Hi all,
Having lived in Thailand for 6 years now (but at the same time looking
forward to returning home permanently to Australia in January) I can concur
that nothing beats time, patience and perspiration when it comes to the more
difficult-to-see species. Mealworms would have to be in the top ten tricks
to see and photograph fantastic birds! The Thai birders and wildlife
photographers use them all the time at the key mountain locations in
northern Thailand - Doi Inthanon, Doi Ang Khang, Doi Lang. By sheer
coincidence in meeting up and piggy-backing on their mealworm offerings,
they have often been my best "guides"
Cheers,
P.
On Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 7:30 AM, Carl Clifford <>wrote:
> Colin,
>
> I heartily agree. You do not have to pay big money to see birds. I did not
> pay $150 to see a Gurney's Pitta, I only paid about 4-5 litres of
> perspiration and was greatly rewarded for it. I have only been one guided
> tour, some USD 4,500 and, with hindsight, I could have done and seen more by
> myself, with a bit of research and using local transport.
>
> A guide is no guarantee that you will see a bird. It is up to the birds,
> not the guide, as to whether you will see them. Unless the guide is
> enterprising, such as the one who charges $150 to see a GP. I don't know how
> the price of meal worms in Thailand, but I imagine $150 would buy a lot and
> a GP wouldn't eat too many in a day. That would be a pretty good margin,
> even taking out the cost of the kid hired to place the meal worms in a
> prominent place, not long before the guide and the day's punters turn up.
>
> I wonder how much Princess Parrot chicks go for? I think see a business
> opportunity here.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Clifford
>
> On 30/11/2010, at 8:47 AM, Colin R wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> I'm with Tony and Chris on this one. I DO agree that the local
> indigenous population showing some interest as bird guides is a great
> step forward - who better to offer this service? But $450? Get real!
> That's sheer profiteering and won't win any long term support from the
> birding community - I hope. In fact its a real pity that some people are
> actually willing to pay that kind of money - it simply encourages this
> sort of behaviour and there will be no turning back. Lets put it into
> some sort of reality - to see Gurney's Pitta in Thailand one pays approx
> $150US - for a bird that is down to less than 30 pairs in that country
> (I may have the numbers wrong, but it is certainly much 'rarer' than a
> PP) and is notoriously hard to see anyway. There is no comparison. It is
> shameful that anyone, foreign visitor or 'local' is being ripped off at
> this price for the pleasure of birding.
>
> I would ask all of you considering going, to re-consider and reflect on
> the impact this may possibly have on any guiding or birding anywhere in
> Australia in the future - especially by the indigenous population. By
> all means encourage their involvement, but at a realistic price.
>
> Colin
>
> Brisbane.
>
>
>
> On Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:04 +1030, "Tony Russel" <>
> wrote:
>
>> I can't agree Tim. It's costly enough to even get there and back without
>> being slugged for entry once you get there - and who needs a guide anyway
>> ?
>> Far better to find them for yourself.
>>
>> Tony.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Tim Dolby
>> Sent: Monday, 29 November 2010 4:48 PM
>> To: Tony Russell; Birds
>> Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] RE: [Birding-Aus] Princess Parrots
>>
>> I think you're being a little harsh Tony.
>>
>> I think the cost is reasonable for a chance to see such an iconic and
>> hard
>> to find species. It was not that long ago that Mike Carter resorted to
>> drinking radiator water when his vehicle expired on the Canning Stock
>> Route
>> as he went in search of Princess Parrot. There are many species of birds
>> that are best seen with the local assistance of a guide / bird guide,
>> with
>> this cost not dissimilar from the costs charged by birding tours.
>>
>> The money also provides valuable financial assistance to the traditional
>> land owners. Many conservation / birding organisations recognize the
>> importance of establishing positive relationships with local and
>> indigenous
>> people. Creating sustainable livelihoods through birdwatching tourism for
>> indigenous people can have a real impact both on the lives of the
>> traditional land owners but also bird conservation. A recent example of
>> this
>> is the Kakadu Birding Project (see
>> http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/birds/kakadu-birding-project.html). The
>> development of Import Bird Area (IBA) works along similar principles;
>> recognizing that working with local people and traditional land owners
>> has a
>> positive impact of local conservation.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Tim Dolby
>>
>> ________________________________________
>> From:
>>
>> on behalf of Tony Russell
>> Sent: Monday, November 29, 2010 12:18 PM
>> To: Birds
>> Subject: RE: [Birding-Aus] Princess Parrots
>>
>> Thank you John for this report and congrats on finding the PPs. However:
>> I too thought about going but baulked at the excessive cost of a permit
>> required to enter the restricted areas. $450 for a piece of paper which
>> probably took a clerk about two minutes to make out is not my idea of
>> good value, no matter what tick is at stake. Someone is ripping us off
>> guys.
>>
>> I'll wait til the PPs appear on non restricted land - and if they don't,
>> well so be it, I'll go without.
>>
>> Tony
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From:
>> On Behalf Of John Reidy
>> Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2010 10:00 AM
>> To: Birding-Aus
>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Princess Parrots
>>
>>
>> Hi all.
>>
>> Have just returned from a successful trip to see Princess Parrots near
>> King's Canyon NT. 5 of us (Allan Benson, Rob Benson, Alan Morris,
>> Margaret Reidy) booked through the Central Land Council. We met our host
>>
>> from the CLC and three aborigines representing the traditional owner and
>>
>> were led to a location off the Mereenie Loop road where the birds are
>> breeding. Initially it didn't look good as we were driving directly into
>>
>> a very sinister looking storm front. It had started to rain solidly
>> before we arrived at the site and we had no choice but to get out and
>> search for the parrots. We were soaked to the skin, cold and a bit
>> despondent before our aboriginal representatives gave a yell and we saw
>> two birds in flight. These were rather poor views and we thought that
>> that might be it as the birds disappeared and there was no other
>> activity. But eventually we saw some more and after an hour or so the
>> weather eased up and we were eventually able to see the birds sitting in
>>
>> full sunshine sitting on dead branches, giving some good photographic
>> opportunities.
>>
>> At this stage we were all ecstatic with the views we were getting. We
>> saw all up about 20 birds.
>>
>> We had travelled via Alice Springs where we hired a Nissan Patrol and
>> travelled south down the Stuart Highway and took the Ernest Giles dirt
>> road as a shortcut. We paid for this with a blow out. As it rained on
>> Thursday and Friday nights at Kings Canyon, we elected to return to
>> Alice via the bitumen which was a longer way around, but we did see a
>> pair of Bustards on the way.
>>
>> A word of warning, the Central Land Council is taking legal action
>> against some people that have trespassed on their land.
>>
>> Happy birding!
>>
>> --
>> John Reidy
>> Sydney
>> Phone 02 9871 4836
>> Fax 02 9871 2616
>>
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>> --
> Colin Reid
>
> So many birds, so little time......
>
>
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> http://www.fastmail.fm - Choose from over 50 domains or use your own
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