Thread: Thailand bird photos

Originally Posted by Troy

You need some luck

Day before I leave and I spot a nest being built on the right side of the hedge. It didn't take long to set up my camera and tripod inside the kitchen and wait. It was early morning so I have to use a high ISO setting to get any reasonable shots. I had to boost the colours a little because they were a bit washed out.








The female was very wary and I had around 3 seconds per visit to get a shot.

I owe Nev several beers for ID'ing a sunbird nest a few years ago.

I managed a couple of shots with a fast enough shutter speed to 'freeze' the wings in flight.





I spotted the male, but it was not possible to get a picture as he doesn't help build the nest. He has been hovering outside both my kitchen windows though, checking on progress.

Nice photos, Troy.

Originally Posted by Troy

I managed a couple of shots with a fast enough shutter speed to 'freeze' the wings in flight.

Excellent pics there Troy.

A regular around the house in recent days, a Green bee-eater.







































































Another pic was photobombed by a Fantail.

A work colleague is a very keen bird watcher and introduced me to an app I think members here might like. It is called Merlin from CornellLab and you can download onto your android or iphone in the usual way, just search for Merlin bird app.

The app can identify birds from their songs, calls etc. You can download a database for your location. I have for Europe and Thailand.

I tried it out in my garden and walking through the woods and it identifies the birds quite accurately. My colleague has an external mic for better direction finding but it's okay as is.

Looking forward to trying the app out during my next visit anf will report back.

^ I tried out the Merlin App this morning and was very happy with the results. At the moment, my phone is picking up sounds from all directions and I need to get an external mic because I was having difficulty working out where some of the bird sounds were coming from.

What I have discovered is that there are many more species of bird in earshot than I have seen let alone photographed.

Here are just some that I need to visually ID...

Small Minivet - picked up in two sound recordings pointing phone towards the rice fields
Ashy Woodswallow - picked up several times in the same direction
Asian Palm Swift - I think I saw a couple of them flying over the fields
Common Kingfisher - I've photographed before but not sure where this one was. Possibly in the trees surrounding the neighbour's pond
Yellow-browed Weaver - in the garden somewhere
Common Tailorbird - Hear them all the time but haven't got a visual yet
Brown Strike - In the rice fields but couldn't locate.
Osprey - I think in the woodland in front of my house

I guess I'm going to need some binoculars now...

^ Thanks Nev, yes a yellow-browed warbler.

I am only over for a week, so left my main camera in Germany.

I was just surprised how many birds were picked up with the app. Quite a few more ID'd from their songs/calls, but I managed to ID them visually.

If you do decide to use the app then take the bigger database of SE Asia rather than simply Thailand. I ended up having to do so in order to ID the Asian Green Bee-eater.

I've already got the app. Got it a couple of years ago. I haven't used it for sound ID yet but I will give it a try after hearing of your positive results.

The databases are rather large in size. I'm not sure which ones I have so far. I'll have to check that.

Originally Posted by Troy

^ Thanks Nev, yes a yellow-browed warbler.

I am only over for a week, so left my main camera in Germany.

I was just surprised how many birds were picked up with the app. Quite a few more ID'd from their songs/calls, but I managed to ID them visually.

If you do decide to use the app then take the bigger database of SE Asia rather than simply Thailand. I ended up having to do so in order to ID the Asian Green Bee-eater.

I had to give this a try. first impressions:

Brilliant idea and a massive task. Well done Cornell.
I have used the sound ID a bit and that Tailorbird comes up a lot, as does the Purple sunbird. Fair enough, they are about the place, although usually silent when foraging around the house, now I can spot them quite far away and high up.
The Red jungle fowl is ever present. No, it is my neighbour's chickens. I suppose they are still close to the native bird. Like Mendip's Nelson.
As good as it is, for some reason the app refuses to recognize the Magpie robin. I have had them line of sight, singing away, maybe 30m. I can see the sound pattern on the app but it doesn't identify it.
I am pretty sure that I have not had an Indian cuckoo, that was probably a Greater coucal, althought the app does identify the coucal easily enough most of the time.
I am as sure as can be that the Vernal hanging parrot doesn't lurk in these parts and I'm not sure what the app mistook for it.
As for the Puff-throated babbler, I have never seen one. The app might be better than me or simply wrong. I'm not sure.
It clearly distinguishes the Tree sparrow from the House sparrow.
Overall an interesting and mostly useful app.

No photo, so a bit tangential to the thread title, I am almost certain that I saw a Yellow-rumped flycatcher yesterday. Driving down the soi it looked like a banana on top of a neighbour's gate. A striking bird. I stopped but it was gone.

^ The app making mistakes is my impression as well. However, like you, I managed to spot birds I would otherwise have missed.

The app did show an oriental magpie robin for me from about the same distance. It also failed to show several birds that I was observing at the time.

Thanks for trying out. I will continue to use, but with my camera next time.

Originally Posted by Troy

Thanks for trying out. I will continue to use, but with my camera next time.

My camera skills are legendary. Not in a good way. I shall persevere with the sounds and see how I get on.

I have at least a dozen IDs which I am sure are spot on.

I bought a directional mike for the phone. (Top tip, don't play with Lazada after the second beer. Some bloke on a bike rocks up with a small box demanding money.) It turned up today and is plug and play, so I plugged it and played it. I can't say the results were outstanding, I shall persevere.

^ I'm off Lazada altogether in the evenings now. I've got three sexy bunny costumes that I have no idea what to do with.

Originally Posted by Mendip

^ I'm off Lazada altogether in the evenings now. I've got three sexy bunny costumes that I have no idea what to do with.

Tell PJ Girl that they arrived unordered....

^ Now there's a plan... two of them have never been worn either!

Originally Posted by Mendip

I'm off Lazada altogether in the evenings now.

and shopee, i bought a 20 thb gyoza crimper

Originally Posted by Mendip

two of them have never been worn either!

Have you got a pair

Pink one 32 33 34 for well rounded thai lady with eggtimer figure in pink

plus 40 38 36 for hansum farang in blue, room for colostomy bag......in blue asking for a friend?

Originally Posted by Troy

^ The app making mistakes is my impression as well. However, like you, I managed to spot birds I would otherwise have missed.

The app did show an oriental magpie robin for me from about the same distance. It also failed to show several birds that I was observing at the time.

Thanks for trying out. I will continue to use, but with my camera next time.

I've tried it out now. Hit and miss for me. It sometimes picks up birds that I can hear in the distance but can't see - great. However, it heard but failed to identify a common bird that was quite loud and perched only 15 metres from me. So, useful but not perfect.

^ Please don't derail the thread, Nev.

That most be the most obvious opening gambit for a sexy bunny costume that I've ever seen.

Pink or red?


... sorry ...

Originally Posted by Mendip

^ Please don't derail the thread, Nev.

That most be the most obvious opening gambit for a sexy bunny costume that I've ever seen.

Pink or red?

Red .... owed.

Originally Posted by Shutree

I bought a directional mike for the phone.

You don't sound too impressed, which one did you buy?

I was recommended a shotgun microphone by Røde with a wind screen/muff to help filter out the wind noise. Not sure what the model name was but had a USB-C connection to the phone. I haven't bought one yet.