Birds Of Prey Ubon Area

[highlander403]

sitting by huai wang nong lake this morning saw two large birds about 4 feet across white head brown wings with about 20% of the outside

of the wing black..

one swooped a couole times to the surface of the lake but mostly did aerobatics together well up, looked like a pair..

any ideas of what they are called

scotty

[isanbirder]

Brahminy Kites. Their aerial manoeuvres can be spectacular.

I have been watching a pair at the nest near my Buriram home for the past three months; they have just fledged three young.

[DILLIGAD]

Love watching them too!

[highlander403]

Brahminy Kites. Their aerial manoeuvres can be spectacular.

I have been watching a pair at the nest near my Buriram home for the past three months; they have just fledged three young.

thanks for the reply as to the name

would they catch/eat fish or was the swooping to the water only for show. we have ospreys at home which catch fish in this way..

scotty

[isanbirder]

They're primarily scavengers, frequently picking their food off the surface of the water. Singapore Harbour is a good place to see them, and in Thailand anywhere round the coast or on lakes. Mine are inland, though!

[chuckd]

I thought all the Isaan/Ubon birds of prey had moved to Pattaya.

Speaking of Ospreys, I got this in an e-mail today. This guy ain't no scavenger.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/nA3LtXnNIto?feature=player_embedded

[AjarnNorth]

Ospreys are not uncommon here in Thailand.

When I lived near on a wetlands area in Surin they were a fairly common sight in Winter and I had one mid-summer sighting.

I've been in Chonburi a little over a year now and have seen one (winter) here as well.

[SantiSuk]

Watched a pair over the Mekong at Kong Chiam today (and one later over scrubland near Chong Mek). The sighting at Kong Chiam was all the more spectacular as you are high above the river there and when the birds swooped low you could see their magnificent chestnut upper parts and wing, highlighted in the sun.

The drawing in "Birds of Thailand" (Lekagul/Round) doesn't do justice to the distinctiveness of the 'fingers' at the end of their elegant wings - almost like they are separated from the wing on hands.

No spectacular manouvres today though - just drifting about on the air currents looking for food presumably.

Edited April 30, 2013 by SantiSuk

[isanbirder]

Watched a pair over the Mekong at Kong Chiam today (and one later over scrubland near Chong Mek). The sighting at Kong Chiam was all the more spectacular as you are high above the river there and when the birds swooped low you could see their magnificent chestnut upper parts and wing, highlighted in the sun.

The drawing in "Birds of Thailand" (Lekagul/Round) doesn't do justice to the distinctiveness of the 'fingers' at the end of their elegant wings - almost like they are separated from the wing on hands.

No spectacular manouvres today though - just drifting about on the air currents looking for food presumably.

You don't often see the spectacular side of Brahminy flight.

Last year, my breeding pair wanted to clear the crows out of the small wood they nest in. It produced a wonderful display. The birds revved up a few gears, hurtled down on the crows, jinked and swerved through the trees.... they didn't worry about me, and often passed so close I could hear the whoosh of their wings. After a couple of weeks of this, the crows gave them best. But the Brahminy's never, as far as I could see, actually touched the crows.