Night Birds
Back in Thailand visiting daughter and grandson again, and naturally I was keen to add some birding adventures too, so hired a car in Bangkok and drove to Kaeng Krachan, a sprawling forest reserve bordering on Myanmar. I hired Biak, a forest bird guide, but instead of a bird our most memorable encounter was with a very large Leopard. Unfortunately by the time we stopped the 4x4 and I grabbed my camera, the leopard was gone, but the memory remains, I looked squarely into the face of a very large wild cat. Other animal encounters include Yellow Throated Marten, Gibbon, numerous Maquaques, Langurs and Giant Squirrel amongst many other much smaller varieties. Wild elephant droppings were everywhere although we didn't actually see any.
But this is a birding blog and on the road into the Park we spotted this Large Tailed Nightjar which was nesting on the ground in the leaf litter along the edge. Although the bird is a master of camouflage the give-away was its eyes reflected in our headlights before dawn. The photo below was taken with fill-in flash from some distance away for minimum disturbance.
But this is a birding blog and on the road into the Park we spotted this Large Tailed Nightjar which was nesting on the ground in the leaf litter along the edge. Although the bird is a master of camouflage the give-away was its eyes reflected in our headlights before dawn. The photo below was taken with fill-in flash from some distance away for minimum disturbance.
Large Tailed Nightjar - caprimulgus macrurus
Later we passed that way again having noted the location carefully and were pleased to see that it was incubating two eggs. I am not sure how secure a nest site on the road might be but at least it was close to the edge, so it had a chance.
Nightjar eggs
White Fronted Scops Owl - otus sagittatus After this Birk found a White Fronted Scops Owl roosting and partially obscured in high branches. Again I tried some quite long distance flash and this record shot was the best I could manage. I am pleased to say that the use of flash photography did not seem to unduly disturb the birds, this one remained unmoving and unpurturbed by the flashlight. This is quite an uncommon Owl and I was very pleased to see it.
Brown Hawk Owls are much more common and this was the next bird we saw. A little easier to photo this time as the light was improving.
Brown Hawk Owls are much more common and this was the next bird we saw. A little easier to photo this time as the light was improving.
I still used some fill-in flash for the best result. I have discovered that my 400mm f5.6 lens is excellent in Spanish light, but here in the forest it leaves a lot to be desired. I compensate by bumping up the ISO and using flash where possible, but a larger objective lens is the real answer. I am not willing to spend the many thousands required though, preferring to accept the challenge of getting the best results possible from my low budget equipment.
Holy Birds
Birding proved to be a little slow today. Some people might assume that Thailand is teeming with exotic and colourful birds just waiting to be seen right off the plane. Not so, it requires as much patience and stealth as back home in Spain, but the birds are worth it. For example there are around forty species of Woodpecker plus numerous Barbets, Hornbills and other species that frequent holes in trees, so this is a good place to start searching. Here are some of those that we found.
Blue Eared Barbet - megalaima henricii
Blue Eared Barbet - megalaima henricii Barbets are quite colourful and they nest in holes bored into trees just like woodpeckers. This Blue Eared Barbet looks almost too big for the hole, I tried to see how it got its feet out to launch into flight but it moved too fast to catch. getting back in the hole is easier to see as they are expert climbers and clingers to tree trunks, as we can see here with this one working on a new hole.
The bird below is a Greater Yellownape, a fairly common Woodpecker in Kaeng Krachan. It was amazing to see how fast it bored into the tree trunk with wood chippings being hurled out at regular intervals.
Greater yellownape - picus flavinucha
Greater Yellownape - picus flavinucha The Yellownape is abundant perhaps because it includes ants and termites in its diet, not just wood boring beetles and grubs. We all know how many ants there are and thank goodness that such spectacular birds as this that can feed on them.
Crimson Breasted Woodpecker - dendrocopos cathpharius Here's a record shot of a Crimson Breasted Woodpecker in the hole, not a great shot but I include here because it was a lifer for me. Below is a Grey Headed Woodpecker taken at Bang Song Nok, a waterhole just outside the park but included here as it is appropriate to the current subject.
Gray Headed Woodpecker - picus canus
Another fairly common but spectacular Woodpecker is the Greater Flameback. This one pictured is a female, lacking the broad red crown of the male, but still an imposing looking bird. They give away their location quite easily when they are drumming, the sound travels a long way in the forest.
The Black and Buff Woodpecker below is quite different, much smaller with more sober colouring, but just as attractive and very nice to see. These birds sometimes nest in bamboo, which grows extremely large in this climate. There is actually a Bamboo Woodpecker species which we also saw but did not manage to photo. It was quite a plain green bird with a typical red woodpecker head.
The Black and Buff Woodpecker below is quite different, much smaller with more sober colouring, but just as attractive and very nice to see. These birds sometimes nest in bamboo, which grows extremely large in this climate. There is actually a Bamboo Woodpecker species which we also saw but did not manage to photo. It was quite a plain green bird with a typical red woodpecker head.
Black & Buff Woodpecker - meiglytes jugularis
Black Thighed Falconet - microbierax caerulescens My final bird in a hole is not a woodpecker, nor a barbet, it is in fact a raptor. The Black Thighed Falconet is a very small but handsome falcon that we found living in a hole in a large tree. They inhabit old nest holes of Barbets or Woodpeckers and are one of the very smallest of raptors, being not much bigger than a sparrow. It's another lifer for me and it was was fun to watch them perched on top of some high dead tree stumps making occasional forays after large flying insects.
Black Thighed Falconets - microbierax caerulescens
Other Birds of the Forest
There were of course plenty of birds to see that do not live in holes and here are a few of the better shots of some of them. The Forest Wagtail is a very attractive representative of the family and I was pleased to get one or two good photos of this lovely bird.
Forest Wagtail - dendronanthus indicus
Broadbills are always nice to see and although I have posted other shots from my previous visit here is a Silver Breasted and a Dusky Broadbill. I was disappointed to miss out on seeing any new broadbill species, particularly Banded Broadbill which was apparently quite easy to find, but that's birding.
 Silver Breasted Broadbill - seralophus lunatus |  Dusky Broadbill - corydon sumatranus |
The Crested Serpent Eagle is quite easy to find in the forest, somewhat like kestrels and buzzards in our territory, but they are not easy to get close too so I still have quite distant shots as before.
I was extremely fortunate however to get close to this very imposing looking Large Scimitar Babbler (below) which had seemingly found a food scource close to the Reserve headquarters. That's quite a beak on such a handsome and very aptly named bird.
I was extremely fortunate however to get close to this very imposing looking Large Scimitar Babbler (below) which had seemingly found a food scource close to the Reserve headquarters. That's quite a beak on such a handsome and very aptly named bird.
Large Scimitar Babbler - pomatorhinus hypoleucos
Bulbuls
Small birds are difficult to identify let alone photograph in the forest, they flit around high up in the canopy and usually all one sees is a sillhouette as the light is not good enough to discern colours. The common species that inhabit the lower bushes and more open areas are easier, Bulbuls in particular are quite prolific and widespread. This Black Crested Bulbul looks quite imposing with its bright staring eye, open beak and an impressive crest.
Black Crested Bulbul - pyconotus melanicterus
This Streak-eared Bulbul looks extremely fierce, it was trying to impress another one of its kind, a potential mate perhaps? It reminded me of a New Zealand rugby player before an important match, particularly the tongue waggling bit.
Streak Eared Bulbul - pycnonotus blanfordi
Streak Eared Bulbul - pycnonotus blanfordi
The Flavescent Bulbul has a misleading name, it is in fact one of the plainest of all, but it still looks proud on top of those rich red leaves.
Flavescent Bulbul - pycnonotus flavescens
 Black headed Bulbul - pycnonoyus atriceps The Black Headed Bulbul is just like its Black Crested cousin, only without the crest! The Sooty Headed Bulbul (below) has a very poor imitation of a crest, but better than nothing I suppose. |  Ochraceous Bulbul - alophoixus ochraceous This one does have a crest, I shot this Ochraceous Bulbul before dawn using flash, this one is less common. |
Sooty Headed Bulbul - pycnonotus aurigaster
Ban Makaa, Bang Song Nok and Soong Lin
We did see many other birds in the forest which I will attempt to list at the end of the post, but for photography the local waterholes such as Bang Song Nok and Soong Lin are often better for getting close-ups. Also the grounds of the hotel were productive. Ban Makaa Resort is well known amongst birders, it consists of a group of small chalets spread through a wooded area with gardens extending down to the shore of a lake fringed with lotus flowers, very nice indeed. Added to that an outside restaurant serving excellent Thai food makes it a very attractive place for visiting birders to stay.
This Bronze Winged Jacana was walking around on the lotus leaves on the lake shore, a somewhat idyllic scene.
Asian Openbill - anastomus oscitans
Even an Asian Openbill can look attractive in this setting,
Ruddy Breasted Crake - porzana fusca and the Ruddy Breasted Crake skulking around on the banks had something of a warm glow about it.
Bang Song Nok (Local Waterhole with hides)
At Bang Song Nok both Greater and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrushes were present in considerable numbers, many in family groups with seemingly fully fledged young still attached to their parent birds, with much mutual preening and feeding going on.
Bang Song Nok (Local Waterhole with hides)
At Bang Song Nok both Greater and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrushes were present in considerable numbers, many in family groups with seemingly fully fledged young still attached to their parent birds, with much mutual preening and feeding going on.
Greater Necklaced Laughingthrushes - garulax pectoralis
Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush - garulax pectoralis
Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush - garulax monileger
Also frequent visitors to the watering hole were the delightful Black Naped Monarchs, truly a rhapsody in blue.
Black Naped Monarch male - hypothymis azurea
Black Naped Monarch female - hypothymis azurea
Tickells Blue Flycatcher - cyornis tickelliae
Tickells Blue Flycatcher - cyornis tickelliae Tickells Blue Flycatcher was another very pretty visitor. This one looks refreshed after a bath in the waterhole.
Perhaps the star of the show for me though was the enigmatic and graceful Bay Banded Cuckoo (below). This is a stunner, one of those birds that really grabs your attention. Not brightly coloured but one with a powerful presence. It's a bit like a cross between a wryneck and a falcon and quite literally took my breath away, a great sighting.
Perhaps the star of the show for me though was the enigmatic and graceful Bay Banded Cuckoo (below). This is a stunner, one of those birds that really grabs your attention. Not brightly coloured but one with a powerful presence. It's a bit like a cross between a wryneck and a falcon and quite literally took my breath away, a great sighting.
Banded Bay Cuckoo - cacomantis sonneratii
The Bay Banded Cuckoo is a brood parasite, laying eggs in the nests of Bulbuls, small Babblers, Minivets, Ioras and other similar sized birds. The eggs mimic the host's and I always wondered how a bird could possible vary the colouring of its eggs at will? This cuckoo has a very distinctive call, a loud four note whistle with each note descending in pitch, like "Wee-ti-Wee-Tee".
Banded Bay Cuckoo - cacomantis sonneratii
Fowl Play
I was fortunate to catch two species of Partridge at the waterholes this time, also Red Jungle Fowl, and at Ban Makaa I also spotted Kalij Pheasant but did not manage to photo it. The partridges were much easier and are very photogenic.
Scaly Breasted Partridge - arborophila chloropus
The Scaly Breasted or Green Legged Partridge is a forest dweller which has very beautifully textured, shiny bronzed plumage that really glows in the sunlight.
Bar Backed Partridge? - arborophila brunneopectus
I am not sure which species of Partridge these are? I was told that Rufous Throated were the common variety, but these don't look like this in the Field Guide illustration at all. The closest match would be the rare White Cheeked Partridge (a. atrogularis) which is known in N. Myanmar, but at the moment I will go for Bar Backed Partridge (a. brunneopectus) until I get a more expert opinion.
Red Junglefowl - gallus gallus
Ancestral to the modern chicken, Red Junglefowl still roam the forests of Indochina and SE Asia. They were originally taken by humans who used their bones to predict the future, or for divining and cockfighting. Many ethnic people never eat chicken as it is considered taboo, eg the Ho people in India, the Vedda of Sri Lanka and the Sabimba of Malasia. Khmer people in Cambodia only eat chicken out of necessity and it is valued more for its prediction and divining qualities. Only since the industrial revolution has chicken been bred and farmed specifically to provide food in great quantity, so much so that there are considerably more chickens than people on the planet now, mostly crammed into production cages eking out a miserable existence. The rapid proliferation of Homo Sapiens is by far the most catastrophic event to befall this Planet, our parasitic species is rapidly destroying its host, and thus itself of course, like dutch elm or palm beetles.
Striped Tit Babbler - macronus gularis
The Striped Tit Babbler has one of my favourite bird names. It is a frequent visitor to the waterholes at the edge of the forest and is always nice to watch, it likes to bathe often, very hygienic. Below is another frequent visitor, a pair of Brown Cheeked Fulvetas, rather plain birds but looking very attractive on a knarled old log in matching colours.
Grey Cheeked Fulvettas - alcippe morrisonia
 Siberian Blue Robin - luscinia cyane | A brief visit by a Siberian Robin allowed me to snatch a couple of quick shots, but neither as good as I would have liked. never mind it's a good record of a nice little bird. I don't remember where I took the next shot of a White Rumped Sharma but it's a nice shot of this very common bird. |
White Rumped Shama - copsychus malabaricus
Drongos are interesting birds. There are about 25 species of the genus but no representative in Europe as far as I am aware, they are birds of the tropics. I think they are highly intelligent and can be extremely aggressive and fearless when their brood are threatened. In the grounds of our rented bungalow on the Island of Koh Lanta we enjoyed a daily spectacle of two Greater Racket Tailed Drongos jousting on a daily basis with the much larger local Greater Coucal, who seemed to take vicarious pleasure in invading their territory. He always beat a retreat eventually but loved to "Have a go". The one pictured here is a Spangled Drongo, named for obvious reasons. A very handsome bird.
Spangled Drongo - dicrurus hottentotus
Spangled Drongo - dicrurus hottentotus Several species of animals and birds respond to drongos' alarm calls, which warn of the presence of a predator.Drongos in the Kalahari Desert are known to use alarm calls in the absence of a predator to cause animals to flee and abandon food, which they then eat, getting up to 23% of their food this way. They not only use their own alarm calls, but imitate those of many other species, either their victim's or that of another species that the victim responds to. If the call of one species is not effective, perhaps because of habituation, the drongo will try another; 51 different calls are known to be imitated. In one test on Pied Babblers, the babbler ignored an alarm call repeated three times when there was no danger, but continued to respond to different calls. Researchers have considered the possibility that these drongos possess theory of mind not fully shown in any animal other than humans, they then go on to doubt this capability? Human arrogance with regard to other life forms is sometimes quite astounding.
I complete this blog with a few of the better photographs which hope do justice to the natural beauty of the birds of Kaeng Krachan.
I complete this blog with a few of the better photographs which hope do justice to the natural beauty of the birds of Kaeng Krachan.
Black Naped Monarch male - hypothymis azurea
White Rumped Shama - copsychus malabaricus
Scaly Breasted Partridge - arbrophila chloropus
Brown Cheeked Fulvetta - alcippe morrisonia
Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush - garulax pectoralis
Dusky Langur - Trachypithecus obscurus
