Thailand Day 2

On the second day we woke up hoping for a better sunrise than the previous day.

In general the sunrises are relatively bleak and mediocre than what I expected from being on the ocean.

Black-winged Stilt:

A glimpse of the salt pans where the birds hung out. There were literally hundreds and thousands of these salt pans providing plenty of space for the birds to roost and feed. It's one example of how human development has helped some species.

In that photo you can see the piles of salt ready to be collected. Amazingly, just the day before there was absolutely no salt mounds at this location and by the end of the day they were all gone. Within 24 hours they push the salt into piles like that to dry out any remaining moisture and then a squadron of people rush in, carry it with sticks and baskets into one big mound by the side of the street, where a truck eventually carries it all away.

Common Sandpiper - it looks almost the same as a juv. Spotted Sandpiper (a North American species), has the same unique flight (stuttering wingbeats) and also bobs it tail!

Astronomy News:

If you're in Canada (or anywhere in the north for that matter) make sure to look to the night sky tonight and tomorrow night (Thursday and Friday night). There's going to be a major aurora borealis! An intensity of 6 out of 10 (on the GI scale) - the highest I've ever seen it go since following it irregularly for the past 2 years.

More info here

I'll have to remain jealous here on the equator. Although I've heard that the sun is going through a phase of 'high activity' meaning that there's a good chance I'll be able to see this eventually.

Another astronomical object you might want to look out for is Saturn's rings! You should be able to see them with even a birders scope :) And it's only going to get better from now until May!

That's all for now!