Sent from my iPhoneyou > On 16 Feb 2014, at 4:01 am, “birding-aus-request@birding-aus.org” <birding-aus-request@birding-aus.org> wrote: > > Send Birding-Aus mailing list submissions to > birding-aus@birding-aus.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org > or, via email, send a message with subject or body ‘help’ to > birding-aus-request@birding-aus.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > birding-aus-owner@birding-aus.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than “Re: Contents of Birding-Aus digest…” > > > Today’s Topics: > > 1. Fwd: TR SE Asia Nov 2013- Jan 14 (barry ) > 2. Lake McLarty – 3 Ruff, 2 Broad-billed Sandpiper, 14+ > Long-toed Stint etc. (John Graff) > 3. Hellow Birdy (Greg and Val Clancy) > 4. Re: Hellow Birdy (sandra henderson) > 5. Inlland Dotterel (John Penhallurick) > > > ———————————————————————- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 14:34:16 -0800 > From: “barry ” <levineb@fastmail.fm> > To: birding-aus@birding-aus.org > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Fwd: TR SE Asia Nov 2013- Jan 14 > Message-ID: > <1392417256.15746.83600601.13CA69A4@webmail.messagingengine.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”utf-8″ > > > > Fellow Birding-aus members, > This winter’s escape from Seattle found me in Cambodia, Lao, Vietnam and > Thailand. Was fortunate enough to be joined for part of the trip by two > friends, Alan Grenon from Seattle and Michael Grimminger from Germany. > Both exceptional birders and great company. Guides used were: Nara Duong > in Cambodia, Mr. Tien, and Glenn Morris in Vietnam, and a sometimes mean > spirited, unprofessional guide that I will leave unnamed in Thailand. > Nara was really good. Knows his birds well and has good connections with > Tmatboey. He can be your driver as well, a real plus. Mr. Tien is just a > joy to work with. Very professional and sculpted a great trip. His > driver is an avid birder who wants to be a > guide. So in essence a great second set of eyes. Glenn, is a British > birder who visits the Da Lat area each year around Christmas time and > had generously agreed to meet us and shows us what he knew. With his > help we were able to see almost everything we had hoped to see in the 2 > short days we had in the area. We also used an older local guide in Cat > Tien who was good. I would recommend trying to go with the younger guide > who works that area. He was extremely knowledgeable and had fabulous > communication skills. For Thailand, I can’t recommend using this guide > unless you are on more of a social journey and are fine with seeing just > the common birds (email me if you’re looking for that). Lots of loud > talking and incessant pishing while birding along the roads and trails > scared many birds away, as well as giving us little chance of seeing the > skulking birds. There were also 2 missed expected boat rides, and 2 > wasted morning trips to very degraded habitat. These were only some of > the multitude of problems encountered. In their defense they did a nice > job around Phetchaburi and might be worth hiring for the 2 days needed > there if no one else is available. > Some general information: > November-January is not the best time to bird these areas. The winter > weather can and did in some areas wreck havoc on the birding. Most > birders due to time constraints would probably choose to omit trips to > Cambodia and Lao unless you’re going specifically for the rare birds in > those areas. Most of the other birds are seen more easily in Vietnam or > Thailand. Roads in the north are uniformly curvey and in poor condition > and trips are bumpy and lengthy. Also the roads are not wide enough to > allow many stops, keeping you from viewing some of the birds. Very few > birds and other wildlife are easily seen as they are much needed food > for the locals. Access in to see the wildlife is restricted to trails > that ultimately lead to the next village where the next set of > challenges for wildlife exist. To see some of the rarities you might > have to walk tough trails for days just to have an opportunity. That > being said, I had no regrets about traveling to both of those countries. > Both are uniquely beautiful and the people are friendly. Strange in a > way to see that much natural beauty with not much moving in it > bird-wise. Other forms take up some of that slack. Insects (especially > butterflies and dragonflies), plants, bats, etc. were spectacular. Throw > in the unique land formations, waterfalls and caves and you have a > really nice trip. > In Cambodia I spent time at Bokor in the south. A strange National > Protected Area that has a huge casino inside the Park. Few trails and > we had to pay and get permission from the casino to walk the trail to > look for Chestnut-headed Partridge. Possible, but would be difficult to > find without a guide. Saw Cambodian Tailorbird outside of P Phen. Can be > done on your own with the proper coordinates and the bird song. There’s > a fair amount of information on the web. Ankor Wat is a cultural must > and there’s some decent birding around the temples. We also went about > 30 kilometres to the north to a bat cave. There was some good birding > (though nothing unique) in that area as well. You will need to stay in > Siem Reap which is sort of like a small Las Vegas without the gambling. > Seems like everything is possible there. Feel free to take that as a > warning or an invitation. Can probably do this on your own if you know > the calls. Tmatboey, famous area for Giant and White-winged Ibis and > many species of woodpeckers is a unique and, I thought, a wonderful > experience. Small village with rustic accommodations. Can be very > expensive by the way. Much of your money goes to the local village in > the kind of ecotourism that hopefully sustains what little accessible > habitat is left. You cannot go there on your own. You must get in touch > with the Sam Veasna Center. Also some words of caution, if you go in > November your chances are greatly reduced of seeing these birds. We were > lucky and did quite well. November also meant that trying for the Bengal > Florican was going to be a waste of time. Kratie was visited for the > easy to see Irrawaddy Dolphins (can be seen close to shore if there at > the right time of day) and a trip up the Mekong to see the Mekong > Wagtail and Small Pratincole. Both can be seen in other locations along > the river as well. If not there to see the dolphins, you might want to > plan so as to not redouble your efforts. There are other spots for the > dolphins as well. This is also something that can easily be done on your > own. Nara talked often about the little birded Protected Areas to the > east and the wealth of birds there. He also noted they were also > difficult to see. I would hire him to take you there. > Lao was a favorite. Great laid back people and scenically special. > Thanks to Will Duckworth, who has done a lot of the recent work on Lao > birding, for helping me get prepped for the journey. No guides were used > in Lao. Mostly spent my time on the Bolaven Plateau, around Ban NaHin, > Vientiane, and Luang Probang. I spent 2 enjoyable days on the Bolaven. > It is well worth going just for the scenery. The area around has many > waterfalls which can hold good birds. A trip to Ban NaHin is a must if > you’re looking for the recently discovered Bare-faced Bulbul and Sooty > Babbler as well as other species. It was difficult to rent a moto in > town (2 places have them) but I ended up wasting some precious time in > the early morning trying to negotiate for one at the first hotel in town > as you enter heading east. Turns out the owner wanted to use it for > another hour. It’s also worthwhile to bird the trail behind the temple > in the center of town. Found Green Cochoa and a large group of thousands > of Morpho butterflies there (a mini Monarch type setting like Angangueo > in Mexico). There’s also a spot to look for the Red-Collared Woodpecker > just outside of town. Check out > http://www.birding2asia.com/W2W/Laos/NaHin.html for great info about the > whole area from Stijn De Win. Probably best to rent a moto before > heading east to the town. Keep an eye out for the rare langurs that > inhabit the karst limestone formations. I spent 2 days there which > included an afternoon trip to the cave about 40 kilometers to the south > of town. > In Vientiane (large but very pleasant to spend time in) the only spot I > tried was a marshy area that had quite a few snipe present. Best to go > to from the tourist spot Pha That Luang then straight across > Kamphengmeuang Rd total about 1/2 kilometer where you see the large open > marshy area. Easy to do on your own. Luang Probang is a heavily > touristed area. For most birders it’s best to use it as a place to stay > and take daily or longer trips to scenic locations. Trips up the river > which you can easily organize yourself allows access to Jerdon’s > Bushchat. Found them in the big island in the middle of the river near > Pak Ou Caves. Ended up setting up my own trips with boat drivers. That > was way more satisfying than the numerous prepackaged sterile trips > offered in town. Did the same for trips to waterfalls (Forktails at > Kuang Si Falls). Leave town at 5:45 am and you’ll have the place to > yourself. No one else showed up until after 8. Beautiful area. 3 days > would be plenty. I spent 5 days there with a couple being days to relax > and explore waterfalls off the beaten track and trails to small villages > across the river. > Moved across the border into Vietnam at Dien Bien Phu. A rough and > ready town in the mountains. Very little English spoken, but the locals > were very friendly and nice. No parks in town. Best place to look for > birds is at D1 hill in the center of town. Tien then took me to the site > where the French surrendered about 30 kilometers to the east. Good > birding near the lake and also at the site there are trails through some > good forest. No accommodations nearby, so head back to Dien Bien. Could > rent a cab for the day and try this on one’s own. From there we drove on > some mountain back roads on the way north-east to Sapa. Found good birds > all along the way. Being high up in the mountains gave us great views > since we were above many of the warblers and other species we > encountered. Sapa, in the northern part of the country was a > disappointment. We had very little time (1/2 day) when the weather was > conducive for birding. This was a known possibility before we started. > We left 2 days before scheduled, as snow was predicted to be coming. And > indeed the area was under snow for many days. The first time some of > these villages have seen snow by the way. Saw some of the specialties, > but were totally blanked on parrotbills, laughing thrushes, finchbills > and others. Took a big chance by going there in December and we > basically lost out. Babe is a not very often visited spot in > north-eastern Vietnam. Known as being one and maybe only reasonable > place for White-eared Night-heron. With help from the local boatman Mr. > Chat, we had success seeing this species early in the morning. Also > stayed at Mr. Chat’s home stay, which was a very pleasant experience. > The birding in the forested areas around the lake is also good and worth > some time. One afternoon and a morning would probably suffice. Xian Thuy > at the coast was exceptional. Great looks at ducks. 3 Pochard species, a > Falcated Duck among a large group congregated together in one basic > area. Also terns and gulls with Mongolian and Heuglin’s being of note. > Good numbers of shorebirds too, Spoonbills, but no sighting of > Spoon-billed Sandpipers or Nordmann’s Greenshank on the largish island > just off of the coast. Easy to hire a boat to take you there. Tien says > it’s been 5 years since Spoon-bill Sandpipers have been seen there. > Van Long along the way to Cuc Phuong is worth an early morning visit to > see Delacour?s langurs and the birds of the marsh area. Amazing > experience riding in a very small boat (?) From there you are close to > Cuc Phoung. Had great luck there especially with Pittas. Saw all three > pittas in a couple of days, a first for a client of Tien’s. Other great > birds there as well. At least 3 days would be needed to cover the area. > I spent 5 there. Best to stay at the gate and also in the park. From > there we went to lowland and montane evergreen forest at Tam Dao > National Park. The set of stairs up to the top had some good birds. Of > note is that the trail/road that was in the past used to augment the > steps as a birding site has been closed. The often discussed destruction > of the habitat is in full swing as the road is being built. Meant we had > to go down the mountain and find a trail through secondary forest. Good > news was that turned out to be a great day of birding. Two days and a > morning worked out to be just about right especially with the road near > the top impossible to bird. There’s a guard at the gate if for some > reason you’re thinking of trying to sneak in. > We flew down to Da Lat and as luck would have it, Glenn Morris from the > UK was visiting the area. Birding is rich there and we had 2 excellent > days seeing most of the wanted species. A little more time might would > easily be merited. Glenn used us for our ability to hear where the > sounds were coming from, and then we used his knowledge of the sounds > and his abilities to get on the birds. Great combination. A memorable > time for both Alan and me. Another Pitta seen making it 7 individuals > that I had found without the use of tapes. A few hour drive took us to > Cat Tien. Probably the most noted of the Vietnam sites along with Cuc > Phuong. The park was as advertised. Fabulous birding with a spectacular > full out display by Green Peafowl being a decided highlight. Were there > for 3 days. Again about right, though a few more days would be fine as > well. Recommendation- Stay in the park and not across the river. Only a > little more expensive. Also for those watching their budget there is a > second restaurant a little farther down the road from the first you > pass. I particularly liked this place. The owners are really quite nice. > The food was very authentic. The sites are well known so just follow > your nose and the trip reports. Afternoons (around 4) seemed to be best > for Green Peafowl. > Thailand was the next destination. We visited most of the spots that > have been mentioned in other trip reports from Phetchaburi (AKA as > Phetburi) area to the north of the country. Ban Pak Thale (Phetchaburi > area), Khao Yai National Park, Kaeng Krachan National Park, Chiang Saen, > Mae Wong (climbed the trail and saw Rufous-necked Hornbill from the > top), Doi Ang Kang, Doi Lang, Doi Inthanon and a spot which was called > something like Si or Sri Lanna by our guide. The last was pretty much a > wasted morning as we saw very little around the lake and the habitat > that was supposed to hold grassland species was all gone. Doi Inthanon > is not considered the top spot anymore. Still visited by birders, but > too many people and few trails to accommodate the throngs. Chiang > Dao,was dropped from the itinerary because of the cost and the fact that > Doi Lang seems to hold the same birds. We did fairly well considering > the problems associated with the guide, who at least got us to the most > of the good sites. Michael and I then were able to find the birds. Spent > a week by myself in Krabi, an area south and east of Phuket. Saw > Mangrove Pitta along the boardwalk that you encounter as you approach > the center of town. Another good find considering it was November. Great > place for kingfishers as well. Rented a car which allowed for great > freedom. Other places to visit include: the mouth of the Krabi River > where shorebirds can be good (Nordmann’s Greenshank has been seen > there) . Can get a boat driver in town to take you there. Also can take > you through the mangroves. Mr Dai’s son is your best bet. Wat Thom Seut > is worth birding. Especially the circular trail which had a pair of > Black-thighed Falconets and other good birds as well. Beautiful spot and > if you have the energy the climb to the top offers spectacular views. > Also wonderful caves in the near vicinity. Khao Phanom Bencha about 35 > klicks away from Krabi has wild populations of Green Peafowl and was > lucky enough to see about one about 15 meters away wondering close to > the park gate. Tried for Guerney’s and other pittas with help from Mr. > Yotin for a half day, at Khao Pra-Bang Khram NHA (Morakot/Emerald Pool > area) about 50 kilometers from Krabi, but we couldn’t get any responses. > Heard one the next day, as well as a close Banded Pitta. According to > Yotin, the season was working mightily against me. Many other good birds > in that area as well including Oriental Bay Owl. Well worth spending the > 2 days I had there. Can stay at the rustic, but very nice Morakot Resort > which is close to the park. There are many signs along the way to point > you in the right direction. Lots of information on the web about this > well known spot. > Food was inexpensive and very good overall in all of SE Asia. Someone > could easily eat for $10 or less a day if they were ok eating at Noodle > Shops throughout the area. Some make that out to be bad, but I found it > to be a way to be around locals and get some very tasty food rather than > being charged exorbitant rates for less than authentic food. Hotels also > relatively inexpensive. Easy to find good places for $13-20 a night. > Bigger cities a little more expensive than that. Laos seemed to be the > most relaxed place as far as sales pitches go. Vietnam seemed to be the > most intriguing. The differences between the north and south seemed to > be pronounced. and as one of our guides so rightly put it “didn’t your > country once have a civil war?” Thailand is still a country to spend a > lot of time in. How things will change in the future who knows. With the > coming SE Asia economic union in 2 years things might change > dramatically. Like most of the rest of the world, habitat seems to be > suffering as populations rise and travelers inundate sensitive areas. > Getting to these places sooner would be much better than the other > option. > Much thanks to Troy Hansel, David Richardson, Falk Wicker, David M. > Gascoigne, Gerry Weinberger, Lewis Brown, jira pasupornpongsa, Lynea > Hinchman, Amorn Liukeeratiyutkul, Rick Taylor, Petros Isaakidis, Eric > Kowalczyk, Gary Bletsch and those of you who offered help from Birdchat, > Birding-aus and Tweeters here in Seattle. Putting together one’s own > trip is always an arduous endeavor and without the help of others it > becomes that much more difficult. > I try to steer clear of writing trip reports with lists and information > that is already in abundance on the web. My sole purpose is to try to > help the next traveler with information that might be useful in planning > your trip. They are meant to be short so that you can get through them > quickly. Feel free to ask questions. I’ll try to help if I can. > All the best > > — > barry Levine > Seattle > levineb@fastmail.fm > > — > http://www.fastmail.fm – Access your email from home and the web > > > — > http://www.fastmail.fm – The way an email service should be > > > > > —————————— > > Message: 2 > Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2014 14:17:52 +0800 > From: John Graff <jgraff2@hotmail.com> > To: Birding-Aus <birding-aus@birding-aus.org>, > “birdswa@googlegroups.com” <birdswa@googlegroups.com> > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Lake McLarty – 3 Ruff, 2 Broad-billed > Sandpiper, 14+ Long-toed Stint etc. > Message-ID: <BAY173-W170AB0E646FF31B992CBF6E39F0@phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”iso-8859-1″ > > Hi all, > > Greg Howell and I headed down to Lake McLarty (south of Perth if anyone still doesn’t know!) this morning. The lake is drying fast and will probably last less than a week from here. No sign of the Red-throated Pipit which seems to have left – we didn’t look too hard in the extensive grassed areas but did see a good variety of waders, highlighted by 3 male Ruff, 2 Broad-billed Sandpipers, and at least 14 Long-toed Stint (there have been few of these reported this season at McLarty until now) > > Highlights: > Emu (5) > Pacific Golden Plover (1) > Black-tailed Godwit (2) > Red Knot (1) > Common Greenshank (90+) > Marsh Sandpiper (4) > Wood Sandpiper (2) > Grey-tailed Tattler (1) > Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (3,000+) > Pectoral Sandpiper (5) > Curlew Sandpiper (8) > Ruff (3 males) > Broad-billed Sandpiper (2) > Red-necked Stint (2,000+) > Long-toed Stint (14+) > Red-capped Plover (1,000+) > Peregrine Falcon (1, which caught a small wader, either a stint or Red-capped Plover, the latter looking more likely from the little I could see of it) > > Cheers, > John > > > > > —————————— > > Message: 3 > Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2014 19:03:26 +1100 > From: “Greg and Val Clancy” <gclancy@tpg.com.au> > To: “Birding-aus” <birding-aus@birding-aus.org> > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Hellow Birdy > Message-ID: <B67381F83F2543FAA9102F80EF6E59B0@UserPC> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”utf-8″ > > Hello Birdy where are you? I turned the ABC on at 18:30 hrs to watch the third episode of ?Hello Birdy? and all I could see was football (soccer). I understood that David Stewart of Nature Sound, a friend of mine, was to be featured today. What has happened to the show? Have I confused the time, the channel, the month or the year? Have they canned it for more ?important? topics such as sport or due to William?s corny bird jokes? > > Regards > > Greg > Dr Greg. P. Clancy > Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide > | PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460 > | 02 6649 3153 | 0429 601 960 > http://www.gregclancyecologistguide.com > http://gregswildliferamblings.blogspot.com.au/ > > > > —————————— > > Message: 4 > Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2014 20:37:54 +1100 > From: sandra henderson <shirmax2931@gmail.com> > To: Greg and Val Clancy <gclancy@tpg.com.au> > Cc: Birding-aus <birding-aus@birding-aus.org> > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Hellow Birdy > Message-ID: >
|
||||
Birding-Aus Digest, Vol 3, Issue 15Comments are closed. |
||||
