Notes From The Jacuzzi: North Thailand (1 Viewer)

[MKinHK]

Chestnut-winged Cuckoos are great. They have a "toot . toot" call like a toyland car. They also respond well to bad mimicry and will often come swooping in to see who's tooting back at them.

At their best they peer down through the foliage and make cackling noises like Mr Magoo's laughter - while contriving to look incredibly unintelligent - just brilliant!

I head one on the patch today but it was too distant or too discerning to respond to my efforts.

Emerald Dove are less insane, but still lovely birds

Enjoying the thread very much - thank you.

Cheers
Mike

 

[halftwo]

Forktail

OK, having comp probs...

on top of which they've moved our firsst flight back to this am, so our last day is cancelled, effectively!

Anyway - back to yesterday.
I pioneered the new valley I'd discovered and crept down the stream. Drongo cuckoo & Racket tailed treepie, and not a lot else, until.......

There was a pied FORKTAIL just visible on the stream, but it disappeared before I could fully id it....
Slowly, slowly until I could just see it - preening on the brook: Black-backed forktail - the one that was a tick!!!!!

Well pleased i went back - clocking up a few goodies on the way.

Yesterday a terrific thunderstorm blew the hotel chimney off & rain started to come through our roof! So we moved, having started to pack anyway!

So this morning, no time for a walk: but instead birded briefly from the balcony. Good job in the end, because.....

A LARGE HAWK CUCKOO flew right past, landed obn the nearest tree & showed off!!!!!
What a cracker!

Anyway, gotta dash, bills to pay, places to go.

See you all back in Blighty, where I hope those Hobbies have returned.

Cheers All.

 

[halftwo]

Chestnut-winged Cuckoos are great. They have a "toot . toot" call like a toyland car. They also respond well to bad mimicry and will often come swooping in to see who's tooting back at them.
At their best they peer down through the foliage and make cackling noises like Mr Magoo's laughter - while contriving to look incredibly unintelligent - just brilliant!
Mike

Thanks, Mike, I tried to reply while holed up at BKK airport for hours but their free computers wouldn't let me!

So now back home after a long journey. Added Purple heron & Red collared dove to the trip list.

And I forgot to mention that post-storm I had two starling fly past: the only starlings of the trip.
Unfortunately just too far to say if Asian pied (not a tick) or Black-collared - a tick.
So, there was the end of my 5th Thai trip - and still no BC starlings - where do I have to go to see them?

Notched up 49 ticks (about what I'd hoped/estimated) with some real goodies amongst them.

Cheers all for the replies - it was difficult to blog there & I had no time to browse other threads - where's Larry?

H

 

[dalat]

BC starlings - where do I have to go to see them?

Dalat, Vietnam. Impossible to miss them there...

Enjoyed a lot reading your enthusiastic reports in this thread! Florian

 

[MKinHK]

Hong Kong would do it too.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Birdingcraft]

Great trip report. Ahhh Thailand- how I would love to go back there. I also missed Black-collared Starling but got Asian Pied (and Chestnut-tailed).

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Great report H, and relieved you and Mrs H got back ok.

Like BBB. I too am most gripped by the 2 parrotbills. Agree with Mike on HK for BC Starling. They're shockingly abundant there, so one of many reasons to visit HK one day.

 

[halftwo]

Great report H, and relieved you and Mrs H got back ok.
Like BBB. I too am most gripped by the 2 parrotbills. Agree with Mike on HK for BC Starling. They're shockingly abundant there, so one of many reasons to visit HK one day.

Thanks Larry, I think with there being so much to see there' s a random element re seeing any one species: plenty for me still - a good excuse to return.

Just got back from 4 hrs in A&E - MrsH had (probably) just pulled a muscle while there - full results in few days. But what timing re volcano eh?

Can't keep awake any longer - jetlag !

H

 

[Shi Jin]

Excellent report. Thanks, I really enjoyed reading it.