Thaibirds and more

There are so so many things that have to come together for certain images to happen as is the case of this set of pix.  !. The miracle of having access to a small population of wintering Spoon-billed Sandpiper in relative closeness to Bangkok. 2. Finding the birds in the midst of thousands of other shorebirds. 3. Having the time and money to get to the place. 4. Being aware of the tidal schedule. 5. Decent if not good weather. 6. Having the camera gear to take the picture. 7. Knowing how to operate your camera. 8. Having good relations with the workers of the salt pans so as to not wear out your welcome. 9. Preferably no other people around in order to best approach the birds. 10. The blessing of God probably should be on top of the list though!  So, on our way back towards Bangkok we wanted to stop by Paktaley for another try at the Spoonies having seen them a day earlier. Weather was not the best with drizzling rain being a constant. About 5 km before

 It finally happened! 10 days of birding on West Papua with a team of 5 Norwegians, 1 Swiss and one Indian. It truly was a milestone of a birding endeavor and something I will never forget. The main focus was on Birds of Paradise and we saw several. This one, Wilson's BOP, an endemic from the island of Waigeo performed wonderfully!  It was so interesting to see how hard the male worked to attract a female. He would clean up his mating area making sure it was suitable for a lady. He would dance around his pole. He let out the loudest of calls. And when the female showed up he eventually got 'down on his knees' in admiration of her presence while 'begging' for her approval!  

Time for some fun LBJ's (Little Brown Jobs).. Dusky Warbler ...Phylloscopus fuscatus Radd'es Warbler Phylloscopus schwarzi During mid winter these birds inhabit different habit zones. During migration they may overlap. Dusky has a strong preference to mangroves, scrub near water causes. It has a soft but sharp tick call that is easy to ID. The bill is smaller and the bird is slightly smaller then Radde's as well. Radde's has more color to it, looks chunkier and with a stronger bill. The supercilium is stronger and slightly bordered darker above. The call is a chuck with more strength then Dusky but not as intense. Most often found in forested areas near to forest breaks. Dusky Warbler Radde's Warbler

Tawny Owl Long-eared Owl  During a 4 weeks visit to Sweden in May/June 2018 I had the opportunity to visit several friends and relatives. I had a secret wish for this visit and that was to see owls as I had previously only seen Tawny Owl. Through the help of these friends and details posted online plus my own birding I was able to add another 6 species to my collection. All these owls were seen during day hours as well making it possible to photograph them in good light. I have yet to see Snowy Owl, Barn Owl and Little  Owl  in Sweden so there is reason to look for more in the future.  Great Gray Owl Northern Hawk Owl Short-eared Owl Ural Owl

Vietnam 14-21st of March 2017 This was a long overdue trip. For various reasons I had not visited Vietnam previously but this time everything seemed just right. My friend Stijn de Win and I left from Bangkok to Ho Chi Min with Airasia.  Less than 2 hours away we landed in a modern airport. Getting luggage and going through immigrations was a breeze. Our prearranged agent was waiting for us with transportation and soon we were on the roads of Ho Chi Min. Lots of both motorbikes and cars made it slow to get out of town but once out we find ourselves on a new multiple lane highway we whisked through the landscape. Once off the highway the road was more crowded but still nicely paved and we arrived to Cat Tien National Park just after noon. We stayed at spacious AC accommodations inside the park where there also was a restaurant with good food and plenty of cold beers. A lot of the birds here are the same as in Thailand so I recognized a lot of the sounds. But the reason for co

Here are two birds often mixed up. 1st is a Pale Blue Flycatcher.....this bird prefers to perch inside the shades of the forest and I have not seen it on an open exposed branch....... http://www.xeno-canto.org/213578 2nd is Verditer Flycatcher which is a much more commonly seen bird as it is often seen perched in the open. http://www.xeno-canto.org/255731 Both birds are widely distributed in SEA and South Asia. They dont belong to the same genus. Pale Blue being a cyornis and Verditer part of the much smaller group of Eumyias.. Both pix from Bhutan

 Banded Kingfisher is one of those 'must see' birds in the forests of tropical SEA. It likes to sit motionless in upper or mid story level and is most frequently detected by its diagnostic call. The male is lovely blue, brown, white and adorned with a strikingly red bill. The birds like to raise its crown though I have no idea as to why except for the obvious beautifying aspect. The female is all brown making it look like a different species. These birds do not feed on fish but lizzards, frogs, scorpions, chicadas etc etc. This pair was nesting and so I was able to get some shots at a decent range. The nest was inside of an abandoned ball shaped ant nest.

At around 11:10 am 29th of March, 2017,  Nick Upton graciously posted a finding of Oriental Plover on a secluded beach 3 hours drive  from my home. Now this is a top top bird and very difficult to see in Thailand. I thought of my options and by 11:30 had decided to go…..at 11:45 it unexpectedly started to rain hard with strong winds. Having had weird weather for a few days it served as a damper on my enthusiasm. Then after lunch my wife reminded me I had to take our youngest son to the  Embassy the following morning. Ouch, what to do but to take it on the chin! I kept thinking of the bird throughout the day and kept getting,  ‘who is kept by the Word of God and prayer’. Now that is a Scripture which might not be specific about a bird but it kept coming to me and I started to think I should give it a go after the Embassy visit.  As usual  God speaks in a still small voice, an inner conviction or a hint. Rarely is the voice yelling nor is he bashing me on the head unless I am really in n

There are so many 'hidden' jewels inside the deep forests of the Earth. Our part is the digging, the seeking, the going, putting oneself in the situation to make things possible for the 'miracle to happen'! I had 4 major targets for visiting Southern Vietnam and one of them was the Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, an endemic to South Annam. Having seen and photographed its closest relation, the Spot-breasted LT some years ago made this even more special. Our local guide, Tim , had a spot where he knew the birds would frequent at times. We positioned us in a small hide and waited. Nothing showed till 8:30 so we set a 'deadline' at 9 am. At 8:55 the miracle happened!  It was very dark so I had to shoot at ISO6400 with 1/40s shutter speed. Orange-breasted Laughingthrush!

Something I wrote 16 years ago! A Bangkok Morning Concert, March 2000 "Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, Oh what a beautiful feeling, everything's going God's way" These words from the familiar song I feel are very applicable to the sounds I encounter on a daily basis around our house here in the northern outskirts of Bangkok in the middle of March. As is the case everywhere else in this buzzing city full of people and noise, the sounds of roaring engines, be they motorcyles, cars, buses or airplanes are ever present in their quest to overpower one another. Incredibly enough so are also the natural sounds and wonders of God's little creatures. One just need to listen and tune in! It all started this morning at 4 a.m. Pied Fantail Flycatcher is starting its song way too early. Who changed its body clock? Whatever the reason may be, this active little creature with its ever fanning tail took charge of my day. The song is v