Pied Avocet in flight

Pied Avocet in flight Recurvirostra avosetta are very attractive and I was pleased with this distant shot which shows the remarkable plumage pattern of these graceful birds.

Today, we travelled between Kaeng Krachan and Khao Yai National Parks and the journey gave us the opportunity to revisit Pak Thale near the town with the unlikely name of Banbang Taboon.

The salt pans held thousands of waders but today we were looking for one very special species which we had missed on our previous visit.

Pied Avocet breed in temperate Europe, Africa and western and Central Asia. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa reaching as far south as South Africa, and southern Asia including Myanmar and several areas of Thailand. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England. (Note they were extinct as a breeding species in England from 1840. Its recolonisation began in 1947 and increased in numbers to the current time where it is a common resident species along the coasts).

Reference: Wikipedia