Thursday 31 May 2012

White-fronted Scops-Owl

I spent the last weekend birding at the famous Kaeng Krachan National Park in Petchaburi Province. It was a short but very fruitful visit as I bagged 3 lifers by the end of the trip. They were Ratchet-tailed Treepie, my long awaited bogey bird Black-backed Kingfisher (Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher) and the extremely rare White-fronted Scops-Owl (Otus sagittatus). The owl was the main target of this trip. A pair was found sleeping in the same area since few months ago and we were lucky to see both of them.

A quick sketch of the White-fronted Scops-Owl




I wouldn't be able to find these birds if other birders who were already in the area didn't point them out for me. Both of them were resting in a very dark tree by the second stream from Ban Krang Camp and there were just few angles where their faces could be seen. They chose a really good place to hide. Later that afternoon, I also heard their deep thrilling calls. We then planned to come back again on the next morning in case they might come out to a more open perch, but turned out we couldn't even find them.

8 comments:

  1. It must have been thrilling to see such a rare owl. I can see why they must be hard to spot in amongst the greenery so good photos in the circumstances.

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  2. น่ารักมาก ๆ เลยค่ะน้องต้น ดูมันทำหน้า อยากไปแก่งกระจาน ไม่ได้ไปมาสีบปีแล้ว

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    Replies
    1. ต้นก็ไปแก่งกระจานมาครั้งสุดท้ายเมื่อเกือบสิบปีที่แล้วเหมือนกันครับพี่พรุน
      เปลี่ยนไปเยอะเหมือนกัน ถนนหนทางดีขึ้น ป่ายังสวยอยู่ แต่เหมือนนกจะน้อยลง

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  3. Magnificent both the sketch and the pictures. it's a wonderful owl!

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  4. I have heard this species only but once so far. Well done.

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  5. Congratulation on your lifer....and those sketch are superb..

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  6. Geniales apuntes y fotos, Ayuwat.
    Estoy trabajando ahora en una pintura de un Athene noctua. Ya mostraré imágenes.
    Saludos

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    1. Thanks, Fran. I'd love to see your version of the owl!

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