December

The news this month is concerned with two major events; home improvement and my trip to Thailand. Helen was away in Singapore around the same time.

The reason for the home improvements was that due to a bad design fault we had some water leaking through the ceilings of the two other bedrooms on the second floor after abnormal rainfall. This is because the third floor and consequently the tiled roof is smaller than the second floor and with no guttering the water cascades onto what is essentially the roof of the second floor. The water then runs through drain holes and down some internal pipes. During heavy rain there is an upstairs swimming pool that persists if there is any blockage of the drainage system. This is apparent in the photo shown of the neighbours second floor roof….the weeds don’t help the drainage. 

We have extended the roof out so the run-off water does not sit on the roof of the second floor. There is a further advantage with this as with the resident AstroTurf we can have a relaxing exterior with plants to attract the sunbirds, flower peckers and spider hunters.

There were also other unsealed crevices that allowed water to seep into the wall behind the TV in the lounge. The joins have been sealed and we decided that any watermarks could be hidden behind brickwork that again had a decorative purpose. We are both pleased with the result as it anchors the lounge/dining room area and looks good at night when lit by angular light. The spectator in the first image is one of our Japanese B and B guests.

Dani is enjoying her time in Northern Spain and Nikki is currently in Okinawa. She has had some health issues and has continued the Guy tradition by getting kidney stones recently.

I have been spending a lot of time….possibly too much involved in writing the nature photography book. The second half of the year is always much quieter than the first six months and other than the Tasmanian interlude I have been getting a little field rusty. My main aim for the next year is to explore the local possibilities more. Thailand is included in this plan as it has over 100 national parks and a better infrastructure than Malaysia. The first step was to explore two of the parks near to Bangkok. I also need a lot of information for future reference. I had two friends interested in accompanying me and we hired Peter Ericsson, a Swede bird expert that had lived in the country for 31 years. Peter is married to a Singaporean lady and they are parents to four. Unfortunately Nick Baker had to withdraw from the trip when he had some health issues. My sole travelling companion was Dennis Ho who had been with the group in Kenya and Tanzania last year and other trips previously.
The two parks targeted were Kaeng Krachan to the Southwest of Bangkok and Khao Yai to the northwest.

I flew with AirAsia and unfortunately they use Don Muang airport which was the main airport before being displaced in recent years. I had a late afternoon flight that was made even later by a late arrival of the aircraft. I believe I also got fleeced by the taxi service, which was more specialist than the pink cabs you see frequently. The driver also did not know where the hotel was and blundered around the general area until he thought of actually asking someone. The hotel, the Plai Gardens was rather basic, which did not matter as I did not have time to get fully acquainted. We met Peter around 5.30am the next morning and we were shooting shortly after. We started in nice early morning light at Bang Poo where there was a variety of shorebirds and kingfishers. We later moved further down the coast where there was a large number of shorebirds gathered. Most of these were northern migrants and made the number that arrive in Penang to seem quite paltry (not poultry). The Spoonbilled Sandpiper was one of the most sought-after species because of its rarity. There were many hides set up in the hot sun seeking images so we left the Spoonbill for another time.

The first park we were to explore was Kaeng Krachan, a large park south west of Bangkok and backing onto Myanmar. We stopped at a site near our lodgings to shoot some birds coming into a waterhole. This was located on private property and shooting was in low light from a hide. The lack of light was a problem and we had to wait for some time before the action occurred before it got really dark.

The accommodation for the next four nights was nearby in a nice tree-rich setting with a large pond and trees. The rooms were a tad Spartan but the food was good and the beer was cold. 

In the next few days we explored the hilly park from the lower parts to as far as the road went. The track to the summit required a four-wheel drive so we hired a vehicle and a driver for that purpose. It was nice at the higher elevation and like similar locations the birds were easier to see than photograph, including the three Wreathed Hornbills that flew noisily by. We had an interesting session with a pair of Great Barbets that are very hard to photograph and are quite colourful albeit with a penetrating call. The quiet ridge we had staked out had a small house the Queen of Thailand visited in her younger years. It was currently in a state of deterioration. The vegetation on the hills had it usual 50 shades of green plus there appeared to be a few autumn tints.

We were in Thailand rather early in the season and our time also coincided with the King’s birthday and Constitution Day both of which modified our plans to some degree. The King is in his mid 80s and of failing health. There were many pictures of him in all locations and these portrayals varied from his mid thirties up to relatively recent times. We visited one of his projects on the coast and he was pictured there with a Canon Camera on a strap around his neck which must be valuable silent advertising.

We revisited the hide at the waterhole early one morning and there was quite a menagerie visitors that morning. One of the stars was the male and female Lineated Kalij Pheasants, a species difficult to see in the forest but is also raised in captivity. Along with the pheasants were a number of Red Jungle fowls. In the dull light they were a problem to photograph with their constant ground pecking like overactive sewing machines.  This species represents the ancestor of our domestic fowls. The males are quite spectacular with their colour schemes and iridescent tail feathers. Other birds visited to bath or to feed including the Black-naped Monarchs, Tickell's Flycatchers, Great Necklaced Laughingthrush (shown). Away from the hide a Golden-fronted Leafbird was having a conversation with himself reflected in a stainless steel water heater.

We had intended to stay in the Khao Yai park, one of the most popular because of its proximity to Bangkok. We were to stay outside the park but a rock concert attracting 30,000 people in the vicinity put paid to that tentative arrangement. We revisited the shorebirds on the way back to Bangkok. I could not resist the image shown below….a family living on a shoestring near the sea….managing a litter of pups that had to be removed from the road regularly.  We decided to stay in Bangkok for the last two nights and Peter’s wife had booked us in a boutique hotel that was near their house. The hotel, the Ban-Boon Bali Hotel was delightful and inexpensive. It was a veritable oasis in a big busy city. The gardens and outside décor was very Balinese with a small pool. My room was done in a Chinese style with a four-poster bed and brocade on the walls. There were many nice little touches also. Denis’s room next door had a Western theme that included swinging bar doors, wagon wheels on the bed and a Marlborough man poster on the wall.

On the penultimate day we started early and went to some paddyfields as the sun struggled through the morning mists. Our object was to shoot various species of birds that operate in open fields. The atmosphere was great. Nearby were a group of small trees where a large number of Black-winged Kites that had roosted for the night and waited for the morning thermal to soar into the sky in search of prey. We each had a small, locally-made hide and attracted the birds in with strategically placed mealworms. It was fun but butt numbing.

We later drove up to Khao Yai park. Peter tried to pass Dennis off as a Thai to get a cheaper entry and we figured he should be snoozing so as not to reveal his lack of Thai language. The guard was not born yesterday and asked that Dennis be roused so a conversation could occur…..busted!!!!. I was the innocent in the back seat. We drove around the park and shot a few birds and some resident Pigtailed Macaques. These monkeys appear to be made up around the eyes like they await a role in a Chinese opera.

We had two good species; the White-throated Rock thrush and the Mugimaki Flycatcher. There were plenty of signs of elephants and Sambur Deer were prominent…strolling between the various lodges. There was also a very colourful animal themed shrine to a half dozen people that had been killed in the hills .

The trip home the next day was without any incident after a relaxing morning in the hotel. One little furry dog was very happy for half an hour to see me back.

There is only one thing left for this year is to wish everyone a joyous Christmas with or without loved ones  and a prosperous 2014.

Dennis has made a nice little video of the Thai trip and can be seen here http://youtu.be/NQdcOPWftw0

October-November

October is the rainiest month in Penang and there is little chance of doing much photography. To avoid the rains I had planned a trip to Australia making use of accumulated air miles on Singapore Airlines. I pondered a number of options on where to go and accepted an invitation to stay with Ron and Georgie McKie who had escaped from shaky Christchurch and are now living in Tasmania. Helen and I had not been to Tasmania despite several invitations form an ex-flatmate who lives near Hobart.

It was a four flight trip to get there; Penang to Singapore, Singapore to Sydney, Sydney to Melbourne and Melbourne to Devonport. The flights were without incidence and the longest was on the impressive A380, which was not at full capacity, to the Canadian-designed Bombardier Dash 8 that plies the Bass-straight run.

Devonport is the third biggest town/city in Tasmania. The tidy airport has four return flights a day across Bass Strait to Melbourne. Nearby Burnie has similar Strait-hopping flights to Adelaide. Devonport is also the terminal port for the ferry that plies Bass Straight each evening while a sister ship makes the opposing journey.

Ron and Georgie picked me up from the small Devonport airport and we were at their house about 12 minutes later. Their large house is on a hillside with trees at the back and side and a sloping paddock meeting a small creek in the front. The sun skuds across from right to left each day and angles into the main living quarters. The temperatures are pleasant but with a slight chill that makes it comfortable to breathe and to snuggle under the blankets at night. The property has a number of outbuildings that have been used for chook yards, horse barns and goat shelters. The grounds are extensive and the price was relatively cheap compered with the mainland or New Zealand prices. 

Birds twitter all day in the surrounding trees and the garden is busy with their activities. White-faced herons nest in the nearby tall trees, a starling brings worms to it’s brood under the eaves, raptors sit in the trees to survey the surroundings and finches and wrens hop around seeking insects. The whole property and indeed the whole state seems alive with the Superb Fairy-wrens that are one of the most iconic and well-studied Australian bird species. Like adults in Australian society they are monogamous and promiscuous. The breeding group consists of an alpha male and female and a number of helpers that may be offspring or members of the territory. Interestingly DNA studies have shown that over 67% of the chicks come from outside agencies. I think Ron and Georgie have made a great buy with a nice location, prime situation and proximity to shops and other required services. Pademelons and wallabies roam the property at night and possums try to find a cozy corner in some of the buildings. As responsible cat owners a large cat run was built around and adjacent to the house to give their feline an extensive and interactive play area but sequestering it from the small marsupials that roam at night in the area.

The prime objective with the trip was photography. A perch had been set-up and daily doses of grated Parmesan cheese supplemented with mealworms attracted the resident wrens into a photographic possibility. I spend several mornings sitting in front of perches waiting for the wrens to pose. The alpha male on our resident pair was found dead one morning and our hearts fell. Another member of the group replaced him within a day and the tribe did not miss a beat. I tracked several females and found a nest that had been constructed in a pile of garden rubbish in the middle of the vegetable plot. There were three eggs in the nest that was located about a foot above the ground.

Ron and Georgie along with the Devonport Photographic Club had arranged for a one-day workshop promoting Nature Photography. I spoke twice during the day and also partook in a question and answer session. There was a small article in the local paper about the event. Nature photography is not big in Tasmania but the workshop attracted around 60 people and raised over $900 for the local club. The next morning we had some of the speakers and club officials out to the house for the morning. I also gave a talk to the Devonport club on the following Wednesday evening.

We had a number of excursions into the adjacent countryside in the following days. We drove to Cradle Mountain and walked briefly around part of the lake and took some landscape shots. We stumbled across a Tasmanian Echidna, which is strikingly different from the mainland species. We also checked out a facility that raised Tasmanian Devils. The enclosures were well-constructed and the animals were very well tended. I think the same Wombat designer also conceived the Devil on his drawing board, possibly just before lunch break….both have large heads and seemingly incomplete or dislocated back legs that seem part of something else.

While at Cradle Mountain we also viewed a photographic exhibition that was in parts quite awesome. Given a striped shirt, a black mask and a fast get-away vehicle I would gladly have taken 10-12 of the displayed prints.

Prior to going to Cradle Mountain we had been out to Narawntapu National park that had a boardwalk amongst scrub and wild wombats and kangaroos. The mean person that had designed the hide clearly did not like people with large lenses as the observation/camera holes were about the size of a slot in a letterbox.

We were introduced to the Black River camping ground by Dennis Hulme who had observed a number of nesting situations including Striated Pardelote and Kookaburras, both species making use of cavities in trees to raise their young.  There was no sign of the Kookaburras but there were several Pardelotes busy with nesting duty. One nest was well located for photography and we spent two mornings photographing the traffic in and out of the cavity. The pair appeared not to be feeding chicks but their interaction with each other was fascinating. They greeted each other by flaring the wings and tails, much like I had seen with my local White-throated Kingfishers.

A few months ago Ron had photographed a Pink Robin in the Liffey Falls carpark. We set off on a mission to find this colourful little bird and set up a photographic ‘studio’ in a segment of the carpark. There was no sign of the Robins but the little Blue wrens were plentiful and we got our best photographs of them at this location. The Robins apparently migrate to a different location when nesting.

The Northern Tasmanian landscape impressed me: I was taken by the green grass, the backdrop of gum trees, the rolling hills and the  dress-circle of the rugged hills/mountains (or Tiers, as they are known locally). The local produce is bountiful ranging from apples and pears, to stone fruit and dairy produce. They even grow Opium poppies. 
On one road (Wilmot Rd) it appeared there was a case of one-upmanship regarding letterboxes. There was a whole range of mail receptors from Daleks to a beer-can angel.

On another day Ron and I drove to the Tamar Wetlands Park just outside of Launceston. The sky was leaden and a wind whipped up the water but we walked the extensive boardwalk looking for potential subjects. 

After a good Australian pie for lunch we went to inspect Cataract Gorge Park. In 15 minutes you can walk from central Launceston along the banks of the Tamar River into the Gorge. From here you follow a pathway, originally built in the 1890s, along the cliff face, looking down onto the South Esk River. The Kings Bridge over The Gorge was floated into place in 1867. The First Basin, on the southern side, has a cafe, swimming pool and an open area surrounded by bushland; it is Launceston’s beach. In contrast, the shady northern side, named the Cliff Grounds, is a Victorian garden where wilderness is created with ferns and exotic plants. There is a kiosk, restaurant and swimming pool, rolling lawns and a rotunda, a footbridge and chairlift across the river, peacocks in the trees, wallabies at dusk. Further upstream is the historic Duck Reach Power Station, now an Interpretation Centre. The Launceston City Council originally commissioned the Power Station in 1893, making it the largest hydro-electric scheme of its day. By 1895 it was lighting the city.

My time in Northern Tasmania went very quickly. As Helen delivered me to the airport I said I would also be using the trip to investigate a suitable location for our next living headquarters. I was under strict instructions not to buy any edifice but did spend a bit of time observing and interrogating. It was clear that most locals, invaders and visitors all have a high opinion of what they see. I was the same. I only saw a bit of Northern Tasmania from Stanley in the West to Launceston and down to Cradle Mountain. There are few negatives other than the job situation which gets more urgent for young families as industries desert the island. Included in the many plusses are the mild weather, the lack of crowds, the great produce and the cheaper house prices. I may well return.

Other (horse) news

Dani turned 21 in October and is having a good time in Northern Spain where she is teaching and learning in and out of school. This counts as her 3rd year of her degree and she returns to Cambridge for the 4th and final year. Jack is in Chile and has recovered well from his accident.

Nikki has completed the first year of her medicine course and awaits the exam results. She is currently doing some work in Okinawa, Japan where her boyfriend is currently doing post-graduate research.

Helen keeps herself busy and keeps the house running and does a great job with the Airbnb assignments. We have a Japanese family on board at the moment. Another project she currently has is organising a stall for IWA and getting the homemade products to stock it. Prior to Tasmania we both enjoyed a day at the races that was also organised by IWA. I might add that my pick of the day charged out of the stalls and was on his own past the post the first time and was first into the bird cage……the only problem was the starter had not pushed the start button.