Will Russell and David Sibley have returned from Thailand, where they were studying Spoon-billed Sandpipers at the traditional site at Pak Thale in the northern Gulf of Thailand.  They saw multiple birds every day, with a maximum of six.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Thailand. Photo: Jon Dunn.

Will writes: “From the point where six Spoon-bills were visible at once, by spinning slowly around one could also see about 300 Eurasian Curlews, one Far Eastern curlew, 50 Black-tailed Godwits, 10 Bar-tailed Godwits, six Ruffs, 250 Great Knots, 15 Red Knots, six Nordmann’s Greenshanks, 20 Common Greenshanks, 30 Spotted Redshanks, 400 Marsh Sandpipers, 300 Curlew Sandpipers, six Dunlin, 400 Little Stints, 20 Long-toed Stints, 15 Broad-billed Sandpipers, five Common Sandpipers, 30 Pacific Golden-Plovers, 10 Black-bellied Plovers, 100 Kentish Plovers, 150 Greater Sand-Plovers, 80 Lesser Sand-Plovers, and one Malaysian Plover–all from that single point.”

David and Will also encountered Jon Dunn and the WINGS Coast to Highlands group.  “Lucky Jon,” they’d taken to calling him: the first bird Jon  looked at on getting out of the the van was a Spoon-billed Sandpiper!