WINGS OF THAILAND
By Roy Beckemeyer
In January and February, Pat and I were lucky enough to spend about 3 and a half
weeks in Thailand. We were on a bird watching tour that covered a fairly large portion of
the country, concentrating on the forested mountains, but with excursions to the seashore
in the peninsular part of the country south of Bangkok as well. We got to experience lots
of new sights, sounds and tastes (the food over there is quite good). Thai people are very
friendly, and it was quite interesting to be in a country where we were the
different-looking people who did not speak the language. From Buddhist temples to nearly
pristine tropical forests, Thailand is a country of great beauty.
Of course, seeing birds was our primary goal, and we saw over three hundred new
species, including many new families such as hornbills, babblers, laughing thrushes,
sunbirds, and minivets. Then there were things like their incredible, fluorescent-colored
kingfishers. Mind-boggling! We had hoped to see elephants in the wild, but did not get to
see them - although we did hear them and see lots of trailside evidence (elephant dung) of
their passage. Saw a number of mammals, including Palm Civet, Sambar (a deer), Crab-eating
and Pig-tailed Macaques, Dusky Langur, and White-handed Gibbons (the latter with wonderful
howls that reverberated through the forest).
But I guess I should say something about the butterflies - - - Even though we were
there in the winter we were, of course, close to the equator so mainly it was dry
(temperature in the 60's to 80's) rather than cold. Saw a lot of butterflies. One of the
participants collected butterflies, and she had over 60 species recorded by the end of the
trip. We saw quite a few of them, and brought back slides or pictures of a number. So far
I have been able to identify about 19 species from our pictures. The best show (in terms
of butterflies) of the trip was one that Pat saw and I missed: a huge assemblage of
puddling butterflies of many species that the group encountered alongside a creek in Kaeng
Krachan National Park on a day when I was recovering from a stomach problem. Pat took a
lot of pictures, including the one shown here. (Sorry it is in black and white.) It was a
spectacular site and many of the folks on the tour, even though not butterfly enthusiasts
(yet), felt it was one of the highlights of the trip.
We were also lucky enough to see a batch of lovely Saturniid moths on the lights
around the outdoor dining area at one of our hotels up in the mountains near Khao Yai
National Park. Unfortunately, the species, Caligula cachara, is not one that Dr. Cody has
ever painted (at least it is not in his book, "Wings of Paradise"). I did get
some specimens of it, though, and will eventually get around to adding scans of it to the
web site, though they are not there yet.
If you ever get a chance to go to Thailand, don't pass it up. It is an exotic, lovely
place full of interesting plants, animals, scenery, and people.
(Roy's web page on the Thailand trip is at: http://www.windsofkansas.com/thailep.html )
FIRST (MONARCH) SIGHTINGS!
Karla Jahn reported a female Monarch in her yard on Monday April 10. Nancy Mangeri
saw one that day also and your humble editor saw one at Pawnee Prairie on April 12.
(Anybody seen milkweed sprouts yet?) Karla also saw a Black Swallowtail on Sunday April 9.
Spring Azures have been flitting about for some time now. Now let's get some April showers
so we can have some flowers for them!