airport as it is right in the flight path! Excellent!! Lots of different type of habitat. Black Baza, Lesser Whistling Duck.
And Laguna Hotel complex (5 hotels on one set of grounds) not bad – Cotton Pygmy-goose easy as well as Yellow Bitterns and others.
We then headed to Bali, picking up the usual suspects around the hotel.
The second day (22nd Dec) I did a trip with Su from Ubud and visited Batu Karu Temple – Brilliant, White-capped Forktail, Scarlet Minivet, Javan Barred Owlet!
Lake Buyan – also great, Yellow and Cinnamon Bittern, Grassbird, and Bedugal Botanic Gardens - average, even though it was relatively free of tourists – just before it rained. After being told I would never see one, I peered into the dense forest and got great views of Lesser Shortwing!!! Also Honey-eater, Great Tit, All the white-eyes etc
I also did an early morning this morning at Celu – decantation ponds at Nusa Dua. Always a favorite. I never tire of seeing Small Blue Kingfisher and Red-headed Flowerpecker!! Also saw Plain Prinia.
After leaving Bali and having a few hours stop over in Singapore, I attempted to find the Hooded Pitta in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Escorted by Ben Lee (nature_trekker@yahoo.co.uk), Singapore Bird Guide and all round nice guy.. and a few other Singapore birders with their humungous telephoto lenses... we checked for about 2 hours with no success.
BUT..we were rewarded with an immature Malayan Night Heron (rare winter visitor) that pecked around out feet and you could have taken a photo of it with a cell phone. I also picked up Laced Woodpecker as a bonus!!
So total was 189 seen with 80 lifers. All the specific reserves can be seen in detail at www.birdpedia.com
Cheers and see you all in the new year!
Steve Potter
m: 0407 398 234
email: steve@frontier.org.au
Singapore
3-Dec
Javan Myna
4-Dec
Rock Dove
White-breasted Waterhen
Pacific Swallow
Purple Heron
Pink-necked Green Pigeon
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Striped Tit-babbler
Common Taylorbird
Blue-winged Pitta
Greater Raquet-tailed Drongo
Olive-winged Bulbul
White-throated Kingfisher
Olive-backed Sunbird
Yellow Bittern
Forest Wagtail
Oriental Magpie Robin
Scarlet-backed Flower-pecker
Cream-vented Bulbul
Mugimaki Flycatcher
Common Sandpiper
Black-naped Oriole
Stork-billed Kingfisher
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Black-crowned Night Heron
Asian Koel
Common Kingfisher
Asian Glossy Starling
Coppersmith Barbet
Cattle Egret
Common Myna
Brown-throated Sunbird
Spotted Turtle Dove
Ashy Taylorbird
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
House Crow
6-Dec
Crimson Sunbird
Lineated Barbet
7-Dec
Large-Billed Crow
Chestnut-bellied Malkoha
Thailand
9-Dec
Chinese Pond Heron
Greater Coucal
Asian Brown Flycatcher
10-Dec
White-bellied Sea Eagle
Brahmany Kite
11-Dec
Dollarbird
Little Egret
Wreathed Hornbill
Grey-headed Flycatcher
Black-headed Bulbul
Crow-billed Drongo
Vernal Hanging Parrot
Swinhoe's Minivet
Thick-billed Green Pigeon
Grey Wagtail
Lesser Fish Eagle
Black-capped Kingfisher
Little Cormorant
Asian Fairy Bluebird
Golden-crested Myna
Buff-rumped Woodpecker
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
Ashy Drongo
Yellow Wagtail
Common Woodshrike
Chinese Sparrowhawk
Great Hornbill
Whiskered Treeswift
Long-billed Spiderhunter
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
Greater Green Leafbird
Black-crested Bulbul
Spectacled Bulbul
Ochraceous Bulbul
Little Spiderhunter
Arctic Warbler
River Lapwing
Pacific Golden Plover
Chestnut-capped Bee-eater
Barn Swallow
Intermediate Egret
Black Drongo
Wood Sandpiper
Grey-capped Woodpecker
Fork-tailed Swift
Black-browed Reed Warbler
Brown Shrike
Lesser Sandplover
Grey Plover
Greater Sandplover
Whimbrel
Little Tern
Great Egret
Bar-tailed Godwit
Sanderling
Ruddy Turnstone
Grey-tailed Tattler
Terek Sandpiper
Nordmann's Greenshank
Red-necked Stint
Pacific Reef Egret
Chinese Egret
Indian Roller
Germain's Swiftlet
Blue-throated Bee-eater
Paddyfield Pipit
Common Iora
Lesser Coucal
Orange-bellied Green Pigeon
Sand Martin
Black-shouldered Kite
Japanese Sparrowhawk
Red-wattled Lapwing
Pin-tailed Snipe
Purple Swamphen
Black-nest Swiftlet
15-Dec
Stripe-throated Bulbul
18-Dec
Peaceful Dove
White Wagtail
Red-breasted Parakeet
Alexandrine Parakeet
19-Dec
Little Heron
Red-eyed Bulbul
Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker
Grey-eyed Bulbul
Yellow-vented Flowerpecker
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
Black Baza
Streak-eared Bulbul
Little Grebe
Ashy Minivet
Lesser Whistling-Duck
Collared Kingfisher
Common Flameback
Pied Fantail
Grey-faced Buzzard
White-vented Myna
Cotton Pygmy-goose
Common Moorhen
Brown-streaked Flycatcher
Bali
21-Dec
Cave Swiftlet
White-breasted Woodswallow
Bar-winged Prinia
Scaly-breasted Munia
22-Dec
Javan Kingfisher
Chestnut Munia
Javan Munia
Streaked Weaaver
Long-tailed Shrike
Pied Bushchat
White-crowned Forktail
Short-tailed Starling
Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon
Javan Barred Owlet
Oriental White-eye
Blood-breasted Flowerpecker
Grey-cheeked Bulbul
Orange-fronted Barbet
Scarlet Minivet
Little Pied Flycatcher
Ruddy Cuckoo-dove
Javan Pond Heron
Striated Grassbird
Zitting Cisticola
Cinnamon Bittern
Whte-browed Crake
Javan Grey-throated White-eye
Mountain White-eye
Fulvous-breasted Flycatcher
Great Tit
Lesser Short-wing
Sunda Flycatcher Warbler
Indonesian Honey-eater
23-Dec
Greater Crested Tern
27-Dec
Small Blue Kingfisher
Little Pied Cormorant
Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker
Sunda Teal
Common Redshank
Little Ringed Plover
Olive-backed Tailorbird
Red-headed Flowerpecker
Golden-bellied Gerygone
Plain Prinia
Little Black Cormorant
Singapore
28-Dec
Malayan Night Heron
Banded Woodpecker
Laced Woodpecker
Hill Myna