Thailand Day I

While observing a male Common Iora, this Asian Emerald Cuckoo flew in and showed superbly!

   I arrived in Bangkok yesterday afternoon, via Doha, Qatar and stayed overnight on the outskirts of the city at Fifty 11 Hostel for £4! It was very good but not as good as Pillow and Bread where I stayed lat night almost in the center of Bangkok for only £3! No breakfast included I'm afraid but that was no problem. Just a step outside of the hostel and there is always a man with fresh fruit in ice on the street. Just to give you an idea of how cheap it can be for a visitor like me from the UK. For £1.60, this morning I had a quarter of fresh Water Melon, Pineapple, Mango and from the shop, yogurt! Anyways, the other reason for staying in this area was that it was a twenty minute walk from Suan Rot Fia Park where I visited this morning.

One drips the water out while another floods the area!

Common Taylorbird and Pied Fantail at the side of the cycle track

on the left is where I had Pale-legged Leaf Warbler

Suan Rot Fia Park where in the bottom photo you can see Indian Pong Heron, Tree sparrow and Common Myna

All the birds I observed, including this Little Egret, were common or species that you expected to see in the park.

  At 09.00 I walked through one of the many entrances into the park from the SE end. The park is split up into by a main road and there were a lot of people inside! I thought I would have to try and find secluded areas to see the birds but as I discovered it was not the case. With all the bodies of water in the park, I was totally surprised to not see a single duck!! Mid afternoon I was returning to the hostel and if your ever stuck in Bangkok, then I highly recommend a visit to the park, even if your a non-birder. Especially if you like squirrels! I must of seen hundreds! As you can see I didn't really take many photos in the park.

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Indian Roller 

   

This was the only Asian Emerald Cuckoo that recorded

I saw at least 4 Plaintive Cuckoo

There were good number of Black-naped Oriole in Suan Rot Fia Park but this is the onln one I observed in a tree and the others were all fight views

There were up to 6 Brown Shrike in the park

On the water I observed 3 Asian Open-billed Stork getting stuck into snails. Overhead, I saw one and twos moving over throughout the day

There were a group of 5 Plain Prinia in willows next to the tennis courts

A pair of Plain-backed Sparrow

Brown Flycaycher

Taiga Flycatcher

 

I observed 2 Pale-legged Leaf Warbler

And many Yellow-browed Warbler

Pied Bushchat

Female Scaley-brested Munia

Ashy Drongo

I pished in a small coppice and this crazy White-crested Laughingthrush almost landed on me! 

Black-throated Laughingthrush

  

Asian Pied Starling

Great Myna

Black-collard Starling

I only a single Kingfisher but at least 2 Black-capped Kingfisher including this one

Female Olive-backed Sunbird. 

You can hear Asian Koal all over the park

Male Scarlet Flowerpecker

This Eastern Jungle Crow was getting stuck into a carcass of a squirrel. 

Scarlet-breasted Munia

Monitor Lizard were all over the shop! The individual above was bigger than me and wouldn't budge when I tried to pass by on a narrow path between two pools

There were so many squirrels of variable colours 

People relaxing in the park

The invisible man was also busy working at the park!

The view this evening from the roof top of the hostel

Great White Egret at Crosmere

This is my second Salop Great White Egret after Matthew Webb finding one some twenty three years ago when it was rare in the UK Aug '95, just a field away from this individual at Woodlane! 

  On the 11th January, a Great White Egret was seen in flooded fields in the Cuckshutt area, a few miles south of Ellesmere. Not surprising it was relocated a few fields away at Crosemere. That was nearly three weeks ago on the 16th and today I took the chance in hoping that it might be still in the area. From the top of the slope looking over Crosemere, I scanned and I couldn't see anythin of note but I could hear a Cetti's Warbler calling in the NE corner. As this was only my second Salop record, I wanted to see it. I made my ways down to the edge of the mere and after twenty minutes of listening, all I saw was it briefly in flight a few times and a obscured view of it in the rushes. I gave up and turned around to see the Great White Egret flying overhead! It circled the mere and flew out NE before dropping like a stone in some nearby woods where I lost it. As I returned to the car I got a female Stonechat and could still hear the Cetti's Warbler.
  There was no sign of 'Cyclops' the Yellow-legged Gull at Hortonwood

Like elsewhere, Great White Egret is turning up more frequently in Shropshire and when this individual was first found in mid Jan, there was another one in the Clun area in the south of the county.  

My second Salop Cetti's Warbler is in there somewhere. Didn't quite show as well as the individual that wintered two years ago at Prisorlee Lake. Like the GWE, Cetti's Warbler is also becoming more regular in the county but I believe this is a first for the meres area. 

8 Hawfinch at Fitz Church, Salop

There are up 5 Brambling in my Uncle Ken's garden at Charlton, Telford

  Yesterday afternoon I went to watch the live game, City against Burnley, at my Uncle Ken's at Charlton, Telford. As soon as I arrived he pointed out a bird in his garden feeding just below the window in front of us as he didn't know what it was. 'Bloody ell Ken! It's a Brambling!' Uncle Ken's response was 'Bloody ell! I didn't know we had gremlins in the garden!' Then I saw another gremlin, I mean Brambling. Altogether there were 2 males and 3 females Brambling and with the small flock of Chaffinch, they were on show all the time at very close range. Then Uncle Ken said 'Bloody Ell! There's Johnny Cash! Trouble now!' Cash is my cousins 'the cat in black' whose crazy on Johnny Cash and he also played for West Brom under Ron Atkinson as the manager. I meant my cousin played at the Hawthorns, Alan Webb, not the cat! Uncle Ken also told me 'We did have Elvis as well but he died!' The only time the Brambling flew off is when I got up and shouted as Burnley put the ball into the back of the net to equalize 1-1 and that was the final result. Bloody ell! What a game Ritchie Aston!

  

  

Cracking views of the 5 Brambling at Charlton, Telford

There were at 20 Chaffinch

This is by far the fattest Goldfinch I have ever seen!

Coal Tit

  

On the way to Uncle Ken's, I stopped off at Hortonwood and there was 'Cyclops' the adult Yellow-legged Gull. I call him 'Cyclopes' because he appears to have a broken leg!

Also at Hortonwood was this female Kestrel

   Two day ago I went to see the Whooper Swan that every winter turn up in the Melverly area next to the River Seven. 16 had been reported a few days before with 2 Bewick's Swan and 3 Egyptian Geese. The latter species would be a Salop tick if you can call it a tick. Anyways, just off the Royal Hill pub I spotted a group of swans in the fields distantly on the otherside of the river. With the 10+Mute Swan were 4 Whooper Swan. John Morris, who lives just up road, pulled up beside me and told me that there have been up to 5 Hawfinch at Fitz Church. Returning home I stopped off at the church and as I got out of the car I could hear a number of Hawfinch. Altogether I got a total of 8 Hawfinch although I believe there were more.

The 8 Hawfinch showed well in the churchyard but not for the camera.

Long-tailed Tit

Carrion Crow

This 1st winter Black-headed Gull was at Middle Pool

The Deep Dark Woods are a Canadian alternative country band from Saskatoon, currently signed to Sugar Hill Records in the United States and Six Shooter Records in Canada.^[1] First established in 2005, the band consisted of singer and guitarist Ryan Boldt, bass guitarist Chris Mason, guitarist Burke Barlow and drummer Lucas Goetz. Pianist and organist Geoff Hilhorst joined the group in 2009 after the release of their breakout album Winter Hours. Founding member Burke Barlow played guitar until 2012 when he left the group and was replaced by Clayton Linthicum. Founding Member Lucas Goetz left the group in late 2014, after which the band went on hiatus. In 2017 Chris Mason officially left the group.^[2]