Purple Heron

This was our final morning at the Thaidiamondland Resort, Kaeng Krachan, and a few of use braved a pre-breakfast tour of the hotel grounds and adjacent grasslands. Unfortunately, the rain made birding difficult and limited our chances of seeing nightjars and owls. The same route after breakfast was much more productive and we had excellent albeit distant views of this Purple Heron Ardea purpea, one of two seen at the site and the only ones we saw during our stay in Thailand.

Purple Heron is a handsome bird with a wide range which includes southern Europe (and a few recent breeding records in the UK), much of Africa and Asia. Its preferred habitat includes freshwater wetlands, rivers and coastal wetlands.