Thread: Thailand bird photos

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Shu, you may want to get a portfolio together and send it to the BBC Bristol wildlife unit.

I was kind of hoping for National Geographic.

It could at least pass as a pic of how not to plant a rubber plantation.

Originally Posted by Shutree

I was kind of hoping for National Geographic.

I know you are trying to avoid buying Mrs Shu a new Phone but it may be a good idea. Actually birds are a nightmare to capture. A spent 10 days in Chile trekking and trying to get a good picture of an Andean Condor, wasn't until the journey to Argentina the driver stopped by a fence with 5 of them sat their having a rest and preen - got about 15 feet away and some great close ups.

I think Klondyke's pool bird may be a Pied fantail:

There is a tree near me where this bird appears early in the morning; doing the avian equivalent of scratching its arse after waking up I think. I thought it was a Sparrowhawk but more knowledgeable chaps assure me that it is a Shikra.

Originally Posted by Neverna

Are you sure it's an Asian Fairy-bluebird you saw and not an Indian Roller, Shutree?

I have seen it a few times now, it hangs out in the small patch of rubber trees. I have to say, when seen from below it just looks very dark or black, I don't see the colurs in your pic from that angle. It is when it flies away and comes to rest in some further tree that you see the very striking blue markings. I spent some more time on the Internet looking for pictures and eventually found one of an Indian Roller taken from behind. I have to say that this looks very much like the bird I see. I'd like to see it closer from a different angle. Meanwhile I am now nearly certain that you are spot on with your identification.

Snapped over a 100 wild geese in all different formations today, wonderful sight...

Originally Posted by Neverna

Are you sure it's an Asian Fairy-bluebird you saw and not an Indian Roller, Shutree?

Indian Rollers are much more common.

Wel, Nev was spot on. There are two places near me where I can often find one and I think two separate birds but they are shy and I seldom get within 50m, from which distance they look really dark. Mostly I see them from behind as they fly off. However, the other day I saw one from the front. The picture is through the tinted car windscreen because I knew it would fly if I tried to get out. They are real splashes of colour.

I have a pair of Olive-backed sunbirds feeding in the canopy below my bedroom window.

you are getting some great clarity on your shots Troy.

Excellent pics there, Troy.

I haven't seen my sunbird since it tried to fly through the mosquito net on the kitchen window.

Do you know what flowers it is attracted to there? Maybe I'll try adding some more plants for them.

^ Apparently they are attracted to red, such as fuschia, red hot poker, and red ginger. Nev knows a lot more about birds than I do so may provide better info.
I haven't planted anything specifically to attract them. They pop over from the woods on the other side of the road early morning for a quick breakfast every couple of days.
I haven't seen the purple sunbirds we had here the last couple of years. I think they are here in March-May rather than Christmas.

Originally Posted by Troy

I haven't seen the purple sunbirds we had here the last couple of years. I think they are here in March-May rather than Christmas.

Birds seem to come and go in this garden. As you mention I had a couple of Purple sunbirds for a while earlier this year. After they disappeared the Olive backed sunbirds were here then they too moved on. Only the sparrows and the Zebra doves seem to be around right through the year. Even the mynah birds will be daily visitors for a while and then not be seen for weeks.

Originally Posted by Neverna

I've seen purple and olive backed sunbirds feeding off flowers in a bush with yellow flowers (Yellow trumpet bush/Tecoma stans/ in Thai 'Tong Urai' ทองอุไร ). The bush is common, easy to buy and very easy to grow, and it flowers almost continuously. (It's a bush but it will grow tall if you let it/don't trim it).

I've also seen purple sunbirds, olive backed sunbirds and brown-throated sunbirds feeding off pink flowers from a purple orchid tree (Bauhinia purpurea, in Thai 'chong-ko' ชงโค). These are medium sized trees and seem to flower continuously.

Thanks. I have what I thought was the Bauhinia growing as young trees, already about 3 to 4 metres but no flowers so far. Maybe next year.

That Yellow trumpet thing is popular in Thai gardens around the village, it should be easy to find locally.

I'll look out for some red ginger too. It would be good to add some colour.

Not strictly speaking a 'bird' photo, but when I returned home from work I found this in one of the nest boxes. I usually clean them out this time of year in preparation for the hoopoes or magpie robins nesting after the cool season.

I think they may be honey bees; they're certainly not at all aggressive and I'd rather not kill the nest. Will they just move on of their own accord in due course?

They look like Apis florea. They were mentioned on another thread recently. Interesting, ancient bees. Worth having a look on t'Internet.

Originally Posted by Troy

Apparently they are attracted to red, such as fuschia, red hot poker, and red ginger. Nev knows a lot more about birds than I do so may provide better info.

I love Lazada. A couple of red ginger plants arrived yesterday, in the ground this morning.

(WTF is it with TD and photos? I do the same thing every time and then one comes out rotated. Is there a user setting I can change? I can't find one.)

There is 'Tong Urai' about the village and the gf tells me it is easy to grow from cuttings. We shall see.

Originally Posted by Neverna

These are two plants that I have seen sunbirds feeding off but I suppose any nectar is good nectar to a sunbird.

The red ginger is in the ground and not yet dead, which is promising. I guess it will be a while before it flowers. The young trees that I think are the Bauhinia because of that distinctive leaf shape have yet to flower. I didn't plant those, they somehow escaped the plough when the land was cleared and I am letting them grow to see what happens.
The 'tong urai' we saw at a neighbour's new house build and the gf asked him for cuttings. He told her that she could try but that his trees were bought because he had already tried and repeatedly failed with cuttings. Thus discouraged we agreed to wait until we have cleared some spaces then we'll buy some at the garden shop. I might wait until the rain comes.
Meanwhile, I was in the garden this morning and was pleasantly surprised to find three sunbirds, one Purple and two Olive backed, checking out the Flame vine and the Hummingbird tree (dork khae) that I planted last year. I had no camera with me so here are the plants and with some imagination you can picture the sunbirds.

^Nice blooms Shutree

I found these 2 in the men's toilets today. Don't know what they are, but I do know that I find it hard to go with 2 small birds watching me.

I invited Miss Lusty Luzon in to the gents to get a photo but she scared them off.

Swallows, but I'm not sure which type.

Barn swallows.

I now have 6 mating pairs of these around the place. They have taken up residence in my hedges at different sections.





They seem to really love my lotus flower water pots as they stand on the leaves and let the solar powered water fountain splash them. They sure are a noisy bunch making lots of various sounds which is quite enjoyable. There are 2 that sit in our Leelawadee tree outside our bedroom window at sun up and start at it.

^ But does Miss Lusty Luzon?

Originally Posted by Looper

I invited Miss Lusty Luzon in to the gents to get a photo but she scared them off.

I am trying hard to avoid composing a sentence with the words: Lusty Luzon, swallows, Looper, gent's.