Birding/ Bird watching in Thailand

Birding/ Bird watching in Bangkok, Thailand

Saturday 18 ^th of November 2023 and we will meet for dinner in the afternoon, but I did not want to go to any restaurant so I decided to have the dinner at home. Saturday afternoon and the restaurants will be crowded, not a pleasant environment.

One friend had arrived from Sweden and one landed from Taiwan in the afternoon and at 4 o'clock they started to arrive one by one. I had been busy baking a cake and to prepare potato and smoked salmon so it should be ready at 4.

And I was lucky to start preparing early, I thought that there was very little smoked salmon. I discover that they had delivered 100g packages so I ordered one more kg express and they delivered the salmon after an hour.

Lax och dill stuvad potatis

Lax och dill stuvad potatis

Home-made cake

Home-made cake

Home-made cake

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Sunday 19 ^th of August 2023 and the car arrives at 6 and we are soon on our way towards eBird hotspot: Pak Phli--Tha Ruea paddies & aquaculture ponds in Nakhon Nayok. I had not been sleeping more than 3 hours during the night, maybe because of the sugar rush after the cake. Or just general excitement.

It took us about two hours to reach the hotspot and the first bird we passed was a Zebra Dove sitting next to the road. I took a picture and I started my eBird app.

Zebra Dove / นกเขาชวา

Brown Shrike/ นกอีเสือสีน้ำตาล

Great Egret/ นกยางโทนใหญ่"

We left the paved road and we were soon stopping to try to get a picture of a Brown Shriek next to the road. A little further up the road we passed a Great White Egret with a fish in the bill. We continue and we get out on a dirt track to drive along one of the ponds.

I see a second Brown Shrike in a bush next to the dirt track. I never got any good pictures of the Brown Shrike but I made two recordings that turned out to be a Siamese Pied Starling. I finished my recording and I tried to get a couple of pictures.

Beautiful area

Picture by my driver

Bird watching in full swing

Picture by my driver

Bird watching in full swing

Picture by my driver

Listen to the Siamese Pied Starling

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

I brought out my ZOOM H5 and I discovered that I had forgotten to install batteries so I had to record the bird with my phone.

High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

I thought I was recording a Brown Shriek but the bird took off and I discovered a couple of Siamese Pied Starlings in the bush.

Siamese Pied Myna

Siamese Pied Myna

Baya Weaver/ นกกระจาบธรรมดา

Baya Weaver/ นกกระจาบธรรมดา

Common Kingfisher/ นกกะเต็นน้อยธรรมด

Common Kingfisher/ นกกะเต็นน้อยธรรมดา

There was one Baya Weaver in the same bush and I took pictures of the bird when suddenly, one Common Kingfisher landed in front of the camera and the bird had a freshly caught fish in the bill.

And we can see that it is a male Kingfisher as the bill is black. Female have orange-red lower mandible and this is how we see the difference

Mandible

noun Anatomy & Zoology
the jaw or a jawbone,
especially the lower jawbone in mammals and fishes.

• either half of the crushing organ in an arthropod's mouthparts.

DERIVATIVES
mandibular adjective
mandibulate adjective.

ORIGIN
late Middle English: from Old French, or from late Latin mandibula, from mandere ‘to chew’.

There was a bird of prey sitting in the tree line across the pond and we turned around to see if we could get any closer to get any pictures. It was a little problem to turn around on the dirt track, but we managed.

We left to the other side of the pond and we found a small path leading towards the tree line, but it was not possible to get out on the path with the car through the rice paddy.

I gave it a try, but the bird is simply too far away for any pictures. But it is a Black Kite.

Black Kite/ เหยี่ยวดำ

Bronze-winged Jacana baby

Bronze-winged Jacana baby, look at the feet

We continued along the pond on the south side and I was surprised to see one Bronze-winged Jacana baby running over the pond. Aren't they supposed to be big now? It is November and they should have come out from the egg a long time ago.

We continued and we had two wires across the pond and there was 50++ Barn Swallows sitting on the wire. Sunshine so it was not so easy to get pictures of the swallows sitting above me, but I gave it my best try.

Trying to get pictures of the swallows

Picture by my driver

Trying to get pictures of the swallows

Picture by my driver

Trying to get pictures of the swallows

Picture by my driver

Trying to get pictures of the swallows

Picture by my driver

Barn Swallow/ นกนางแอ่นบ้าน

Barn Swallow/ นกนางแอ่นบ้าน

Barn Swallow/ นกนางแอ่นบ้าน

Black Drongo/ นกแซงแซวหางปลา

Black Drongo/ นกแซงแซวหางปลา

Zebra Dove / นกเขาชวา

We continued and we left the road to drive around another pond. First bird was a Black Drongo and I got a few pictures from the bridge over the fosse. We turned right after having crossed the bridge and we spotted a Zebra Dove sitting on the road.

We drove around the pond and when we came back, we spotted a Little Egret, no good pictures. But there was one Black Drongo hunting from a small bush close to the car and I managed to get some pictures of the Black Drongo.

The Black Drongo disappeared and I spotted a green bird flying in to a tree and we moved forward a couple of meters. There was a gorgeous Green Bee-eater sitting on a branch and it was easy to get some pictures as the bird was not scared.

Little Egret/ นกยางเปีย

Black Drongo/ นกแซงแซวหางปลา

Black Drongo/ นกแซงแซวหางปลา

Black Drongo/ นกแซงแซวหางปลา

Green Bee-eater/ นกจาบคาเล็ก

Green Bee-eater/ นกจาบคาเล็ก

Green Bee-eater/ นกจาบคาเล็ก

Green Bee-eater/ นกจาบคาเล็ก

Green Bee-eater/ นกจาบคาเล็ก

Green Bee-eater/ นกจาบคาเล็ก

Green Bee-eater/ นกจาบคาเล็ก

Green Bee-eater/ นกจาบคาเล็ก

We continued and after a few meters we stopped again, two Green Bee-eaters sitting in a bush and I took some pictures. We continued and suddenly we had several, about 7 Black Kites flying over the car.

I asked the driver to stop and I got out to try to get some pictures.

They moved very quickly so it was not easy to get pictures of them flying around over my head.

Getting out to try to get pictures of the Black Kites

Picture by my driver

Black Kite/ เหยี่ยวดำ

Amazing how the manoeuvre by twisting and bending their bodies

We are ready to move on

Picture by my driver

We are ready to move on

Picture by my driver

The Black Kite flying exactly as the Red Kites we have in Sweden and I love to watch them flying. But I have never managed to get any good pictures so that was a disappointment.

I had seen a cloud with kites a little further to the South so we left the pond and we drove towards south. We reached a small bridge over a fosse and we turned left to follow a small dirt road. Suddenly and I spotted two kites sitting on the ground.

We stopped and I tried to take a few pictures and I discovered that there were several kites sitting on the ground. I got out of the car and the kites were getting anxious and they were starting to move around, still on the ground.

I discover that there were at least 20 kites on the ground and sitting low in the trees.

Black Kite/ เหยี่ยวดำ

Black Kite/ เหยี่ยวดำ

Black Kite/ เหยี่ยวดำ

Taking pictures of the kites

Picture by my driver

Taking pictures of the kites

Picture by my driver

Taking pictures of the kites

Picture by my driver

Black Kite/ เหยี่ยวดำ

I was sneaking along the dirt road and the kites got more and more anxious and they were moving between the trees and suddenly they took off and I could see that there were about 40 to 50 kites taking off forming a black cloud above me.

We continued and we were soon driving along another pond and we spotted some Black-winged stilts. Too far away for any good pictures.

There were a lot of cormorants and egrets all over the place. And there were many Barn Swallows flying around. The plan was to go around the pond and to come back to look for the kites again.

Black-winged Stilt/ นกตีนเทียน

Little Cormorant/ นกกาน้ำเล็ก

Little Cormorant/ นกกาน้ำเล็ก

We came back to the Black Kite site and there were a few sitting in the tress, but no pictures. We continued and we turned right to follow the fosse/ wetland and there were a lot of birds. We had Whiskered Terns flying around and I also spotted a Purple Heron.

I spotted the Purple Heron by accident. We stopped to look at a Black Drongo and I saw the head of the Purple Heron sticking up through the vegetation.

We continued along the dirt road until we reached a canal and we turned right. The paved road is on the other side of the canal but we will turn right again and go back on the dirt track towards where we had seen all the Black Kite.

The canal is full of buffalos and there are many Whiskered Terns flying over the canal.

Purple Heron/ นกกระสาแดง

Water buffalo

Water buffalo

Little Cormorant/ นกกาน้ำเล็ก

Plaintive Cuckoo/ นกอีวาบตั๊กแตน

Oriental Darter/ นกอ้ายงั่ว

Oriental Darter/ นกอ้ายงั่ว

We drove back towards the Black Kite area and we followed one Plaintive Cuckoo in the field next to the dirt road. The bird landed and I was going to take a picture and the bird took off again and we kept going.

I managed to get one picture from behind a bush so the pictures were a wee bit blurred by the vegetation. But I could get one picture out of it by the help of my DoX Photolab.

We passed one Oriental Darter sitting next to the dirt road and I tried to get some pictures. We reached the small bridge and instead of turning right towards the Kite area we turned left to get back to the paved road.

Little Cormorant/ นกกาน้ำเล็ก

Little Cormorant/ นกกาน้ำเล็ก

Amur Stonechat or Stejneger's Stonechat

eBird Report

Pak Phli--Tha Ruea paddies & aquaculture ponds, Nakhon Nayok, TH
Nov 19, 2023 08:25 - 12:01
Protocol: Traveling
19.11 kilometer(s)
30 species (+3 other taxa)

Red Collared Dove 5
Zebra Dove 13
Greater Coucal 1
Asian Koel 1 Heard only, all over the area
Plaintive Cuckoo 2
Black-winged Stilt 26
Red-wattled Lapwing 5
Bronze-winged Jacana 2 One baby. I was surprised to see one Bronze-winged Jacana baby running over the pond. Aren't they supposed to be big now? It is November and they should have come out from the egg a long time ago.
Whiskered Tern 12
Oriental Darter 1
Little Cormorant 12
cormorant sp. 1
Little Egret 12
pond heron sp. 18 Winter plumage so no proper ID
Eastern Cattle Egret 7
Great White Egret 18
Purple Heron 3
white egret sp. 100 Too far away for oroper ID
Black Kite 50 Most of them in one group on the ground that was flushed when I got out of the car. I discussed the ID on www.birdforum.net. Thread: https://www.birdforum.net/threads/kites-in-nakhon-nayok-thailand-earlier-today.448029/#post-4555810

There was many Kites that I reported in eBird as Black Kites. I wanted to study the birds as they are flying exactly the same as the Red Kites I have seen in Sweden. And I enjoy watching them when they turn and twist their bodies.

And today there was a lot of them, 50 ++They took of from sitting in the grass when I got out of the car and the sky turned black with kites.

Anyway, I discover that there are Black Kites and Black-eared Kites and I go back to have a look at my pictures again and most of them seems to be Black Eared Kites. See attached pictures "be" to "be5"

The reason for me to change, the bluish face and lighter head. Also, more white in the wings according to my book. In my book both have a blackish patch behind the ear, but the BLACK KITE have darker head and less light (bluish) in the face.

Two pictures bk and bk2, and I ID these birds as Black Kited because of the dark head and face.
Common Kingfisher 2
White-throated Kingfisher 1
Asian Green Bee-eater 2
Malaysian Pied-Fantail 2
Black Drongo 19
Brown Shrike 3
Large-billed Crow 5
Barn Swallow 56 56 ++ flying all over the area. The first group of 50 sitting on wire together and later on another 6 sitting on a wire.
Siamese Pied Starling 5 I brought out my ZOOM H5 and I discovered that I had forgotten to install batteries so I had to record the bird with my phone.

High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

I thought I was recording a Brown Shriek but the bird took off and I discovered a couple of Siamese Pied Starlings in the bush.
Great Myna 40
Amur Stonechat 2
Baya Weaver 1 I ID this as a Baya Weaver because of the even colours on the bill. In my boos the other weavers look to have different shades on the upper and lower mendible
Scaly-breasted Munia 3
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S154736615

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 ( https://ebird.org/home )

Today's track at eBird hotspot: Pak Phli--Tha Ruea paddies & aquaculture ponds

Back on the paved road and I was soon turning off my eBird app. 2 minutes after that and I could spot a second Oriental Darter. I did not bother to report it in eBird even though it was an “orange” bird in eBird.

I was back home about 2 hours after that and I was happy with the day. There had been a lot of birds in a beautiful area.

Welcome to the digital prison

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Wednesday 22 ^nd of August 2023 and my alarm went off at 4 o'clock. I will be at the Benjakiti Park at 06:30 to meet a friend for a “ Good Morning ”constitutional. And of course, I will bring my camera to have a look for birds at the same time.

I am up at 4 o'clock pretty much every day so I know that it is still dark at 6 o'clock, but the sky is starting to light up and a few minutes later it is starting to get light. Of course, not enough light for any pictures or to see the birds in the bushes.

In the taxi on the way to Benjakitti Park (สวนเบญจกิติ)

Benjakitti Park (สวนเบญจกิติ)

Benjakitti Park (สวนเบญจกิติ)

Expansion to Benjakitti Forest Park

A major expansion of the park was approved in 2006, with land granted from the Tobacco Monopoly to build Benjakitti Forest Park to celebrate Queen Sirikit's birthday in 2006.

The 652-million baht expansion makes Benjakitti Park the first park in Bangkok with a forest park, and expands the size of the park to 72 hectares. Facilities include elevated walkways, wetlands, rare plant areas, cycle paths and an outdoor amphitheatre.

The expansion fully opened in 2022.

The park is bridged to another public park, Lumphini Park by the 1.3 km long National Sports Development Fund-Sports Authority of Thailand (NSDF-SAT) Park, an elevated pedestrian walkway and bicycle trail at the southwest corner of the park.

I got out of the taxi and I started the eBird app at 06:00 and I started to walk towards north and the NE corner of Benjakiti Park. I will meet my friend there at 6 thirty and we will have a walk through the Benchakitti Forest Park

I could, of course hear the Asian Koel as soon as I got out of the taxi. And there are plenty of them. I could hear the Scarlett-backed Flowerpecker and I saw the bird flying, but not enough light for a 100% ID so I did not report the bird in my eBird app.

I could see my friend when I approached the NE corner and it was 06:20 by then.

I reach the NE corner

Listen to the Black-collared Starling

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder and High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

2 birds sitting on top of a transformer and one of them take off to sit in the tree next to the transformer. And we can hear the bird replying to the bird on the transformer

I meet my friend and we start to walk towards the Benjakitti Forest Park and we are soon spotting two Black-collared Starlings. No light for any pictures but I could make a sound recording of the birds. I got the recording and we continued our constitutional.

We entered the Benjakitti Forest Park and we had not been walking for long when we could hear the Oriental Magpie Robin's beautiful song. A male bird was sitting in the top of a tree

Oriental Magpie Robin and Spotted Dove

Listen to the Oriental Magpie Robin

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder and High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

One male sitting in top of the tree. We can hear the Large-billed Crow and Asian Koel in the background.

Recordings of this species are currently restricted.

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Why are recordings of certain species restricted?

Some species are under extreme pressure due to trapping or harassment. The open availability of high-quality recordings of these species can make the problems even worse. For this reason, streaming and downloading of these recordings is disabled. Recordists are still free to share them on xeno-canto, but they will have to approve access to these recordings.

We do not take this action lightly, and we wish it were not necessary, but we have been convinced that the negative impacts of offering easy access to these recordings outweigh the benefits. If you would like access to these recordings, you may contact the recordist directly.

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We continued in to the wetland walking on the concrete boardwalk. We spotted several Scally-breasted Munias feeding on the seeds of the grass. There was one Plain Prinia and by now we had enough light for photography. I managed to get a picture before the bird took off.

We continued on the boardwalk and the sun was rising on the sky. After a couple of days with cool weather it was getting warmer today because of winds from the south.

Singing Oriental Magpie Robin and a Spotted Dove

Plain Prinia/ นกกระจิบหญ้าสีเรียบ

Little Cormorant/ นกกาน้ำเล็ก

Scaly-breasted Munia, นกกระติ๊ดขี้หมู

Scaly-breasted Munia, นกกระติ๊ดขี้หมู

And soon we will have more Zebra Doves in the park

And soon we will have more Zebra Doves in the park

And soon we will have more Zebra Doves in the park

And soon we will have more Zebra Doves in the park

And soon we will have more Zebra Doves in the park

Zebra Dove / นกเขาชวา

Scaly-breasted Munia, นกกระติ๊ดขี้หมู

Scaly-breasted Munia, นกกระติ๊ดขี้หมู

We continue and I see a black bird sitting in a bush and I think it is a crow. When we are coming closer, I see that it is a Little Cormorant and I try to get a picture even though it is a wee bit too far away. It is a beautiful morning and it is not too hot even with the winds from the south.

We run in to two Zebra Doves and they start to make babies and they didn't bother with us taking pictures. I also manage to get some pictures of Scaly-breasted Munias feeding next to the Zebra Doves that was making babies.

There is enough Zebra Doves in the park and now we will get even more of them. One or two white eggs are laid and are incubated by both parents for 13 to 18 days. The young leave the nest within two weeks and can fly well after three weeks.

Large-billed Crow/ อีกา

Large-billed Crow/ อีกา

Yellow-vented Bulbul/ นกปรอดหน้านวล with a freshly caught insect

Pond Heron, winter plumage so not possible to give proper ID

Pond Heron, winter plumage so not possible to give proper ID

Pond Heron, winter plumage so not possible to give proper ID

Pond Heron, winter plumage so not possible to give proper ID

From Nick Upton's web page, www.thaibirding.com :
Non breeding Javan and Chinese Pond Herons looks the same
and you will have to wait until March-May to tell them apart

We are soon having one Pond Heron landing in front of us and I am surprised, the Pond Heron was not scared and I could walk almost all the way up to the bird. The bird takes off when we are within 2 meters of the bird.

The Pond Heron takes off and we spot one White-throated Kingfisher and as the bird was sitting between us and the sun it was just a dark spot and I could not ID the bird. We walked around to try to get the sun in the back.

I was half way and I could see that it was a White-throated Kingfisher.

And by the time I had the sun in the back the bird had disappeared. So, no good pictures.

White-throated Kingfisher/ นกกะเต็นอกขาว

White-throated Kingfisher/ นกกะเต็นอกขาว

Olive-backed Sunbird/ นกกินปลีอกเหลือง

Asian Openbill/ นกปากห่าง

Asian Openbill/ นกปากห่าง

Little Egret/ นกยางเปีย

Little Egret/ นกยางเปีย

We reach the North Western part of the park and we get up on the walk bridge that cross the park and we start to walk back to where we started from.

We have a good view over the park from the walk bridge, but we are a little too far away for any bird pictures. I spotted one Olive-backed Sunbird/ นกกินปลีอกเหลือง but I could not report the bird in my eBird app.

I could not find the Olive-backed Sunbird/ นกกินปลีอกเหลือง in the app, but it turned out that they had changed name on the bird. It was now an Ornate Sunbird.

Of course, the big birds, like the Asian Openbill and the Little Egret was no problem to get on picture from the walk bridge.

eBird Report

Benjakiti Park, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon [Bangkok]
TH Nov 22, 2023 06:00 - 08:30
Protocol: Traveling
4.92 kilometer(s)
22 species (+2 other taxa)

Feral Pigeon X
Spotted Dove 1
Zebra Dove 4 Making baby
Greater Coucal 1 Heard only
Asian Koel X All over the park
cuckoo sp. (Cuculidae sp.) 1 One brown coloured cuckoo sitting in the tree next to the Blue-tailed Bee-eater. Brown coloured back with black bands on the brown tail and back.
Asian Openbill 1
Little Cormorant 3
Little Egret 2
pond heron sp. 3 Winter plumage so no proper ID
White-throated Kingfisher 1
Blue-tailed Bee-eater 1
Coppersmith Barbet 2 Heard only
Large-billed Crow 5
Plain Prinia 1
Streak-eared Bulbul 1
Yellow-vented Bulbul 11 Singing and making noise chasing each other so I guess they want to have babies.
Black-collared Starling 7
Siamese Pied Starling 1
Common Myna 3
Great Myna 3
Oriental Magpie-Robin 9 Singing all over the park
Ornate Sunbird 1 Olive-backed Sunbird/ นกกินปลีอกเหลือง. Eating from a red flower.
Scaly-breasted Munia 16 They were seen all over the park and there were more than 16

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S154943136

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Benjakitti Park (สวนเบญจกิติ)

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Saturday 25 ^th of November 2023 and I start my session at Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym with yoga. It was a couple of days since my last yoga session, the Teacher have been busy.

It was nice to do yoga even though I was sore and stiff. Finished with the yoga and it was time for 10 rounds with The Red Devil, ปีศาจแดง ก.กุมานนท์.

Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym

I had planned to go for a foot massage after our session but my friend had no time. There was a fighter from Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym that had a fight in On Nut.

We did 10 rounds and my friend dropped me at the foot massage place and he will be back to pick me up at 12 thirty. So, there was not enough time for a full hour, but a little is better than nothing. He picked me up outside the massage shop at 12:40.

We drove back to Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym to where the others were waiting and we were soon on our way to On Nut.

The Red Devil, ปีศาจแดง ก.กุมานนท์

The Red Devil, ปีศาจแดง ก.กุมานนท์

Arriving to Luktupfah Muay Thai School

Arriving to Luktupfah Muay Thai School

Arriving to Luktupfah Muay Thai School

Luktupfah Muay Thai School

Luktupfah muay thai school is a diverse muay thai camp in Bangkok. We accommodate all levels of proficiency in muay thai from absolute beginner to professional fighters, male and female and students of any age. All of our trainers have very impressive resumes, with an extensive history in Muay thai as retired pro fighters as well as being certified by the Kru muay Thai association as muaythai Teachers (Kru).

They also have great knowledge in Muay boran and a couple of our trainers are also judges and referees for large muay thai events in and outside Thailand; including Super Muay Thai and All Star fight with Buakaw being one of the main fighters on the card.

The gym is owned my Grand Master Woody who has been teaching and promoting muay thai throughout the World his entire life. He is the President of World Muaythai Organization (WMO), Kru Muaythai Association (KMA) and World Muaythai Boran Federation (WMBF).

His daughter Jade, manages the camp, she also has an impressive background in muay thai, having fought professionally in many different countries and has become a great ambassador for muay thai.

Luktupfah is family run and therefore at the camp we make sure that our guests feel welcome and at home, as well as having the best professional training during their stay.

We reach Luktupfah Muay Thai School located on the country side at the outskirts of Bangkok. There is a tournament between the different Muay Thai Gyms in Bangkok and Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym have one fighter.

When we arrived, there is still 6 fights before it is time for our fighter from Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym. They prepare our fighter and I go to find a place to sit to watch the other fights. When we arrived, there are some very young children fighting, looked to me much older than 6 years old.

Some of them will for sure be future champions. Looked to be more play than fight and short fights, but they are starting early.

Preparing our fighter

Preparing our fighter

Preparing our fighter

Watching the fights

Preparing our fighter

Preparing our fighter

Preparing our fighter

Preparing our fighter

There are people from gyms all over Bangkok and they are of course cheering on their fighter. Time is passing quickly and it is soon time for our fighter to get up in the ring.

I went in front of the ring to see if I could make a video. The ring was covered by the ropes, but I did give it my best try with my mobile phone video camera.

Less than two rounds and it was time to go home

20 seconds in to the first round and it was obvious that Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym would win the fight. The red fighter was like a windmill and our fighter had no problem to keep clear. Our blue fighter used straight blows and quick kicks.

So, it was clear from the start that our fighter was the best and he won not so many seconds in to the second round. Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym is opening at 3 o'clock again, after the lunch break sothey were in a hurry to get back to the gym and I took a taxi back home.

Saturday afternoon and light traffic so I was soon home to make tea and lunch.

Time to leave

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Sunday 26 ^th of November 2023 and I take a taxi to Bourbon Street Restaurant & Oyster Bar on Ekkamai. I have planned to be early and I arrived at 4 thirty, 30 minutes before the party was supposed to kick off. I like to come early and I can watch everyone arriving instead of having everyone looking at me when I arrive.

I was told to take the elevator to the 7th floor and I was alone when I stepped in to the restaurant. I sat down and I ordered a pot of tea and I discover the “birthday boy” on the balcony before the tea come to my seat.

Happy Birthday

People started to drop in and there is quite a few that recognize me, but I recognise exactly no one. Later on we had one guy arriving that I met last time 20 years ago.

I was drinking tea like there was no tomorrow and it was a very nice evening speaking with very nice and interesting people. Good food and I was back home very late.

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Tuesday 28 ^th of November 2023 and I woke up at 3 o'clock, one hour before my alarm was to set to go off. Tea and omelette and I were ready to go to meet my friend at Suan Rot Fai. We will meet at the entrance to the Queen Sirikit Park.

And we will most likely cross the Bird Wave Bridge, สะพานคลื่นนก to Suan Rot Fai. Lineman and it was not possible to get any car and I tried GRAB. Took quite a while before I got a car.

On the way to the park

Female Asian Koel/ นกกาเหว่า

I was on my way about 10 minutes before 6 o'clock and I got out of the taxi about quarter past 6. I discovered that I had got out of the taxi a wee bit too early. But it was only 10 minutes to walk to our meeting point.

I had walked for a couple of minutes when I got a message that my friend had arrived. We entered the park and we walked through a bamboo forest and it was still a little bit too dark for any pictures. But I managed to get a picture of a Female Asian Koel sitting in a tree.

And the picture turned out much better than I had expected even though there was not much light so slow shutter speed and a crazy high ISO speed.

We walk down to the water and I can report one White-breasted Waterhen. I had reported crows and Asian Koels walking here, but those birds I could as well have reported before leaving home.

100% guarantee to spot them here. So, the White-breasted Waterhen was the second bird I reported, but too far away and not enough light for any pictures.

Common Myna/ นกเอี้ยงสาริกา

Striated Heron/ นกยางเขียว

Striated Heron/ นกยางเขียว

Striated Heron/ นกยางเขียว

Little Egret/ นกยางเปีย

We cross a second bridge and we spot a Striated Heron foraging along the water and I try to get a couple of pictures. And there is one Little Egret looking for fish in one of the small pools on the huge plaza in the middle of the Queen Sirikit Park.

We went a little “off road” to go explore the flowers as there might be some interesting birds feeding on the flowers. But most of the flowers were withered and there were no birds to be seen.

We are leaving towards the Bird Wave Bridge (สะพานคลื่นนก) where we will cross in to Suan Rot Fai. We pass one Feral Pigeon and I get a picture. My friend suggested it as the bird looked very beautiful in the morning light.

My friend is a professional Photographer so I followed his advice, and the picture turned out very well. Feral Pigeons, millions of them so you really don't pay any notice to them. But they are very colourful, at least many of them.

Rock Pigeon / Feral Pigeon

I don't know if it is correct, but I call pigeons I find in the wilderness for “Rock Pigeon” and pigeons I find in urban areas for “Feral Pigeons”

Common Myna/ นกเอี้ยงสาริกา

Feral Pigeon/ นกพิราบป่า

Large-billed Crow/ อีกา

Coppersmith Barbet/ นกตีทอง

Supersized with Topaz Gigapixel AI

Ashy Drongo/ นกแซงแซวสีเทา

Approaching the Bird Wave Bridge (สะพานคลื่นนก) and we spot one Coppersmith Barbet but it wastoo far away for any good pictures. But I bought the Topaz Gigapixel AI program when I came home from the bird watching in Pak Phli and the picture did turn out to be quite OK.

So I have found use for the program and it might turn out to be worth the 100 US $ invested in the program. Or if it was 99 US $

Just before the Bird Wave Bridge (สะพานคลื่นนก) and we spotted two Ashy Drongos sitting on a wire and I tried to take a picture. We crossed the Bird Wave Bridge (สะพานคลื่นนก) and I spotted one stork billed flying by, but no picture.

We Walked to the other bridge and we bought water at the stall across the bridge.

We want to go to the “traffic school” to look for owls and we walk along the bike track to check out the area along the bike bridge. We leave the bike track after having passed the “Butterfly House” and we cross the field.

We reach the water and we realize that we have to go around as the plank over the water is under water. So we start to walk north towards the sport center.

Asian Openbill/ นกปากห่าง

Pond Heron, winter plumage so not possible to give proper ID

Common Myna/ นกเอี้ยงสาริกา

We walk around the pond walking past the bowling court or whatever they call the game when they throw balls after a small ball.

We walk along the pond and we pass a Common Myna sitting in a tree and the bird looks great in the light from the rising sun. We go “Off Road” to look for owls.

We spot one Indochinese Roller sitting in the top of a tree on the other side of the pond towards the “traffic school” Way too far away for any good pictures, but with the help of the Topaz Gigapixel AI the picture turned in to something I can use.

We did not see any owls, but a group of Cattle Egrets landing in a tree. We turned around to get back on the paved walk path to walk to the “traffic school”

Indochinese Roller/ นกตะขาบทุ่ง

Supersized with Topaz Gigapixel AI

Coppersmith Barbet/ นกตีทอง

Supersized with Topaz Gigapixel AI

Coppersmith Barbet/ นกตีทอง

Same picture without the Topaz Gigapixel AI

We pass one Coppersmith Barbet sitting high up in a tree and again, the picture turned out very well with the help of the Topaz Gigapixel AI. So, for sure, it was worth the 99 US $ investment.

The wood sleeper across the water to the “traffic school” was gone so we walked along the moat. We discovered a new “bridge” and we crossed in to the “traffic school”

We looked around for the owls in the same tree I have seen them almost every time in the park for the last 9 years. But we did not have any luck. We spotted a couple of bird watchers and we went back across the bridge to have a chat with them.

There is one girl asking what we are looking for and she show a picture of an owl sticking out the head from a hole in a tree. She takes us back across the bridge to take us to the tree and we spend 10 minutes watching the hole in the tree without any luck.

Listen to the Indochinese Roller

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder and High Pass Filter applied with Audacity

Sitting on the field and I tried to sneak up on the bird to get a picture. I neither got a picture nor any good recording of the bird.

My friend spotted an Indochinese Roller sitting on a stick in the middle of the field and I go to try to get a picture. The bird took off and we continued towards the main gate where there is a restaurant. And a cup of tea would be nice.

We are closing in to the restaurant and I hear a bird singing and I make a recording. I cannot see the bird but I will sent the recording to xeno-canto and birdforum to see if anyone can help me with the ID.

By the time we reach the Thitaree Restaurant we had been on the go for about 3 hours and we had put 5 km behind us and I turned off my eBird app.

Common Myna/ นกเอี้ยงสาริกา

Listen to the Ornate Sunbird

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recored with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder and High Pass Filter applied with Audacity

I record this bird (Unknown ID) that I have heard all over the park. I will post on xeno-canto and www.birdforum.net to see if I can get help with the ID.

At about 12 seconds there is a second bird, I do not know if it is the same species with a different sound.

Thanks to Sam Hambly at xeno-canto for ID

Ornate Sunbird or Olive-backed Sunbird if taxonomy is not updated here. Second bird at 0:!2 is an Oriental Magpie-Robin

eBird Report

Rot Fai & Queen Sirikit Parks (general area), Krung Thep Maha Nakhon [Bangkok], TH
Nov 28, 2023 06:15 - 09:08
Protocol: Traveling
4.88 kilometer(s)
20 species (+1 other taxa)

Feral Pigeon X
Zebra Dove 2
Asian Koel X Heard all over the park
White-breasted Waterhen 5
Asian Openbill 1
Little Egret 1
Striated Heron 1
pond heron sp. 3
Eastern Cattle Egret 8 One group landing in a tree
Stork-billed Kingfisher 1
Indochinese Roller 3
Coppersmith Barbet 1 Heard all over the park
Malaysian Pied-Fantail 5
Ashy Drongo 2
Large-billed Crow 7
Common Myna 23 Too many for a proper count
Great Myna 1
Oriental Magpie-Robin 3
Taiga Flycatcher 1 Thanks to johnallcock at www.birdforum.net for the ID
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker 1
Ornate Sunbird 1 Thanks to Sam Hambly at xeno-canto for ID

Ornate Sunbird or Olive-backed Sunbird if taxonomy is not updated here.
Second bird at 0:!2 is an Oriental Magpie-Robin

I record this bird (Unknown ID) that I have heard all over the park. I will post on xeno-canto and www.birdforum.net to see if I can get help with the ID.

At about 12 seconds there is a second bird, I do not know if it is the same species with a different sound.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S155345021

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Rot Fai & Queen Sirikit Parks

Thitaree Restaurant is located at the main gate to Suan Rot Fai. The place looked to be closed but they told us it was open and we removed the gate and stepped inside. We take a seat outside and we order tea.

I asked for a plate of BBQ pork collar and it is the best pork collar I have ever had at a restaurant and I ask for a second plate.

Back home and I get the reply from the birding guide in Siem Reap, same guide I used back in August. I will go for a birding tour and this time I will visit the vulture place so I had to buy a buffalo from the farmers.

I will spend 7 days in Cambodia and I am looking forward to this adventure. Last time it was during the rainy season and this time it is the cool season and I expect to see immigration birds spending the winter in SE Asia.

I will leave for Siem Reap on the 14th of December so no need to make any extension of my tourist visa and I will get another 30 days when I return to Bangkok.

Sunday 3rd of December and it is time for a “Photo Walk” with Bangkok Photographers, just click HERE to find out how this turns out.

Tweet

OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.

Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas

Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!

Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!

Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra

Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!

คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!

E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

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