Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush - garrulax pectoralis Ban Song Nok is outside the Park, it is a watering hole with a hide and a feeding station popular with birders and particularly bird photographers as it attracts some unusual species. It also gives good close views of many of the common species that are usually only glimpsed in the forest. It is maintained by "Auntie Ek" who charges 200 baht per person and it is necessary to book in advance.
Greater Necklaced Laughingthrushes were feeding on fruit trees. They are quite large birds, striking in appearance and great fun to watch, being very active and vocal.
Golden Fronted Leafbird - chloropsis aurifrons Golden Fronted Leafbirds were also attracted by the fruit trees, they would make a quick appearance, grab a beakful and then quickly dissappear. They are a very exotic species in bright green, blue, black and orange. I´m not sure where the "Golden front" is though.
Olive Backed Sunbird - Olive Backed Sunbirds were attracted by the tree blossom. They also came to the watering hole. I like the downcurved bill, yellow body and glossy dark purple throat (Male). It looks a bit like a hummingbird.
Black Naped Monarch - hypothymis azurea It was a showery day with persistent heavy rain later, so bad that we packed up & left early. Many of the birds in these photos therefore look a bit bedraggled in the wet conditions. This Black Naped Monarch for example is a delightful little bird but he looks a bit rough in this shot.
Black Naped Monarch - hypothymis azurea This is perhaps a better representation of the species, even if the photo is not crystal clear due to poor light. The Black Naped Monarch is a deep rich blue, a colour under-represented in birds. How many European birds are predominantly blue? Blue Rock Thrush and Roller come to mind but I can´t think of any more.
Striped Tit Babbler - macronous gularis An advantage of the watering hole is the opportunity to photograph some of the little brown jobs that are difficult to capture in the forest. For example I would probably never have had a chance of a good shot at a Striped Tit Babbler elsewhere, which would have been a pity as I really like being able to post a bird with such a great name!
Brown Cheeked Fulvetta - alcippe poioicephala
Tickels Blue Flycatcher female - cyornis tickelliae The Brown Cheeked Fulvetta is one we had not seen before and this is quite a good shot. The Tickells Blue Flycatcher was also a first. This one is a female, we never saw the more colourful male.
Sooty Headed Bulbul - pycnonotus aurigaster Here´s a Sooty Headed Bulbul, a bird we saw a lot of but today was the best opportunity to get a good shot. Even though it was overcast with intermittent rain there´s no substitute for getting closer to improve the photo.
Pied Fantail - rhipidura javanica I was pleased to get a shot of this Pied Fantail. It was the only sighting of this species on our entire trip and I captured this one in the rain as I hung on longer than anyone else & got the shot.
Below is a Red Junglefowl female, or should I say "Hen"? I don´t know but this is not a "Chicken" as such. They came to drink and peck around at the water hole.
Below is a Red Junglefowl female, or should I say "Hen"? I don´t know but this is not a "Chicken" as such. They came to drink and peck around at the water hole.
Red Junglefowl female - galus galus
Grey Treepie - dendrocitta formosae This bird with the silky smooth plumage and blue eyes is I think, a Grey Treepie. Another one that came to drink. We had seen many Racket Tailed Treepies but only one of these before so it was a nice sighting of a large and handsome forest bird.
Grey Headed Woodpecker - pictus canus This Grey headed Woodpecker made a nice shot as I caught it in a shaft of light, a short break in the otherwise murky conditions that prevailed that day. Even though the weather had not been kind we had seen a lot of birds at close hand and I was well pleased. I would like to return one day in the dry season when the light would be better and perhaps even more bird species might show up.
