Birdwatching In Isan

[Water Buffalo]

Many owls in Isaan?

[isanbirder]

Many owls in Isaan?

Spotted Owlets very common (and diurnal), Barred Owlets and Collared Scops Owls fairly common.

Of the bigger owls, I have only one record, a Barn Owl which came to an untimely end in a farmer's net.

[Water Buffalo]

I'm glad to hear there are some!

I hope to do a bit of birding myself when i move out to Isaan, but I'm a complete newbie. What kind of binoculars would you recommend?

Thanks in advance

[barrybankruad]

Many owls in Isaan?

Spotted Owlets very common (and diurnal), Barred Owlets and Collared Scops Owls fairly common.

Of the bigger owls, I have only one record, a Barn Owl which came to an untimely end in a farmer's net.

Many Thais are terrified of owls, it's a spirit thing, they believe they bring death. I had a friend who went to a zoo overseas with his Thai wife, they had a great time until they went into an enclosure that featured night birds. The wife spotted an owl, ran out and the day was apparently, completely ruined.

[Long tang]

Pardon my ignorance does this mean Taiga and Red-throated are now two separate species?

I did a quick google search and came up with Ficedula parva, F.albicilla and finally F. parva albicilla.

I am totally confused.

2 separate species alright. But the split is Red-breasted & Red-throated (Taiga)

i remember the first record for Britain of Taiga Flycatcher... back in 2003, one turned up at Flamborough Head! Twitchers from all over the UK flocked to Yorkshire to see it. Was quite an event for British birding. It was also mist netted.

Was it lost? Why would it end up there? How does something like that happen?

Please excuse my ignorance.

in this case, at the western most part of their range, when migrating south they (all migrating birds actually) can get caught up in strong weather/winds that blow them way off course....hence a few oddities turn up in places where they simply shouldn't be. We call them 'vagrants'. UK gets a handful of these every year from east & west.

Thailand gets them too... enter the 'twitcher'.

Gotcha, thanks for filling me in!

[isanbirder]

I'm glad to hear there are some!

I hope to do a bit of birding myself when i move out to Isaan, but I'm a complete newbie. What kind of binoculars would you recommend?

Thanks in advance

Buying binoculars depends on your individual preference.

Buy a well-known brand, not a cheapie from the night market. I prefer 10 x 40; some people prefer 8 x 40 or 10 x 50. The first figure is the magnification, the second is the diameter of the object lens. What this means is that the larger object lens lets in more light. But good manufacturers these days have found ways of maximising the light admitted by the binoculars... and therefore a new 10 x 40 is as good as an old 10 x 50 (which would have been heavier.

If you have a birding friend, try his binoculars out first!

[Water Buffalo]

I'm glad to hear there are some!

I hope to do a bit of birding myself when i move out to Isaan, but I'm a complete newbie. What kind of binoculars would you recommend?

Thanks in advance

Buying binoculars depends on your individual preference.

Buy a well-known brand, not a cheapie from the night market. I prefer 10 x 40; some people prefer 8 x 40 or 10 x 50. The first figure is the magnification, the second is the diameter of the object lens. What this means is that the larger object lens lets in more light. But good manufacturers these days have found ways of maximising the light admitted by the binoculars... and therefore a new 10 x 40 is as good as an old 10 x 50 (which would have been heavier.

If you have a birding friend, try his binoculars out first!

Thanks for the advice!

[hanno]

I'm glad to hear there are some!

I hope to do a bit of birding myself when i move out to Isaan, but I'm a complete newbie. What kind of binoculars would you recommend?

Thanks in advance

All the big brands are eye-wateringly expensive but you will be able to use them for years. I am a Swarovski fan, but Zeiss, Leica and Nikon are also good (Nikon being the most affordable).

Apart from magnification, ergonomics are very important. You don't want to blow up to 2 Grand on bins you cannot hold comfortably. Some people are also susceptible to "rolling ball" with certain bins; you really want to be able to try before you buy.

I do a lot of my birding in forests; I think in that environment magnification is less important than the light-gather ability.

Here is a good article on what to look out for: http://www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/birdwatching-binoculars.php

[Water Buffalo]

Thanks!

[jack2964]

New tick for my patch:

Tickell's blue flycatcher

[jack2964]

Red avadavat-has anyone sighted this bird in Isaan? If so would like to know what kind of habitat you saw it in.

I am surrounded by rice fields, corn and cassava but have never seen it.

[isanbirder]

Red avadavat-has anyone sighted this bird in Isaan? If so would like to know what kind of habitat you saw it in.

I am surrounded by rice fields, corn and cassava but have never seen it.

Yes, I get a few every year, usually in November. This year, three. It's in a big stretch of paddyfields.

[hanno]

Red avadavat-has anyone sighted this bird in Isaan? If so would like to know what kind of habitat you saw it in.

I am surrounded by rice fields, corn and cassava but have never seen it.

Here in Cambodia they like grassland near water.

[jack2964]

Yes, I get a few every year, usually in November. This year, three. It's in a big stretch of paddyfields.

Thanks. I take this to mean just before harvest and they come to feed on the rice.

I'll have to look harder.

[hanno]

Actually, I saw my first ever Avadavats in a cage outside a Pagoda so people could release them (to be promptly hammered by the resident Shikras; Siem Reap must have the highest density of Shikras in the world).

[isanbirder]

I usually see them actually on the main track (unsurfaced) running through the paddy, or on the rice just at the side of the track. In flight they look very dark, and very small.... and don't have the nasty habit of diving back into the paddy a few yards after they get up (like Lanceolated Warblers, which I'm convinced I see every year, but have never confirmed!).

[hanno]

I usually see them actually on the main track (unsurfaced) running through the paddy, or on the rice just at the side of the track. In flight they look very dark, and very small.... and don't have the nasty habit of diving back into the paddy a few yards after they get up (like Lanceolated Warblers, which I'm convinced I see every year, but have never confirmed!).

Lancies are a pain and I saw my first confirmed one only this year. As usual with a blocker I then saw them a couple of more times.

[Goshawk]

never seen strawberry finch in isan, but i get them breeding around my local patch in CM. Love to watch them nest building, flying along with a single grass that's usually about 2ft+ long.

mine are all in open grassy areas (tall grass)

record shot in typical habitat

[aussiesteve63]

I live in kantharawichai and while I wouldn't call my self a bird watcher I do like birds.There is one in particular

That my wife calls the axe head bird any one shed some light on its actual name ?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[hanno]

I live in kantharawichai and while I wouldn't call my self a bird watcher I do like birds.There is one in particular

That my wife calls the axe head bird any one shed some light on its actual name ?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Not really much to go by;-) But I am guessing she means Common Hoopoe as that bird's head does indeed look like an axe.

[aussiesteve63]

Thanks for that,after a google search that's the bird I've seen a lot about a month ago

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[aussiesteve63]

On the news this morning they mentioned a pigeon race from khon kaen to hua hin any body no much about it

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[isanbirder]

I usually see them actually on the main track (unsurfaced) running through the paddy, or on the rice just at the side of the track. In flight they look very dark, and very small..

I saw a nice male Avadavat this morning.... doing exactly what I said they did! Most of the rice has been harvested, but there are still a couple of fields uncut. That's where all the birds which feed on the rice go.

Also there this morning were a couple of Yellow-breasted Buntings (another annual visitor for me), which are now classified as Endangered. This is because of their rapid decline in recent years, not actual scarcity.... yet.

[jack2964]

I usually see them actually on the main track (unsurfaced) running through the paddy, or on the rice just at the side of the track. In flight they look very dark, and very small..

I saw a nice male Avadavat this morning.... doing exactly what I said they did! Most of the rice has been harvested, but there are still a couple of fields uncut. That's where all the birds which feed on the rice go.

Also there this morning were a couple of Yellow-breasted Buntings (another annual visitor for me), which are now classified as Endangered. This is because of their rapid decline in recent years, not actual scarcity.... yet.

Thanks for this update, I'll take a trek through some of the harvested fields away from traffic and see if I do any good.

[isanbirder]

I usually see them actually on the main track (unsurfaced) running through the paddy, or on the rice just at the side of the track. In flight they look very dark, and very small..

I saw a nice male Avadavat this morning.... doing exactly what I said they did! Most of the rice has been harvested, but there are still a couple of fields uncut. That's where all the birds which feed on the rice go.

Also there this morning were a couple of Yellow-breasted Buntings (another annual visitor for me), which are now classified as Endangered. This is because of their rapid decline in recent years, not actual scarcity.... yet.

Thanks for this update, I'll take a trek through some of the harvested fields away from traffic and see if I do any good.

Jack, if you can find an unharvested field among a lot of harvested fields, that's the place to go, at least for Avadavats and YB Buntings.

[jack2964]

Jack, if you can find an unharvested field among a lot of harvested fields, that's the place to go, at least for Avadavats and YB Buntings.

Got back from my stroll around the rice fields, no luck. Yes I did find a patch of uncut rice amongst several already cut and all I found were munias about 50 individuals easily and probably scaly-breasted. Even through bins it was tough to be sure but scaly-breasted is most common here.

About 6 or 7 prinias were seen too, their tails almost as long as their bodies not sure whether they were plain or yellow-bellied. These were seen at the cut patches.

[isanbirder]

Jack, if you can find an unharvested field among a lot of harvested fields, that's the place to go, at least for Avadavats and YB Buntings.

Got back from my stroll around the rice fields, no luck. Yes I did find a patch of uncut rice amongst several already cut and all I found were munias about 50 individuals easily and probably scaly-breasted. Even through bins it was tough to be sure but scaly-breasted is most common here.

About 6 or 7 prinias were seen too, their tails almost as long as their bodies not sure whether they were plain or yellow-bellied. These were seen at the cut patches.

It's probably best in the early morning.... I saw them 6.30-7.0 a.m. Rice now cut; I saw the Buntings again, but no Avadavats. Best bird was an out-of-season Oriental Pratincole (on the stubble); they usually arrive at the end of January, and go in late July or early August. They breed on the stubble-fields.

[jack2964]

What could this be?

Noticed this perched on top of a bamboo grove in my backyard.

On first glance thought it was the usual Streak-eared bulbul till I took note of its short bill.

Size would be a little smaller than streak-eared.

Pics cropped 150 to 160% subject about 70m away, unfortunately no frontal shot.

The bluish rump and tail could be due to camera/lens or whatever, don't think the bird actually has blue.

[AjarnNorth]

Edited due to double posting. Oops.

Edited December 7, 2013 by AjarnNorth

[AjarnNorth]

Looks like it may be a flycatcher, Jack, a number of which are blue-ish. Possibly Verditer, though the tail seems entirely too short for that. Maybe Hainana Blue, which is what I thought your previous mystery bird might be as well. Though maybe I am being led astray by the bluish appearance of this bird, which you say may not be accurate. See what the others have to say. Any luck with the Pied Kingfisher yet?

Edited December 7, 2013 by AjarnNorth