Mousehound

Set my camera up in the field a few weeks ago as the Cow Egrets were coming in to glean rice kernels from burnt straw. Change settings to HD if you like.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsFrslhdOD0&feature=youtu.be

Nice! Cattle Egret with one Little Egret (taking off ) and two or three Grey Heron? in the far back of the paddock. Not sure about the Heron.

You could try:

http://thailand.longstayers.com/hua-hin/apartment/baan-weerut/th234.html

But I would imagine your best bet is, as in all towns, get a few nights in a guesthouse and start working the streets. You can be sure that price will go down as you get away from the town centre and the beach.

As the paddy dries up, most of the birds are leaving my area; this always happens in January. I'm now trying to see if there are any Striated Swallows among the Red-rumped. Just how does one see the back of the neck, and the heaviness or otherwise of the streaks on the belly, on birds jinking all over the place at a rate of knots and rarely coming close? I did have a nice view of one bird this morning, which swooped down in front of me, but it was gone before I could see those diagnostic features.

Five Black Bazas on New Year's Day was a nice start to the year; I usually get them only in October.

I found swallows etc really difficult with my usual 10x40s but then got a nice pair of 7x with good glass. They make it so much easier for closer work on fast moving stuff. I also use them for butterflies and weigh little.

Linseed oil or any cooking oil is fine.

you should be able to get Linseed oil at a hardware store.

1. The best thing about IKEA is their free pencils.

2. I hope it will be something a little more useful than another computer outlet.

There is a special thick white paint that is now used on buildings - often on water tanks to get the temp down. Silver tarps do work but will collapse quite quickly in my experience. I get tarps to last a year at the most before sun and abrasion destroy them..

Rent a scooter is good if:

You are already experienced at riding a scooter

Have a valid license from your own country and have an international license

Don't give them your passport as a deposit

As a matter of interest what do Ausies do re documentation in CM?

I have been a couple of times in the last four years. The first time it was being used by the monks and I met the Abbot, an interesting and charming man, who spoke good English. The second time, last January, there had been a big storm and several trees and some structure seemed damaged and it seems the monks are no longer around. This is a shame as the monks really set the place off well. I like the town and people of Phemai. Not many farangs about. Both times I built a trip in to Phanom Rung in the morning,and last time a side trip to see some silk making. All in all a really good day. Coming from Phanom Rung we had lunch about 1.5k out of town at a good spot. may be on some of the travel blogs. The restaurants in town itself are very basic indeed. if you do Phanom Rung there are a group of rahn aharn near the police booth/tourist bay. These had some good food. Salted fish grilled seems a favourite - excellent. nearby are some large water tanks. These and Phanom Rung are thought to be pre Ankhor Wat. n4ear there is also a really lovely ruin (in excellent condition) with large lotus ponds. It is my favourite as in two visits I only saw one other person there - but the name escapes me. Most likely in lonely Planet though. This place is free to visit the others require an entry fee. Many of the Phanom Rung people seemed to speak Khmer.

Not quite sure if this qualifies as a tree, or a bird which is just about to conduct it's speech to concur the world.

Just sp®outing off a bit!! Sorry about that.

This is a western problem as well. litter is a major problem in Oz. Two years ago I was teaching and the school head girl threw her lunch wrappers on the ground and then refused to pick them up. I spoke to her mother and the reply was "why should she pick it up? You are the teacher, it's your job to clean the place up, that's what you are paid for". I fear this is just a sign of the times. The parks around where I live in Oz are filled with dumped rubbish, including tons and tons of asbestos. having said that, there is no doubt that Thailand is really spoiled by the pervasivelitter problem. Litter clean-ups have to be handled at local levels to be effective.

Anyone using the new Canon 7D2?

Common Tailor

400/5.6 @ F8; 1/2500sec; ISO500; Man mode.

Great shot - and the info is very helpful for me as I use the same lens.

Not sure of this rare species - any suggestions?

bird.JPG

Quite rare that one matey...usually they're all over our car park & grass after

the grass cutters leave. I thought we were the only ones to have em!

I like the Tree Sparrow - a bit neater looking than the House Sparrow.

And just think MH...the Sparrows originated in the UK once upon a time.

I guess you could say they're the UK's largest, in terms of sheer numbers,

export! About the only place I have never seen one was on the Antarctic

continent when there around the turn of the century. Then again I wasn't

looking for sparrows either...just didn't notce any...too cold? Hah!

They are not found in West Australia either. Those that are found (illegal immigrants)are shot - as are Starlings.

I don't see what the problem is. As a teacher I expect to develop the curriculum myself, write the programmes and develop the lesson plans as well as develop feedback strategies and marking schedules. On top of this I draw up daily lesson plans. All I get initially is the overall topics that need to be covered. That is why I work a 60hr+ week.

Wow, 19 posts and no one has said Adhere 13 blues bar. It's on Samsen RD, only 10 min walk from KSR. It's very small but has real character. They have a very good house band that plays there Thur to Sun from 9pm on.

Brown Sugar is another nice place for jazz but I'm unsure if they've moved as they were on Sarasin (sp) next to Lumpini.

I'm going to book mark this thread as I want to check out some of the mentioned places except the RLD venues as the only one that had decent music blaring from it was the bar outside nana next to Stumble Inn.

Forgive my ignorance but what is KSR? Adhere sounds interesting. Many thanks.

KSR - Khao San Rd

AdHere 13 is north, on Sam Sen Rd, over the klong bridge and twenty yards up on the left. Opposite Blue Diamond House and a bit further North. Google map it - it's marked. Next door is good food, although AdHere does snacks and such, that it brings in from there. Some times they do a kebab type thing on the sidewalk.. Doesn't really get going until at least 9.30pm - 10pm. Closes at 12pm. 7 days a week. Best nights are Thurs to Sat. Usually a two band thing happening with the lesser starting 8.30. It is a tiny place and can get busy. The Banglamphu Band is great. If I remember correctly the bass player is related to the famous Khun Took guitarist of Chiang Mai, who now plays regularly in BKK. If you get a chance to see Khun Took, take it - he is outstanding. I'll try to find out where he plays in BKK.

That's Weevil Goompa.

Is the top one "the better of two weevils"?

For what it is worth, I calculate the average of condos within three kilometres of CM centre (approx.) to be about 60k/sq meter. An average of about 2.5million Bht for 42sq meters. The factors that drive the scale up or down are, predicably, age, proximity, orientation, design and condition. Position, position, and position is usually the biggest factor. Then there is supply and demand and the usual economic ups and downs to consider. Factor into this the changing exchange rate. It's quite a juggling act.

Then there are personal situation factors: are you investing to rent or live. Do you intend to stay for xx years? After all if you intend to live in a place for a few years would you buy a place that you really don't like much but it was a good price? Or would it be better to pay a bit too much but get somewhere you really enjoy?

Investment wise the old saying that, "buy the cheapest house on the street" has some merit.

Oh, and one more factor is how well the condo is run. If there are condo management wars or if the common fees are too low or poorly managed, then a property will be affected.

If you get all this right but for some reason don't go through with things let me know. I'll buy the place myself!

Kanchanaburi elephant carer

naturesniche.com

in Singapore have one. about $40 US

I checked all mentioned bookstores in Chiang Mai before posting here, except for Kasetsart university but i suppose they only have a shop in Bangkok.

I would be interested to know if Kasetsart has one.