Our last day had arrived. We would spend the morning in Kaeng Krachan National Park before heading back to a hotel near Bangkok Airport ready for an early flight to Heathrow next day. This time we would not venture deep into the forest or travel to any remote areas, rather we just stayed around the main campsite which had a variety of habitats including forest, open green areas, a stream and some higher ground with jungle and vines providing cover for many birds.
Silver Breasted Broadbill - serilophus lunatus
Silver Breasted Broadbill - serilophus lunatus This has to be one of the most beautiful of all the incredible birds we had seen and photographed on this amazing trip. The Silver Fronted Broadbill is just that, ... silver! The shiny siver/grey head and undersides are set off by a broad black eyestripe with large gold trimmed eyes, a broad silver bill, a clear white collar around the top of the breast. Black and blue wings, black and silver tail, a combination made in heaven. This is almost avian perfection. Not gaudy or ostentatious, absolutely stunning.
This pair were building a typical broadbill nest out on the end of a long flexible branch overhanging a stream, a little bit of paradise. I was lucky enough to get some very nice shots of these delightful birds, what a great memento to finish off our trip.
This pair were building a typical broadbill nest out on the end of a long flexible branch overhanging a stream, a little bit of paradise. I was lucky enough to get some very nice shots of these delightful birds, what a great memento to finish off our trip.
Black & Yellow Broadbill - eurylaimus ochromalus But wait, what was that in the nearby tree? Only a Black & Yellow Broadbill!! another fabulous bird in black, gold and red this time with bright yellow framed eyes and a lovely pale blue broad bill. It is almost unreal, as if Picasso or Van Gogh had been given free reign to design their own fantasy bird, this could well be it.
A couple of the heavy brigade At this central and popular birding location there were quite a few birders present from Japan, China, Singapore etc as well as the home grown Thais, all of whom seemed to have massive lenses mounted on big tripods. As they all scrambled to set up their heavy artillery, I just got the shots...simple, point and shoot! getting the exposure right is a matter of experience, knowing the light, exposing for the bird, not the sky or the trees, et voila!
I imagine that the images taken with the big telephoto lenses & full frame cameras are exquisite, but how often do they miss the shot? how long does a bird have to sit and wait for them to get into position, line up, focus and shoot? Too slow for my liking anyway.
The shot below taken with my little lens is not bad? no tripod, no sprained back, no mortgage. I´ll stick with it.
I imagine that the images taken with the big telephoto lenses & full frame cameras are exquisite, but how often do they miss the shot? how long does a bird have to sit and wait for them to get into position, line up, focus and shoot? Too slow for my liking anyway.
The shot below taken with my little lens is not bad? no tripod, no sprained back, no mortgage. I´ll stick with it.
Black & Yellow Broadbill - eurylaimus ochromalus The Black and yellow Broadbill was I thought, the icing on the cake, a final highlight before we departed. But wait, what did we see high up there in those tall trees? A Brown Hornbill!
Tickell's Brown Hornbill - anorrhinus tickelli Tickell's Brown Hornbill, also known as the Rusty Cheeked Horbill is about 60–65 cm in length so is a medium sized hornbill. Dark brown above and red-brown below.
Tickells Brown Hornbill - anorrhinus tickelli There is a separate or subspecies known as Austen´s Brown Hornbill which is very similar in appearance, hard to say which this one is but its at the Southern edge of Austen´s range so more likely to be Tickelli.
It was a treat to see another magnificent hornbill before we left, it was our third Hornbill species which is not bad for just a relatively short trip.
Below we have a Green Eared Barbet chick looking out for its parents from the safety of the nest hole in a dead tree. The light was good for this shot and we can clearly see the whiskers that gave this species the name.
It was a treat to see another magnificent hornbill before we left, it was our third Hornbill species which is not bad for just a relatively short trip.
Below we have a Green Eared Barbet chick looking out for its parents from the safety of the nest hole in a dead tree. The light was good for this shot and we can clearly see the whiskers that gave this species the name.
Green Eared Barbet - megalaima faiostricta Below are shots of some of the other birds we saw, posted for the record, sometimes distant, others in poor light but whatever the reason the photos are not good quality but the birds are worthy of note. The Sultan Tit was particularly nice, a very attractive and dynamic bird. Unfortunately my camera cards were all full & I was not able to take full advantage, wasting time deleting unwanted shots to make room for more.
 White Breasted Waterhen - amaurornis phoenicurus  Cinnamon Bittern - ixobrychus cinnamomeus  Asian Fairy Bluebird - irena puella |  Sultan Tit - melanochlora sultanea  Dollarbird - eurystomus orientalis |
