Another Thai Rarity....

Well we did it again, this time finding a Red-billed Starling (at least 2 individuals, maybe 3) a species i've seen in China a few times. There might only have been a maximum of 5 or 6 previous Thai records prior to this - thanks to Nick Upton for spotting it! I didn't manage any photos unfortunately, but there are some digiscoped pics from my group to follow. 

It was a frustrating start to the day despite this great sighting as there were less birds around at Nam Kham Nature Reserve than on my previous visit a few weeks ago. The Firethroat has unfortunately departed, but we did get Daurian Starling and a Ruddy-breasted Crake here. Moving on to the Mekong River, there were lots of Small Pratincoles and a pair of River Lapwings present. But the most exciting period of the day was reserved for the harrier roost where a cloud of Eastern Marsh and Pied Harriers flew in just before dusk. We did very well prior to this with Yellow and Eurasian Bitterns, Eastern Water Rail, White-browed Crake and even a Baikal Bush Warbler. So an interesting day sprinkled with some stardust....

Eastern Water Rail -  a recent split from the European birds.