Birds in your garden

[Skeptic7]

On 10/12/2018 at 12:31 AM, jak2002003 said:

Was all this common knowledge to birders here?

 

Interesting...yes. Common knowledge...no. Some knowledge...yes. 

 

Conflicting info...some.

 

Introduced and thriving Starlings are nothing new. They are known for success and mainly considered a pest. European Starlings are abundantly successful in the USA and considered a major pest. Same is the case for these in, at very least, Singapore...and am guessing is or will be considered such here, Taiwan and other places it continues to invade. Not the birds fault at all, but rather humans who introduce the alien species...which can be a just a nuisance, to destructive, and even harmful to native species and ecosystems. In The States the European Starling (and House Sparrow...also introduced) are despised by everyone...even birders and bird lovers. 

 

While White-vented Myna (aka Javan Mynah) are threatened in their natural range of Java and Bali, it is because of the bird trade and pesticides. This species does not rely on forests. It is naturally found in cultivated and urban areas. The following is from The Red List of Threatened Species...

 

Habitat and Ecology:

Occurred throughout cultivated, grassy areas and scrub on Java and Bali and often occurred in urban areas, playing fields and airfields (Craig and Feare 2016). Introduced populations occur principally in urban areas, where they may be considered a pest (Yap and Sodhi 2004).

 

[Skeptic7]

On 10/4/2018 at 2:58 PM, steelepulse said:

I'm in Phuket and these birds have nice blue wings and a grayish body.  Unfortunately no photos have been taken.  Looking at google images it's probably the common kingfisher.  I just don't see them anywhere else on the island when traveling around.

Just for reference...since you thought maybe Common KF...and since I just photographed one the other day (sadly not in my yard). 

 

[jak2002003]

3 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

 

Interesting...yes. Common knowledge...no. Some knowledge...yes. 

 

Conflicting info...some.

 

Introduced and thriving Starlings are nothing new. They are known for success and mainly considered a pest. European Starlings are abundantly successful in the USA and considered a major pest. Same is the case for these in, at very least, Singapore...and am guessing is or will be considered such here, Taiwan and other places it continues to invade. Not the birds fault at all, but rather humans who introduce the alien species...which can be a just a nuisance, to destructive, and even harmful to native species and ecosystems. In The States the European Starling (and House Sparrow...also introduced) are despised by everyone...even birders and bird lovers. 

 

While White-vented Myna (aka Javan Mynah) are threatened in their natural range of Java and Bali, it is because of the bird trade and pesticides. This species does not rely on forests. It is naturally found in cultivated and urban areas. The following is from The Red List of Threatened Species...

 

Habitat and Ecology:

Occurred throughout cultivated, grassy areas and scrub on Java and Bali and often occurred in urban areas, playing fields and airfields (Craig and Feare 2016). Introduced populations occur principally in urban areas, where they may be considered a pest (Yap and Sodhi 2004).

 

Thanks for the info, very interesting.

 

Think they are better off over here then than on Java.  It might actually save them from going extinct... kind of like avian refugees.  Good luck to them.. they are funny and cute, and I can't imagine they are doing much harm if any.  

 

I used to have pet one years ago (that I rescued as a chick with a broken leg from the road at night).   The info on the net says they can't learn human speech like the hill mynah birds.  But mine could speak Thai, English and also imitate lots of sounds.  He used to swear a lot in Thai, which Thai guests would find funny (I never taught him those words lol).  

 

He lived in a big wooden bird cage in the garden and was free to fly in adn and out during the day. He got a wild mate in the end and they had a nest and reared 2 chicks in our outhouse building roof cavity.  He would sit on the telephone wires talking English and Thai to his confused partner.  After they raised the chicks all 4 of them flew off to join the big flocks and did not return.  

[Bredbury Blue]

On 10/14/2018 at 10:30 AM, Bredbury Blue said:

Just had a few days up in Sai Yok and Sangkhlaburi. Stayed on a floating raft in Sai Yok and the highlight was having blue kingfishers on the opposite bank - must have been a hidden nest in the steep sandy bank as even with my binoculars i couldn't  spot where they disappeared to; they had a black head so i presume they were black-capped kingfishers.

 

There were also flocks of birds i didn't recognise all along the Kwae noi river bank I'll try to post a video later and I'm sure someone  will recognise their call. A common bird I'm just not knowledge of their name.

 

 

Can someone identity for me please?

[xylophone]

7 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

 

Can someone identity for me please?

Water.

[BLACKJACK2]

Sounds like a red wattled lapwing to me.

[AjarnNorth]

2 hours ago, BLACKJACK2 said:

Sounds like a red wattled lapwing to me.

Agreed. And possibly also mixed with some Black-winged Stilt, which would be common as these two species are often found in close proximity. Apparently, US soldiers in the war with Vietnam used to call Red-Wattled Lapwing "communist birds" because when trying to walk quietly through paddy land unobserved, the RW Lapwing would take to the air with their alarm-call and announce their presence. 

[Bredbury Blue]

5 hours ago, AjarnNorth said:

Agreed. And possibly also mixed with some Black-winged Stilt, which would be common as these two species are often found in close proximity. Apparently, US soldiers in the war with Vietnam used to call Red-Wattled Lapwing "communist birds" because when trying to walk quietly through paddy land unobserved, the RW Lapwing would take to the air with their alarm-call and announce their presence. 

Thanks guys. Took a look at the two birds mentioned and they were all Red-Wattled Lapwings, loads of them. Noisy active birds but a nice call.

[Briggsy]

The call is definitely red-wattled lapwing.

 

I live in quite a densely populated area and they fly over (particularly in the hours of darkness surprisingly) giving their repetitive and easily-learnt call.

[AjarnNorth]

@Skeptic7Congrats on the big day. I wish I had known because I would have participated. Let me know when the May big day rolls around, but the October big day will almost always be better here. 

[AjarnNorth]

No time to get out birding yesterday but had this male Plaintive Cuckoo visit the yard. I don't see them often, but hear them almost everywhere and its call is... wait for it... plaintive - which is to say sad and mournful - and, of course, thus the name - and often distant. Easy to go unnoticed, but if you live here, even in Bangkok as long as there are some trees about, and you listen, it's often there. 

[AjarnNorth]

Bangsaen, Chonburi bird of the day. Osprey. First of the season. 19 October 2018 at very long distance.

[tutsiwarrior]

On 10/12/2018 at 12:31 AM, jak2002003 said:

White Vented Myna bird info....  surprising (at least to me).

 

I just found out  the White Vented Myna Bird (the kind with the spiky crest punk hairstyle) is not native to Thailand. 

 

Its an introduced species and now some see it as an invasive species competing with the common myna.

 

I had to check on the net to confirm this info, and also found it is classified as VUNERABLE to EXTINCTION!

 

This is almost unbelievable to me as there are literally thousands of them where I live... massive noisy flocks roosting in the bamboo, and they are more common here than the common myna bird.  Out in the rice fields there are everywhere, even riding on the backs of the cows and buffalos. They are also lots jumping about on the roads all the time looking for squashed animals to eat.

 

Says on the net that they are introduced and breeding in South East Thailand.  They need change that info, because they are sure breeding up here in the North too and have been doing so for the 15 plus years I have been here.

 

I always thought that this bird was native to Thailand, and still can hardly imagine they are facing extinction.  Seems there came from Java and there they are in decline due to destruction of the forests (which I find strange as they are more liking farmland here).  

 

Was all this common knowledge to birders here?

 

seen one of these guys perched outside my kitchen window the other day...distinctive yellow bill and crest...in south Suphanburi...

 

 

[Skeptic7]

5 hours ago, AjarnNorth said:

bird of the day. Osprey.

NICE. I've yet to see Osprey in T-land. Growing up in Florida they were everywhere. Always cool to see their large stick nests and especially them fishing. 

[Skeptic7]

19 hours ago, AjarnNorth said:

@Skeptic7Congrats on the big day. I wish I had known because I would have participated. Let me know when the May big day rolls around, but the October big day will almost always be better here. 

For anyone seriously interested in Birds and Birding...highly recommend joining (free) The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and eBird. All sorts of interesting and useful info and can participate and contribute in the twice annual Global Big Days. Comprehensive statistics are kept for all cities, regions, countries, etc worldwide. Get started here:

https://ebird.org/home

 

Also recommend Avibase for listers (tickers and twitchers). Can keep all your life lists...local, regional, countries and world...in a relatively easy to use personal database...ALL FOR FREE. Below is a description from it's Homepage: https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/avibase.jsp

 

Avibase is an extensive database information system about all birds of the world, containing over 22 million records about 10,000 species and 22,000 subspecies of birds, including distribution information for 12,000 regions, taxonomy, synonyms in several languages and more. Avibase has been a work in progress since 1992 and I am now pleased to offer it as a service to the bird-watching and scientific community.

[AjarnNorth]

I did this one year while in Surin. It's every January. Focus is wetlands birds...

 

https://south-asia.wetlands.org/our-approach/healthy-wetland-nature/asian-waterbird-census/

[tutsiwarrior]

5 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

NICE. I've yet to see Osprey in T-land. Growing up in Florida they were everywhere. Always cool to see their large stick nests and especially them fishing. 

yeah, me too when I was living in Oregon on the west coast...see them from the crew bus on the way to and from work in the woods, the big nests in the uppermost crown of the timber, always near water, reservoir, big pond, etc...watching them fish was really neat...

 

ospreys 'from sea to shining sea'...amazing how when ye live in a place with abundant wildlife ye take things fer granted...then later to marvel when not so abundant...if I saw an osprey fishing these days believe I'd be jumpin' around and hollerin'...

 

 

 

 

[AjarnNorth]

If you get out in the mangroves, wetlands, rice paddies of Thailand enough then you will eventually come across many sights such as this. I know people are poor and need to eat, but it's a pretty bad way to catch your dinner. This bird - Red-wattled Lapwing - was still alive but I couldn't reach it and even if I could it may not have been wise to cut up someone's net in broad daylight, though I have done so before. I did speak to folks there and tell them my thoughts and the net is down now, but it was likely just moved to a more hidden location.

[Bredbury Blue]

2 hours ago, AjarnNorth said:

If you get out in the mangroves, wetlands, rice paddies of Thailand enough then you will eventually come across many sights such as this. I know people are poor and need to eat, but it's a pretty bad way to catch your dinner. This bird - Red-wattled Lapwing - was still alive but I couldn't reach it and even if I could it may not have been wise to cut up someone's net in broad daylight, though I have done so before. I did speak to folks there and tell them my thoughts and the net is down now, but it was likely just moved to a more hidden location.

Reminds me of the post i made a year ago of egrets in cages for sale roadside in south vietnam. The viets didn't understand  why i wanted them to stop the car to take photos; the Viets told me they were tasty and did i want to try (no thanks) while the Thais at home were appalled at catching and eating egrets. Where i was working on the coast in south vietnam there was almost no apparent birdlife as the viets catch and eat them (if you think Thais eat everything and anything, well they can't compete with the viets).

 

Each country has it's own pecularities. Catching and eating birds to us westerners seems unnecessary.

[Ron19]

Troll post removed.

[jak2002003]

On ‎10‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 2:37 PM, Bredbury Blue said:

Reminds me of the post i made a year ago of egrets in cages for sale roadside in south vietnam. The viets didn't understand  why i wanted them to stop the car to take photos; the Viets told me they were tasty and did i want to try (no thanks) while the Thais at home were appalled at catching and eating egrets. Where i was working on the coast in south vietnam there was almost no apparent birdlife as the viets catch and eat them (if you think Thais eat everything and anything, well they can't compete with the viets).

 

Each country has it's own pecularities. Catching and eating birds to us westerners seems unnecessary.

I just returned from Hanoi and Dan Nang.  I was really depressed by the lack of birds about.

 

I stayed 2 weeks and counted less then 10 sparrows in city, one pied wagtail and one white rumped shama (both in the grounds of a museum).   There were not even any feral pigeons!!  Hanoi is so green and has so many mature beautiful trees about, but seems not a single bird in them.  

 

Once in a while I would hear a bird call and be hopeful there was a bird about. But it was always a oriental white eye or bulbul caged up in the most tiny wooden cage hanging on a tree.

 

Coming back home to Chiang Mai I was taken aback by the abundance of birds here (even through people also do catch them).  My garden has a huge flock of sparrows, many doves and other birds, and flocks of many species flying about in the sky.  Nice to be back.  

 

On my last day in Vietnam, returning to the airport, I saw a motorbike covered in cages stuffed with wild birds (must be going to sell them as pets).  Got this photo off the web, but it was exactly like this…..

 

 

 

 

[tutsiwarrior]

when I lived in a rural place in VN we had some house sparrows about and an occasional egret in a paddy...there were some seabirds by the beach where I lived...the place was undeveloped and one would expect to see lots more birds...

 

things haven't recovered from the tons of defoliant dumped locally during the american war...we were close to the Ho Chi Minh Trail that began near Vinh on the north central coast which was close by and that has a seaport and the trail hooked over to the western mountains from there...that was the target for most of the chemicals...

 

then there is the rural poverty which is a disgrace for a socialist country and folks forage for whatever they can get including wild birds...

 

 

[jak2002003]

Saw a HUGE flock of thousands of munia finches in some rice fields near my house.  Did not have my camera or phone with me sadly!!

 

Not sure if they were scaly breasted or white-rumped munia.

 

I know they can be in flocks of about 100 or so.  But this flock was thousands... like a huge black cloud when it took off and flew over my head, disturbed by my dog.  I have never seen such a large flock of birds here.. reminded my of the big flocks of starlings we get in the UK in wintertime.  

 

It was a very impressive sight, but such small birds.

 

At the same place at night I saw some quails.  They were very small and I suspect they were king quail / Chinese Painted quails.  They flew up into the air with rapid wingbeats and vanished into the darkness as I walked past.. they waited till I was nearly stepping on them before taking off. 

 

Anyone else seen quails here?  

 

 

[AjarnNorth]

On 11/22/2018 at 2:28 PM, jak2002003 said:

Saw a HUGE flock of thousands of munia finches in some rice fields near my house.  Did not have my camera or phone with me sadly!!

 

Not sure if they were scaly breasted or white-rumped munia.

 

I know they can be in flocks of about 100 or so.  But this flock was thousands... like a huge black cloud when it took off and flew over my head, disturbed by my dog.  I have never seen such a large flock of birds here.. reminded my of the big flocks of starlings we get in the UK in wintertime.  

 

It was a very impressive sight, but such small birds.

 

At the same place at night I saw some quails.  They were very small and I suspect they were king quail / Chinese Painted quails.  They flew up into the air with rapid wingbeats and vanished into the darkness as I walked past.. they waited till I was nearly stepping on them before taking off. 

 

Anyone else seen quails here?  

 

 

Scaly-breasted are always the most likely in my experience. Especially in those numbers. They're one of the reasons rice farmers string mist nets. 

[AjarnNorth]

Oh, and "king quail / Chinese Painted" don't occur here in Thailand (to my knowledge). Where are you again? 

[AjarnNorth]

8 minutes ago, AjarnNorth said:

Oh, and "king quail / Chinese Painted" don't occur here in Thailand (to my knowledge). Where are you again? 

Also, consider snipe. Snipe tend to flush only when you get very close. 

[AjarnNorth]

Bangsaen yard-bird of the day. Green-billed Malkoha. Very common throughout Thailand but always a bird I like to see from home and not so easy to get decent photos of.

 

[Skeptic7]

On 11/22/2018 at 2:28 PM, jak2002003 said:

At the same place at night I saw some quails.  They were very small and I suspect they were king quail / Chinese Painted quails.  They flew up into the air with rapid wingbeats and vanished into the darkness as I walked past.. they waited till I was nearly stepping on them before taking off. 

 

Anyone else seen quails here? 

No, but that's not saying much since most my birding is done in my patch in BKK. 

 

Agree with AN that possibly Snipe, but there are some Quail and Buttonquail species that are smaller than Snipe. Your location would help. 

[AjarnNorth]

9 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

No, but that's not saying much since most my birding is done in my patch in BKK. 

 

Agree with AN that possibly Snipe, but there are some Quail and Buttonquail species that are smaller than Snipe. Your location would help. 

Yep. Quail and Buttonquail - in my experience - never let you get that close. Nightjars do, but wrong habitat. Snipe is my guess. 

 

And as Skeptic said, location is key.

 

[jak2002003]

19 hours ago, AjarnNorth said:

Also, consider snipe. Snipe tend to flush only when you get very close. 

I am in Chiang Mai.

 

Maybe not the snipe

as they were really tiny things, and their wing beats were really fast and sounded almost like a bumblebee.  I am sure they were quails.... but no idea what species.

 

What kind of quails do we get here in Thailand?  

 

Had a look on the net... hard to find info on Chinese Painted Quail distribution but found this from Thailand....

http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=131&Bird_Image_ID=62381