Wader-World 2012.

It Grows Hot ! (Brisbane, Queensland)

2012-02-11T02:08:00.001Z

Had an easy day today & just chilled out but then tonight at around 23:40 hrs went out in the back garden with a cuppa when I had this Possum (photo above) just sat in the tree looking at me. I actually find these quite smart even if they are deemed a pest in certain parts of the world. I am intending on setting up a feeding station in the garden for them just not sure on what the neighbours might think to this idea ?

I was still awake at 05:00hrs and I use my BBC news widget on my blog here to keep up to date with the UK news . The weather reports show the recent adverse weather conditions and winter scenes from back home in the UK. Even though I prefer the sun and warmth I must admit that sometimes the heat can be a little wearing on me. Above shows you the time and below shows you the temperature which is 81 degrees Fahrenheit, in the bedroom with the fan on at 04:42 hrs.

Night Birding - Brisbanbe Style.

2012-02-10T01:05:00.000Z

Met up with Stuart yesterday after work as we had planned to do a bit of night birding. The evening began well with 2 Tawny Frogmouths (2 photos below) on the wires just on the edge of Stuarts front garden.

After this we ventured in to a forested area just on the edge of town where we managed to have at least 3 Owlet Nightjars which wouldn't allow photographic opportunities and a brief flight view of a Powerful Owl "Nice to get though"

Active Child - " Hanging on"

2012-02-09T00:01:00.001Z

And so before I knew it I was back in Civilian-World in Brisbane, Queensland. Arrival here was an overcast, hot and humid affair and the peace and tranquility of Miranda seems like another world away instead of just a 3 hour Quantas flight. Whilst driving through the city that evening the radio was on and a really smooth & soothing tune was playing. A quick grab of the iPhone and a press of the Shazam app came up with the name of this tune above: "Hanging on" by Active Child. This is a nice piece of music & so I Hope you like it. About time we had a tune though isn't it.....

Wrybill - Photographic Library - Version 1

2012-02-08T02:46:00.000Z

Wrybill (Anarhynchus Frontalis) This unique wader with it’s laterally asymmetrical bill is an endemic species to New Zealand where it nests only on the braided rivers of the south island. Big flocks of Wrybill can be seen during the summer months on the estuaries of the north island. Up to 40% of the total population of this species can be seen on the Firth of Thames inter-tidal mudflats especially in the bay and off shore mudflats in and around Miranda.

What Wrybill lacks in colouration and migrations from the arctic breeding Waders it more than makes up for in subtleness, uniqueness and pure character.

Magical Miranda, New Zealand, February 2012.

2012-02-07T01:08:00.006Z

So I awake to my last morning in the Firth of Thames and I feel sad that it is time to move on. I place the " Welcome to the Miranda Shorebird Centre" marker-board outside as I do pretty much every morning during my time here. I like placing the marker board outside as I know this means it is the start of another day at Miranda. This is then followed by my first cuppa of the day whilst sitting on the veranda outside, taking in the view & wondering what lays in store for the day ahead. It is another glorious New Zealand summer's day and so I have to pack up and say my farewells before hitting the road.

Above shows you a Sharp tailed Sandpiper looking rather "rounded" and so I guess this individual is building up it's fat reserves as this bird will also be moving on soon enough to make its was to the northern Arctic breeding grounds via the Yellow Sea. Below shows a 3-4 day old New Zealand Dotterel chick. I found it quite poetic that I got to see these chicks during my last full day after finding the nest near the start of my time here. It is with a sense of pride I know that this nest was successful.

I depart with Stuart of which I couldn't think of anyone else better to be leaving with. I watch Miranda slowly fade in to the distance behind me I can't help but feel some what lost. I have spent 5 weeks here and even though this is a short time it is still long enough to have become some what attached. I will write a detailed piece on this at a later stage but what I will say here for the benefit of the blog is that I have never felt such a draw-pull on me as I have from Miranda. The place is just "Awesome" (as much I hate using that word, I will do here), The surrounding scenery is great, the birds are excellent and so are the people who never acted like they had a point to prove, trying to make themselves look better than others or be the main focus, climbing a ladder and so I have never met such friendly, warm and inviting people who made me feel accepted, comfortable, welcomed and apart of the team. "Magical Miranda" long may it last......

Summer Gulling - Miranda, New Zealand.

2012-02-06T01:19:00.003Z

Above and below shows you some of the Black-billed Gulls present at Miranda. These are a rather smart looking Gull. I find myself catching up with the scene back in the UK via blogs and the influx of white wingers is certainly what makes a good winters day back home. Certain tips and landfills in the south east are having a good run of birds and if I was back in the UK I would certainly be enjoying it. The only other Larus I have had out here during the southern hemisphere's summer months is Red-billed & Southern black backed's.

Above and below shows you some of the White fronted Terns present at Miranda. These are a smart Sterna. Other Terns have come in the forms of Caspian (up to 27) Gull billed (2) and a single Little.

Thames - New Zealand (Travel Watch)

2012-02-05T04:45:00.001Z

Thames is a coastal settlement, close to the mouths of the Kauaeranga and Waihou Rivers. Behind the town, the ancient volcanic Coromandel Ranges rise steeply to provide a picturesque green backdrop.
The northern end of Thames, known still as Grahamstown, offers cafés and boutique shops in a charming, colonial setting. Be sure to visit the museum, which covers early Maori times, the arrival of the first pioneers and the development of mining, logging, railways and shipping. You can also visit the School of Mines, which is open from Wednesday to Saturday.
Often called the gateway to the Coromandel Peninsula, Thames makes a great base for travellers. The magnificent Kauaeranga Valley hiking and camping area is just to the south, and the road to the north follows the coast past scores of sandy beaches.
Most of the town occupies a narrow coastal strip of flat land at the western base of the Coromandel Range. On the south the country opens to the wide expanse of the Hauraki Plain. The main farming activities of the district are sheep and cattle raising, dairying, market gardening and fruitgrowing.
The Thames district was settled by the Ngāti Maru tribe. On 16 November 1769 Captain James Cook in his ship Endeavour cast anchor off Tararu Point, about 3km north-west of the present town, and made a short excursion on the Waihou River by ship's boat. In 1870 the Caledonian mine in just over a year produced 140,000 ounces (3,969 kilograms) of bullion (silver and gold). At the peak of the rush in 1868, 18,000 people were living in Thames.

After our 2 full on days and lack of sleep which had followed the week of the field course I had set aside today so that Stuart and I could have an easy day. We went in to the town of Thames for breakfast, morning coffee and a bit of shopping. It was a beautiful day with the usual blue sky above and the warmth from the early morning made us aware that a scorcher of a day lay of before us.

I really like the town of Thames, it is quaint, quiet and has a charming and inviting character about it. I visited Thames a few times when I needed supplies. There are plenty of shops here including a Pac & Save for those all important daily groceries and food supplies. Coffee shops quietly announce themselves with boards and signs enticing you in with the odd statement such as in the picture below.

There is plenty of accommodation here and some as cheap as in the picture above. DOC- Department of Conservation has an office here and they seem to try to do their best at certain conservation projects. One of their projects that they are currently working on is the creation of a new trail system at Miranada.

All in all Thames is a nice small town worth the visit and easy to reach from Auckland. It makes a great first night location if flying in to Auckland from afar. It has some nice eateries, and bars. A few good, well stocked book shops, ATM's and pretty much everything else you might need whilst on the road.

Hauraki Gulf Pelagic - New Zealand.

2012-02-04T02:33:00.005Z

After a late night return from Whitianga it was an early start for our second consecutive pelagic and so today we had to head for to the sleepy fishing village of Leigh (this is all to similar isn't it). This time we were in the Hauraki Gulf which is a 4 hour drive north of Miranda. When we arrived at 08:00 hrs the weather was better for being out at sea with overcast conditions & a good strong on shore wind. We headed out and for the first hour I slept on one of the bunk beds but woke up just before we arrived at the first location. This was in some what slightly shallower waters above a reef, we started a slick and chumming and within 20 minutes we had a nice collection of Cooks Petrels coming close in and White Faced Stormies feeding off the back of the boat and in the slick.

Yesterday was the first time I had seen White Faced Storm Petrel and so again today it was good to see them but especially as we had the target species in amongst them.

This trip was all about 1 species and 1 species alone for me and that species was New Zealand Storm Petrel. I was really pleased to see this once presumed extinct species and I have to say it is a real cracker & that I can't rate this species highly enough. We got some great views but they were very difficult to get good and sharp photos of. We had around 7-8 individuals as they came in around the boat in to the slick in and amongst the White Faced Stormies.

A Great bird, other species seen today included many more Cooks Petrels, Grey Ternlets, huge rafts of Bullers Shearwaters with at least 11 Black Petrels sat on the water off the back of the boat late afternoon. I would like to go back and see this species again one day. We was at sea for just on 11 hours and then had the return drive back to Miranda. This was a good pelagic trip in terms of sightings but could have done with longer whilst chumming and watching the slick.

Whitianga Pelagic - New Zealand.

2012-02-03T11:45:00.000Z

As the Miranda Field Course came to an end and everybody departed so somebody new arrived. This new person was Stuart. Stuart and I had planned to have a long weekend together (5 days) and the main aim was to go out on a couple of pelagic trips. The first pelagic was out of Whitianga. This pelagic came about by pure luck as a Dutch birder I met at Miranda one day advised me that he was going out on this particular pelagic as it is the best for seeing rafts of Pycrofts Petrels near the Mercury Islands. Above Image shows you a Cooks Petrel of which many were seen.

We were unlucky with the weather as the sea state was calm like a mill-pond and there was no wind to help give the birds a lift. We in-fact struggled for Pycrofts apart from a group of 6 that were callled as Pycrofts that were flushed up by our boat. I must say that they looked plainer-blander looking in the face & lacking a strong eyebrow and maybe more compact but I really do not know or have enough experience with these 2 species (Cooks & Pycrofts) and I must admit I find Cookalari Petrels very difficult to get my head around. The bird above seems to very bland and the eyebrow seems to appear very feint but is presumed to be a Cooks Petrel. Image below more of a typical Cooks, I believe ?

Image above and below shows a Black Petrel. When seen on the deck close-by I find these to be a smart bird with a gentile appearance. We had several of these around the boat feeding on the chum as well as several White Faced Storm Petrels. Fairy Prion was a new species for me this trip as well. We had many Bullers and Flesh Footed Shearwaters.

This pelagic trip was arranged through Wrybill Birding Tours NZ and I must say that they are excellent at what they do. When I first arrived at Miranda and asked around on who people would advise to arrange a pelagic with it was the same names that just kept being mentioned, Sav Saville, Brent Stephenson = Wrybill Tours. Sav Saville was present on this pelagic trip and was helpful throughout and it was nice just to chat with him. He had a few clients on-board who were on a 3 week guided tour with him and they were all full of smiles and compliments about Sav himself, the pace of the tour and the success rate in which they were seeing all of the desired species. When Stuart and I departed Miranda for this Pelagic, Keith the site manager of Miranda asked who was leading this Pelagic trip and when we advised him it was Sav Saville he just smiled and said " Your in good hands today". So if you are in New Zealand then don't look around for pelagic tour operators just click on the link http://www.wrybill-tours.com/index.htm sit back, relax and go with the best pelagic tour operator in new Zealand.

Miranda Field Course 2012. NZ.

2012-02-02T00:07:00.006Z

Dawn chases away the darkness of night revealing a fireball of a Sun that rises in the distance breaking the skyline of the Coromandel peninsular, splaying over the Firth of Thames and on to Miranda as another beautiful morning and day begins during the Miranda Field Course for 2012.

I have only included a few photos I took during this course but the course log-book will be much more detailed when completed by James.

An introduction to the Upper Firth of Thames eco-system: was provided by John (above) and this was a great and educational session.

Anne with a Crayfish which we pulled out of the traps that John had set up previously and below a close up of a Crayfish in the hand.

Wader-watch: was nearly a daily event or even a twice daily event depending on the tide times. This was always a great personal favourite for me.

Plant life of Miranda: was much more interesting and informative than I had actually expected it to be and I must say I really enjoyed these sessions. Above shows Eila and Chrisie, I have to say I found Eila to be an excellent tutor and she managed to open my eyes to the world of botany.

ID mud Stuff: This was brilliant, for ages I had wanted to know exactly what it is that the Red Knot feed on in the area of Leigh sands, Leigh on Sea and so to get the opportunity to learn this whilst on this course was just great.

Above shows David the tutor for this and several other sessions. I found David to be extremely knowledgeable, friendly but also have a great sense of humour.

Above shows the course participants getting stuck in with "Mr Woodley" over-seeing the operation.

Everybody really enjoyed this session as you can see by the smiles on their faces, above shows Trudy taking her sample with James & Natalie below showing a true brotherly & sisterly bond below.

Tanz" well she had to get stuck in and do something didn't she, I mean she always seem to dump her dishes and washing up on me, lol...

Above shows the area of mudflats as we departed and headed back for lunch with below showing Charmaine examining the items we found out out on the mudflats under the micro-scope.

"Digi- Micro-Scoping" The photo above and 3 below I took using the old Sony. This is digitally - micro-scoping and whilst I was trying to get the hang of getting the camera and the microscope in alignment with each other and in focus at the start, Trish, one of the participants turned around, looked at me, shook her head and said " Simon You really do have to get out more" lol, Trish was cool and seemed to enjoy a bit of banter.

Image above shows you Glcera which is the main food supply of Red Knot as well as small cockle's that we also found out on the mudflats.

Bar tailed Godwits featured heavily during this course and so it is only fitting that I include a photo that I took during one of the wader-watch sessions. This photo was taken early morning as the birds roosted during high tide on the Stilt pools and below shows dusk at Miranda bringing the day to an end.

I would just like to add that if anyone is considering getting involved with this course in the future, please don't think about it, just sign up for it, it is the best course I have ever done. A lot is crammed in during the week, the content is excellent, the pace is good, the tutors are all brilliant at what they do, the food is nothing less than 5 star which is all cooked and prepared by Audrey (who is also superb) and everybody involved is warm and welcoming throughout. I would just like to thank each person who was on this course with me, who helped me, made me laugh, had a bit of banter with me and kept me on toes (Trish - Tanz & Trudy). The weather was good to us throughout and I will never forget just how much I really did enjoy participating in this course. " Thank you to everybody" Below: Group photo of the Miranda Field Course 2012.

Anatomy Of Godwit-Miranda Field Course 2012.

2012-01-30T08:43:00.002Z

I Have just completed a full on 6 day Field Course at the Miranda Shorebird Centre. The course covered many different topics and ran from 06:00hrs through to 21:00hrs each day, however some days started earlier and finished later. I must say that each section was brilliant but the session when Jodi the Vet attended and provided a lecture on the Anatomy of a Godwit has to be one my favourites. Also the mud sampling, wader ringing, botany and so much more. I will provide a more detailed update on this when I am not so tired.

Below is a short video clip I took during the session and I can't rate-recomend this course highly enough, as well as being totally educational, it was fun and had some great laughs with some great people, great presentations by some cool talkers - superb 5* food provided throughout and to top it off the weather was great. Oh and top it off I now find myself looking at plants and flowers with a genuine interest " I know - I can't believe it myself"

Banded Dotterel-Miranda.

2012-01-28T10:30:00.002Z

Above image shows a Banded Dotterel at Miranda. At present numbers of birds are continuing to build up with many juveniles present. Also: Please note issues with Hotmail appear to be re-occurring and so I will get around to replying to emails as soon as the issue has been rectified " Thank you".

Wrybill in the Hand, Miranda 26/01/2012.

2012-01-27T01:20:00.001Z

Yesterday we had a canon netting session here at Miranda and it went very well. A full update of numbers and species will be provided later, however I left most of the ringing to the other people on site but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to Ring-band a Wrybill. Above and below images are of a few of the Wrybill I ringed-banded.

Pec Sand, Wandering Tattler + CKN, Kidds.

2012-01-26T20:43:00.001Z

Went to Kidds, Karaka with Ian yesterday just to have a look at the site and to get an idea of the Red Knot roost there. Upon Arrival one of the first birds we saw was this Pectoral Sandpiper that I was surprised to be watching when Ian advised me that it has been around a while. Then as the Red Knot began to approach in big numbers on the rising tide and a Wandering Tattler was an added bonus but then it was time to get settled and start to scan through the Roosting flock.

Boom" I could not believe my luck when I picked up the Red Knot below wearing a yellow data logger. I knew that this was a Chukotka bird from last summer but at the start I just couldn't see the white flag as it was against the white shells. Above is CKN that I photographed last July in Russia.

Above shows CKN and I was so pleased to have actually seen this bird, but even better I managed to pick it up and photograph it, admittedly poor photos but still it proves the record.

Above shows the Pec Sand in amongst Wrybills, on the mudflats pre high tide roost and below on the shell bank.

Above shows a Sharpie in the roost at high tide and below shows 1 of 3 Curlew Sands present at high tide. Also today I saw my first Piersma race of Red Knot, This bird was in full breeding plumage and stood out in amongst the grey's of the remaining circa 4500 Red Knot. Ian advised me that this bird has reversed its moult and now moults in to full breeding plumage during the winter months and winter plumage during the summer months. So just to recap, 3 hours at Kidds produced both Pec Sand and Wandering Tattler new for the trip, my first Piersma race Red Knot and then the ultimate finale was actually seeing CKN again. So both CKN and myself were in Russia for the summer, then I went to China where I suspect so did CKN and then we have both ended up in North Island, NZ for the winter period. I doubt if CKN went via the Azores, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia though. What a great day, "Thank you Ian".

Hybrid Black Stilt @ Miranda 24/01/2011

2012-01-25T06:20:00.001Z

Had this Hybrid Black Stilt yesterday morning in amongst the Pied's on the Stilt pools at Miranda. Again poor photo quality but at least something.

Karangahake Mining Caves.

2012-01-24T05:26:00.000Z

Spent the morning at Karangahake mining caves the other day. Must admit it was quite interesting seeing how they used to mine for gold.

Photo above shows approaching the first tunnel with the photo below showing the equivalent of a cross passage, this photo was taken with the S95 and using the flash, otherwise it was pitch-black.

Image above shows you the nose of a common railway crossing, as the photo above shows, the nose of a common crossing takes a lot of wear & tear. Photo below reminds me of Kennington loop on the Northern line.

These tunnels would have been dug out by hand and this would have been pure hard graft back in the day and no doubt there would have been several lives lost as there were when starting the first of tunnel systems on LUL.

After spending time in tunnels etc, it was nice to sit down next to river and enjoy the view before heading back to Miranda. If you are ever near here it is definitely worth a visit and spending a few hours here. It is owned and managed by DOC (Department of Conservation NZ) and entry and parking is free.

Sharp Tailed Sandpipers of Miranda.

2012-01-23T02:56:00.001Z

Spent some time watching the Sharp tailed Sandpipers the other afternoon. This was the closest they have been and luckily they were on the Stilt pools and not on the mud-flats of the bay. The only issue was the that they were partially back-lit and I couldn't get a better angle on them. I'm not that happy with these photos but decided to upload them in this post rather than have them just sitting on the hard drive taking up space. At present the highest count I have had is of 9 birds together.

Little Whimbrel @ Miranda, NZ, 21-01-2012.

2012-01-22T00:01:00.001Z

Above photo shows you the Little Whimbrel in the bay at Miranda yesterday evening. The bird was a long way out, hence the poor quality shot in this post. The video clip below is equally as poor but at least allows you see the features clearly enough. Little Whimbrel is a rare migrant to New Zealand.

Thames Estuary UK-Airport Development Proposal (again)

2012-01-21T01:06:00.003Z

So there I am, back from the reserve and feeling pleased with seeing my first Curlew Sand of the year which is a good record these days at Miranda when Keith hands me a copy of the New Zealand Herald news-paper, opened on the page above. Now, I have had a few comments about about this blog over the years saying how I tend not to say that much bad or criticising of people and have a tendency to say only or more good than bad about people but today I am Peeved right off yet again by the 2 clowns in the photo below. Yet again the Thames-airport development plans raises its ugly head again and these 2 Clowns are at their very best again. The Thames estuary in the UK has taken more of it's fair share of development over the years. Several long lines of wind-turbines in the outer estuary, the CTRL (channel tunnel rail link ) then, recently the dredging of the shipping lane for the new super-freight-container-ships that will be passing through both the outer and inner Thames to reach Coryton, which is being labelled as one of the biggest shipping docks in Europe and the World and now the nonsense of this airport. I remember this the last time this was raised when Cliffe Pools and the surrounding area was at risk back in the early-mid 90's. This would be catastrophic for not only the Waders, the wildlife and the environmental impact and ecological imbalance but just look at the photo below, these 2 CLOWNS seem pretty happy about it. Another U-Turn from Good Old Blue-Dave. As he quoted before getting in power at number 10 that this would be "Greenest Government this country has seen so far" Yeah Right! I want to swear on here but I won't in-case of the younger readers..

The Thames Estuary is of international importance to several species of wader including the Red Knot. Numbers have dropped in the Thames dramatically over the previous 15 years and now with this new threat scenes from the image below will become less and less and then vanish from the Thames never to be replaced again, and then what will they say? oh we didn't know, "didn't care more like" and then it will all be too late!

SIPO Survival-Success.

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000Z

Well there you have it, SIPO back to full health (photo above) After the initial assessment and treatment last night I checked up on SIPO once during the night and he had his head up out of the box and was looking better. I supplied some more sugary-soloution mix and left him be. This morning when I went to check up on him he was out of the towel, out of the box and walking around the room. After a final once over I took him over to the saltings (photo below) and carefully placed him on the ground, where he looked round at me, called and flew off in to the distance. Success!

Marsh Sandpiper @ Miranda 17&18/01/2012.

2012-01-19T00:19:00.003Z

Finally ! I managed to catch up with the Marsh Sandpiper that has been present on & off here at Miranda for a few months. I first saw it from the road over-looking the Stilt pools the previous evening but yesterday morning it showed some what better from the trail side with the sun behind me. Still a little distant but at least it showed long enough to get the record shot above and awful footage below before disappearing back in to the vegetation. Quite a few local New Zealand birders have passed through here since the 1st of the month trying to see this bird with nearly all leaving without success so it is still present for any NZ birders who are interested. Marsh Sandpiper is an uncommon migrant to New Zealand.

SIPO Rescue, Miranda, NZ, Day 21

2012-01-18T06:29:00.003Z

It was just coming up to 18:00hrs and so I decided to pack up, head back to base and call it a day. I had been out for 9 hours and 5 of those hours I was sat still out on the shell bank going through the Barwit & Red Knot flock looking for colour & flag ringed birds over the rising, high and falling tide but the heat haze made it near on impossible to read any alpha-numerics but luckily it wasn't so bad with the colour codes. I began my walk back along the tide-line beyond the shell bank as I do each time now, when I could see 2 adult Variable Oystercatchers attacking the South Island Pied Oystercatcher (SIPO) above and below. The SIPO was being totally submerged by the Variable's and I did go for my camera to film it but instead decided to try and help the victim. I had to be careful not to run directly at the SIPO otherwise it would just get pushed back in to the Variables or out further on to the mudflats. Just as the moment was right I ran and managed to catch the SIPO, it reminded me of running out on the tundra after Red Knot chicks. The bird was pretty shaken and so I managed to calm it down.

Upon arrival back at base I contacted the local animal-bird rescue centre and advised them of the situation. In return they advised me to wrap the bird up in dry towel, supply it with a solution of water, salt and sugar by slowly providing droplets so the bird could get some energy back and then leave it overnight in box with a cover in a dark room. Photo above shows the pump bottle with a sweet, salty solution that I provided. I have done this before with Bee-eaters in Eilat, Israel. Photo below shows you SIPO, wrapped up and taken care of. Hopefully there wont be any lasting damage caused by the Variables. So drop by, tune in and click tomorrow to see if SIPO makes it through the night. (fingers crossed)

Variable Oystercatcher (Variations)

2012-01-17T05:01:00.001Z

Spent the run up, roost and run off of the tide on the shell bank going through the Barwit and Red Knot flocks. After this I walked out on to the area of inter-tidal mudflats and spent some time with a family party of Variable Oystercatchers. Above shows an adult male, dark morph. The photo below shows a dark morph juvenile.

Photo above shows a pied morph juvenile bird which is from the same family group. I guess for there to be both dark and pied morph chicks from the same adults which are both dark morph must mean that some-where along the genetical chain there was an adult Pied morph involved.

Photo above shows a dark morph adult female and the dark morph chick feeding together with the below image showing another dark morph adult bird along the shell bank ridge a few days back. This is the first species of wader I have seen that has a 2-3 morph plumage, light, intermediate & dark. I don't think there is any other species of wader that has a 2-3 morph range within it's genetics, is there ?

Miranda, New Zealand, Canon Netting.

2012-01-16T05:46:00.002Z

Today consisted of a canon netting session out on the shell bank. The nets went out but the wind and angle resulted in only a small catch of Barwits. Above shows a female Barwit of the race Baueri. I have been hoping to get some photos of these in flight in order to show the underwing, barred rump & uppertail but so far I have not been happy with any of the photos. In the image above you can see how barred the axillaries are compared to that of the race lapponica. I don't have much experience with this race apart from a few in China and Russia and so it is good for me to get more experience and familiar with them. The females of this race Baueri are large and even in the field they do stand out and seem to be some-what "stocky & well built".

Above and below shows you the Barwits coming in on the rising tide just prior to firing the canons.

Above shows you a Barwit - orange flag - AV. This bird would have been originally trapped and ringed in Victoria, Australia.

Above shows you satellite tagged Barwit - D8. Today is only the second sighting I have had of this bird since the original sighting.

Above shows you a small part of today's Red Knot flock with below showing now a weed - free shell bank at Miranda.

Red Knot CKN with Data Logger.

2012-01-15T03:05:00.002Z

I photographed the Red Knot above with the white flag CKN and yellow data logger on the 15/07/2011 in Chukotka, Russia. Link here to blog post- "Russia day 61" -

http://shorebirder-waderworld.blogspot.com/2011/07/russia-day-61-meino.html

Well this bird has just been seen at Kidds, Karaka, North Island, New Zealand. This is just 40 miles to the northwest of Miranda.

It was found and photographed by Ian Southey whilst doing the high tide roost at Kidds. Ian has kindly allowed me to use his photos above and below. What a great record & it will be interesting to see what information the data logger will provide.

Red Knot- Recovery Details.

2012-01-14T10:47:00.005Z

So finally I am now starting to get a few flag - colour ringed Red Knot which was the main purpose of this trip. So far it has been a few New Zealand ringed Red Knots but now the records are starting to get a little more interesting. The Red Knot above is probably the best recovery record I have had so far this trip. The light blue flag on the right leg above is clearly visible in this photo.

Details: It was banded indeed at Chukotsky Peninsular (northern Chukotka) by one of the expeditions that surveyed several areas in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

The Red Knot above wearing a yellow flag with the letters CVV was another interesting record. Details below:

Summary of sightings

Red Knot

Banding/Recapture CVV

19/06/2010 Campsite Beach, Roebuck Bay, Broome (-18.00, 122.37) Australia

05255385 (CVV) Aged 1

new secondaries-no shadows

Resighting CVV

01/07/2010 Wader Beach, Roebuck Bay, Broome (-17.98, 122.33) Australia

Chris Hassell & Adrian Boyle

02/10/2011 Kidds, Karaka (-37.08, 174.83) New Zealand

Tony Habraken

Then Clare G from the AWSG decided to really "mix things up in my head" with another flag ringed chart below.

The reason Clare sent this was because of the photo below of a Red Knot I had at the post roost site on the run off of the tide in the bay. The photo is poor to say the least but you get the idea. The combination for this bird is: Yellow flag, over yellow colour ring over red colour ring-right leg. Yellow colour ring over yellow colour ring or double yellow left leg.

"Time Out with a Tune"

2012-01-14T06:08:00.004Z

Time for a tune I reckon, I was just walking back from the reserve with the iPod on shuffle mode when the tune below came on and I had actually forgot how good Kosheen once were. I like the words as always - Hope you like it..

Miranda, New Zealand, Day 16.

2012-01-13T05:33:00.003Z

What a day today was, the sun was shining from first thing and it was pretty warm by just 08:00 hrs. The weather has been a "Mixed Bag" to say the least here with more rain and buffeting winds than warm clear, sunny days like today. I headed out along the trail taking in the view above. Upon reaching the Stilt pools I went through the roosting Barwits and Red Knots and managed to get a few flag & colour ringed individuals.

One of my tasks is to de-weed the shell bank and so I made a start on this and as lunch time I arrived I sat down with a fresh cuppa and just took in the view above. I really like it here, just so relaxed, no hassle, just calm, peaceful, and packed with waders. It feels a bit like home from home, sitting down taking in the view of the Thames but instead of looking across to the Isle of Grain I am now looking across the town of Thames in the southern hemisphere. What with it being such a nice day and good light I decided to make the most of it and grabbed the opportunity to try and get some new Wrybill photos as below.

As the day came to a close and I managed to make a dent in the de-weeding and then headed slowly back to base.

Miranda, New Zealand, Day 15.

2012-01-12T10:30:00.003Z

I spent the morning going through all the flag ringed data I had collected so far and getting ready to send it all off and then after lunch I went out on to the reserve. First thing I saw was these Royal Spoonbills above.

Being here at Miranda I have a few minor chores to do around the place and so far this has included helping out with the snagging works of the hide, vegetation control by using a machete around the signs and hedge-rows, changing light-bulbs, nailing down nails on the decking of the veranda, cleaning, laundry and today I put the sign up in the image above. Once the sign was up I went and made my way to the inner-shell ridge to get in to position for when the waders approached on the incoming - rising tide. What I wasn't expecting was this Blue Penguin, dead on the tideline. Gutted" I have never seen a Penguin and so the first one being dead in the image below was a bit of a let down to say the least.

The Barwits began making their way in with the fisherman in the image above actually helped as he flushed them closer to me as in the image below.

Image above shows a Barwit still retaining a lot of its breeding plumage from last season. So far I have managed to find 3 Barwits still retaining their breeding plumage which always brightens up a grey dull day.

As ever the search for colour and flag ringed waders continues as in the image above and 2 below.

Image below shows an orange flagged Red Knot, This bird would have originally been trapped and ringed at Victoria, Australia.

Just as the tide started to peak, the wind dropped in strength and the clouds parted revealing a beautiful sunny - backlit evening over the bay which helped to enhance the birds. The Bar tailed Godwit below is wearing a typical standard New Zealand flag ring with the letters AWP.

Just as the waders were right in front of the first (old) hide they all spooked and flew up and as I looked above half expectig to see and Australasian Harrier, which is usually the cause of a panic within the waders here , I was most surprised to see a Glossy Ibis being the culprit this time as it flew around, low and fast over the inner-bay. As I packed up the sky was a nice mixture of colours (above) and the walk back to base was a rather dark event as I had stayed out until darkness fell. Image above shows the road back to base after 21:00hrs.

"Take a Butchers @ This Lot"

2012-01-11T05:59:00.001Z

So, yet again Clare G from the AWSG delivers the ringed recovery details back to me in no time filling any gaps that need filling. Clare also sent me these 2 flag charts. She requested I keep a look out for any Australian ringed Red Knot, which of course I am doing. The above colour chart is pretty straight forward but now I have to start also looking for colour flags that have been clipped at the angles as in the chart below. I think even I am gonna be interested to see how I get on with these ones, especially with the flags in image G below. Can you imagine how difficult this is gonna be on a moving bird, in amongst a flock of others, in wet mud in and out of the water ! Don't fancy my chances too much. Lets see how this one goes........

Time With New Zealand Dotterel's.

2012-01-10T00:08:00.003Z

Thought I would give you a break from metal rings, colour rings, flag rings and satellite tagged birds for a day or 2 and so thought I would upload some New Zealand Dotterel photos., Also for a bit of colour.

Above 2 images were taken whilst I was trying to photograph the Wrybills out on the estuary. They just walked right in front of me as I was just sitting down watching the feeding group of Wrybills near to me.

Above 3 images were taken out on the shell bank with the 5 below being again out on the area of inter-tidal mudflats. They are quite inquisitive and pretty much walked right up to me before they "freeze" go eyeball to eyeball and walk past holding the stare. Must admit I find these quite a smart looking bird.

Satellite Tagged~Bar tailed Godwit D8. Follow-Up.

2012-01-09T11:37:00.006Z

Video clip above is of the satellite tagged Bar tailed Godwit D8 from Thursday last week. Clare Grant from the AWSG has been as helpful as ever with lots of detailed info and links and as always in speed fast timely fashion as per below.

Thank you Clare.

Bar-tailed Godwit Updates

Godwit E7

Epic Flight Across the Pacific - USGS Newsroom, 12 Sep 07

Satellite Tagged~Bar tailed Godwit D8.

2012-01-08T01:43:00.012Z

Image above shows you satellite tagged Bar tailed Godwit D8. I was lucky enough to locate this bird Thursday prior to the run up of the high tide. This is in fact the first satellite tagged wader I have seen-found. I have sent the details off to all the relevant people involved with this project and heard back from everyone. This is from New Zealand, Alaska and Australia (Thank you all). This is a small part of the email and a brief history of this bird D8 I received.

"Thank you for sending along your sighting of D8. He has been seen at Miranda before, but not recently. D8 was tagged back in February 2008 at Miranda. Based on the satellite tracks, he flew up to Alaska via the the Yellow Sea staging area and then flew over to western Alaska. He set up a breeding territory on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and then moved to the Kuskokwim shoals during post breeding. The Shoals are the post-breeding staging area for most Alaskan Godwits. His transmitter ran out of charge before he traveled south, but since people re-sighted him we knew he had made it back to NZ. Good to know he continues to frequent Miranda"

Image above and below what I believe to be a second individual, now I never got to read the flag code on this bird as it never put it's right leg down. All I did manage to see was the black flag on the upper right leg a few times when the bird changed it angle or preened. The leg seemed to be floppy from the joint, almost damaged in some way. I stayed on this bird constantly for over 4 hours which was painful at times as I often lost the bird in the flock as it jostled for position. When the run off of the tide did begin I had to move myself around trying despeartely not to loose view of the satellite antenna of which I did several times but got lucky and always managed to relocate this bird. In the end it it looked up, hopped on the same leg twice and took to the air never revealing the code on its flag. "Frustratingly Annoying"

Above the shows what I believe to be the 2nd Barwit, (but could be wrong) with the satellite antenna clearly visible, however in certain lights and angles this could be very difficult to see.

Image above and below shows the bird starting to be "crowded out" by more Barwits that were arriving on the rising tide. The tide was a low 3.3 on this day and so the birds only got pushed up half away in to the bay making viewing and finding flag / colour ringed individuals extremely difficult hence the poor record shots in this posting. Note in the photo below the Barwit to the front left of the satellite tagged individual is wearing a white colour ring on the upper right leg. I used this bird to help locate the satellite tagged bird at times but this only works pending neither birds had moved. I will continue to try and search for this and maybe any other satellite tagged birds during the remainder of my time here at Miranda.

Miranda by Night.

2012-01-06T07:35:00.004Z

I spent 9 hours away from the centre yesterday with most of the time out on site for that period. Out of that 4 of those hours were spent trying to stay on one single bird throughout which was really difficult at times as I lost it when other waders landed in front of it and when it moved around in the group of around 1600 other birds. I hope to have some detailed information back quite soon and will obviously upload here. After a long and interesting day in the field I arrived back at the centre around 20:30hrs and by the time I had showered, checked and edited photos it was gone midnight. I decided to grab a cuppa and sat out on the veranda. I looked up at the cloud free, crystal clear sparkling night-sky above me. The night-sky here is impressive and the sky is just so full of stars. I have only seen a night sky as near to this out on the Azores and so I guess it is just a case of the lack of pollution that makes it all so much clearer.

The moon sits really low here and it is almost like one of the planets in the movie Predators. The moon is in its 3rd cycle and is just on a three quarter stage. This means that a new full moon is getting close and I can not wait. A new moon means higher tides and looking at the tide chart for the weeks ahead there are some nice tide heights of up to a 4 metres. At present the tide is sitting at 3.3 and so this is pretty low and the bay here on the reserve is only half covered at the highest point of tide. I managed to see the bay fully covered at the tail end of a series of high tides upon my arrival and the waders were really close. I am looking forward to watching the whole cycle of a new moon and the series of tides that go with it whilst I am here.

After my cuppa I went in to the Wrybill room (the library) to try and find out some information and before you know it a couple of hours had passed.

It was near on 03:00hrs and as I walked out I heard a rustling noise closeby. There, just on the beam outside the Turnstone Territory (accommodation room) was the creature below just looking at me. I don't know who was more surprised me or the Possum. I decided to go and get my camera with my small wide angled lens and flash gun and then realised both of these 2 items are sitting in an apartment in Taringa, Brisbane. Great just great, however luckily I had the S95 in my pocket and so managed to get the photo below. This is an Australian Bush Tail Possum (i think). I have seen a few Possums in Aus but never as close as this. I advised Keith the centre manager this morning and he said that they are not regularly seen here on the premises so I guess that this is a good result. I eventually made it to bed at near on 03:40hrs and was up at 08:30 this morning rather sore and blurry eyed.

Is this better for you Barbara ? more your thing than the Wrybill's ?

Es, what do you reckon ?

Why Miranda ? (part one)

2012-01-04T22:32:00.002Z

Why Miranda ? Well for me it is all about the waders but in particular the Barwits and the Red Knots that winter here alongside the Wrybills, South Island Pied Oystercatchers, Variable Oystercatchers and New Zealand Dotterels as well as the odd Banded Dotterel. For the previous 4 winters I have spent time watching the area of Leigh Sands, Leigh-on-Sea, Inner Thames, estuary, UK counting and searching through the Red Knot flock for colour-flag ringed individuals. Most recoveries I have had come from Arctic Norway, with a few recoveries from both the Dutch & German sides of the Wadden Sea. Also recorded at Leigh Sands was a Ruddy Turnstone trapped and ringed on Ellesmere Island, Canada. Whilst travelling I find myself missing people back home but also I found myself missing the winter period in the Thames and so that is why I decided that I would continue with the theme and spend the winter months searching for colour-flag ringed waders in the Thames, ok be it the Firth of Thames and not the Thames Estuary but "Cook" did name this area of estuary after the Thames back home.

At present I have managed to locate around 45 colour-flag ringed Barwits with most of the birds being originally ringed in New Zealand itself but have had individuals ringed at Victoria, Australia with also a few "pending" records of which currently awaiting the details. There are around 5000 Barwits at Miranda at present with around 3500 Red Knot. The Red Knot seemed to fluctuate and it feels that some have departed in the past few days. I have had only few colour-flag ringed Red Knot so far but one was originally ringed in Kamchatka, Russia with also a bird ringed in Japan.

The Barwit above wearing a very faded-coded D2 orange ring is suspected to be an old ringed bird from Victoria, Australia.

AWH= a New Zealand ringed bird above.

Currently awaiting the details of the colour ringed individual above.

Black flag over white flag above=currently awaiting details.

Above shows you the Barwits roosting on the stilt pools. When roosting here it can be extremely difficult finding any colour-flag ringed individuals.

Miranda is all about the waders & Barwits feature heavily here and the book above was written by the reserve manager. Being here I decided to purchase this book to read whilst here on site. It is a good read with some high quality photos.

Time with Wrybill's on the Firth.

2012-01-03T00:08:00.003Z

Spent this afternoon on the outer estuary. The tide was quite low as we are currently on a series of falling-lower tide cycles which was predicted as a 3.5 meter but the tide cut away early due to the wind. This meant that the bay remained partly uncovered and so the waders (Barwits & Red Knots) remained and roosted on the tide line making it impossible to find and read any colour / flag ringed individuals. So I decided to spend time going through the Wrybill flock and to try and get some better photos which are below.

I find these Wrybill's quite smart and easy to watch. So far I have managed to locate a few colour ringed individuals as well as 2 alpha-numeric birds of which the bird below is wearing a coded ring: White-A92 on the tibia, upper right leg.

As the tide retreated far out I sat on the shell bank (below) enjoying the view & the change in weather. I laid back and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on my face. The clouds departed revealing a nice blue sky above.

After an hour I packed up and headed back walking along the road back to base. The surrounding scenery is so green and lush and reminds me of back home in England.

Thames - New Years Day 2012

2012-01-01T20:34:00.003Z

The 1st of January 2012 was a typical new years day event by birding at a wader site within the Thames estuary however, this time it was the Firth of Thames, North Island, New Zealand. I have been here for a few days now and managed to see all the new species available at Miranda but even so I still got 2 new species today.

Above shows the old hide over looking the area of inter tidal mudflats in the bay at Miranda and below shows the new hide. So new in-fact I have actually been helping out a bit with the final snagging works.

Below shows the area of inter-tidal mudflats within the bay at Miranda and this is a great place just on the run up of the high tide and the run off where all the waders gather before moving on to their chosen high tide roost spot for the day and the first area they return to feed at during the run off of the tide.

Today the chosen roost location was the Stilt pools just inland from the shell bank. It was whilst sat there in the grass searching through all the Barwits when they all spooked and took to the air just as if a Peregrine was going over when I looked up and saw the bird in the photo below.

I first thought it was a Skua until I got my bins on it and the realised that it could be a Giant Petrel. The camera was tucked away in its nice new protective case which was tucked away in my day-pack (so typical of me). After a scramble I had managed to get the 2 distant shots above and below. I can't think of anything else that this bird can be and Giant Petrel seems to be the species that fits and the general consensus of opinion which I have no experience with and also a rare bird in the Thames so I am advised but we have been having very unusual weather and are getting some of the back lash from the cyclone nearby which I suspect could be causing some displacement elsewhere.

Now back to one of the main attractions of Miranda and that is Wrybill. I was some what sceptical of this species of wader, uncertain how I would take to it and to how it would appeal to me once seen in the field. I must say I am pleasantly surprised and find them quite a smart small wader. Another unique bill, and again that grey and white colouration of winter plumage. They remind of Sanderling when seen feeding out in on the mudflats of the estuary. They tend to run, stop, feed, run, stop, feed etc and can be quite squabble-some amongst each other and vocal. I hope to get some more better photos during my time here.

There was a lot of other interesting sightings here today and during the previous days but I wanted to make this post as much about the Wrybill as possible and so will leave it at that for today and this endemic Wader of New Zealand.

Happy New Year from New Zealand.

2011-12-31T09:29:00.001Z

With just 90 minutes to go until the start of 2012 I just wanted to wish you all "Happy New" from New Zealand.

2011 = A Year with Spoon Billed Sandpipers.

2011-12-27T23:59:00.005Z

I have not done an end of year review for a few years now but I feel that I really should do one for the year of 2011 just for a personal memory point of view if nothing else. Instead of uploading lots of photos and text of all the highlights throughout the year I thought I would keep it just to waders and leave the photos to tell the story. So without further a do the year of 2011 review is:

Winter:

Above shows a Long Billed Dowitcher at Lodmoor reserve, Weymouth, Dorset which kicked off the year in January.

Above shows a Greater Yellow Legs at Lagoa do Junco, Terceira Island, Azores in February.

Above shows a Lesser Yellow Legs at Cabo da Praia quarry, Terceira Island, Azores in February.

Above shows the first of the mission, a Spoon Billed Sandpiper, Khok, Kham, Gulf of Thailand. I had set myself the task of not only just seeing Spoon Billed Sandpiper at each location but also photographing them. The mission nearly failed straight away as I nearly never got a photograph of this first individual, hence the poor quality shot here but hey, it is enough to document the record.

Above shows a small part of a flock of 300 Asian Dowitchers at Bang Bo Whai, Gulf of Thailand, in March.

Above shows an Oriental Pratincole, Petchaburi Provence, Thailand in March.

Above shows a Nordmans Greenshank, Krabi, Thailand in March.

Above shows a Banded Lapwing Cullimulla Australia in March

Above shows a Wandering Tattler at Caloundra, Queensland, Australia in March.

Spring:

Above shows a Sharp Tailed Sandpiper at Yangkou, Rudong provence, China in April

Above shows a Spoon Billed Sandpiper at Yankou, Rudong Provence, China in April.

Above shows a Western Sandpiper, Anadyr, Chukotka, Russia in May.

Above shows a Long Billed Dowitcher, Anadyr, Chukotka, Russia in May.

Above shows a Semi Palmated Plover, Anadyr, Chukotka, Russia, May.

Above shows a Pectoral Sandpiper, Anadyr, Chukotka, Russia in May. A species that I had hoped to see on the breeding grounds this trip.

Above shows a Great Knot, Anadyr, Chukotka, Russia, May. This was a very welcome species and I couldn't have hoped for a better showing individual.

Summer:

Above shows a Spoon Billed Sandpiper, Meinopilginor, Russia, June. This was what it was all about, seeing a breeding plumaged bird on the breeding grounds (a long time coming)

Above shows a Red Knot, Meinopilginor, Russia, June. This individual was known as the New Zealand male as this bird is wearing a colour-flag ring code from New Zealand where this bird was originally ringed. Seeing this species in breeding plumage on the breeding grounds was very much appreciated.

Above shows a Mongolian Plover,Meinopilginor, Russia, June

Above shows a Red Necked Phalarope, Meinopilginor, Russia, June.

Above shows an adult Red Necked Stint, Meinopilginor, Russia, June.

Above shows a Red Necked Stint chick, Meinopilginor, Russia, July

Above shows a Grey Tailed Tattler, Meinopilginor, Russia, July.

Above shows a Wandering Tattler, Meinopilginor, Russia, July. This species was a very welcome surprise to this trip to Russia.

Above shows a Spoon Billed Sandpiper, Meinopilginor, Russia, June. Watching this bird fly up, return, walk to and hunker down on to the nest proving that this bird was incubating provided the perfect ultimate finale for this species on the longest day of the year during the summer solstice.

Above shows a Spoon Billed Sandpiper chick in the wild, Meinopilginor, Russia, July. This was the perfect ending to this trip to Russia with only 2 days to spare before departing it couldn't have been timed any better and something that I so wanted to have the privilege of seeing. I will never forget this day.

Autumn:

Above shows an adult Spoon Billed Sandpiper, Yangkou, China, August

Above shows a first summer Spoon Billed Sandpiper, Yangkou, China, August.

September arrives and so do I to Terciera Island, Azores. Yet again the famous Cabo da Praia quarry delivers the goods. This time in the form of a nicely plumaged juvenile Short Billed Dowitcher.

Above shows a Lesser Yellow Legs 1 of 3 present during my time here.

Above shows a Hudsonian Whimbrel in fields near Cabo da Praia quarry but also got in to the quarry.

Above shows a nice crisp juvenile Semi Palmated Sandpiper 1 of 9 present during my time and this was a personal high count record for myself in the quarry.

Then I was working in Malaysia and so only fitting I include a photo of the Nations Plover above.

Winter:

Once my contract period was completed I continued with my travels, travelling overland through peninsular Malaysia on to Penang Island specifically to see Swinhoes / White Faced Plover above.

Departing Penang Island I travelled overland and crossed the border in to southern Thailand and stopped off at Krabi to look for and to try photograph Nordmans Greenshank above the only bird present on this day.

Departing Krabi island I hopped over to Koh Lanta where a week later I returned back to Krabi and went back out in to the estuary again to look for and hopefully photograph Nordmans Greenshank above which was 1 of 5 present on this day.

Departing Krabi I headed overland to Bangkok and on to Khok Kham in the hope of seeing Spoon Billed Sandpiper to complete the task I had set myself this year of following Spoon Billed Sandpipers through their annual cycle. This was the final leg of this journey and a successful one at that where I was lucky enough to photograph the individual above. 1 of 3 present on this day.

I departed Thailand on Thursday the 15th of Decemeber and flew to Australia where I was lucky enough to the see the above Wandering Tattler. 1 of 2 present this day at Caloundra.

Above shows 2 of 3 Sooty Oystercatchers present again at Caloundra but this time on Boxing Day.

This brings the year of 2011 to a close but it wasn't all easy going, it was a tough year at times and being away, travelling is great but also has its costs, I also learnt who and what is important to me, I got home-sick more than I ever thought I would, I missed certain individuals and I also missed some birds that I would have liked to have seen if it were a normal year,. Both the Semi P Sand and Long Billed Dowitcher at east Tilbury, inner Thames estuary both found by Paul Wood closely followed by the White Tailed Tropicbird on Corvo, Azores but I guess I can't complain. Infact I guess I was very very lucky to be in the position of actually carrying out one of the dream trips / years. So now I believe that 2 other individuals should have the last say and bring this posting to end.

Video footage above was taken using my my trusty Sony through my equally trusty Swarovski. It was a Saturday afternoon in June and it was a grey, grim and cold day but having time alone, just sat there watching the individual above, photographing and taking the video footage was just one of those "Moments" I suspect I won't get to ever witness this again and "you know some things are just meant to be a one off and left as they are" Even if I was to witness this again it wouldn't be as good as the first time. Video footage below is of Suchard "AKA" Mr Tee to most people. He has played a significant role over the previous 9 years during my time with Spoon Billed Sandpipers. He has always been kind and generous to me by making me feel very welcome to his family and inviting me in to his home and has done a lot for Spoon Billed Sandpipers and the conservation of Khok Kham and so I believe that he should have the final word on this story for this year.

One last thing, the reason for this year out / with Spoon Billed Sandpipers was partly because I actually felt guilty of taking so much out of / from Waders over the years, since the age of 14 where I found my first interest in this group of birds I have gained a lot of enjoyment from them but also used them as medication taking a "big gulp of Waders" seemed to cure most things, I used them as escapism as when I am alone, searching through a nearby flock or just watching a single bird I seemed to forget all the agro in life and to get that "at one inner-peaceful feeling" also that Solitude feeling and so I needed / wanted to try and give something back. I don't know how I can measure what I have done and suspect me being me I doubt if it will ever feel like it is enough and so I will continue to try and do more in my own way and hope some how I can give a little something back. I upload this posting earlier than I had wanted to because I am heading off to Brisbane airport to board my next long haul flight where I will hopefully arrive in time to get settled and make it out in the field at the start of 2012.

I hoped you liked browsing through the blog this year and hope I can continue to upload some interesting posts & photos of waders during the year of 2012.

Good luck for the new year to each and every one of you, lets hope 2012 is a good year....

And remember: A man who has lived his life without making mistakes has hardly lived.

Boxing Day @ Caloundra.

2011-12-26T12:02:00.006Z

Had a drive up to Caloundra this afternoon just for a stroll out. Had a look for the Wandering Tattlers but was unable to find any and so compensated by taking the 2 new photos of the Sooty Oystercatchers present today (above and below). Then just chilled out, had a stroll along the beach, grabbed some coffee's and Ice cream and just enjoyed the moment of a warm day, clear blue sky and good company.

Image below shows a typical "Brisbane Blue" sky that has been over us for the Christmas period.

There has been a cyclone off shore from the north east coast which has been creating a huge swells far out to sea but causing high waves (6-10ft) which closed beaches yesterday on both the Gold and Sunshine coasts and also a second cyclone in the north western territories near Darwin which reversed and tracked back out to sea away from the land. Luckily the beach was open today at Caloundra but I suspect the high waves and possible disturbance has caused the Tattlers to move to another location nearby. Below shows the area of rock pools where I photographed the Tattlers last week.

And so as the sun sets over Caloundra bringing a close to this Boxing Day here in Aus I can say that I have had the best / Happiest Christmas I have had in over many many years. "Thank you". Christmas 2011 in one word "Perfect".

Wandering Tattlers @ Caloundra 19/12/11

2011-12-20T00:33:00.003Z

Went to Caloundra with Stuart today in order to hopefully see and try to photograph the Wandering Tattler's that have been present recently. We got lucky and had 2 birds present feeding in the rock pools on the edge of shore-line.

I think the image above is my favourite from todays photos as this also provides best views of the extent of the nasal groove clearly. This runs from the base of the upper-mandible to nearly three quarters of the way through. Also the base of the lower mandible appears to be lighter but this can be variable in both Wandering and Grey Tailed Tattlers.

I am quite pleased I managed to get another chance to see this species before the close of the year. I only saw my first Wandering Tattler here at Caloundra this spring. Then I got real lucky and saw them in breeding plumage on the breeding grounds in Russia and now back at their wintering grounds here in Australia. Also of note Wader-wise today was a small group of 3 Sooty Oysetcatchers as per the image below.

Christmas Wishes from Waderworld.

2011-12-19T08:27:00.001Z

With less than a week to go until the big day I just wanted to wish each & every one of you a very Happy Christmas and hope that the New Year of 2012 (The year of London Olympic Games) brings you happiness and success. As each Christmas arrives I find it harder to find something funny for a Christmas Treat here on the blog. Last year we had the Catherine Tate Deal or no Deal Christmas special. This year whilst travelling I found it difficult for an idea until one evening when I walked in to a bar in Krabi where the you tube video clip above was being played. I was never that keen on the muppets as a kid but I find this clip quite funny and so I hope you do as well. "You just gotta love the Drummer". Below is one of the "old classics" "Happy Christmas"

Southport Pelagic, Queensland, Australia.

2011-12-18T00:35:00.006Z

Today Stuart and I did a pelagic out of Southport, Queensland, Australia. It was all about "Tube-noses" even if it were a little bumpy and "swelly" for me at times but produced some great views of some good birds. Image above shows a Black Winged Petrel.

Image above shows 1 of the 20+ Goulds Petrels seen today. These birds moved in and around the boat so fast it was difficult to actually stay on and follow them at times.

Image above & below shows the only Black Petrel of the day.

Image above & below shows a Great Winged Petrel and shows 2 of 3 birds present. These are a big bird and came straight in to the chum just off the back of the boat.

Image below shows a White Necked Petrel that really didn't allow great photo opportunities. Other sightings today included: 1 Kermadec Petrel, 1 Tahiti Petrel, 2 Wilsons Petrels, 1 Tropicbird SP (to high and distant) and also wedge tailed, short tailed & flesh footed shearwaters. I did also get some more photos other than those posted here but I am not happy with the quality and so decided to leave them out. (there will be a follow up note to this post at a latter date)

3 Spoon Billed Sandpipers @ Khok Kham

2011-12-14T00:21:00.004Z

Went to Khok Kham today and after lunch with Tee went out in to the salt pans just on 15:00hrs. It was the usual case of starting the mammoth task of searching through all the lesser & greater sandplovers, broad billed & curlew sandpipers, red necked & long toed stints, KP's, Greenshanks, Marsh Sandpipers & PGP's present. Seeing this curlew sandpiper below still retaining nearly all of its summer-breeding plumage was a nice treat and even though I hadn't forgotten how good they looked I just needed reminding. This bird really did stand out and looked smart as it was surrounded by all the greys, whites and pale browns of all the other waders present in winter plumage.

At the start it was a case of trying to locate a roosting bird which would be either on one of the bunds (above) or in amongst the masses roosting in the shallows (below).

We continued to scan and as the sun began to slowly set in the sky above us the birds began to become active and began to feed as they always do at this time of day "Wader O' clock" and then we managed to obtain some better feeding views of 2 individuals on the same salt pan close by with a 3rd bird on another pool in the distance.

I just enjoyed this moment, watching these Spoon Billed Sandpipers feeding in the nice late afternoon / early evening light. I still enjoy seeing & watching these birds in their winter plumage on their wintering grounds just as much as I ever did and don't think I will ever tire of them as nothing seems to quench the thirst for this special species.

As the sun began to slowly set above us I felt a twinge of sadness as I realised this would be the last "setting sun over a spoon billed sandpiper scene" for me for this year. I reflected back over this " A year with Spoon Billed Sandpipers" and felt pleased that I had completed what I had set out to do by seeing and following Spoon Billed Sandpipers through their annual cycle by seeing them on the wintering grounds in Thailand, on their spring northward migration grounds in China, on their summer breeding grounds of Russia, during their autumn southward bound migration again in China and finally back to where the whole year started on their wintering grounds in the Gulf of Thailand.

Seeing Nordmans Greenshank in Krabi

2011-12-13T00:36:00.001Z

Seeing Nordmans Greenshank in Thailand is not that difficult at certain locations and Ban Pak Thale, Khok Kham and Krabi are all locations I have seen them at with a high count of over 40 birds in one single roosting flock at Ban Pak Thale one year. However most times they are seen at Ban Pak Thale they are just roosting in heat hazed distance away, Khok Kham can allow reasonable feeding views from the edge of the estuary at the sea-wall but Krabi does allow that little extra of close and prolonged views of feeding birds. Seeing them in Krabi used to be an easy and straight-forward process. All you had to do was hang around the main boat taxi pier at round 07:00hrs and you could guarantee Mr Dai would soon be there or you could pre-book it with Chan Pen tours. Sadly Steve Arlow advised me earlier this year of the death of Mr Dai and said that his son was now running the tours but Steve didn't think the son was any good.

Above shows the late Mr Dai, February 2007 (photo by Vincent Legrand). Mr Dai was known as the local bird-man and he was good. He could pick out a Nordmans with just the naked eye at a distance that was a close call for those using bins. He whistled in Mangrove Pitta's and knew the best places for all the mangrove specialities and even found Masked Finfoot many years ago. Anyone who has been out with Mr Dai will know what I am saying. It is just a shame his son is not as good nor as bothered. His son charges the exact same amount at 500 Thai baht per hour, average 3 hours. He is more of a glorified boat-taxi man and an expensive one at that. The last time I used him he called out "Nordmans walking" 8 times and each time it was either a Common Greenshank or a Barwit. I have been using different boatman within the area and I think I have found a good reliable and reasonably priced boatman.

Above is Mr Lim, he is not a bird guide but a good boat-man and he now knows the favoured feeding areas of Nordmans, he also knows the best place to locate Mangrove Pitta and has the call on his phone. He charges only 300 THB per hour and is contactable on: +660810772667. He pronounces Nordmans Greenshank as "Norsemans" but knows the area. So if your in the area and fancy looking for Nordmans it could be worth making contact with him.

Google earth image above shows you the area for feeding Nordmans Greenshanks. This is NOT the last area of exposed / open mud but is the last area the birds feed before heading off to roost at high tide. There are lots of other areas of raised sand-bars that remain exposed for longer during the rising / incoming tide but the Nordmans do not tend to favour these areas.

Above and below shows a Bar tailed Godwit that I also photographed yesterday at Krabi. I looked pretty hard but couldn't manage to locate any wearing colour or flag rings but it should be worth looking for these.

I first saw Nordmans Greenshank for myself here in February 2003 when I met Israeli birder Dubi Shapiro. We travelled down from Bangkok on the overnight bus, then went straight out on to the estuary that afternoon and managed to locate a couple Nordmans for ourselves. Since then any time I have been passing through Krabi I have always had to have a quick fix of this smart wader.

Under Water photographic Library.

2011-12-12T16:32:00.004Z

Version one of the underwater photo-graphic library. Poor I know, hopefully more to come in the not to distant future.

5 Nordmans Greenshank @ Krabi 11/12/11

2011-12-11T06:22:00.002Z

Currently passing through Krabi from Koh Lanta and so had already scheduled a visit out in to the estuary to look for Nordmans Greenshank again. Last night was a full moon with a lunar eclipse (pretty impressive) and so the tides are very high at the moment. I now feel confident that I have worked out the favoured feeding area for Nordmans Greenshank in the outer river-mouth of the estuary. I have seen Nordmans at this same location on 4 consecutive visits and I currently believe this is the best area to get good prolonged views within the whole estuary complex. This is a feeding area for Nordmans before they go to roost at high tide. Today I was lucky enough to have 5 Nordmans together and also 3 Common Greenshank.

Image above shows a Nordmans and the image below showing a Common Greenshank. These photos were taken about an hour after sunrise and so the light was quite harsh and difficult to counter against. Also due to the bright sunlight I had to have the sun behind me which actually meant I was on the tideline with the birds feeding in small shallow pools. Instead of myself being in position and waiting for the birds to get pushed up in my direction today it was the other way and I was the one being pushed in to the birds by the incoming tide.

Image below shows both a Nordmans (right) and a Common Greenshank and also a Nordmans in the top right hand corner. I am not happy with this photo and have only included it here for comparison. Apart the usual features Note: how the tertials cloak the primary tips on Nordmans, and where they fall short in comparison on Common Greenshank leaving more of the primary tips visible.

Today I stood watching the birds foraging and feeding and learnt that Nordmans are quite aggressive and vocal against each other when feeding. When foraging they are totally acceptable of each other and also the accompanying Common Greenshanks.

2 Dives Later...

2011-12-09T02:29:00.001Z

Here are few of yesterdays photos. This was the second day I have dived with my camera and so I am still trying to get the hang of the very basic of basics when it comes to underwater photography.

So this is the end of the diving for the time being. I did 10 dives whilst here on Lanta and completed the "go photo digital under water photography course" This now takes my total to a poor 67 dives. During todays dives we went to the waters surrounding Koh Phi Phi. The visibilty was poor down to just 10 metres but full of plankton. The cross currents were real strong, hence the huge coral fans like in the photo above.

I just tried to spend time during todays dives getting in close to subjects and trying different settings in order to get the best results. Above and below were taken using manual white balance. I had to point the camera at the sand, set this as the white balance, i.e telling the camera that this is white and then the camera compensates and over rides the colour scheme. This is ok but you have to reset this every metre you change your depth.

The end of the day and the end of the dives, so now I have a few bits to do and need a rest before moving on again. Below is my first attempt at underwater videography and this is a total new ball game. You can not reset the white balance on the video mode and need a filter to counter balance the way the video mode reads the underwater colours. So it is a filter and a lighting strobe on the next shopping trip.

Digital Under-Water Photography Course.

2011-12-07T14:44:00.003Z

Today I did my "Go Under water digital photography course with Scuba-Fish dive company, Koh Lanta, Thailand. I must say I totally enjoyed the course and 2 dives at Koh Ha. The course was pretty much based around a first time-beginer underwater photographer. The main things worked on were auto & manual White Balance and Flash photography features that I never use above the surface. Also how to get in to postion, using the light etc. Here are some of today's better photos and please remember this was my first attempt at under-water-digital photography.

Image above is one of my favourites from today, this was taken using a flash to enhance the colours at a depth of around 16 metres.

After taking shots of the under-water scenery it was time to move on to moving subjects such as the Angel fish above and the photos below.

This Moray looked pretty mean but allowed close in shots below shows it with a cleaner fish that was present and even inside its mouth at times.

Puffer-Fish above and below.

Above shows a Scorpion fish and these are not to messed with and below, well below was the high-light for me personally on the 2nd dive when this Hawksbill Turtle swam close by and began feeding close-by. Just wished I had used the flash!

Then we moved on to Divers - above and below is Natasha the resident under-water photographer and digital underwater photo-graphic instructor. She is the "Legrand" of under-water photography.

Above and below is Viki, my instructor for the day and another instructor of the under-water digital photography. Below photo is meant to be showing a diver in silhouette but the sun rays were few and far between today.

All of the above photos were taken with the new Canon-S95 at Koh Ha today, all beneath the surface of the rock in the photo below.

Nordmans Greenshank (Krabi)

2011-12-03T01:15:00.001Z

Since the last post I made I have travelled over-land through Malaysia and crossed the border in to Thailand where I had planned to spend time at Krabi estuary in the hope of getting some new Nordmans Greenshank photos. I went out this morning and was fortunate to locate only one single Nordmans. It was difficult to locate a Nordmans to begin with and there was a lot more Common Greenshank and Bar Tailed Godwits present than I have seen here during my many previous visits over the years. I was against the clock as well due to the incoming tide but managed to find the individual in this set of photos within the last 45 minutes of open mud.

These are a wary / cautious wader and it takes time to be able to get in to a close enough position to allow reasonable viewing and photographic opportunities.

I first located this individual a long way out across the mudflats and it was the ghostly white appearance which first stood out and drew my attention. These are not easy to locate when having no or very little experience with this species. But the ghostly white over-all colouration of the underparts - upperparts along with the squat, short legged, heavy-robust appearance, strong / heavy, only slightly upturned & obvious 2 tone bill (compared to Common Greenshank) and also the feeding habits of the way in which Nordmans feed are more similar to that of a Terek Sandpiper than of a Common Greenshank. They really do remind me of large, heavy built Terek Sandpipers.

These really are a smart looking wader when seen well and are my favourite of the Tringa group. They also have a smart / sharp diagnostic "key-yeew" call and not the softer flutey "chew-chew" call of a Common Greenshank. There were quite a few other waders present today but I concentrated my efforts purely on trying to photograph this species. I really did enjoy my time with this individual today and so now that I have been successful with Swinhoes Plover in Penang and now Nordmans in Krabi I can move on to the next destination. (Sadly not happy with the current set of photos I have of this species and so still need to try and get some better photos and so have an excuse to return and do it all again or being totally honest- I just like watching Nordmans Greenshanks they are a class wader indeed)

Swinhoes Plover (Penang Island)

2011-11-30T02:13:00.004Z

Image above shows a Swinhoes / White Faced Plover today at the beach / inter-tidal flats at Penang Island. Firstly I thought I would upload some visual directions in order for any one planning to visit this location in the future. The site can be a little tricky to find if you are alone and or it is your first visit to the area. The Plovers really are worth a look and have an interesting & documented history so if you are passing by / through the area they really are worth a look.

The google earth map / images above and below were sent to me by the ever helpful Dave Bakewell. I have been to this site / location about 4 years ago but what with the construction / development works to the area I was unable to remember the way to the exact spot. The first and last time I visited this site was with Dave and sadly there wasn't any Plovers present that time. I have been fortunate enough to have seen them once before in Ban Pak Thale, Thailand but wanted some more prolonged / better views. Seeing as I was heading northward bound from KL to the flood-zone across the border it seemed ideal to pop in to Penang Island for a few days to try and see the Plovers seeing as I was going right passed the area. For much more detailed and better photos visit: http://digdeep1962.blogspot.com/ As for this interesting species of which the full reports of if it is a full species or not have either been recently published or are due to be published shortly.

Once you are in the area walk along this footpath above and head in the direction of the buildings in the distance.

Once you get close enough you can see the area of beach and walk down to and along the beach which is extremely littered in places.

Be really careful here as I was in flip-flops and luckily looked down as I was walking through the littered area where a hyper-dermic needle was just on the edge of my flip-flop. There are plenty discarded needles as well as many other sharps so be careful here. The edge of the tideline was fine for me for today.

I was fortunate enough to locate 2 different individuals today.

The bird above really does look different and I do not know enough to say if this is sexually or age related. I intend to re-visit the site tomorrow again to try and get more time on these birds.

The sun and heat could only be described as "fierce" today and I decided to seek shelter before sky opened with todays daily monsoon down-pour. More tomorrow (hopefully)

Kuala Lumpur

2011-11-29T02:55:00.000Z

Been based in Kuala Lumper for the previous week and so decided to take a wander around town with Matt (He was working on the island for a few weeks at the same time as myself and also had to visit the office in KL) at the weekend. KL is quite nice as Cities go and has quite an impressive skyline. Obviously the Petronas Towers dominate the skyline throughout and can be seen from a long way off.

There are a lot of modern buildings here with development and construction evident throughout the city. The traffic can be horrendous especially at rush hour times but I guess thats the same all over the world.

The Telecoms tower is also a well known landmark and which is also visible from many areas of the city.

Getting closer to the Petronas Towers you get an idea of their huge scale from below when looking up same as with Canary Wharf, Docklands, London.

We used the Mono-rail and it is clean and efficient but again it was packed with standing room only and very reminiscent to that of the District line in Zones 1-3 durig week day rush hour. We ended up grabbing some food in China Town where most travellers tend to make for. If in KL it is a good place to have a wander through the market, do some gift shopping, sit, eat, chill out and watch the world go by. All in all really like KL during the short time I have had here. Never had any agro, or grief so that makes it a plus and the climate is good. I was surprised when i saw a few Christmas trees and I have to admit I did have a twinge of home-sickness as I thought back to the streets of London all lit up, that cold crisp, fresh air and just the Christmas vibe. Its going to feel strange not being in England for Christmas.

As the day came to an end we sat and chilled out in China town (image below) it is not to dissimilar to Khao San Road, Bangkok, just a little more calmer and obviously the lack of bars.

Canon S95

2011-11-28T02:42:00.001Z

Well this is the new Canon S95 camera I have purchased for Digi-Scoping. I have been in need of new digi-scoping camera for a while but it now seems that the choices are not as easy as they used to be. I was advised that this is probably one of the best camers for digi-scoping around at the moment (Steve Arlow, Sam Woods) also Dave Bakewell is currently using one of these. I held off for as long as possible but after learning more on this model I decided to just make the purchase. The advantages were that it has HD Video function. The next real big plus feature with the Canon S95 is that it has an under-water setting/feature. So this was a huge plus for me and the fact that Canon also have made an under-water housing for this model as well as many others. So now if all goes to plan this new camera will be used for Digi-Scoping, HD video and now underwater photography and video. This is not bad for a small compact, pocket sized camera from a reputable company as Canon and for under £300.

Image above shows you a front on view of the camera inside the housing and the image below shows you the rear view of the camera in the housing. As you can see the Canon S95 also comes with a nice wide clear screen. All buttons are easy to use even within the under-water housing and so I Look forward to using this new camera in both the field digi-scoping, when travelling using the HD video function and I am also planning to use it beneath the surface when in the pristine waters of the Andaman sea, Great Barrier Reef, Thames Estuary, South China Sea, Sipidan and Komodo Islands at some point in the future.

I have also been considering purchasing a flash gun for my Canon 7D and again being advised by people the above Canon 580 EX is the best way forward and so I decided to go for it at the same time when purchasing the Canon S95 and the under-water housing. Being honest I really don'y have much experience with flash guns and shooting images in low light or even at night so again, this will be a learning curve.

I have fitted it on to the camera body (below) and also tried it out and so it seems fine and easy enough to use at the moment maybe need to to try it out on some night birding. I have purchased these new items whilst I was here in KL as it is cheaper than in the UK. With the current prices within the UK I have managed to save £65 with the purchase of the Canon S95, saved £150 with the purchase of the Canon 580 flash gun. That is a total of £215. The Canon WP-DC38 under-water housing cost 750 Malaysian Ringgit = just on £151 with todays currency exchange rate. I don't know how much these are in the UK and suspect that Ebay could be cheaper but the way I am looking at it is that I have managed to get the under-water housing for free with still some money left over than if Ihad purchased these items within the UK. Obviously Hong Kong & Singapore would have been cheaper still but I won't be in those areas. So now all I have got to do is to try and take some better photos!

Island Birds

2011-11-27T03:10:00.021Z

As I start to delete and transfer files and photos I thought i'd Just post few images of birds from the island that I didn't get around to posting here on the blog. The list of species observed on and around the island durning the time here reached 105 with a total of 72 actually on the island.Image above shows a male Brown throated Sunbird and below a female. These were common around the base area.

Asian Brown Flycatcher above and Brown Shrike below were both migrants to the island

Germains Swiftlet above and Grey faced Buzzard below. Grey Faced Buzzards were one of the more commoner migrant raptors on the island.
Below is a Oriental Honey Buzzard that was seen migrating over the island just prior to lunch one day. Not common nor as abundant as Grey Faced Buzzard.

Collared Kingfisher above and Common Sandpiper below were always seen around the area of North Beach during low tide as they fed in and around the shallows of the exposed reefs. Waders were very few and far between on the island with 3 single Whimbrel sightings, a single Lesser Sand Plover. From the pelagics waders seen included 2 red necked phalaropes, a flock of 12 phalarope sp and a single phalarope sp that looked a good contender for a grey but never seen well enough to clinch the ID and a single Greenshank.

Pacific Reef Egrets (below) were again, around the areas of the reefs during low tide, Little Herons were more elusive and were usually around the area of the 2nd rocky outcrop.

Island Life

2011-11-26T04:16:00.000Z

And so Island Life is coming to an end for me for the time being. I have enjoyed my time on the island and it has been a beautiful place to have been invited to join and work with the team on this new and exciting project. Above is an ariel shot of the island with below a google earth images shot.

The above google earth images shot gives you an idea of exactly where the island is situated and the image below is of an average day's dawn sun-rise on the island as the working day begins.

Image above shows one of my favourite trails on the island which is quite open which allows nice light throughout the day. I always fancied a migrant Pitta on this trail but sadly it didn't happen "but hey" maybe next time. Below is at the end of the trail above as it opens up to a nice view at an elevation of 137 metres.

Above shows another viewing area this time on the north face of the island at an elevation of 54 metres. On a grey overcast cool monsoon morning this location reminded me of Corvo in the autumn when scanning out over the village with Flores in the distance and the sound of the waves pounding in to the rocks below whilst I would be scanning the sky above for migrant Germains Swiftlets with the odd Pacific Swift thrown in for good measure. This area also proved to be the best location on the island to observe migrating raptors.

The island has some great beaches with the typical postcard picture white sand and tropical turquoise blue waters surrounding them. Sometimes as I would walk back to base of an evening during late October / early November again with a cool evening monsoon breeze or an overcast day this would remind me of Autumns gone by on Scillies and also made me think of the premier Island of St. Agnes with its white sandy beaches and that feel of an "autumn day" as I would end the day watching migrating Grey Faced Buzzards coming in to roost with flocks of Pied Imperial and Pink necked Green Pigeons flying over the forested hillsides above with the odd Asian Brown Flycatcher perched close by above.

Image above shows Long Beach which was one of my main walking routes to and from base and I would often stop and sit on the rocks in the photo and take in the view and watch and wait for Green Turtles to surface for an intake of air before dropping back down to feed. Just offshore from here is a large open area of sea-grass where the Green Turtles like to feed and during one afternoon whilst showing people around we sat down and had at least 5 Green Turtles all up at the same time, I was advised from the Jurua team that these Green Turtles were coming in to feed before beginning their migrations to the waters of the Philippines and Australia.

Image above shows an average evenings sunset as seen from main beach just in front of the base bungalows. I used to try and spend the last hour of the day sat here as the day came to a close. I would Have a cup of coffee with Hakim as we would sit and scan the waters just beyond the first reef where we had managed to observe Green Turtles, a pair of Otters for 4 consecutive evenings which we presume were smooth, a Black Tipped Reef Shark and a Dugong. Hakim also managed to locate a Fraser's Dolphin one evening. And Finally the image below is my last view of the Island as I departed via speed boat back to the mainland where I have to return to the office in KL to hand in my reports and have meetings. Back to the reality of mainland life I guess. Island life is different and being honest could be a little tricky at times due to limited supplies and limited people around. As a boat would arrive to the island the workers would all appear as if by magic all waiting to see who and what supplies were coming in on any given day. I was asked if I had got island fever, lol, no I didn't go crazy, maybe thats because I was already before I arrived. Looking forward to the next time I see the view in the image below but I have a lot to do between now and then and so time is ticking.

A Touch of Vimeo Class (This is Great)

2011-11-25T17:58:00.005Z

Just currently catching up with emails of which included a link to this Vimeo video above, old but excellent, thought id share this with you whilst starting on the next blog post.