Thaibirds and more

The wet season is a good time to see these great looking birds. Unmistakable in flight. Lovely golden 'mane'/neck in breeding plumage as well as a long tail. Truly precocious as they can walk almost instantly once hatched. Still, quite a feat on that wobbly floating vegetation. This is a female bird. They have reversed sex roles so that the male is the one raising and incubating the young ones. Now, I wonder why this male hasn't got a long tail?

Pittas sure are exciting birds. Every so difficult to find outside of breeding season but always incredibly rewarding once found. I have birded in Thailand for many years but still can count on one hand's fingers the number of times I have seen Eared Pitta. So it was with joy I accepted this opportunity to view the bird from a carefully set up blind. It so happened to be the very last day before the chicks left with their mom so I really managed in the 'nick of time'. The bird perched and called the chicks from a perch some 6-7 meter up for a little over an hour before it went on the ground and slowly approached the nest. I don't know why it had such an incredibly slow approach and I don't think it was aware of my presence. When ever any other birds would come near the Pitta likewise would stop showing. It seemed on high alert until it finally decided to feed and then would come every 5-10 minutes. After 20 minutes of feeding I left the blind. Conditions were very h...

Most folks visiting Thailand don't get to see Blue-winged Pitta for the simple reason that it is a wet season visitor. A few individuals may stay over winter in the South but no where else. Then in late April/May they start coming in from their wintering grounds in primarily Indonesia. In June they breed and in suitable habitat are quite easy to see. This particular individual was fed worms regularly at the garden of a local bird photographer near Khao Yai. The bird had a nest up the hill but worms strategically placed would overcome its fear and it put on a splendid show. On the day I visited it showed just about every 10 minutes. The chicks must have been quite big to receive all that food! I was able to take pictures for a long time and to experiment with different settings. Great fun!

A little bit of greenery behind 4 walls at the Temple of Heaven helped to produce 4 lifers! Yellow-billed Grosbeak Azure-winged Magpie Red-billed Starling White-cheeked Starling 2.11.0.0

Big cities in China are not exactly bird friendly. However, I found this lovely park in Guangzhou by the name of Da Foo Chan. Lots of people at all times but enough nature for little birds to find space. I was there in early April when this wonderfully adorned FC passed through from its wintering grounds on Borneo and the Philippines towards its breeding grounds in NE China/Japan. All in all I saw 4 birds, all male. That yellow eye brow make a good detail separating if from Yellow-rumped FC, a much more common bird in Thailand. Narcissus is only vagrant in Thailand.

Having seen  a Masked Finfoot easily is one of my top experiences in the field of ornithology. It all started with an email from Robert Hutchinson enquiring if I knew anything about a Masked Finfoot at Khao Yai. I thought it must be a hoax but Robert insisted and told me an image was to be found online. I googled the net and found the image and accompanying text. I was a bit shocked that this incredible sighting hadn’t reached my ‘ears’ until 3 weeks after it was seen. I got on the phone and talked to Guide A, who at the time worked as a guide at Khao Yai. I told him of the find. A few days later another Thai guy sent an image of the same bird to Philip D. Round who promptly sent out a message alerting everyone. I immediately called Guide A and impressed upon him the need for urgency. Then a couple of days later, Guide A, excitedly called saying how he had seen the bird after several days of trying. Next day I drove  to Khao Yai and placed myself at the given spot. I sat for ...

Seeing this incredible animal: the male Gaur, was a first for me while slowly leaving Kaengkrachan National Park. The animal took me by surprise as I was focused on birds. Seeing such a huge animal as this in a natural setting was an experience that entered my senses like lightning. It is just awesome that one can find such magnificent animals still in fairly close vicinity of human settlements.