Birding

A few common bird pics from around my garden.

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That White Throated Kingfisher is sensational.
Mine wont hang around long enough for a photo!
You get a nice variety calling in there Ally.
 
That White Throated Kingfisher is sensational.
Mine wont hang around long enough for a photo!
You get a nice variety calling in there Ally.
Catching the last warmth at the end of a busy day catching flies ! ;)
 
Lovely shot. Thanks
 
From my back verandah yesterday. (Nikon Coolpix A900 pocket camera)

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Black Drongos

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Black Drongo

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Spotted Dove

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Scaley Breasted Waterhen

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Pheasant

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Crested Myna

Now I'll do my research and identify them all.
 
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Black Drongo, Spotted Dove, Scaley Breasted Waterhen & Crested Myna

Great camera !
 
and what looks like what we would call a Coucal Pheasant - or Swamp Pheasant - in Oz
 
I have a pair of Coppersmith Barbets on a rotting tree in my garden. They started drilling in November 2018 and are this week possibly roosting.

This video was taken late January 2019.

The following image is this week. They literally poke their head out and just sit there blinking for +30mins and then either go back in or fly out and possibly change shifts with their mate.

Perhaps you have some Tonk Tonk Tonk Tonk Tonk Tonk .... non stop!!! bird calls near you ?

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That is fantastic, Ally.

Meanwhile, I'm sorting through SD cards, looking to re-commission my drone and I found this shot of "Lorrie"... a Rainbow Lorikeet that I hand-reared after he was accidentally cut out of a nest tree. We had him in an aviary for a while, then he was free around the yard, where he raised many babies of his own
 

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I have a pair of Coppersmith Barbets on a rotting tree in my garden. They started drilling in November 2018 and are this week possibly roosting.

This video was taken late January 2019.

The following image is this week. They literally poke their head out and just sit there blinking for +30mins and then either go back in or fly out and possibly change shifts with their mate.

Perhaps you have some Tonk Tonk Tonk Tonk Tonk Tonk .... non stop!!! bird calls near you ?

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What a magnificent little bird.
 
Found in the newly planted rice fields a couple of days ago.
White one is an Egret but what is its hunting companion with the impressive beak?

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Drongo overlooking Egret's hunting.

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Over the past few months I have been trying to photograph a spectacular little bird that visits
my bird-bath occasionally, but it is simply too 'flighty' for me and my lens.
However, this afternoon I heard a commotion out on my side porch and look what I found ...

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... the elusive White-throated Kingfisher!

I fear it may have flown into a closed door, confused by the reflections.
It appears its left leg may be damaged.
It remained there, with me only 2 metres away, for about 3 minutes (perhaps regaining its senses)
then flew rapidly away into the nearby tree.

I feel blessed by its visit and hope it isn't injured.
 
You have to love the kingfishers.
 
Some recent visitors.

I believe this is a Magpie Robin.

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Some more Bee-eaters; daily visitors.

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The common but attractive Spotted Dove.

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But the highlight of the past few days has been watching this family of White-breasted Water Hens in my garden.

I heard the plaintive cries of this little chick which has become stuck in the foliage and was able to return it to its family.

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They are so fluffy it was difficult to focus but I managed to focus on a beak!

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Mum or Dad was not far away.
Chick sure has parents' feet!

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I spent many hours watching their behaviour.
The parents were brilliant in keeping up the food supply as the chicks chirped away.

At one stage another bird approached, so one parent stayed with the chicks as the other chased the invader away.
Wow, they sure run fast.

At another stage I heard a commotion and saw one of the parents actually chase a wretched cat away.

"Follow me kids."

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Hunting for worms.

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"There, get that into your belly."

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"Got it."

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Then the chicks were soon climbing.

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And the last I saw of them they were all up inside a tree near my verandah.

Good luck little fellas.
 
I took this shot of a Darter (aka Anhinga) back in Oz in Feb 2018

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and this shot of a tree full of them in Cambodia in June 2010

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Back to that Aussie bird

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Looking back over this thread, I see Phillip posted a photo of Deere with a captive bird of prey out Omkoi way. It's very much like this captive I saw in Laos on one of my trips with Auke in 2016

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Not quite so regal when you see it's living conditions

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Gorgeous fruit dove... sadly also badly caged

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and a couple more from Oz

We were talking about Magpies.....

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and herons. This is the White-faced Heron

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Spur-winged Plover. Not a great shot, but it shows the spurs

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and an egret. Fairly certain this is the Eastern Great Egret

Got one...

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another shot of the Darter

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Damn that autofocus. I used to be better with a manual lens

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......... and back to Asia with a shot from my 2010 Siem Reap trip. A Japanese tourist (remember tourists?)... with a Mynah

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one from the mighty Kong

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and two from the Death Highway in 2013, which I'm hearing is now gone.

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A few more for any homesick Aussies. These were mostly taken on my back verandah. I'd throw a bit of seed out, or give an apple to the lorikeets.

Australia might be the only place Galahs are native to... but we see a few galahs up in the north of Thailand

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and as me old mate Austen Tayshus would say, there's a few who've seen a cock or two

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That's a nesting season shot. Been in the nesting hollow

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A young Crimson Rosella

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and a mature one

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The Scrub Turkey is making a comeback, after nearly getting wiped out during the Great Depression

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My hand raised Laurie - second from right, with his wild missus - left, and one of the broods they raised, both in the nest box and in tree hollows around the yard

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and on a less happy note... a dead Powerful Owl. Found it under the powerlines out front. I had a business meeting that day in the city with some banker.... who never knew that while we sat in his office, I had a dead owl in a plastic bag in my briefcase. Took the owl to the Australian Museum after the meeting.

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Happier one, but shitty photo. Only time I've been able to positively identify Glossy Black Cockatoos. I was on my boat when they did a fly past

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The local Eastern Rosellas around my place were very stand-offish. They never came in for a feed. Back lane grass only

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We had a pet Tawny Frogmouth when I was a kid. Dad found one unable to fly, on the ground... and the nest was 70' up... so he brought it home so the foxes / cats didn't get it.

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Almost certain that this is that one's nest

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One more of Laurie.

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15th October 2023

Maybe I can revive this thread.

My fence is now host to this delightful little 'Bee-eater', sometimes a pair of them.
They literally make a killing from snatching luckless winged insects as they come within range.

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This one heard my camera shutter and stared me out but didn't fly away.

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Hours of entertainment.

" The Green Bee-Eater (Merops orientalis), is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. Southeast Asian birds have rufous crown and face, and green underparts. The breeding season is from March to June. They nest in hollows in vertical mud banks. The nest tunnel can be as long as as 5 feet long and 3-5 eggs are laid. "

From 'My Bee-eaters of Thailand'
 
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Nice shots. Here's one of their nests

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