It had been a few days, so today was the day to return to Phutthamonthon. Leaving at around midday allowing for a fruitful 4 hour session at the park. Minivets were plentiful, with resident Small Minivets, wintering Ashy and Rosy Minivets. It may have been the first time I’d crossed the 60 species mark in a session here.
After watching the Small Minivets which were rather inactive allowing nice photographs. I moved on to the curving path behind one of the buildings. A month ago I had observed a Rufous-winged Buzzard here and today was a much appreciated repeat. It flew up off the ground, I assume it was hunting or eating. On the perch it was very vocal.
Since it was seen yesterday, I had Violet Cuckoo on my mind. I didn’t have any expectation on seeing it, alongside the Asian Emerald Cuckoos. I thought I had more of a chance of seeking out the frequently reoccurring Thick-billed Green-Pigeon. I found a hotspot of feeding birds, plenty of Drongos, Minivets and a Common Flameback. I also saw a Radde’s Warbler which could have been Dusky as I only caught a glimpse, so I listed it as Radde’s/Dusky.
Amongst the hectic flock of feeding birds I located the rarity which I hadn’t seen for a few weeks, the Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo. It was satisfying picking it out and securing a photograph. It seems to be moving around the park freely now, so if you want to locate it, find a large flock of birds, including Drongos, feeding together. In the same area there was a Brahminy Kite flying over, it was immature, and I feel I need to be doubly sure it wasn’t a Booted Eagle.
The next bit is funny because I stumbled upon a male and female Asian Emerald Cuckoo and an immature male Violet Cuckoo. At the time, I thought it was just 1 Emerald and 1 Violet, at home I brightened the picture and found the male Emerald but didn’t import my single poor photo of the Violet, thinking I didn’t see any Violet. But in the end, I relocated the photo of the Violet Cuckoo. Relived as this was a lifer for me.
Continuing, I went to a spot which could yield Thick-billed Green-Pigeon, it wasn’t present but I got decent photos of an Oriental Rat Snake. Today, I couldn’t locate the Oriental Scops-Owls. Also, the past few days have been very rainy and all the bamboo areas were flooded.
It was a good visit with a few patch ticks, finishing off with an Amur Stonechat I had been trying to find last week. Hopefully soon I’ll find the Thick-billed Green-Pigeon and whatever migrational specials turn up.
All images and video © 2022 Sam Hambly.
All your support is greatly appreciated!
largeblueflycatcher.com 