I had a break in birdwatching. After enjoying munia flocks in January 2024, a couple of unlucky birding walks convinced me to take a break from lugging that heavy telephoto lens around in the +34 degree heat.
But recently the season of trumpet tree blossom started and I decided to explore the nearest park with those trees in the hope of photographing birds+flowers scenes.
It's not only about flowers: trumpet trees, losing the last flowers, are almost bare so you can spot birds and other tree dwellers more easily.
Bee-eater, a fantasy bird, always sits on the top branches. You'll never know it exists until you start looking up in search of birds
That nearest park I visited is actually humble. It's even not a real park: several ponds with trees around them at the territory of a university campus:
Ramkhamhaeng University - Bang Na Campus on Google.Maps
Despite this, I recently counted 22 species of birds there: I had two late-afternoon walks there on March 11 and 12, 2024. Sharing the best images I took on these days.
As soon as I went in, I spotted a blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus), in the image above. And I considered that a good sign.
I was right - I noticed this creature soon:
I had seen the red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) before but I had never had a chance to photograph it well.
I felt she was tired of heat and wanted to stay in the shade despite the fear awakened by my interest in her.
After I got several images, I left her in peace, not trying to get the bestest shot - I have no serious goals in bird photography.
Soon, I saw green pigeons, Treron species. They look and behave like usual pigeons but green and prefer trees to walking among people.
And that's how a passing Asian openbill and cormorant look:
Malaysian pied fantail (Rhipidura javanica):
This is a common urban park bird, a very quick one, with an acrobatic way of flying. She has a tail that opens as a hand fan to frighten other creatures. The colors are plain but the behavior is frenetic - love the bird.
Streak-eared Bulbul is another usual bird I noticed in the campus park but it has zero charisma so I didn't photograph it.
Zebra doves (Geopelia striata), more subtle than the rocky pigeon and more elegant. And she sometimes is even less shy than her boring (and dirty) cousin. A common bird running underfoot in Bangkok.
Herons (above) and egrets (below) live in the park too.
Egrets tolerate passing people but they get worried as soon as you show an interest in them and fly away when you approach closer than 20 meters or so.
But if you approach slowly, they allow you to come very close.
Oriental magpie robin (Copsychus saularis) is one of my favorites among usual birds of Bangkok. They are great singers, they often are very close, and they are a sort of proud birds. In the image, the magpie robin turned back and said with his look "I am conscious you are crawling from behind, and ready to fight if you are willing to harm to me".
I see these birds from time to time but not that often.
I never knew the species before writing this post. The research showed that this could be the scarlet-backed flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum).
That's 250mm, and a maximum crop. Tiny birds... You can spot them by the specific metal sound they produce: ebird.org/species/scbflo1/TH
I also saw spotted doves (Spilopelia chinensis) and coppersmith barbets (Psilopogon haemacephalus):
That's a youngster (no red cap). It had a smooth garment but, at that moment, she decided to show every feather of hers.
There are many barbets in the park and streets around it. Here and there, you can here their "kuk-kuk-kuk" signal.
At sunset, a large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) appeared. But they don't live in the park itself:
I haven't yet mentioned the most common birds I saw in the park: sparrows, rocky pigeons, and common mynas:
A starling of the tropics, able to learn talking, a great singer, a smart creature, and a conqueror - one of the most successful invasive species in the world.
They are more cautious than pigeons and doves. But this certain bird allowed me to be near. I talked to her clapping with my tongue but the bird didn't answer 🙂
Of course, there was a Thai cuckoo, an Asian koel there with her spooky signature howls and red eyes:
Birds resembling swallows were darting in the sky. There are many swallows in the area, so most likely these were them.
I also spotted the garden sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis):
And the cherry on top, showing the most beautiful bird I found in the park:
Slender-billed oriole (Oriolus tenuirostris). I saw it before only once, on the same banyan tree in the campus park. So brightly yellow! A marvel.
This image is an entry for SMAP contest, round 175
22 species in a few hours sounds decent for a tiny park. I never cease to amaze with the biodiversity of Bangkok.
More images and stories from Southeast Asia are ahead! Check out the previous ones on my personal Pinmapple map.
I took these images with a Nikkor 70-300mm on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 on March 11-12, 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand.