Birdwatching

[phuketsub]

For anyone who is interested, there is a small flock of nok phai (pin-tailed parrotfinch) hanging out near Khao Toh Seh Point 7. You would need binoculars to get a good view, or you can ask one of the photographers for a look through their huge telephoto lenses...

One of the birdwatchers is Dr Sompong Thongroung, a brain surgeon at Vachira Hospital.

The birdwatchers told me it was the first time this bird, which is its name indicates feeds on bamboo flowers, has ever been spotted in Phuket.

I looked it up on wikipedia and it is a fairly common bird across SE Asia.

Anyway, I expect there will be a good crowd up there today since it is a holiday.

[IrishIvan]

It's funny you should bring up this topic. I have noticed more birds around my house than ever before. I will have to break out my camera

[hanno]

Not common at all and in 20 years in SE Asia I have only seen it a few times. It is nomadic, following flowering Bamboo.

Great find!!!!

[phuketsub]

Not common at all and in 20 years in SE Asia I have only seen it a few times. It is nomadic, following flowering Bamboo.

Great find!!!!

I didn't realize birdwatching was still so popular, but man those people are really into it.

[hanno]

Not common at all and in 20 years in SE Asia I have only seen it a few times. It is nomadic, following flowering Bamboo.

Great find!!!!

I didn't realize birdwatching was still so popular, but man those people are really into it.

When I first went on a bird watching trip to Thailand, Thai birders were thin on the ground. If you go,say, to Kaeng Krachan on a weekend these days; the place will be heaving with Thai birders.

[Somtamnication]

Do they charge to take photos?

Just kidding! Never knew that hobby was alive and well in Thailand.

[Costas2008]

I would have liked to see more birds around .....where I live in Isaan.

Unfortunately they have all been eaten by the locals!

[Blindside]

I was pleasantly surprised to find this thread was actually about birds with wings.

[Long tang]

Stunning!,,

[MrGaoMungGawn]

What about Bird Listening?

This is actually on topic because you can watch a bird only after you hear and focus in on it.

WHAT I NEED please is somewhere I can get a recording of all the bird songs that I can hear in the Chiang Mai area.

I also want to send a copy of these recordings to my family back home, because I want them to know the beauty of these bird calls/songs.

They are truly fantastic.

So, anyone know where I can find these recordings?

Or, should I post a new Topic in the Chiang Mai forum?

Pls help with this, because I am sure others would like to have recordings of local birds too.

[LivinginKata]

Off topic posts are being removed.

[hanno]

What about Bird Listening?

This is actually on topic because you can watch a bird only after you hear and focus in on it.

WHAT I NEED please is somewhere I can get a recording of all the bird songs that I can hear in the Chiang Mai area.

I also want to send a copy of these recordings to my family back home, because I want them to know the beauty of these bird calls/songs.

They are truly fantastic.

So, anyone know where I can find these recordings?

Or, should I post a new Topic in the Chiang Mai forum?

Pls help with this, because I am sure others would like to have recordings of local birds too.

Google xenocanto, I am not sure I can post the link.

[MrGaoMungGawn]

What about Bird Listening?

This is actually on topic because you can watch a bird only after you hear and focus in on it.

WHAT I NEED please is somewhere I can get a recording of all the bird songs that I can hear in the Chiang Mai area.

I also want to send a copy of these recordings to my family back home, because I want them to know the beauty of these bird calls/songs.

They are truly fantastic.

So, anyone know where I can find these recordings?

Or, should I post a new Topic in the Chiang Mai forum?

Pls help with this, because I am sure others would like to have recordings of local birds too.

Google xenocanto, I am not sure I can post the link.

That is one great site.

I don't think there should be any problem posting the link here.

But it will take me awhile to go through and search for the birds I hear in Chiang Mai all throughout the day.

I want to send these to members of my family who are passionate bird followers, but who have not had the great pleasure of hearing these birds

I am also having trouble just seeing the birds that I do hear.'

Up in the trees you can hear them but not always see them.

[hansgruber]

I've always been suspicious of birdwatchers. Men spending time in the bushes with binoculars.

Curtain twitching peeping tom kind of people.

[brianP]

Am now planting the outer trees and inner canopy of bird attracting plants. Also some of the original jungle trees too.

[LivinginKata]

Off topic posts are being removed.

Even more removed. Amazing how some members can take an innocent topic so far off track.

[fiddlehead]

I don't have the patience for it, nor the time.
But, my sister and brother in law are into bird watching big time and plan their vacations around their hobby.

I also have a rich friend who doesn't seem to enjoy much in life besides making money, and now he's 72 and retired.
I asked him what he's doing with his spare time and he told me he's into searching for arrowheads.
Sometimes spends days digging around springs and waterways and has found 5 or 6 whole ones in the last 6 months!

To each his own!

[Somtamnication]

I used to pan for gold south of Boulder, CO. USA. It was fun, found some stuff here and there. The thrill of the find. I never understood arrowhead searches.

[hanno]

I've always been suspicious of birdwatchers. Men spending time in the bushes with binoculars.

Curtain twitching peeping tom kind of people.

Most birders are actually pretty nice people and have a keen interest in nature in general. Most birders are NOT twitchers and I can assure you that birding has taking me to manny places. Pretty sure I have been to places that most long-time LOS residents haven't even heard of;-)

[phuketsub]

Just a quick update: the pin-tailed parrotfinch flock is still there, best time to see is in the morning. There was also a number of nok e-leng (buzzards or vultures) circling around the top of Khao Toh Seh at about 10:30am the past few days...I am not a birder, but I just ask them briefly as I pass by on my morning walk...Anyway, I took a pic of the image one of them he had in his camera through the viewfinde...maybe someone could identify the exact species.

[steelepulse]

I'm not a birder, but I do have blue feathered kingfisher birds thinking my body of water is there for them to bathe in on a daily basis. They have orange beaks and royal blue feathers. Are these common birds? I don't recall seeing them anywhere else.

[hanno]

phuketsub: looks like White-rumped Vulture.

steelepulse: how big are the Kingfishers?

[steelepulse]

phuketsub: looks like White-rumped Vulture.

steelepulse: how big are the Kingfishers?

They're full sized adults, about the same size as the black common birds that seem to be everywhere making a lot of noise.

[hanno]

phuketsub: looks like White-rumped Vulture.

steelepulse: how big are the Kingfishers?

They're full sized adults, about the same size as the black common birds that seem to be everywhere making a lot of noise.

Probably White-breasted/White-throated Kingfisher then.

http://www.planetofbirds.com/Master/CORACIIFORMES/Alcedinidae/pics/White-breasted%20Kingfisher.jpg

[phuketsub]

Is there another birdwatching thread somewhere else on ThaiVisa? Maybe they should consider starting a new forum for it...

[Briggsy]

For Chonburi birders, the ranger at Bang Phra was telling me, the (or one of)(or the only) Oriental Darter they released and I have seen a number of times over the last year or two there, was killed in a fisherman's net in Bang Chang.

This bird was almost completely wiped out in Thailand and is now the subject of breeding and release programmes.

[phuketsub]

There were about 10 hardcore birders up on Toh Seh yesterday; nok pai still around but no vultures/buzzards when I left.

Many of them are now going up on top of the Channel 7 broadcast building, which has an absolutely stunning view to the south, especially when visibility is good.

[KarenBravo]

Not really a bird-watcher, but, I like to identify the birds in my garden.

Now is the time all the migrants arrive.

I've had Chinese pond herons since early December. Amazingly, I have the exact same group as last year. I can tell this as one individual has a slight limp and he/she is back. Have about seven off them hunting stuff on the lawn. Drongos have been here a couple of months, too.

Soon the Bee-eaters will arrive and looking forward to seeing an Indian Roller.

[JetsetBkk]

Most birders are actually pretty nice people and have a keen interest in nature in general. Most birders are NOT twitchers and I can assure you that birding has taking me to manny places. Pretty sure I have been to places that most long-time LOS residents haven't even heard of;-)

I'd like to know what the difference is between a birder and a twitcher, as maybe I should explain it to my Thai friend because I told her that we call them "twitchers". I haven't heard of the term "birder".

The tw birders that I saw were very friendly and one even showed me the pictures on her camera, but I couldn't actually make anything out on the screen.

My Thai friend told me that the birds fed on the bamboo, but didn't know the name of the bird. So thanks to phuketsub for the picture - I now know what to look for.

[hanno]

Most birders are actually pretty nice people and have a keen interest in nature in general. Most birders are NOT twitchers and I can assure you that birding has taking me to manny places. Pretty sure I have been to places that most long-time LOS residents haven't even heard of;-)

I'd like to know what the difference is between a birder and a twitcher, as maybe I should explain it to my Thai friend because I told her that we call them "twitchers". I haven't heard of the term "birder".

The tw birders that I saw were very friendly and one even showed me the pictures on her camera, but I couldn't actually make anything out on the screen.

My Thai friend told me that the birds fed on the bamboo, but didn't know the name of the bird. So thanks to phuketsub for the picture - I now know what to look for.

A birder is someone who enjoys watching birds. A Twitcher is a person obsessed with ah having the biggest list; they will travel everywhere just to add another species to their list. Very common in the UK where Twitchers spend a lot of time and money to "tick" more birds than the competition.