Introduction
I spent 9 days birding in Thailand during late July 2012. First, a day's birding with my friend and well known birding identity, Peter Ericsson. This was followed by eight days with Roger and Greg from Australia. We birded at various places around Bangkok and Chon Burri before heading south-west to Kaeng Krachan NP and then south the Khao Sam Roi Yot NP and Kui Buri NP.
In Bangkok we stayed at the excellent Sasha Uno Hotel, only a few minutes walk from Asoke BTS skytrain and Sukhumvit MRT subway. http://www.hotel-uno.com/sacha/
At Kaeng Krachan we stayed at Baan Maka, a delightful small resort with excellent gardens and a small lake, only 15 minutes from the entrance gate of Kaeng Krachan. Excellent bungalows and helpful staff, great meals too. Some birds come into a feeder by the restaurant. http://www.baanmaka.com/
At Khao Sam Roi Yot we stayed on the picturesque Phunoi beach at the tranquil Terra Selisa resort. Comfortable rooms, pool and great meals. Only a few minutes drive to the entrance of the national park and only 40 minutes to Kui Buri NP. http://www.terraselisa.com/
We hired and Honda CRV from Avis at Bangkok airport, including a Garmin GPS which proved to be an invaluable asset while negotiating the tricky roads around Bangkok.
Daily summary
26 July
Up at 4.30am and in the car with my old friend Peter Ericsson by 5. Headed south-east from Bangkok and arrived at Bang Phra reservoir just after dawn. In woodland around the entrance gate we found White-crested Laughingthrush, Laced Woodpecker and Common Hoopoe; a good start to the day. We then headed down a track to the shoreline catching a glimpse of Rufous Treepie and Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. In some streamside vegetation we found Yellow Bittern and then Cinnamon Bitterns; excellent. Ashy Woodswallow, Germain's Swiftlet, Coppersmith Barbet were other species found here. We walked through some woodland around the shore of the reservoir where I found a roosting Brown Hawk-owl, then nearby we found Chestnut-capped Babbler and Yellow-vented Bulbul before a rain shower had us hurrying for the car. Next was an open grassy area and shallow backwater of the reservoir where there were numerous Painted Storks, Asian Barred Owlet, Green Bee-eater and Paddyfield Pipit. We then went to a nearby area where we found several Spot-billed Pelican and more Painted Stork.
After lunch we head back towards Bangkok and south to Bang Pu to look through the mangroves, the ocean shoreline and then the nearby fish ponds. It was quite windy by now and the regular afternoon thunderstorm was beginning to build up. Nevertheless we had plenty of time to find Golden-bellied Gerygone, several early returning shorebirds including Lesser Sandplover, Oriental Pratincole, Little Tern, Baya and Asian Golden Weavers, Collared Kingfisher, Striated Grassbird, Long-tailed Shrike and Chestnut Munia. At 4pm the thunderstorm rolled in and we called it a day. The thick traffic meant it was going to be a slow trip back to central Bangkok, so Peter dropped me off at Bearing and I caught the fast and efficient BTS skytrain back to Asoke. 75 species for the day.
27 July
Up early and waited for Greg to arrive from Australia on an early morning flight. We dropped his bag at the hotel, he had a quick shower and we were off on the MRT subway to Chatuchuk, only 15 minutes away on the subway. From Chatuchuk station its straight into urban parkland and then the adjacent Suan Rot Fai, a former golf course that is now a vast urban parkland with many common Thai birds and a great way to spend a few hours while we waiting for Roger to arrive from Germany later in the day. We arrived around 8.30 and birded til 11 with about half an hour lost to a rainshower while we sheltered in the beautiful butterfly enclosure. Birds included good views of male Asian Koel, Asian Pied, Black-collared, White-vented and Common Mynas, Coppersmith Barbet, a flock of beautiful Small Minivets, Asian Openbill, Javan Pond Heron, Pied Fantail, Plain Prinia, The afternoon was spent visiting the beautiful Wat Pho, a river cruise and relaxing while we waited for Roger to arrive. 29 species for the day
28 July
Picked up the Avis rental (Honda CRV all-wheel drive) and headed south from Bangkok after viewing Painted Stork next to the airport. Traffic was very heavy and it took nearly four hours to get to sleepy town of Kaeng Krachan where we had lunch at one of the delightful lake side restaurants. Some common birds were found here before we made our way to the Baan Maka where we spent three nights as our base in a very comfortable bungalow. We spent the afternoon birding in the grounds of the resort which has some good forest, a lake and is adjacent to open farmland. Birds included Crimson and Olive-backed Sunbirds, Scarlet-backed and Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, great views of a roosting Black Bittern, Racket-tailed Treepie, Lineated Barbet, Purple Heron, White-throated Kingfisher, Common Iora, Indian Roller, Green-billed Malkoha, Common Hoopoe, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Black-crested, Sooty-headed and Black-headed Bulbul, Oriental Pied Hornbill and White-rumped Shama. Excellent dinner at Baan Maka. 46 species for the day
29 July
Up at 5am, breakfast and collected our lunch packs from the beautiful and efficient Baan Maka kitchen staff and then we were off to Kaeng Krachan National Park. Paid the B600 entrance fee (3 people) and began birding. It didn't take long for goodies to start appearing and we had several stops before the camp ground observing Sultan Tit, Red-throated Barbet and Emerald Dove. In the camp ground we found Banded Broadbill, Blue-winged Leafbird and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch. Next stop was stream 1 crossing where we found Orange-breasted Trogon, Striped Tit-babbler, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird and Brown-cheeked Fulvetta. We stopped at the owl roost just before stream2 and added the rare White-fronted Scops Owl. After stream 2, we walked up the figtree track where a feeding party of birds included Puff-throated Babbler and Orange-breasted Trogon. We then started the long drive up to the summit at Km 35 where we had lunch while watching Spectacled Leaf Monkeys eating bamboo. Persistent rain showers made the birding slow and we decided to drive on to the end of the road. Here we searched for and eventually found the very beautiful Red-beared Bee-eaters and a few common species. Around 3pm we headed back down the mountain through heavy rain, but not before we found Flavescent and Mountain Bulbul and a male Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker. We stopped at the Rachet-tailed Treepie site for half an hour, but the rain continued to pour, so we continued our slow descent, being glad we had an all-wheel drive vehicle in the slippery conditions. Eventually we stopped when the rain cleared around Km 20, and found many birds including Red-headed Trogon, Grey-breasted Spiderhunter and Asian fairy Bluebird. We found a fruiting tree and it contained around 50 Yellow-vented Fruit Pigeons – a great find. Time was ticking and reluctantly we moved on getting back to stream 1 only to find crossing had been washed out with the afternoons' heavy rain. Greg waded over to check the depth and then I drove across, again very pleased we'd picked an all-wheel drive vehicle. A two-wheel drive vehicle would have really struggled. We exited the Park about 6.30pm observing Oriental Pied Hornbill, and then had a very enjoyable dinner and beer at Baan Maka. Large-tailed Nighjar was heard calling, but we couldn't locate it. 55 species for the day.
30 July
Heavy overnight rain, clearing in the morning delayed our departure. A walk near the entrance to Baan Maka finding Grey-rumped Treeswift and Black-hooded Oriole and eventually we headed for Kaeng Krachan NP again around 7am. A few kilometres past the entrance gate we had our first woodpecker, Greater Fameback followed by awesome views of Red and Black Broadbill and more Sultan Tits. Another heavy rain shower forced us to stop at the camp ground where we had a cup of tea in the small restaurant. After the rain cleared we wandered around the camp ground finding more Nuthatches, Black-naped Monarch, Black-crested Bulbul and Blue-winged Leafbird. We then went to a nearby nesting hollow of Greater Yellownape and waited at a discrete distance for it to return. While waiting we observed Common Flameback passing through nearby and Common Tailorbird.
After lunch we headed to stream 1 and found it impassable to our vehicle. So we gathered our stuff and umbrellas and waded across, then walked to stream 2 and eventually reaching the figtree track. We walked down the track for half an hour before we found a feeding party of birds and what a combo it was. Four Dusky Broadbills were the obvious highlight, with other birds including a pair of Hainan Flycatchers, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Puff-throated Babbler and Abbots Babbler. We walked back to the road and on towards stream 3. We walked down another trail for 20 minutes or so before finding a foraging party that included Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, a stunning pair of Crimson-winged Woodpecker and three Crested Jay, three very spectacular species. We headed on to stream 3, but decided it was time to head back to the car. We saw many beautiful butterflies, but few birds. We stopped in the camp ground again and were told a Violet Cuckoo had been observed earlier in the day. Eventually we found it, followed closely by a pair of spectacular Blue-bearded Bee-eaters. We exited the Park about 6pm and headed back to Baan Maka for another great dinner and beer. 56 species for the day.
31 July
We had intended to go to KK again, but another night of heavy rain and a dark morning changed our minds and we decided to head south along the coast to try our luck at Sam Roi Yot. We had a relaxed and yummy breakfast at Baan Maka, watching Crimson Sunbird, Stripe-throated Bulbul and Streak-eared Bulbul come to the feeding station and said goodbye to the great staff. We took a rural route south and saw some good roadside birds including Yellow Bittern, Black-collared Myna and Indochinese Bushlark.We arrived on the coast around 1pm and quickly found a hotel (Terra Selisa) where we spent the next three nights. After lunch we checked out some passing shorebirds that included a Malaysian Plover and breeding plumaged Common Redshank and Lesser Sand Plover. We then headed off to Khao Sam Roi Yot NP in light rain. Birded mostly from the car, except at a couple of shallow ponds next to some prawn farms where we scoped a large group of shorebirds that included Long-toed and Red-necked Stints, Curlew Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover. Other birds included Collared Kingfisher, Ashy Woodswallow, Small Minivet and Plain-backed Sparrow Ban Bang Pu. 51 species for the day.
1 August
Up early and off to Sam Roi Yot NP, walking the mangrove boardwalk which only produced Golden-bellied Gerygone and Striated Heron. Then a walk over the coast track at Ban Bang Pu with a brief view of Blue Rock Thrush, beautiful coastal scenery and Eastern Reef Egret. We then went around to the western side of the mountain range to the extensive Sam Roi Yot wetland, one of the biggest freshwater wetlands in Thailand. The boardwalk here is very impressive and gives superb access through the marshlands. Of course we were here in the wet season, so none of the numerous migrant species that reside here in the dry season were present. Nevertheless, we got some good birds here including Bronze-winged Jacana, Purple Swamphen, Chestnut Munia, Red Collared Dove, Streaked Weaver, Lesser Whistling Duck, Germain's Swiftlet, Purple Heron, Yellow Bittern, Black Bittern. We then drove back to the shorebird pond we had found the previous evening, but most of the shorebirds had gone. Dinner at Terra Selisa. 48 species for the day.
2 August
Drove to Kui Burri National Park, about 45km from our hotel arriving at 8am at the headquarters, but no one about and no obvious walking trails near headquarters. We drove around to the elephant watching western side of the Park and found a guide who took us on a walk for an hour. Here in a large fruiting tree we found several Great Hornbill and 50+ Thick-billed Green Pigeon. We then went on the six kilometre drive to the elephant viewing site, which overlooks a beautiful large forest clearing with lush grassland and mixed forest. Good birding along this road with Dollarbird, Common Flameback, Blalck-shouldered Kite, Hill Myna, Green-billed Malkoha, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Brown-backed Swift, Racket-tailed Treepie, Baya Weaver, Indochinese Bushlark, Banded Bay Cuckoo and Chestnut Munia. We also saw two Asian Elephant. Drove back to the HQ section where we observed a Barred Buttonquail on the roadside. We found a ranger and he took us on a guided walk around the nature trail looking for Blue Pitta but we failed to find that species and we only added Brown Fulvetta, Black-naped Monarch and White-rumped Shama.
On the drive back to our hotel, we past the northern side of the Sam Roi Yot wetland on road 1021. In a shallow pool (12.29634N, 99.95257E) with knee high grass we flushed no fewer than six Greater Painted Snipe with one landing in the open for great views. Also found Little Ringed Plover and Pied Kingfisher here. Back to Selisa hotel for dinner and beer. 68 species for the day.
3 August
Up early and off to the above-mentioned pond where hoped to see the Greater Painted Snipe again. We did and this time had excellent views of several perched and in flight, a great way to end our stay at this great location.
After a late breakfast, we packed and began the long trip back to Bangkok for evening departure flights. On the way we stopped at The Kings Project at Laem Pak Bai. Lots of common waterbirds here and amazingly another four Greater Painted Snipe in the freshwater rushes pond. Other species included Ruff, Long-toed Stint, Lesser Sand Plover, Collared and Black-capped Kingfisher, Black-crowned Night Heron, Paddyfield Pipit and Greater Coucal. In the nearby ponds we found Painted Stork. We arrived back at Suvarnabhumi airport on dusk and departed for Australia later that evening.
I ended up with 166 species for nine days birding, and my friends from Australia finished with 150.
Little Grebe Bang Phra, Kaeng Krchan, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Little Cormorant Bang Phra, Kaeng Krchan, Sam Roi Yot, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Grey Heron Bang Phra
Purple Heron Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Javan Pond Heron Bang Phra, Suan Rot Fai, Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot, Laem Phak Bai
Eastern Cattle Egret Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan, Sam Roi Yot, , Kui Buri,
Eastern Reef Egret Sam Roi Yot,
Great Egret Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Intermediate Egret Sam Roi Yot
Little Egret Common
Striated Heron Sam Roi Yot
Black Bittern Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot
Black-crowned Night Heron Bang Phra, Suan Rot Fai, Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot
Yellow Bittern Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Cinnamon Bittern Bang Phra
Painted Stork Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Laem Phak Bai
Asian Openbill Common
Spot-billed Pelican Bang Phra
Lesser Whistling-duck Sam Roi Yot
Black-shouldered Kite Kui Buri,
Shikra Bang Phra, Kaeng Krachan
Red Junglefowl Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri,
Barred Buttonquail Kui Buri,
White-breasted Waterhen Common
Purple Swamphen Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Pheasant-tailed Jacana Bang Pu
Bronze-winged Jacana Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri,
Red-wattled Lapwing Common
Little Ringed Plover Sam Roi Yot, , Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Malaysian Plover Sam Roi Yot
Lesser Sand Plover Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Common Redshank Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot, Laem Phak Bai
Common Greenshank Sam Roi Yot
Wood Sandpiper Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot, Laem Phak Bai
Common Sandpiper Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot, Laem Phak Bai
Rufous-necked Stint Sam Roi Yot,
Long-toed Stint Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot, Laem Phak Bai
Curlew Sandpiper Sam Roi Yot
Ruff Laem Phak Bai
Greater Painted-snipe Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Oriental Pratincole Bang Pu
Black-winged Stilt Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Little Tern Bang Pu
Yellow-vented Pigeon Kaeng Krachan
Thick-billed Pigeon Kui Buri
Rock Pigeon Bang Phra, Suan Rot Fai, Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Red Collared Dove Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Spotted Dove Common
Zebra Dove Common
Emerald Dove Kaeng Krachan
Banded Bay Cuckoo Kui Buri
Violet Cuckoo Kaeng Krachan
Asian Koel Suan Rot Fai, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Chestnut-bellied Malkoha Kaeng Krachan
Green-billed Malkoha Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri,
Chestnut breasted Malkoha Kaeng Krachan
Greater Coucal Common
Brown Hawk-owl Bang Phra
White-fronted Scops Owl Kaeng Krachan
Asian Barred Owlet Bang Phra
Orange-breasted Trogon Kaeng Krachan
Red-headed Trogon Kaeng Krachan
Pied Kingfisher Sam Roi Yot
White-throated Kingfisher Common
Black-capped Kingfisher Laem Phak Bai
Collared Kingfisher Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Chestnut headed Bee-eater Kui Buri,
Blue-tailed Bee-eater Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Kui Buri,
Green Bee-eater Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Blue-throated Bee-eater Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri
Red-bearded Bee-eater Kaeng Krachan
Blue-bearded Bee-eater Kaeng Krachan
Indian Roller Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Dollarbird Kui Buri,
Common Hoopoe Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Laem Phak Bai
Oriental Pied Hornbill Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri,
Great Hornbill Kui Buri,
Lineated Barbet Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan
Green-eared Barbet Kaeng Krachan
Red-throated Barbet Kaeng Krachan
Blue-throated Barbet Kui Buri
Blue-eared Barbet Kaeng Krachan
Coppersmith Barbet Common
Greater Flameback Kaeng Krachan
Common Flameback Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri
Laced Woodpecker Bang Phra
Greater Yellownape Kaeng Krachan
Crimson-winged Woodpecker Kaeng Krachan
Dusky Broadbill Kaeng Krachan
Black-and-red Broadbill Kaeng Krachan
Banded Broadbill Kaeng Krachan
Germains Swiftlet Bang Phra, Suan Rot Fai, Kaeng Krachan, Laem Phak Bai
Asian Palm Swift Common
Brown-backed Swift Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri,
Grey-rumped Treeswift Baan Maka
Barn Swallow Common
Indochinese Bushlark Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri,
Paddyfield Pipit Bang Phra, Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Grey Wagtail Bang Phra, Kaeng Krachan
Small Minivet Suan Rot Fai, Kaeng Krachan Sam Roi Yot
Scarlet Minivet Kaeng Krachan
Common Iora Suan Rot Fai, Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan Sam Roi Yot
Great Iora Kaeng Krachan
Blue-winged Leafbird Kaeng Krachan,
Black-headed Bulbul Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot
Black-crested Bulbul Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri,
Red-whiskered Bulbul Baan Maka,
Sooty-headed Bulbul Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan
Stripe-throated Bulbul Kaeng Krachan, KK, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri,
Flavescent Bulbul Kaeng Krachan
Yellow-vented Bulbul Bang Phra
Streak-eared Bulbul Common
Ochraceous Bulbul Kaeng Krachan,
Mountain Bulbul Kaeng Krachan
Black Drongo Bang Phra, Kaeng Krachan, Kaeng Krchan, Kui Buri,
Crow-billed Drongo Kaeng Krachan, KK
Bronzed Drongo Kaeng Krachan
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo Baan Maka
Hair-crested Drongo Kaeng Krachan, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri,
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Bang Phra, Kaeng Krchan, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Black-hooded Oriole Baan Maka
Asian Fairy Bluebird Kaeng Krachan
Crested Jay Kaeng Krachan
Racket-tailed Treepie Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Kui Buri,
Large-billed Crow Bang Phra, Suan Rot Fai, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Sultan Tit Kaeng Krachan,
Velvet fronted Nuthatch Kaeng Krachan
Puff-throated Babbler Kaeng Krachan
Abbott's Babbler Kaeng Krachan
Striped Tit Babbler Kaeng Krachan
Chestnut-capped Babbler Bang Phra
White-crested Laughingthrush Bang Phra
Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush Kaeng Krachan
Brown-cheeked Fulvetta Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri
Golden-bellied Gerygone Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot, Laem Phak Bai
Striated Grassbird Bang Phra
Zitting Cisticola Bang Phra
Plain Prinia Bang Phra, Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Common Tailorbird Common
Oriental Magpie Robin Common
White-rumped Shama Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan, Sam Roi Yot
Hainan Blue Flycatcher Kaeng Krachan
Pied Fantail Common
Black-naped Monarch Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri,
Long-tailed Shrike Bang Pu
Ashy Woodswallow Bang Phra, Kaeng Krchan, Sam Roi Yot, Laem Phak Bai
Asian Pied Myna Suan Rot Fai, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri, Laem Phak Bai
Black-collared Myna Suan Rot Fai, Kui Buri
Common Myna Bang Phra, Suan Rot Fai, Baan Maka, Sam Roi Yot, Laem Phak Bai
White-vented Myna Common
Hill Myna Kui Buri
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird Kaeng Krachan
Olive-backed Sunbird Bang Phra, Suan Rot Fai, Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan
Crimson Sunbird Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan
Grey-breasted Spiderhunter Kaeng Krachan
Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker Baan Maka, Kaeng Krachan
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Suan Rot Fai, Baan Maka, Kui Buri,
Oriental White-eye Bang Phra, Kaeng Krachan
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Common
Plain-backed Sparrow Bang Phra, Sam Roi Yot,
Baya Weaver Kui Buri,
Streaked Weaver Sam Roi Yot
Asian Golden Weaver Bang Pu
Scaly-breasted Munia Common
Chestnut Munia Bang Pu, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri,