Birds in your garden

[KarenBravo]

6 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Unless having some mating plumage, almost impossible to tell which version of Pond Heron it is, with 3 to choose from locally;  Chinese, Indian & Javan

https://ebird.org/species/chpher1

https://ebird.org/species/inpher1

https://ebird.org/species/japher1

 

I got decent snap of a Chinese PH locally today.  Was next door, but spooked easily.  Finally caught up with it at the local pond.

According to Birds of Thailand by Boonsong Lekagul and Philip D. Round, the Herons we see in Phuket are Chinese Pond Herons. They are the only ones, according to the distribution map that comes with each species. 

[Skeptic7]

1 hour ago, KarenBravo said:

According to Birds of Thailand by Boonsong Lekagul and Philip D. Round, the Herons we see in Phuket are Chinese Pond Herons. They are the only ones, according to the distribution map that comes with each species. 

Great book and my copy is 28 years old. While the book is excellent, it's a bit out of date (1991). Doesn't even include Indian P-H. More and better info, more knowledge, more experienced and accurate reporting, photos, etc all lead to changes in distribution maps, renaming and even "splitting" and "lumping" of species. The most recent and thorough book is the 2018 Lynx Series, Birds of Thailand. It clearly shows Javan P-H in green (bottom left), which indicates Year-round Resident in Phuket. Chinese P-H is a winter visitor in both books. And in winter, which means non-breeding plumage, in the field, the 3 are indistinguishable...except to (maybe) experts. Notice it only shows 1 non-breeding pic for all 3 species. That's how similar they are.

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Skeptic7

[KhunLA]

2 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

According to Birds of Thailand by Boonsong Lekagul and Philip D. Round, the Herons we see in Phuket are Chinese Pond Herons. They are the only ones, according to the distribution map that comes with each species. 

Actually all 3 have been spotted on Phuket, per links I provided.

[jak2002003]

It's gone bird nest crazy this year in our small garden in CM...all nesting at same time:

 

Tree sparrows...3 nests in out building roof.

 

Common Mynah.... 2 nests...one in car port and one on support beam on patio..

 

Asian pied starling.... 1 nest in tallest palm tree.

 

Red whiskered bulbul...2 nests...one in hedge and one in shrub.

 

Some kind of green coloured bulbul....1 nest in potted plant next to front door.

 

Feral / city pigeon....1 nest on top of air con extractor fan at back of house.

 

Spotted necked turtle doves...2 nests...one in hedge and one in a palm tree.

 

White breasted water hen...1 nest in mango tree near chicken coop.

 

Zebra dove....1 nest in hanging basket.

 

Created Mynah bird...1 nest in pump house roof.

 

I think all these birds feel safe here as my 2 chihuahua dogs have chased all the neighbourhood cats out of the garden. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Skeptic7]

7 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Actually all 3 have been spotted on Phuket, per links I provided.

Yes, as do the maps I provided. But KB stated Chinese is the ONLY one in Phuket. My reference was simply pointing out that Chinese isn't the only one and not even the most likely. Javan is Year-round and a likely candidate...and most likely in breeding season.. Also, even in breeding plumage they are quite similar and in non-breeding, indistinguishable. 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Skeptic7

[Skeptic7]

39 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

in non-breeding, indistinguishable. 

Apologies @KhunLA meant to include...as you already pointed out. ????

Edited April 4, 2022 by Skeptic7

[2long]

Any idea what species this is, and what it might eat?
I think it had fallen from its nest, but looks ready to fledge anyway.

Thanks in advance.

[Skeptic7]

1 hour ago, 2long said:

Any idea what species this is, and what it might eat?
I think it had fallen from its nest, but looks ready to fledge anyway.

 

Streak-eared Bulbul. If possible and if not injured, place back in or close to the nest. As you mentioned the bird looks a fledgling. The parents should be around and they will feed and tend to their offspring. Sometimes on initial flight the birds can't make it very far and end up in precarious places but the parents are usually around, though they may have to tend to another fledgling or 2.

[2long]

6 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

Streak-eared Bulbul. If possible and if not injured, place back in or close to the nest. As you mentioned the bird looks a fledgling. The parents should be around and they will feed and tend to their offspring. Sometimes on initial flight the birds can't make it very far and end up in precarious places but the parents are usually around, though they may have to tend to another fledgling or 2.

Thanks. I can't find a nest, and there's a local stray cat. But we will do our best and I reckon it'll be fine.

Thanks again.

[Bredbury Blue]

This poor thing crashed in to one of our windows with a bang. The wife thought it was dead but tried massaging it and it came around. Its improved a bit since the afternoon crash but can't get up. Not sure it'll last the night.

What type is it?

 

 

[Bredbury Blue]

[Bredbury Blue]

[Skeptic7]

12 hours ago, Bredbury Blue said:

This poor thing crashed in to one of our windows with a bang. The wife thought it was dead but tried massaging it and it came around. Its improved a bit since the afternoon crash but can't get up. Not sure it'll last the night.

What type is it?

Blue-winged Pitta. Snapped these last month. 

 

 

[Bredbury Blue]

Thanks for the ID. I had no idea that's what it is. A stunning bird.

 

The wife says it is still alive, a friend who keeps birds has given her the name of a vet and she will take it this morning for a check. Hoping it fully recovers.

[Skeptic7]

3 hours ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Thanks for the ID. I had no idea that's what it is. A stunning bird.

 

The wife says it is still alive, a friend who keeps birds has given her the name of a vet and she will take it this morning for a check. Hoping it fully recovers.

While initial prognosis looks rather bleak, birds are surprisingly tough and resilient. They are capable of incredible recovery. Hopefully that will be the case with this one. Please keep us informed, regardless of the outcome. 

[Bredbury Blue]

.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Bredbury Blue

[Bredbury Blue]

Not exactly in my garden (or Thailand) but I was able to get really close without disturbing them - beautiful birds but didn't see them a catch anything in a river full of fish

[kokesaat]

On 5/25/2022 at 8:23 AM, Bredbury Blue said:

Thanks for the ID. I had no idea that's what it is. A stunning bird.

 

The wife says it is still alive, a friend who keeps birds has given her the name of a vet and she will take it this morning for a check. Hoping it fully recovers.

I always thought it was a mangrove pitta....but blue winged pitta works for me.  They started showing up in our yard several years ago.  At the height of the rainy season, they'll gorge on earthworms in our yard.  One flew into our patio door several months ago.......knocked out cold.  My wife held its mouth under a slow drip at the faucet.......gave it a few chest compressions..and it was awake.  We kept it in a small cage for a few hours, then off it went back into the jungle.

[Skeptic7]

20 minutes ago, kokesaat said:

always thought it was a mangrove pitta

Good guess. They are extremely similar. However, Mangrove is restricted to the peninsular SW and not likely to hit your window...unless the house is in the mangroves! B-W Pitta is common and widespread. Found in many habitats throughout most of Thailand, except for a big chunk of Isaan. 

[Skeptic7]

37 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Not exactly in my garden (or Thailand)

Black-crowned Night Heron. The most widespread species of heron. Not Thailand? Nice snaps. Where were you? 

 

I snapped these at Chiang Mai University last month. Breeding colony there. I estimated 200 breeding pairs. Maybe more.

 

 

 

 

[Skeptic7]

One more...

 

[Bredbury Blue]

Black-crowned Night Herons photos taken in northern Taiwan

[Skeptic7]

On 5/24/2022 at 7:40 PM, Bredbury Blue said:

poor thing crashed in to one of our windows

Whatever was the outcome with your Pitta window strike? Did the bird survive? Or succumb?

[Bredbury Blue]

3 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Whatever was the outcome with your Pitta window strike? Did the bird survive? Or succumb?

Thanks for asking.

 

Initially after it crashed in to the car window (we do seem to get birds attacking their reflection) it seemed dead but the wife sat and massaged it for a while and it came to. She kept it in a box overnight and tried to feed it but it didn't eat. Next day she gave it to a neighbour who keeps birds to take to a vet she knows. Sadly it passed away poor thing.

[BLACKJACK2]

Just spotted this nest in my garden, amazing how it has stitched the leaves together. 

[Bredbury Blue]

Regular visitors...amazing balance in the wind

 

 

[Bredbury Blue]

Have a dove or doves (zebras I think) that love sitting on the window ledge of the window which is right behind my bed, so they’re a bit annoying waking me up with their cooing as soon as dawn breaks. Had a look and saw they’d just started building a nest on the window ledge so I removed it hoping that would make them go away.

 

A week later their noise was back – found they’d built the nest again and had laid 2 eggs. One chick is now left.

 

The nest is totally exposed to sun, wind and rain – it’s on the south elevation so gets the worst of the sun – so it’s hard to believe that they build a nest which is so exposed.

 

 

[Cake Monster]

I get all sorts of Birds in and around my Garden.

Living out in the sticks close to Hills and lakes I get them all from Sparrows to Raptors.

I feel myself to be blessed that these creatures frequent my location.

[2long]

Would love to know what this little chap is.

We get Sunbirds (yellow plumage) and this is a similar size.

[Skeptic7]

2 hours ago, 2long said:

Would love to know what this little chap is.

Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker