Mousehound

Wai ing is just supporting the hierarchical and outdated social structure, OK if Thais want to do it but i'd rather not be part of it myself. These days I hold a hand up in recognition but do not wai and never a public servant. All this feudal kow towing should not be encouraged and I try to stop Thai kids doing it to me at least. I like people to be treated as equals and not upper and lower class just cos they are older, richer or have some 'respectable' job.

Well people are not all equals. I object to young kids pushing in front of me and I don't like to see young people take a seat when there are old, infirm or pregnant women standing. It really comes down to common courtesy. If you mean that everyone should be courteous regardless of age or status I would agree. Personally I rather like the Wai. We don't all have to end up with every culture ignoring its heritage.

It might be an idea that if birds are shown from other parts of the world then they should have a "hook" to a picture of a Thailand bird. Many are of course migratory or have clinal changes in plumage. Or are I do enjoy this forum in particular and anything that gets people into looking more closely at the world about them seems a good thing.

If there are 10 000 expats in Thailand (I have no idea how many there really are) and the average age is as low as 60 then if you give them a generous average 25 years to live there would be an average of one death per day anyway. (the actuarial math would be lower than this I am sure but it is beyond me) The death rate for tourists is possibly higher than their own country most likely because they are out of their comfort zone and put themselves at risk. I take many more risks in Thailand than I do in my home country. But my star burns a lot brighter in Thailand and even if it is shorter lived, I prefer that brief spark.

I can assure you, having lived and worked in Somalia, New Guinea and New York I feel safer in Thailand. In fact I feel safer in Thailand than my present home in Australia and safer than in many parts of the UK I have lived - especially Glasgow.

My advise is to stop listening to doomsayers. News is all about fear - it attracts attention.

Hello Ron

Malaysian Pied Fantail (Pied fantail) in Thailand

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They look very alike, Willie have the grey stripes under the bill and the Thai have the stripes on top of the head. And the Thai fantail have a black band on the chest

And as you say, the Malaysian Pied Fantail is a little more brownish

Willie Wagtail, maybe the Australian Fantail looks a wee bit more sullen

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296-3.gifBut the Australian fantail takes the prize with the name

I really like the Noongar Australian Aboriginal name for the Willie Wagtail (a Flycatcher not really a wagtail) which is "Chitty Chitty" - exactly the sound they make.

Another couple of visitors yesterday, they look a bit like Magpies, but smaller, the tails stick straight up. Nice song too!

I think these are what the Thai use for bird singing competitions?... a life in a cage

As ugly as electric wires are most of the time, these prove quite useful...

Oriental Magpie-Robin

Hello Plahgat

Yes, it can be dangerous with the wild life, especially when walking around looking for birds in the middle of nowhere. I like your picture of the Plover. I was also at a small islets where I went by boat. Just me and a few wadders (not any room for much more as it was high water)

I don't mind watching wadders but I have given up trying to identify them as they look very alike. Like the birds below, exactly the same but different sizes

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Some of them are of course easy to identify, not many birds looking like the Black winged stilt

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I put this bird down as a Greater Sand Plover out of pure frustration. They all look the same in the bird book, so just to leave the bird behind I put it as a Greater Sand Plover.

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Even though I have given up identifying the birds at the sea front I still go there to enjoy watching the birds. And some of the birds down at the sea front are easy to recognize

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Where do you live? I will be back home in Bangkok in a few days time and I will try to explore two new birding places before I leave for Australia. Weather depending. Are you in Bangkok and fancy some birding?

Yes waders can be hard to identify!

I'm only an amateur birdwatcher and nature lover, but my guess would be Common Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper on the two lookalikes in your first picture?

I used to travel around a lot in National Parks in Thailand in the past, but now in my old age I've got stuck in the "swamps" of Pattaya and Bangkok.... chasing a different kind of two-legged animals !

I'm in Sweden now and only come to holiday in Thailand 5 months every year for 29 years now!

Won't be back until next year.

Have a nice day!

Plahgat

+1

Mousehound, do you ever get to Melbourne? The Werribee treatment farm is second only to Kakadu for bird life. Well worth a look if you get the opportunity.

Jack, when the rains start we have those Pittas in a garden every morning.

I was wondering if anybody can offer advice. My pics are OK, but not nearly as sharp as others. I am using a 650D with a Tamron 150-600. I always shoot in manual, never AV, generally at the lowest aperture, unless there is plenty of light. RAW is too slow on the 650D, so I always shoot in JPEG. In Photoshop I generally do as little processing as possible, just a little adjustment. Then I 'save for web' before posting, which drops sharpness quite a bit.

Soon I'll get a new camera, I am struggling to decide between the 7D 2 and the much cheaper 70D, the latter is much cheaper, with a few features that the former is missing. I'm also wondering if the 6D could be worthwhile?

Long time since I have been to Werribee (1985) Went for OB Parrot and then to the settling ponds at the sewage treatment works.

The 70D 2 is the best camera for flight shots and the 6D is best for low light - you can run a really high ISO on a 6D. very good for macro work as well. The 6D is possibly the most underrated of all the middle range Canon cameras. RAW will allow you to sharpen a good deal and on a full frame like a 6D you can sharpen a lot more than with a crop camera . I like the 7D2 a lot and use both the 7D2 and the 6D. A tripod or monopod will help. Also save your BHt for a prime - the 400 5.6 is the best value and a used one can sometimes be had.

Very nice. Do you get to KY often? I live on the southern edge, my only suitable lens is the Tamron 150-600, which isn't great in the jungle. I've been considering the Tamron 70 - 200 2.8 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/539396-REG/Tamron_AF001C_700_70_200mm_f_2_8_Di_LD.html Any thoughts?

I am not a great fan of zoom lenses. I do have one Tamron lens that is simply outstanding: the 180 prime macro. Fantastic for birds - if you are close enough and a great lens for insects, especially butterflies. If you have slow lenses you really need a full frame in the jungle. My preferred body for jungle work is the Canon 6D - surely the most underrated Canon camera. In low light it is simply superb. The Blue Robin shot and others at the same site were taken at an average of 6000 ISO. I hate flash so high ISO is a must. Out of the jungle and for flight shots I like the 7D2. This also gives me the 1.6 crop factor on my 400 prime.

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Nice work - all black birds are hard to get right. The catch in the eye is good. Black and white and all white birds can be even worse - especially with canon equipment. Canon does not handle white well. I have to dial down at least one stop to get definition with white feathers. This creates additional problems with birds in flight and where thy are silhouetted by bright sky. Then I have to dial up by up to two stops which slows the shutter speed which in turn I compensate with by using a higher ISO. All part of the juggling act.

I get a high pitched whine - most likely nothing compared with the OP. However, if I hum at the same pitch it seems to go away for a while. Could be worth trying.

I have been using a Canon 6D with my trusty and favourite lens: 400 5.6. This is a slow but lightweight lens that is very sharp for the money. No IS of course. This is a great low light combination but I have had a couple of months of disappointment with shots being blurred. I thought this through and worked out that firstly the range setting on the lens needs to be set on max for flight shots, the ISO is best on 1200- even in good light and the camera has to be set to focus priority. I am now getting far faster focusing and sharp flight shots. Even so I think I will need a 7D2 for the flight stuff. The 6D is amazing in dark understorey work but a challenge in flight focusing where it is very slow. My best mate just bought a Canon 1C and the latest 400 IS prime and convertors. lucky devil. He has no idea what he photographing but the results are amazing.

That 400/5.6 is a superb lens. Focusing is very fast in good light. Its main drawback is when in poor light e.g birding along trails with thick canopy it struggles to focus and quite often focusing on objects with higher contrast either in foreground or background instead of the bird you want to shoot. And being a slow lens I often need to crank ISO way up to get some decent shutter speeds but this too is not without limits. At times even at ISO3200 speeds are still way too slow to overcome camera shake. One area it excels in is BIF shots in the open with plenty of light.

I am still using the old 7D and don't know if there is an option to set it to focus priority. Time to go back to the owner's manual.

Yes - I agree. It is the old story of compromise. I use a tripod and gimbal often which helps but often hand hold and to get those quick draw flight shots really is beyond the 6D. I am hoping my pal with the 7D2 will sell it to me for a good price. It is very fast to focus - better it seems, or at least as good as the 5D3 he has gotten rid of. The 6D is a great "poor mans" full frane and possibly the best of all the Canon line up in low light. But as stated flight shots are really hard work. There are just not enough focus points for a start.

I just posted in the TV "Nature" thread that I expect to be in the Trang area doing some private study - if there is anyone in that area that would like to catch up for a field trip drop me a PM.

I have been using a Canon 6D with my trusty and favourite lens: 400 5.6. This is a slow but lightweight lens that is very sharp for the money. No IS of course. This is a great low light combination but I have had a couple of months of disappointment with shots being blurred. I thought this through and worked out that firstly the range setting on the lens needs to be set on max for flight shots, the ISO is best on 1200- even in good light and the camera has to be set to focus priority. I am now getting far faster focusing and sharp flight shots. Even so I think I will need a 7D2 for the flight stuff. The 6D is amazing in dark understorey work but a challenge in flight focusing where it is very slow. My best mate just bought a Canon 1C and the latest 400 IS prime and convertors. lucky devil. He has no idea what he photographing but the results are amazing.

Earwigs are Dermaptera and are no real problem but watch out for Rove beetles that are very like earwigs but without the cerci (pincers). These can be nasty. They give of very powerful toxins that can result in severe blistering and other problems.

In fact, they are in big demand in China, and as such, getting shipped from here to there to the extent where there is not so many around anymore in some places.....they are used as an aphrodisiac.....and as such get big money....

A nation of 1.5 billion people is hardly in need of any aphrodisiacs.

Lol so funny... that's the first time today that I've laughed. Good on ya!

Its because of the Tokay aphrodisiac qualities that there are 1.5 billion people in China.

I speak both Spanish and Thai. I could live in Panama without ever speaking English and can live (and mostly do) live in Thailand without ever speaking English. I like speaking Thai -- I don't like speaking Spanish. Don't cry for me Argentina or Panama.

I find Spanish to be infinitely more poetic, fluid, gorgeous and sexy to listen to, and easier to speak and to understand. I also find most people in Latin America to be linguistically inclined, in that they have the ability to figure out what you are trying to say, if you do not speak perfectly. Absolutely the opposite in Thailand. The Thais do not have an ear for language, one iota.

On the contrary, the Thais have an acute ear for language, use the wrong tone and they're laughing because the meaning has altered fundamentally. They're just not familiar with non- native speakers speaking Thai so mispronunciations throw them.But they soon adapt when a foreigner in their circle speaks Thai with an accent, before long they're working out what he is trying to say.

Thai is wonderfully poetic in the right hands- read the poet Sunthon Pu, melody and meaning with alliteration and rhythm flowing seamlessly.

Want I meant is that most Thais are not linguistic. Of course they understand their own language and their own people speaking it. But few have the ability to understand thai that is not spoken well. Few can extrapolate meaning from a poorly spoken question or sentence. Not so in Latin America. I have traveled all over that region and can be understood everywhere with imperfect Spanish. Most will go out of their way to try to figure out what I am saying. That is not part of the Thai mentality on any level.

I don't think may posters here have much of an idea of linguistics. It is said in earlier posts the Thai people have no ear for languages. This is totally incorrect. The fact is many speak a local dialect a district dialect and central Thai and in addition speak English. I have met a Thai that speaks perfect English, French, Italian, German and Dutch. (A guide working at Greenleaf GH Khao Yai ) . The problem is they have too good an ear and as Thai is tonal and most European languages are not tonal we speak garbage when attempting Thai. In European languages the intonation is not really so important generally, so if your accent is off it doesn't really change the meaning. I speak Thai as well as I can - which is not great but improving. I find the Thai people very helpful and understanding of my linguistic blundering as a rule. In fact the short time I spent in Panama I was more frustrated by the lack of Spanish than my poor Thai in Thailand. Strangely I discovered that Japanese is quite widely spoken in Panama - (at least in the tourist centre) much to the delight of my Japanese friend who was traveling with me. Seems Japanese fishing fleets have been calling there for years.

Can anyone help me with this bird ID please. Not the sharpest photo-sorry!

Believe it is a cuckoo-but which one?

Could be a juvenile or a well worn adult.

Photographed in a large tree in my garden at Na Ngua about 10 km north of Phetchabun Highway 21

Thanks in advance

imm. Violet Cuckoo, is my guess.

A good friend - ex resident of Alaska - has retired in Panama for the last two years. He is up in the highland area where it looks like parts of Europe. Very pretty. His take is that it is really simple to retire there - at least as an American. He is loving it and enjoys a good life. I had my heart set on Chiang Mai but as things are evolving - especially with the visa situation, inability to own a house and rapidly rising prices I am drawn to Panama as an alternative. For me the biggest obstacle is the distance from my family who all live in Perth, Australia. Also, I speak and read Thai - at a low level but improving. If I was from the States I would most likely go for Panama. They are certainly easier to deal with regarding visas etc. You can own property. Cost seems to be pretty similar to the cheaper parts of Thailand if you don't want to live in a swanky condo in Panama City.. I get the feeling that the health industry is better in Thailand but my pal, who has some pretty serious health issues is insured, so he flies back to the States for major surgery. When I visited Panama City the humidity and temperature was more like BKK. But I believe it is way cooler up the mountain area. Panama is full of USA retirees but actually some, indeed all the yanks I have met are really nice people - even the ones in CM!

Panama has better hats.

I tip mine too you for that one. Very witty!

A few from the last few days. Just goofing off in southern Thailand.

Most are from Ban Hua Hin, Thailand. Close to Satun, Thailand

Some from Phangnga, Thailand. Pararang caps.

Great pastime to keep busy with.

OK - quick guess on waders. Eurasian Curlew - the big bugger with a long beak. Wood Sandpiper, flecked wings and yellowlegs. Whimbrel - shortish downturned beak and white rump with barred tail coverts.

I am out of the country at the moment. How is the season progressing? Earlier and other reports are that things are slow (migratory spp). Are bird numbers down?

Would be helpful if OP tells us what kind of habitat this bird was seen in.

BRTs are frequently seen amongst - as the name implies, rocks. Also commonly perched on roof eaves or concrete walls.

I have a 3 pics here, 2 of which are of the Whistling, the black-beaked was from Doi Inthanon and yellow-beaked from Phu Khieo, Chaiyaphum.

The rock thrush was from Chong Yen, Mae Wong.

There are folks here whom are very good in bird IDs and hope they'd offer their opinions.

Meanwhile, I saw a solitary little grebe on my patch. Common enough but a first here at my lake. And till now, not a single leaf warbler sighted. Where have they gone?

I think you are correct. The BRT that I have seen always have a faint pale emargination on the primaries and secondaries. And in non breeding plumage have a scaly look to the breast feathers.

Some more from this morning:

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Racket-tailed Treepie (Note the blue eye)

Red-whiskered Bulbul