Thailand, bird watching on a scooter

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Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

Birding/ Bird watching on a scooter in Thailand

Thursday 5 ^th of September 2024 and I take off to check out some areas I had been to last Monday. I went to check out some areas I had seen on my map east of Tamru - Bang Phli Road.

I had seen a lot of birds, but I had not brought my binoculars or camera.

I brought my binoculars today and I drove towards east on Phraeksa Road. Phraeksa Road ends in the east when it reaches Tamru - Bang Phli Road going towards north coming from Sukhumvit in the south. I turn north to get to the U-turn point to get over to the south bound lane.

Coming over in the south bound lane and I stop to fill up my scooter with gas before getting out in the wilderness. I am soon stopping to start my eBird app.

It is not an eBird hotspot so I have named the area as “Rural Road Samut Prakan 6024” I leave the paved road and get out in the wilderness.

They are building an industrial estate in the area and it looks like this land is up for construction as well. But it is mostly agricultural ponds now.

I could report one Ashy Woodswallow(นกแอ่นพง) and a couple of Great Myna (นกเอี้ยงหงอน) sitting in a dead tree next to the paved road.

Of course, there were Eurasian Tree Sparrow (นกกระจอกบ้าน) and Zebra Dove (นกเขาชวา) to be reported as well. I started my Honda Giorno and I left the paved road to get out in the wilderness to look for birds.

Leaving the paved road to get out in the wilderness

Driving along the wilderness

And the gravel roads are turning in to mud roads as it is the rainy season. So, it was difficult at times and I was losing the grip in the mud a couple of times. But I managed to keep myself on the scooter.

Driving around in the mud and there were a lot of weavers. Otherwise, I did not see many birds, of course, prinias. Last time I was here was late afternoon and now it is midday and it is getting hot.

I hear a bird and it seems to be very close. I continue along the dirt road. I hear the bird very close but I cannot see the bird. The sound is moving around and I realise that the bird is flying.

Take me a while to discover the small bird in the air. So my guess is that it is a warning call, and it seems like it is me the bird is warning for. I made a recording of the bird and I will send it to birdforum and xeno-canto to see if anyone can help me ID the bird.

Listen to the Zitting Cisticola

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

I hear a bird and it seems to be very close. I continue along the dirt road. I hear the bird very close but I cannot see the bird. The sound is moving around and I realise that the bird is flying.

Take me a while to discover the small bird in the air. So my guess is that it is a warning call, and it seems like it is me the bird is warning for.

Thanks to foresttwitcher and Johnallcock at birdforum.net for help with the ID

I agree it sounds good for Zitting Cisticola. Possibly the song rather than an alarm call - they often sing in flight while circling high above the ground. It's a bit faster than the song I am used to hearing here in Hong Kong but it seems some Thai birds sing faster.

Driving through the wilderness

Mud ahead

Driving through the wilderness

Mud ahead

I do not want to get out here

Driving through the wilderness

Spotting one shore bird, looked like a sandplover but I reported the bird as one plover sp. and I will see what I can do when I am back home with my bird book.

I spotted one Paddyfield Pipit, but the bird took off when I stopped. The bird took off and landed in the vegetation. I managed to get a very short recording, but I am not 100% sure that it is the pipit on the recording.

So, again, my hope is for help with the ID from birdforum and xeno-canto

Listen to the Yellow-bellied Prinia

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

I spotted a pipit on the ground. Sitting on the gravel road and I flushed the bird and it took off in to the vegetation.

I managed to get a very short recording, but is it the pipit that I got on the recording?

There was a lot of weavers in the area so I am not 100% sure it is the pipit.

Thanks to johnallcock at birdforum for help with the ID

The recording doesn't sound like a pipit to me. It sounds a bit like the end of the song of Yellow-bellied Prinia, but there may be other species in the area that sound similar.

eBird Report

Rural Road Samut Prakan 6024, Samut Prakan, TH
Sep 5, 2024 11:22 - 12:09
Protocol: Traveling
3.18 kilometer(s)
14 species (+4 other taxa)

Little Grebe 1
Feral Pigeon 50
Zebra Dove 14
Greater Coucal 2
Siberian/Tibetan Sand Plover 1 Not possible to ID before I came back to my book, Lesser Sandplover
Asian Openbill 2
cormorant sp. 4
Little Egret 1
pond heron sp. 1
white egret sp. 2
Ashy Woodswallow 1
Yellow-bellied Prinia 2
Plain Prinia 7 4 of them together, either a family or they were fighting with each other.
Zitting Cisticola 1
Great Myna 5
Baya Weaver 14
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 3
Paddyfield Pipit 2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S194012015

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Rural Road Samut Prakan 6024

Back on the paved road and I turn off my eBird app. I will go to check out one eBird hotspot very close by. And I make a mistake, I check my map and the Penthan Organic Farm (เปนทุนออร์แกนิคส์ฟาร์ม) is close to another hotspot.

So, I think it is the Penthan Organic Farm (เปนทุนออร์แกนิคส์ฟาร์ม) that are the eBird hotspot.

I drive there and I discover that the gate to the garden is closed. And I have been here before for the hotspot. I consult my map and I discover that the eBird hotspot: Bang Pla--Hwy. 3064 aquaculture ponds is the hotspot. And I have tried to look for birds here before, but no access to the aquaculture ponds and I continue.

Driving around looking around for interesting areas, driving along ponds and passing a lot of industries as well. I end up at Mr. DIY central storage. A huge area but no birds.

Back on the Tamru - Bang Phli Road driving towards Sukhumvit looking for roads taking me out in to the wilderness. I find one road that looks interesting.

I drive through some industries and I end up on a construction site. Looks like they are building an industry estate, all buildings look the same. Some are ready and some still under construction.

It is a little bit like the new villages in the suburbs, all house looks the same. But here it is industrial buildings for storage, offices and I don't know what.

for sure, no high hopes to see any birds here and I am about to turn around again. There is a concrete road and I decide to following it expecting a dead end.

The road continues and I find myself behind the industrial estate. The land is prepared for more of the buildings that I have been driving past.

Driving through the industrial estate

Prepared for more buildings

Prepared for more buildings
And we can see how they will look from the buildings in the back

The ground prepared for the building are turning in to mudflats because of the rain. I spotted terns, a group that took off when I approached and I could not ID the birds. I could see one Black-winged Stilt (นกตีนเทียน) and there were four terns resting on the mudflats.

I could ID the tern and it turned out to be Black-naped Tern (นกนางนวลแกลบท้ายทอยดำ) and this generated a Rare Bird Alert. I was confused, I have seen many of the Black-naped Tern (นกนางนวลแกลบท้ายทอยดำ) in Thailand.

I turn around to drive back and I spot one more shore bird and I have not seen the bird before. I used my Merlin app to ID the bird and it turned out to be a Terek Sandpiper, another Rare Bird Alert. The second Rare Bird Alert for today.

eBird Report

Suwanbhut 3, Samut Prakan, TH
Sep 5, 2024 12:32 - 12:47
Protocol: Traveling
1.28 kilometer(s)
7 species (+3 other taxa)

Feral Pigeon 5
Zebra Dove 2
Black-winged Stilt 3
Terek Sandpiper 1 ID with my Merlin app. I put grey and white and wading. The bird came up as #4 and that was the bird.

Top grey, dark on the back. And about half way down it was white all. Black bill.
shorebird sp. 2
Little Tern 4
tern sp. 6 Could not ID the birds as they were flying away. But they looked very small
cormorant sp. 1
Little Egret 1
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S194013162

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Suwanbhut 3

Turning off my eBird app and I drive back to the Tamru - Bang Phli Road and I turn south towards Sukhumvit looking for roads taking me out in to the wilderness. I find one road that looks interesting after a while and I turn off the Tamru - Bang Phli Road.

Driving for about 100 meters and I had one Greater Coucal (นกกระปูดใหญ่) flying across the road in front of me. The bird landed on the other side of the road and I could see one Asian Golden Weaver (นกกระจาบทอง) coming over the road chasing the Greater Coucal (นกกระปูดใหญ่).

Attacking the coucal when the bird was sitting down. The coucal are eating eggs from other birds nest and they are mobbed by the smaller birds.

The weavers was obviously having nests in the area. I continue on the paved road and there are ponds on both side of the road.

Agricultural Pond

The paved road turns in to a gravel road and the gravel road is in a very poor condition. Full of potholes so it was almost impossible to drive on the road.

Reaching a bit of paved road, but after 50 meters or so it was back to a very poor gravel road.

There were not many birds in the ponds, I had expected a lot of egrets and pond herons. But this time of the year and they might be busy attending babies.

Driving along the ponds

Paved road turns in to a gravel road

Agricultural Pond

Driving along, well, it was more like bumping along. I had to concentrate on the road so not much looking for birds. But the ponds were empty, some pond herons and a few egrets.

Of course, doves and mynas. I turn off the dirt road and I follow a track going along one of the ponds and it looked to be an interesting area.

Less than hundred meters and it turns in to mud. I pass the first obstacle and I turn around. Would be no problem for my all “terrain” Honda Giorno to pass, but it is not very comfortable driving along the track.

The road disappears

The road disappears

My all “terrain” Honda Giorno

Turning around and when I came back to the, well, mud road, I discovered one pick-up truck that was stuck in the mud next to the mud road. I stopped to see if I could assist.

I offered to pull him out of his predicament. He gaped at me and I explained that my Honda Giorno was very strong. He laughed and he told me that help was on the way.

When I came back, I had been up the road and I decided to go back home, making a U-turn and when I was back help had arrived for the guy in the mud.

Stuck in the mud

Stuck in the mud

Stuck in the mud

The manage to get the pick-up out of the mud and I continued to drive back to the Tamru - Bang Phli Road. I will stop to wash my scooter on my way back home and there is a place close to my apartment in Samut Prakan.

It was very nice to be back on the paved road and driving along the ponds and I could report some more egrets.

I am approaching the Tamru - Bang Phli Road and I look down a narrow street that I pass. Going between houses and I could see a pond at the end of the street.

I drive down the street and there is a small gravel path continuing out between the ponds. But it is getting hot so I turn around to get back home.

Driving down the narrow street

Reaching the pond

Dogs refusing to leave me alone

I could report one Little Egret and one pond heron sp. foraging before I left. And I had the attention of all the dogs on the streets, and they never gave up barking.

I recorded the dogs before I left so I can listen to them whenever I feel like listening to soi dogs from Thailand barking.

Back on the road and I stop to turn off my eBird app. Well, today's birding had generated a couple of Rare Birds Alert. I wish I had brought my Canon EOS R3 with the Canon RF 100-500mm IS USM so I had been able to get a few pictures.

eBird Report

Phraek Sa Mai, Moo 6, Samut Prakan, TH
Sep 5, 2024 13:05 - 13:55
Protocol: Traveling
6.18 kilometer(s)
13 species (+2 other taxa)

Spotted Dove 2
Zebra Dove 11
Greater Coucal 1
Little Tern 9
cormorant sp. 11
Little Egret 4
pond heron sp. 3
Great White Egret 1
Malaysian Pied-Fantail 2
Brown Shrike 1
Barn Swallow 1
Common Myna 5 One of them very light. Very light brown, looked very strange
Great Myna 7
Asian Golden Weaver 4 One Greater Coucal flying across the road. Chased by one weaver that attacked the head when the coucal landed.
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 3

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S194015254

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Phraek Sa Mai, Moo 6

My scooter is full of mud, same as my rubber shoes and socks and I will go to wash my scooter. I spot a man and his young child washing their car and I stop to ask if I can borrow the water hose for a bit to rinse of my soes and socks.

Washing my scooter and there are a high-pressure nozzle and if I try to wash my shoes and socks with high pressure I will lose my toes.

The boy, 2- or 3-years old look scared when I stop to ask if I can borrow the hose. But daddy is very friendly and I can borrow the water hose to wash of the mud from my shoes and socks.

Took some time to get rid of the mud as it was very sticky. The shoes got better after a while and I said thank you and I left.

Washing my rubber shoes

It cost 20 ฿ to wash my scooter. Put the money in a machine and they have high pressure washer and some foam you apply with a hose. It is very quick and convenient and I could leave the washing place after 10 to 15 minutes.

Stopping to buy 10 litres of water at 7 Eleven and I went back home to go through my sound recordings to upload to eBird.

+++++++++++++++
Friday 6 ^th of September 2024 and I will go back to look for the birds that generated Rare Bird Alerts yesterday and I will bring my Canon EOS R3 with the Canon RF 100-500mm IS USM. And I willhopefully get some pictures of the birds.

Reaching the construction site and I start the eBird app. There are quite a lot of birds when I start and there are quite a few birds to report in my eBird app.

Working my way to the area behind the construction site slowly and I sneak around the wall to try to avoid flushing any birds. 3 Tibetan Sand Plover are flushed when I come around the wall. They land next to the road, but when I grab my camera, they take off.

No sign of any terns and I drive towards the end of the concrete road. I stop to check the area with my binoculars and I discover 8 terns. I try to approach slowly in order to avoid to flush the birds to try to get some pictures.

Little Tern/ นกนางนวลแกลบเล็ก

Little Tern/ นกนางนวลแกลบเล็ก

I get a few pictures and I ID the birds as Little Tern (นกนางนวลแกลบเล็ก) So the Rare Bird Alert from yesterday was not any Rare Bird Alert. I changed to observation to Little Tern (นกนางนวลแกลบเล็ก) in order to remove the alert.

I spot two Little Ringed Plover (นกหัวโตเล็กขาเหลือง) and I had to chase them for a bit before I could get a picture. Too far away but good enough for ID.

There was an ice cream motor cycle coming along the concrete road, I was the only one here and it was obvious that this was not an area with people feeling peckish for an ice cream. But he got through the trouble to come here to try his luck.

I felt sorry for the guy as I am on diet and he did not find any luck here today.

Little Ringed Plover/ นกหัวโตเล็กขาเหลือง

Selling ice cream

eBird Report

Suwanbhut 3, Samut Prakan, TH
Sep 6, 2024 14:52 - 15:17
Protocol: Traveling
1.86 kilometer(s)
12 species

Feral Pigeon 8
Zebra Dove 5
Black-winged Stilt 1
Little Ringed Plover 2
Tibetan Sand Plover 3
Little Tern 8
Plain Prinia 3
Streak-eared Bulbul 2
Common Myna 3
Asian Golden Weaver 13
Scaly-breasted Munia 7
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 19

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S194115374

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Well, I am off to the Philippines to have a look for Pilipino birds. I have booked a couple of days of bird watching on Luzon. I have booked a car to come pick me up on Sunday morning.

Click HERE to find out if I see any birds on the Philippines.

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