Storks displacing egrets?

[LawrenceN]

Sorry if this belongs in another forum. I didn't see one for bird-watching.

 

Anyway, I'm a casual birder. I'm a frequent cyclist. I have noticed many more open-billed storks in the last year or two, and a lot fewer egrets. Is this a well-documented phenomenon? Do you more serious birdwatchers know about this? I still see a few egrets out there on my morning bike rides, but not in every field like there were before the storks moved in in big numbers a couple of years ago. 

 

Well-informed comments welcome. 

[Bill97]

Yes see many more storks this year, Mae Rim.

[Yorkshire Tea]

Same in San Kamphaeng.  Storks used to stay for a short time & in small numbers.  Def a lot more & here seemingly permanently.

[dingdongrb]

I've been seeing many more storks in the Hnagdong area than usual and they seem to be staying around.

[holy cow cm]

Yep. Nong Hoi -Saraphi to further south is for sure. They seem to follow rice fields. 

[dingdongrb]

Anyone know what kind of bird makes a next like this:

 

[Madgee]

Weaver bird?

 

 

 

[dingdongrb]

30 minutes ago, Madgee said:

Weaver bird?

 

 

 

Yes, that's it, thanks.

 

I've never seen them before until this year. These are near a friend's house in the Lamphun area. Been visiting him for years and this is the first year they have built their nests in this tree or anywhere close by (that I'm aware of).

[trevoromgh]

I'd say they are weaver bird nests too as I saw them a lot in South Africa but less so over here.

[CNXBKKMAN]

I would say there are lot more than usual. They also seem to be tamer and you can get much closer. In previous years if i stopped and pointed my camera at them they would fly off, even when they were quite a distance away. I had never seen them in the city until this year. I have seen a couple at the Convention Centre and dozen or so close to fire station at the airport last week. Heres a pic from rice fields just to the west of Maejo.

 

[LawrenceN]

I'm the OP. Yes, we all know there are more storks. I said so in the OP. The question is, "Are storks displacing egrets?" I was hoping to hear from a KNOWLEDGEABLE, serious birdwatcher, maybe a full-fledged (pun intended) ornithologist. No one even mentioned seeing fewer egrets, so that maybe we could see a trend or identify a causation. 

 

A few years back, on a morning bike ride, I stopped to ask a farmer if he had noticed fewer storks. It was a year in which storks were scarce. He said yes, farmers were scaring them off because storks stomp the seedling rice plants. So, you see, I'm wondering whether this is a known natural cycle, or if Thai farmers have been educated about the benefits of storks. Maybe storks attack egrets' nests and eat their eggs. See, I can speculate and theorize with the best of you, but as I said in the OP, I would appreciate knowledgeable answers or observed behavior. 

 

This post is not about weaver birds. Start your own post if you want to post photos of diverse species and their nesting habits. Apologies for getting so cranky. Apparently, TV is the place to go for information you already know, or never asked.

 

Off to google, ya w***kers. 

[Trujillo]

....there must be more babies arriving in Chiang Mai...

[holy cow cm]

8 hours ago, dingdongrb said:

Anyone know what kind of bird makes a next like this:

 

Oh yes. We have 2 large trees near us that are literally bird apartment complexes just like this. 

[holy cow cm]

18 minutes ago, LawrenceN said:

I'm the OP. Yes, we all know there are more storks. I said so in the OP. The question is, "Are storks displacing egrets?" I was hoping to hear from a KNOWLEDGEABLE, serious birdwatcher, maybe a full-fledged (pun intended) ornithologist. No one even mentioned seeing fewer egrets, so that maybe we could see a trend or identify a causation. 

 

A few years back, on a morning bike ride, I stopped to ask a farmer if he had noticed fewer storks. It was a year in which storks were scarce. He said yes, farmers were scaring them off because storks stomp the seedling rice plants. So, you see, I'm wondering whether this is a known natural cycle, or if Thai farmers have been educated about the benefits of storks. Maybe storks attack egrets' nests and eat their eggs. See, I can speculate and theorize with the best of you, but as I said in the OP, I would appreciate knowledgeable answers or observed behavior. 

 

This post is not about weaver birds. Start your own post if you want to post photos of diverse species and their nesting habits. Apologies for getting so cranky. Apparently, TV is the place to go for information you already know, or never asked.

 

Off to google, ya w***kers. 

My opinion is there are the same amount of egrets still out and about but the storks have recently just come in with bigger numbers making the population of egrets look tiny. Your question is a good observation, as I will not see egrets and storks hanging about in the same field. Not conducive for one another is what I gather.

[LawrenceN]

13 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

My opinion is there are the same amount of egrets still out and about but the storks have recently just come in with bigger numbers making the population of egrets look tiny. Your question is a good observation, as I will not see egrets and storks hanging about in the same field. Not conducive for one another is what I gather.

Thanks for that. Storks are bigger, so they can push the egrets out as they compete for the same habitat. 

[Puwa]

More storks because fewer planes in the sky.

[Yorkshire Tea]

4 minutes ago, Puwa said:

More storks because fewer planes in the sky.

The increase in storks was well before reduction in flights.  And to the OP. I would say less egrets.

[dingdongrb]

2 hours ago, LawrenceN said:

I'm the OP. Yes, we all know there are more storks. I said so in the OP. The question is, "Are storks displacing egrets?" I was hoping to hear from a KNOWLEDGEABLE, serious birdwatcher, maybe a full-fledged (pun intended) ornithologist. No one even mentioned seeing fewer egrets, so that maybe we could see a trend or identify a causation. 

 

A few years back, on a morning bike ride, I stopped to ask a farmer if he had noticed fewer storks. It was a year in which storks were scarce. He said yes, farmers were scaring them off because storks stomp the seedling rice plants. So, you see, I'm wondering whether this is a known natural cycle, or if Thai farmers have been educated about the benefits of storks. Maybe storks attack egrets' nests and eat their eggs. See, I can speculate and theorize with the best of you, but as I said in the OP, I would appreciate knowledgeable answers or observed behavior. 

 

This post is not about weaver birds. Start your own post if you want to post photos of diverse species and their nesting habits. Apologies for getting so cranky. Apparently, TV is the place to go for information you already know, or never asked.

 

Off to google, ya w***kers. 

Wow, where to begin?

 

Not sorry for hi-jacking your precious thread with adding a question about what kind of nests I saw. It's TV, and hi-jacking threads is what we do. I thought since the thread was geared towards 'serious bird watchers' I mighty get a quick answer here.

 

As for your OP, if you are wanting to know the quantities of certain bird species perhaps you should go lay out in a rice field for a few weeks and count them. I am sure you'll probably not be missed and it'll probably soothe your crankiness. If you run out of toes and finger perhaps you can pic up one of these to help you count. (I'm betting pink is a satisfying color...  ???? )

 

From your OP:

"Is this a well-documented phenomenon? Do you more serious birdwatchers know about this?"

 

Documented? Maybe a search on BBC's documentaries will help inform you rather than using TV.

 

"I'm a frequent cyclist."

 

What does that have to do with the recent number of storks?

 

[Maybole]

I notice a large increase in the number of rice fields in my area. It may be farmers bringing previously fallow area back ino use, but, in any case ir results in an increase in food for storks. Between Hang and Sanpatong there has been a large increae in the number of storks.

[opalred]

with the lock down its only natural the storks would be more active

[grin]

Storks more active 9 months after poeple quarantined with significant other? Sorry, couldn't resist.

[LawrenceN]

I stopped this morning to talk to a farmer about this. He said that the storks are "good eaters" (กินเก่ง), meaning they get to the snails and fish in the rice fields faster, more aggressively. He also said that most farmers are using pesticides that kill fish, the egrets' preferred food. The double whammy of competing with storks and pesticides killing fish is taking its toll on the egrets, at least according to this one young farmer. 

[Bill97]

6 minutes ago, LawrenceN said:

the egrets' preferred food. 

Enlightening.

Rice?

 

[Bill97]

10 minutes ago, LawrenceN said:

The double whammy of competing with storks and pesticides killing fish is taking its toll on the egrets

Pesticides took out the fish decades ago.

[JimGant]

Majestic creatures. We've several ponds that, when near empty, attracted at least one huge male stork (assume male, 'cause of a few occasions he was accompanied with a smaller version...). The ponds are back full now, and I haven't recently seen the stork. But I can still hear his "afterburners of displaced air" as he takes flight -- in response to my Lab's territorial response to the intrusion on his pond.

Anyway, I enjoy the wildlife, what there is of it, out here in the sticks on Thailand. Particularly the ornery myna birds, when their oversized young squawk for a bug from mom or dad. Enjoyed this myna bird charade when I lived on Hawaii.

Sorry for thread creep.

[jak2002003]

op...

 

The Asian open bill storks are the one species of stork in Thailand that is increasing significantly in population.

 

They benefitted greatly because of the introduced African apple snail which was shipped to farm for humans to eat. They escaped and are now a serious pest for rice farmers. Snails are this storks main food.

 

They are not displacing any other bird...even the egrets. 

 

This is because egrets and openbill storks consume totally different foods. The storms eat snails. The egrets eat insects, amphibians and small fish. 

 

Egrets here have a stable population. The storks have an increasing population.

 

The younger generations of storks are more habituated to human presence and so are less likely to fly off as generally they are not hunted for food (supposed to taste really bad), or otherwise persecuted as they are a benefit for peat control for farmers. 

 

Their occasional trampling of young rice plants is off offset by the snail control they provide. 

 

Hope that answers your questions. 

 

I am a zoologist...so hope that is knowledgeable enough for you ????

Edited September 15, 2020 by jak2002003

[LawrenceN]

16 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

op...

 

The Asian open bill storks are the one species of stork in Thailand that is increasing significantly in population.

 

They benefitted greatly because of the introduced African apple snail which was shipped to farm for humans to eat. They escaped and are now a serious pest for rice farmers. Snails are this storks main food.

 

They are not displacing any other bird...even the egrets. 

 

This is because egrets and openbill storks consume totally different foods. The storms eat snails. The egrets eat insects, amphibians and small fish. 

 

Egrets here have a stable population. The storks have an increasing population.

 

The younger generations of storks are more habituated to human presence and so are less likely to fly off as generally they are not hunted for food (supposed to taste really bad), or otherwise persecuted as they are a benefit for peat control for farmers. 

 

Their occasional trampling of young rice plants is off offset by the snail control they provide. 

 

Hope that answers your questions. 

 

I am a zoologist...so hope that is knowledgeable enough for you ????

Perfect! Thanks!