Asian Openbill - Bangkok, June 2023 (1 Viewer)

[Aladdin]

Dear Members and Bird Watchers!

I was out looking for birds yesterday and I spotted one Asian Openbill. I have seen thousands of Openbills in my days as they are everywhere in Thailand. They are in huge groups in the paddies.

I was in the park yesterday and there was one lonely Openbill standing in the water, everything looked very normal. Then I discover that there are many snail, at least snail shells on top of the rock. And then I discover another rock a couple of meters away with some snails as well.

The stork was standing there and suddenly it picked up another snail from the water and put it on the rock.

Then the stork started to potter about with the snail and it did not look like the stork tried to eat the snail. And as I could see, all the shells on the rock looked to be intact.

Anyone having any idea on what the bird was up to?

Kind Regards and Happy Birding!
Aladdin

 

[creaturesnapper]

Looks like it is stockpiling them , they are their favourite food , perhaps there is going to be a party later.

 

[KC Foggin]

It must feel that hunger is coming upon it and is preparing for it. Nicely observed and captured Aladdin .

 

[Aladdin]

Looks like it is stockpiling them , they are their favourite food , perhaps there is going to be a party later.

Cheers!

My thought was stockpiling, but there are plenty of them. I had a thought but this seems to be a crazy idea. Maybe they keep the snails there for the snails to die before they eat them?

There must be millions of these storks and not so many years ago there were not many off them. I heard that they imported rice and the snails came with this rice. And the stork came with the snails and as there are so much snails the stork population exploded.

Kind Regards
Aladdin

 

[Aladdin]

It must feel that hunger is coming upon it and is preparing for it. Nicely observed and captured Aladdin .

Cheers!

Never seen it before, but seen many of them catching food and it have been looking to swallow it immediate

Kind Regards
Aladdin

 

[Xelioszzapporro!]

Man you are one lucky guy. Watching 1000+ of Asian Openbills. Guess if sometime I get access to Thailand I will find some Asian Openbills.
I have seen a lot of African Openbills (the black ones) in zoos but never an Asian Openbill.

Also great pictures sir , I like them.

 

[Xelioszzapporro!]

Then the stork started to potter about with the snail and it did not look like the stork tried to eat the snail. And as I could see, all the shells on the rock looked to be intact.

Anyone having any idea on what the bird was up to?

Probably collects them so he can eat them later? Who knows for sure...

The Openbill Storks in order to eat the snails they have to put their lower snout inside them and disassemble what stick the flesh to the shell.
Then once they disassemble they hold the flesh , pull them out and eat them.

 

[Aladdin]

Man you are one lucky guy. Watching 1000+ of Asian Openbills. Guess if sometime I get access to Thailand I will find some Asian Openbills.
I have seen a lot of African Openbills (the black ones) in zoos but never an Asian Openbill.

Also great pictures sir , I like them.

Send me a message when you are about to come. Right now they start to come back to the rice paddies. They have been busy raising babies with the egrets, herons and ibises. So now I start see the painted and asian openbill storks again.

They all disappear and you find them, I find it strange, in one tree that is overfull. One tree with little egrets and one tree for openbills etc.

Safari World, I hate zoo but I go to the gym close to Safari World in Bangkok and this time of the year it looks like a tornado over the area and you can see that it is egrets, pelicans and storks flying.

So I went to investigate and thousands of them in the trees with babies. Openbills had very young babies and eggs while the Painted stork feed their babies on the ground. They were almost as big as the adults.

Trip report from Safari World: https://ebird.org/tripreport/146966

But last time in Lat Krabang rice paddies and some of the storks and egrets were back from having their babies. So if you come here and I am home we can go have a look

Kind Regards
Aladdin

 

[Xelioszzapporro!]

Send me a message when you are about to come. Right now they start to come back to the rice paddies. They have been busy raising babies with the egrets, herons and ibises. So now I start see the painted and asian openbill storks again.

They all disappear and you find them, I find it strange, in one tree that is overfull. One tree with little egrets and one tree for openbills etc.

Safari World, I hate zoo but I go to the gym close to Safari World in Bangkok and this time of the year it looks like a tornado over the area and you can see that it is egrets, pelicans and storks flying.

So I went to investigate and thousands of them in the trees with babies. Openbills had very young babies and eggs while the Painted stork feed their babies on the ground. They were almost as big as the adults.

Trip report from Safari World: https://ebird.org/tripreport/146966

But last time in Lat Krabang rice paddies and some of the storks and egrets were back from having their babies. So if you come here and I am home we can go have a look

Kind Regards
Aladdin

That's awesome!! 🤩I guess I will come to Thailand in a few years I will let let you know a few days before I come.
So we can watch together Storks , Ibises , Herons and Egrets and many other waterfowl.

Thanx for the information Aladdin!

 

[snoopx]

Maybe he was going to crack an egg over it and fry up a HOI TAWT หอยทอด?