We stumbled across this place a couple of weeks ago when just doing one of our random, early evening bike rides to try and find a little fresh air, away from the super-heated burbs of Bangkok.
It's amazing that just a few miles from home on the very outskirts of the city, there are these beautiful, countrified places, where rice is grown, the air is (a little) fresher and birds sing...
Parrots? In Thailand?
Ok, they weren't all parrots, in fact when I got my I-Spy book of birds out when I got home, I don't think any of them were parrots, there were Blue and Gold Macaws and Cockatoos, Cockatiels and the usual local stuff flying around, one of whom was rather aggressive towards the intruders...
This was one of the local hooligan birds who were chasing and attacking the white Cockatoos in mid-flight which was brilliant to watch but a nightmare to try and get on camera. No idea what sort of bird it is but it was well 'ard, anyway...
A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea and the Strigopoidea, they make up the order Psittaciformes.
Hell yeah, I'm just going to call them ALL parrots from now on in!
So what were they doing here?
Well, firstly, this place is a local education center that teaches kids about growing rice and about plants and birds. It looked like a wonderful resource centre but of course, was currently closed but we were able to walk around the gardens which are open to the road and look at the amazing plants, flowers and wildlife.
The parrots were there because a local pet bird owners club bring their birds down here to let them fly loose and to sell them! The Macaws and Cockatoos were about 3000Baht ($100 USD) which seemed pretty cheep (SORRY!!) to me, and I'm not in any way condoning the wildlife trade but it was incredible to see these birds flying around.
You know this is a photography group right?
Doh, yes. I posted here because I wanted to get some advice on how to get better results when taking pics at sunset using my mobile phone, what sort of manual setting would improve them and what ought I be doing to edit and improve the final images. I want some advice from you pro snappers, please!
Enough talking, here are the pics with a few comments!
A local education centre for schoolkids which like the schools, was closed!
There were ponds full of fish and lined with plants with signs explaining what they were and how to grow them yourself.
If you look closely at this 'quality' photo, you can see about a dozen bird's nests. There was lots of cheeping coming from them but the adult birds were keeping a distance whenever I got close!
This poster was explaining how to grow err donuts, I think. Not sure because I can't read Thai!
The Paddy fields ready for their second crop of the year with a load of local herons? stood keeping their feet cool.
A white Cockatoo sat on top of an electric pole
A white Cockatoo sat in a tree...
There were about then of these gorgeous red, green and yellow parrots!
A blue and gold Macaw sat in a tree...
A blue and gold Macaw about to eat a little green parrot!
... after he'd stopped hanging upside down and worked out how to perch on the wires...
... before flying back into the tree with his mates.
An action shot! there's a bird flying somewhere in the middle of the photo!
Can I do my 'Cock or two' joke now please?
NO!
Well, I guess that concludes this post then.
After 10 years here, I love to discover these slightly quirky places and happenings and what a lovely place to hang around and chill for an hour whilst everything is closed. I will be going back again soon as at sunset, I can't think of anywhere more serene less than an hour's drive away and this was just a ten-minute trip!
These are beautiful. I've never seen parrots in wild life before
Me neither mate! They were actually pets and was all very surprising as most of these birds are original to South America. It was awesome to see them flying free though.
Oh
It's a really beautiful sight.
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Great pics,, I call anything that looks slightly like a parrot a parrot too. You had better brush up on your Thai though as I am sure we all really to know how to grow Donuts!!!
Ohhhhh @meesterboom, you missed the reference to Monty Python and the dead parrot sketch...disappointed doesn't even come close lol
Brush up on Thai? I only speak 7/11 Thai...it would be a total redecoration needed!
Thanks for dropping by and happy to see you guys getting a little liberty returned. Take care mate :-)
I world like to say that I was too young for Monty python!! That's my excuse for missing it and I'm sticking to it!!
Yeah, I am actually in a cafe getting a take out coffee which feels ridiculously bizarre!!