Birds in your garden

[Bredbury Blue]

Got a bird in my house car parking area that the wife or I regularly see attacking the car windscreen (its own reflection i assume). Can be there for 5 minutes flying at and on the windscreen. Tiny bird, pretty sure it's a tailor bird (frequent visitor to our garden), but when I move closer it flies off - have to bring my binoculars downstairs.

[Skeptic7]

1 hour ago, pomchop said:

Does thailand have hummingbirds that visit the feeders?  Have lots of them in usa but never saw them at my chiang rai house that had all kinds of other birds........

Hummingbirds are only found in the Americas. There are over 300 species, but all confined to The Americas. Here some slightly similar species would include Sunbitds and Spuderhunters in the fact that they are small, long billed and colorful. However, they do not not come close to the flying abilities, speed, hovering capabilities and aerial acrobatics of hummingbirds. 

[Nojohndoe]

1 hour ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Got a bird in my house car parking area that the wife or I regularly see attacking the car windscreen (its own reflection i assume). Can be there for 5 minutes flying at and on the windscreen. Tiny bird, pretty sure it's a tailor bird (frequent visitor to our garden), but when I move closer it flies off - have to bring my binoculars downstairs.

We have a pair of Purple Sunbirds that repeatedly nest in a tree  just outside a window. The male often "attacks" his reflection and until I understood what was happening thought that although seeing was a nectar eater maybe also was taking insects.

I have several years back seen the Humming bird moth in action and at the time was convinced it was a tiny bird ! I live and learn.

[jak2002003]

5 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Red-whiskered are so sensitive in Thailand that the huge global bird reporting and info sharing network eBird keeps sightings of the species private and does not divulge location. For those not familiar with eBird, the free app was downloaded 100,000 times in 2019 alone. It's from the preeminent Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This excerpt from the full article below...

 

As of 2020, it has collected more than 860 million global bird observations from over 597,000 registered eBirders. By sheer numbers alone, eBird is one of the world’s largest citizen-science projects.

 

https://www.outsideonline.com/2419209/ebird-online-platform-app-birding#close

 

What does it mean 'red whiskered bulbuls are so sensitive in thailand'?

 

They are really common here. In fact they are one of the most likely birds you will see in urban areas...except perhaps the tree sparrows and common mynah. 

 

"nationally protected Red-whiskered Bulbul'.  ....but what protection do they actually have?  I can't find anything about it on the net.   

 

How come the police don't publish the people who have them or trap them?  it's such a common sight to see them in tiny wooden cages hanging outside people's houses.

 

I see them even in pet shops in the middle of Chiang Mai where I go to buy my budgie seed. 

 

It's disgusting that people can openly show they are illegally owning these and other native birds if they are supposed to have legal protection. 

 

Also, I think that the guy with the trap in his garden has done less harm to the bulbul and other native bird population than the builders of the housing estate that most have built over the habitat of many wild birds and other animals.

 

makes me sick what humans are doing to nature. In my area people are filling in lakes and ponds, cutting down forest, filling in rice fields with red mud....just to make more and more housing estates. Hate to think how many animals have been buried alive, crushed or forced to move and starve to death, due to seemingly  uncontrolled development.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by jak2002003

[jak2002003]

5 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

 

 

Edited May 31, 2021 by jak2002003

[jak2002003]

5 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

 

Sorry, double post.

Edited May 31, 2021 by jak2002003

[Skeptic7]

8 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

What does it mean 'red whiskered bulbuls are so sensitive in thailand'?

While very common in the Thai north, the declines are in most other regions of the Kingdom. The protections are weak and generally ignored and overlooked, like many things here, due to big money...as explained in the paper. 

 

In their full range, especially outside of Thailand, they are listed as a species of least concern. I've seen them in Bangkok, Udon Thani and Jomtien all in just the past 2 months. Always nice to see, but just because they are common in one particular region or occasionally spotted in other regions doesn't tell the entire story. Below is an except from expert Ornithologist and professor at Mahidol University, Philip Round, well known for authoring numerous books and papers including "A Guide to the Birds of Thailand" which I've owned since 1994 and is still my go-to.

 

This paper from 2013...

Red-whiskered Bulbul: are trapping and unregulated avicultural practices pushing this species towards extinction in Thailand?

 

'...it has nearly vanished from most of its Thai range due to the illegal trapping...' 

 

Attached is the full paper in .pdf which will answer most of your queries. 

Supatchaya_Red-whiskered-Bulbul.pdf

[VocalNeal]

7 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

While very common in the Thai north

 

Just so. There are a bunch of them I watch every morning. This morning there was one under the carport. Best I could determine before this was "crested Myna" but they looked too small for that.

[Maybole]

Granddaughter has just shown me a photo of a bird which she claims knocked on her bedroom window this morning. Its a Hoopoe ! I thought Hoopoes were a rare European bird and unknown in Thailand. Our house is in a village which is surrounded by rice paddies and about 20km south of Chiangmai.

I will post the photo when I can download it from her phone.

[BLACKJACK2]

We get them every year in our garden.

[Bredbury Blue]

I've seen ONE in the decades I've been here, at the Dusit Than I stables in Hua Hin. Remember I got very excited ????

[Skeptic7]

7 hours ago, Maybole said:

Granddaughter has just shown me a photo of a bird which she claims knocked on her bedroom window this morning. Its a Hoopoe ! I thought Hoopoes were a rare European bird and unknown in Thailand. Our house is in a village which is surrounded by rice paddies and about 20km south of Chiangmai.

I will post the photo when I can download it from her phone.

Eurasian/African species and not rare, though decreasing populations overall, especially in certain European countries, such as Germany, where it is highly endangered. Is found throughout all of Thailand and surrounding countries. 

Edited June 2, 2021 by Skeptic7

[jak2002003]

10 hours ago, Maybole said:

Granddaughter has just shown me a photo of a bird which she claims knocked on her bedroom window this morning. Its a Hoopoe ! I thought Hoopoes were a rare European bird and unknown in Thailand. Our house is in a village which is surrounded by rice paddies and about 20km south of Chiangmai.

I will post the photo when I can download it from her phone.

No. They are not that rare here. At my last house here in CM always used to see a few in the garden and on the farmland next door. One of my favourite birds. They remind me of Woody Woodpecker. 

 

[Speedo1968]

I live out side a small town south of Khon Kaen.
The local fields have both cows and buffalo.
When I first came here there was one pair of Hoopoe and they ( assuming same pair ) came back each year.
Last year and especially this year there are a number of pairs, not sure why but the land was flooded for the first time in over 50 years in 2019 and the sandy soil has changed.     Perhaps the insect population has changed, certainly more ants than ever.     Humans are starting to change the landscape as the age old fight as to what is right for the land continues, as does "fly tipping".

 

Also some normal rain filled areas used to have fresh water shrimp ( ? ) which locals would catch as the areas dried out, since the flood that has stopped.

 

Unfortunately wild bird ( and other wildlife ) catchers have returned this time using small cat house looking boxes I presume to catch songbirds., a few years ago they killed many birds in fine mesh nets placed in roosting trees, this included 2 very ancient looking old owls and 3 offspring as well as numerous other small birds.   I reported to the local council along with pictures but nothing was done.     That year I managed to deter the catchers by pulling down the nets which were in different places, they stayed away.

 

Similar story with woodpeckers ( ? ) a bird that stands on the side of the tree and eats ants.

[Skeptic7]

15 hours ago, Bredbury Blue said:

I've seen ONE in the decades I've been here, at the Dusit Than I stables in Hua Hin. Remember I got very excited ????

Have had numerous sightings in different provinces and still always get a rush. Cool bird. Never tire of seeing them. 

[JetsetBkk]

On 6/1/2021 at 11:47 PM, Maybole said:

Granddaughter has just shown me a photo of a bird which she claims knocked on her bedroom window this morning. Its a Hoopoe ! I thought Hoopoes were a rare European bird and unknown in Thailand. Our house is in a village which is surrounded by rice paddies and about 20km south of Chiangmai.

I will post the photo when I can download it from her phone.

 

Weird looking bird! I thought it was a small dinosaur straight out of Jurassic Park when I first saw one. Had three at the same time a few months ago.

 

[BLACKJACK2]

My favourite visitor to my garden, the Greater Necklaced Laughing Thrush.

[BLACKJACK2]

Spotted Owlet ?

[Skeptic7]

2 hours ago, BLACKJACK2 said:

Spotted Owlet ?

Think it's Asian Barred Owlet. Similar, but looks like Barred. Any pics including belly? Where are you located? 

 

What happened to it? 

Edited July 10, 2021 by Skeptic7

[Skeptic7]

2 hours ago, BLACKJACK2 said:

Spotted Owlet ?

Here's 2 excellent artists depictions, 1 of each. 

 

 

[BLACKJACK2]

We live Saiyok, Kanchanaburi. My wife found it in the garden, it had some damage on its breast. She cleaned it up and feed it, after a day it flew off, must have been shock more than anything.

[Bredbury Blue]

Pecking order.

 

The wife put some old ripe bananas in the garden for the birds. The pecking order was a pair of myna birds, then an Oriental Magpie-robin and then a pair of yellow-vented bulbuls. It was a bit like a wrestling tag match, watching them chasing each other off the bananas.

 

[JetsetBkk]

53 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Oriental Magpie-robin

My favourite bird.

 

 

[Bredbury Blue]

Excited this morning as we've a white-throated kingfisher sitting for a long time in a tree just over our garden wall (garden wall, small khlong, strip of land with trees then a Pla Salid waterfield) - it's been coming and going from the low branch for several hours. In nearly 20 years here in this house, it's the first I've ever seen. 

 

Quite some years back I saw another type of kingfisher perched on a stick on the same khlong bank. 

 

The only place I've been where I frequently saw kingfishers was from a floating room and i could view them over the river on the steep river bank opposite Kwae Tara Riverside villas, Sai Yok.

[sometime]

High winds & nests don't go together

With the help of a cloths peg the tiny Sunbird's eggs will hopefully hatch.

[tingtongfarang]

On 3/7/2016 at 7:16 PM, Daffy D said:

we get very brave collared dove types which aren't bothered by me

We get those little gray birds, not afraid they walk around on the ground and have accidently nearly stepped on one on several occasions http://static.thaivisa.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif

my dog pretends to sleep next to mouthfull of dried food he puts there, then come to the door wagging his tail with the doves head and wings sticking out his mouth, he does'nt kill them i notice the have broken bones after so the cats get them anyway,

BTW he does the same with squirell and also has a passion the killing snakes and lizards

[Skeptic7]

10 minutes ago, tingtongfarang said:

my dog pretends to sleep next to mouthfull of dried food he puts there, then come to the door wagging his tail with the doves head and wings sticking out his mouth, he does'nt kill them i notice the have broken bones after so the cats get them anyway,

BTW he does the same with squirell and also has a passion the killing snakes and lizards

Quite the wildlife sanctuary u got goin' on there? ????

 

U better hope Ol' Killer doesn't mess with the wrong snake. Bye bye doggie rather than bye bye birdie. 

[tingtongfarang]

12 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

Quite the wildlife sanctuary u got goin' on there? ????

 

U better hope Ol' Killer doesn't mess with the wrong snake. Bye bye doggie rather than bye bye birdie. 

oh he does mess with the wrong snakes but till now nothing more than his snout swollen on one side, should see his reaction when i pull him away then because they are damaged already i despatch them with a number 7 golf bat, 

On the plus side there are some kind of weaver birds who nest in the trees in the garden and feel safe because any cats which enter his domain mostly do so only one time,

I have spoken to him about his kill count numerous times but nothing changes

Edited November 12, 2021 by tingtongfarang

[Stocky]

Anyone know who this little chap is? 

 

[KhunLA]

Oriental Magpie-Robin  https://ebird.org/species/magrob