Cranes or Storks?

[T_Dog]

Anyone know what the large cranes are that have been flying around the Ping River valley lately? Largest flying bird I think I have ever seen. We had a flock of about 15-20 flying in formation over our house in Mae Taeng last night just as the earthquake hit. The whole flock scattered and headed back south where they had come from individually or in small groups.

[dvg]

It is the openbill stork,I have seen them for many years around Bangkok

and the last two years here around Doi Saket.Look at this video.

[eyecatcher]

Is it a guessing game or is your photos just not loading on my phone?

[MESmith]

See the openbills frequently south of San Kamphaeng.

[arunsakda]

Thailand really is a great country for bird watching.

[isanbirder]

I believe the Pathum Thani colony (better known as Wat Phailom) is now deserted. However, in the past couple of years, Asian Openbills have been seen throughout much of Thailand, at least as far north as the Chiangmai area, numerous around Phitsanulok, and in the north-east to Surin and Udon Thani. Here in Buriram I have seen flocks of c300 where five years ago I rarely saw any.

This dispersal is not clearly understood yet. When records of breeding in the recent breeding season can be put together, maybe we will know exactly what is happening.

Edited May 6, 2014 by isanbirder

[jaideeguy]

The Horn-bills paid us a visit a couple of years ago in Doi Saket and hung out for almost a year , on and off, but no recent sightings. I thought that they migrated between India and Thailand, but according to that youtube video, they migrate north, which makes more sense.

Our flock was approx 200 birds.......hard to count as they are shy and take flight with any disturbance and hard to sneak up on them for close up photos. Beautiful birds, especially in flight where they soar so gracefully.

[northernjohn]

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I believe the Pathum Thani colony (better known as Wat Phailom) is now deserted. However, in the past couple of years, Asian Openbills have been seen throughout much of Thailand, at least as far north as the Chiangmai area, numerous around Phitsanulok, and in the north-east to Surin and Udon Thani. Here in Buriram I have seen flocks of c300 where five years ago I rarely saw any.

This dispersal is not clearly understood yet. When records of breeding in the recent breeding season can be put together, maybe we will know exactly what is happening.

Just out of curiosity what is the normal range of Asian Openbills?

I was wondering if the weather warming could be moving them.

Birds and animals are very sensitive to these changes.

[isanbirder]

Openbills, not Hornbills, Jaideeguy.

Their range covers much of India and Bangladesh and much of South-East Asia. It used to be reckoned that the Bangladesh breeders moved south-east tp SEAsia after the breeding season, resulting in records like the 20,000 observed on the Tonle Sap last year. But this coincided with the dispersal of the Thai breeding birds, and I'm not sure anybody really knows which birds are going where.

There may be a climatic reason for it. Climate changes mean changes in food supplies... and birds tend to go where the food is.

[uhhh ohhh]

They are storks! There has been an uptick in Farang/Thai babies that need to be delivered!!!

[T_Dog]

The openbill storks were back a few days ago and they were soaring so high up you could barely see them. About a dozen circling for over thirty minutes, but just specks in the sky as they had to be 2000 feet or more off the ground.