Green Bee-eater

A quick update while I take a break from the madness that is 'Songkran.' It seems to be the Thai New Year, or something? All I see is a nationwide water fight that lasts 3 days and enlists 60 million residents of this whacky country. The point is that no holiday in the history of mankind comes close to the joy of Songkran, its just that sanook.

I have seen a couple species of Bee-eaters while in Thailand, my first being the Green Bee-eater. I was absolutley thrilled seeing one just outside Bangkok, yup, in my rice paddy. Two actually, maybe in love, maybe not, either way its a one way road and a depressing one. If I could give the happy couple any advice it would be bitter, I just hope they use protection.

I must still be a little sloshed from last night, so I googled a pretty picture. Happy Songkran to all and to all a goodnight.

Unrelated to Bird Watching Entry I

I cut my own hair. It is cheap to do and you get what you want. It doesn't have to be perfect for those of us deemed 'disheveled' by a exceedingly boring business class society. "If you have a beard you are man." I make my students say this at the beginning of every class before manipulating them into worship even more.

Now through the mirror my perception of my hair cut isn't quite accurate. Being a narcissist that goes for that 'I don't care but I secretly do' look I sometimes, in fact don't care, and always end up winging the cutting-of-the-back-of-my-hair process. I kind of feel it out with my hands, cut, and repeat.

So when I stumble upon ridiculous Facebook photos of my disproportioned haircuts (but damn good looking on the sides and front) I am happy. I don't own 2 mirrors, but I could easily buy a backup. But I haven't.

I also should post that I had to kill a young cobra a few days ago that wanted to battle me on the street. I love all animals but can't risk it killing my dogs. I have a picture of the kill and will post it sometime, I just wish I had more fucking hair-gel the day I took it.

Update: The 'mother' cobra was spotted in my yard days later. No joke, fuck me.

Collared Kingfisher and the Orange-Headed Thrush

I spent the beginning of March this year down in Southern Thailand on a beach called Ao Ton Sai, where limestone cliffs tower over the spectacular blue waters of the Andaman. It's a world renowned climber's paradise, and deservedly so.

I was there to climb and puff, sure. However I did bring my binoculars and Namjai, my faithful mutt, in hopes of adding a few species to the life list. My kick-fucking-ass 'Birds of Thailand' Princeton field guide was packed as well; lets do this.

Away from the blazing sandy shores or Ton Sai and in the shady and less blazy jungles of Raleigh I spotted an 'Orange-Headed Thrush'. Easy to identify and confirm; found camouflaged hopping around on the dry leafy jungle floor, just like the book said.

During the kayaking and deep water soloing expeditions I saw nearly half a dozen 'Collared Kingfishers.' Can be easily spotted along most shorelines, the blue wings are gorgeous during flight. Not to be missed.

Asian Openbill

Location: Bangkuwat, Maung, Pathumthani

My home, or 'ban', is located off some highway out in the yuk-yuk-me-no-speaky-english-rice paddy territories of Thailand. I would guess 90% of the world's rice is grown/procreated here, so godamn much of it! I bet my life on this.

While eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner is so great, the real treasure in yuk-yuk is that rice paddies are a birder's wet dream. Imagine an overabundance of egrets, herons, and goofy stork-birds (later identified as the 'Asian Openbill') active and visible at all hours of the day. Bitterns and Bee-eaters replace my missing starlings and pine siskens as new daily backyard birds. Chinese Pond Herons gorge themselves all day on god knows what while their DNA continues to birth camouflage that provides no real purpose whatsoever. Wet...Dream.

Openbills are commonly joked about by avid birders as the 'aborted fetus of the stork family.' After a few weeks of observation I have decided to declare the Asian Openbill as my favorite feathered friend in Thailand. Sometimes they remind me of the CGI dodos in the Dreamworks masterpiece 'Ice Age.' Watching one try to land on a tree is nature's wicked sense of humor at it's best.

Now once in awhile, usually at dawn or dusk, I find myself transfixed. I am reminded of those creepy, intricate Chinese crane paintings, with painted glassy prehistoric eyes.

The Asian Openbill can sometimes be beautiful, even without image stabilization.

Greater Coucal

'The Greater Coucal'

Wow, what a g-n-a-r-l-y bird; built tough with complimentary colors light brown and off-blue. Crow 2.0. I think this species is quite common but nonetheless enjoyable to watch. Serotonin rushes through my head when the Coucal soars. I had a dream once that John Ashcroft performed a song about the Coucal, climaxing with some stranglebation and hara-kiri.

Sighted near Pathumthani in a jungle/rice paddy habitat. 30+cm.

I did not take this picture, I googled it.

The Laughing Thrush

I have a dog that was raised on the streets. My soi dog was confirmed as the product of a heat-induced dog orgy on the east side of Bangkok. Therefore a mixed mutt with Greyhound, Chihuahua, Thai Ridgeback, and a little cat was born. She has scars and mannerisms that suggest a tough upbringing, so I let her do her own thing. Namjai.

When I woke up this morning I found Namjai chewing on my bird list. Bitch. It is an 8x11 piece of dull white paper cluttered with confirmed sightings of raptors, bee-eaters, hornbills, coucals, rollers, terns, wagtails, kingfishers, pipits and lapwings. I am almost at 50 species in my backyard alone.

So I decided on a preemptive strike to hopefully halt a future occurrence that could kick start some mad depression. If my bird list was somehow lost or destroyed I would go 'mental', as British people like to say. As if consuming high dosages of anti-psychotics isn't enough, everything else must be in order.

'The Laughing Thrush' is a bird I really want to see, and I will find it. I wanted to see a damn Hornbill and, sure enough, I found one. So now I want to see a Laughing Thrush; only this time I can share it with myself "digitally," as the internet is one of my best friends.

I have been living in Thailand for six months now. I plan to stay longer. I want to see a Laughing Thrush. I will also post sightings of every other bird I see and identify here. Possibly a chance of some other anecdotes too.



Namjai; my sweet-pea is as essential as any pair of binoculars. Guard dog, lightning fast, super hearing and a knack for flushing out birds, she is a damn good dog. Jub Jub.