Thaibirds and more

April - June is really the time to see Broadbills. Funny how it is but I can go throughout the dry season only seeing the random bird. Then when the wet season starts the birds seem to suddenly 'appear' in the area between the 3 streams at Kaengkrachan. Especially Silver-breasted becomes easy to spot as it often build its nest close to the road. Black-Red Broadbill is always found nesting over some water with its nesting ball hanging from a thin twig. With both these species I used a portable blind. The female has a nice silver necklace.

Thailand definitely is a good place for Kingfisher lovers. Many can be seen on phone wires along highways or near mangroves. Several occupy open woodlands and not everyone feed exclusively on fish. The following 3 species are only found in forested areas. This incredibly attractive male Banded Kingfisher is often heard but can be quite tricky to see inside the forest. I am not sure if it actually ever feeds on fish. I was watching it come to feed its young and all the prey were bugs, scorpions, spiders and lizzards. I sat in a hide for 4 hours. The male only came twice during that time But the female came a lot more often. As usual they took perch on a branch a few meters from the nest before entering. I believe the chick was about a week old. Their nest was inside a termite nest on an old log. This little jewel: Black-backed Kingfisher (Oriental Dwarf) on the other hand has its nest in a burrow on a bank near a stream. The birds kept feeding all kinds of insect including fish. They wo