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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Bird watching the lazy way (1 Viewer)

trevor432990

trevor432990

Active member
Thailand
Here in Thailand it is winter which means it is a dry time of the year (unlike the season in the UK where I'm from) so as the birds have less places to find a drink I thought I'd try out making a birdbath and see what happened. A spare terra cotta pot stand from the garden made a perfect bath as it was just the right depth and big enough to be seen, so placed on top of two large pots it makes an ideal watering spot for our friends to visit.

I fixed up a shelf bracket to a nearby garden stake onto which I placed a wireless IP camera (Ezviz Mini O) and a power bank device (30,000 mAh 5volts 2.1amp). After powering up and connecting the camera to my home wi-fi system I used the Ezviz app on my phone to check the framing and setup to trigger video when a bird arrived at the bath.

Then I walked away and left the setup for the rest of the day hoping that I might get a visitor and if I did it would send me an alert to tell me. So that's where the 'lazy way' comes in as you can be relaxing on the golf course or enjoying a cocktail somewhere. Well the results exceeded my expectations as in the few hours it had been setup I received visits from four species of birds and they are listed below together with a link to the YouTube video I took of them.

I shall be adding to the list over the coming days/weeks so please feel free to return to this post to get the latest visitations and surprises. Enjoy!

Magpie-Robin 121/1/2021
Magpie-Robin 221/1/2021
Sooty Headed Bulbul21/1/2021
Streak Eared Bulbul21/1/2021
Asian Brown Flycatcher22/1/2021
Sooty Headed Bulbul – Part 222/1/2021https://youtu.be/XcdmEjmdX9c
 
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Four more videos of the usual suspects enjoying themselves

Streak Eared Bulbul 224/1/2021
Asian Brown Flycatcher 224/1/2021
Magpie-Robin 324/1/2021
Magpie-Robin 424/1/2021
 
Apparently the bird I called the Asian Brown Flycatcher (see above) is in fact called a Taiga Flycatcher so will call him that from now on.
 
All of the above revisited today but also a new visitor arrived namely the Spotted Dove so have added him below.

Spotted Dove26/1/2021
 
UK based. But have spent a total of 7-8 months in Thailand over a dozen visits going back to 1988. It is by far my favourite travel destination😊 I couldn't remember seeing Sooty-headed Bulbul for years and don't have distribution maps to hand, hence my incorrect stab at them being more prevalent as a garden bird in the peninsula. Perhaps I am confusing them with Yellow-vented Bulbul! N name, not appearance, you understand! Best wishes.
 
Clever stuff Trevor - and interesting differences in the birds you've attracted compared to the ones I'm familiar with from visiting my folks in Singapore. I've seen the magpie robin but never in the garden, but the most common bulbul by far is the yellow-vented bulbul (mentioned by Britseye up-thread) - are those found in your area at all?

One thing worth mentioning is that mosquitoes will lay their eggs in standing water like your bird bath appears to be - so worth tipping the water out and re-filling it a couple times per week (or you have an aquarium, the larvae will be much appreciated by all things finny).
 
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Hi Patudo, Glad you liked the videos the robin comes here most days but not seen the yellow-vented bulbul yet though its cousin the stripe-throated bulbul came a few months ago and he is a yellow green colour but he hasn't returned for a while. We get some beautiful sunbirds & flowerpeckers around here so just hope they take an interest soon. Point taken about the mozzies I'll remember to wash it out frequently.
 
I sure did! My folks have seen olive-backed sunbirds (some snapshots in this link) come to bathe in sprinklers set up to water my mother's orchids. I was wondering whether sunbirds prefer that kind of setup to a more conventional bird bath, but if this clip is anything to go by, it seems not...

Have you heard the magpie robins sing yet? The males are quite the songsters, perhaps too much so for their own good, but fortunately in Singapore they are much more frequently seen than they used to be. Looks like they're not uncommon in your area as well? I've seen the red-whiskered bulbuls but only in parks and so on - never in the garden.
 
Yes the robin provides the morning chorus. I am lucky to have a tree opposite my house which was groaning with berries this year and each morning about 100 birds including robin descend on it to eat them, so much so I've named it the 'Breakfast Tree' so most of my still photos have been taken on or around it. Fingers crossed for the sunbirds then.
 
Well the Magpie-Robin returned today and nearly drowned himself and so I thought I'd keep the video to show just how long this bird would stay in the water. Look out for a surprise arrival about a minute in and a point to the first person who identifies it.

Magpie-Robin Drowns29/1/2021
 
Red-whiskered Bulbul.

A pint of Guinness, please, if you don't mind.

Oh no, it says 'point' not 'pint'

You can keep it, thanks. 👍
 
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