A male Chinese Francolin walked nonchalantly in front of my truck this afternoon at Huay Mai Teng Reservoir, Ratchaburi Province, and proceeded on its purposeful way before disappearing into furrowed fields supporting cassava cultivation. Not a sound or indication that it was on the premises. I was genuinely shocked and pleased at the same time: fearful that this species was no more as far as the reservoir is concerned, and pleased for obvious reasons that this sighting contradicts that concern.
The effects of Thailand’s drought crisis are all too obvious here. The locals are saying : “Nam ha yak mak mak” which translates as “Water is extremely rare” ; of course ‘…ha yak mak mak‘ is how you would describe a very rare bird. While there is still water in the reservoir, levels are as low as I have ever seen them and there are extensive areas which have dried out. We need rain urgently, lots of it. Perhaps that will bring out Rain Quail, one of the reservoir’s signature species, which was strangely missing from today’s observations: not a sight or a sound. Clearly this need for rain explains Rain Quail’s nomenclature. There were plenty of Small Pratincoles, another key species which can usually be seen with ease at this site; they seemed to be enjoying the dry dusty conditions on paths and tracks. I would estimate over one hundred across the site today; there were also a handful of Oriental Pratincoles in their midst.
In amongst one Richard’s Pipit, a number of Paddyfield Pipits, Red-throated Pipits, Little Ringed Plovers and Yellow Wagtails I picked out a single Bluethroat, a very pleasing sight as it was only the second record I have for this site. There were also good numbers of Oriental Skylarks and a few Indochinese Bushlark. A Black-capped Kingfisher loitering on a pole in the reservoir was unexpected too. In and around the water edge there were lots of Wood Sandpiper, huge numbers of Little Cormorants and Lesser Whistling Ducks and a few Pheasant-tailed Jacanas. There were also a few Little Grebes and I was very happy to see a few Cotton Pygmy-geese in there too.
A low-flying Kestrel put in an appearance, perching up for a while on a nearby pole. Otherwise no raptors and I would be dishonest if I said I wasn’t expecting some Oriental Honey Buzzards and Black Bazas to be around. At dusk I headed to the usual place and it did not disappoint:at least two Savanna Nightjars, immediately recognisable by their rasping call, were on the move.
An idyllic couple of hours in one of my favourite birding sites.
Dodgy Birds 