ML618711538

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

While I was clumsily searching for these birds at Wat Suan Yai, I met a bird researcher named P’ Leng. He frequents this area to observe and study parakeets. Unfortunately, he told me that this week is my last chance to witness these parakeets laying eggs and feeding their babies before the breeding season ends. They will soon relocate to a different location. He took me to a special spot, accessible only to the villagers, where I got to see a baby Alexandrine parakeet up close, peeking out from a tree hole (first slide) He also mentioned the last year news when the villagers wanted to cut down the trees due to safety concerns. However, after discussions and the power of social media (of course), they decided to keep the trees and even allowed the researchers to set up wooden nests (6th slide) for these parakeets. He and his researcher friends covered the funding for this project themselves, including the expensive tree climbing gear, which was a lot. Before I left, he pointed out an odd looking parakeet he called ‘ขี้เหร่’ (last slide) This female parakeet may have appeared somewhat different from her friends because of her bald spot feathers. Typically, parakeets use their feathers to control body temperature and blend into their surroundings. However, she ‘broke the norm’ by plucking her own feathers to build a nest for her babies. This behavior marked the first documented case of ‘self-plucking feathers’ for parakeet nesting and researchers are still questioning why she did it. Could it be that her babies meant so much to her that she was willing to make such a sacrifice? or it's the strong maternal instinct, I'd say.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

640

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/500 sec

Dimensions

2452 pixels x 1635 pixels

Original file size

2.95 MB