Petchaburi Rice Fields is an area of
farmland slightly north of the provincial capital of Petchaburi
which is predominantly under agriculture for rice but which
also contain areas of fish ponds, gardens and uncultivated
Typha beds; small numbers of cattle are also kept
here and ducks are farmed among the rice fields. The mixed
farming at this site and the relatively small plots results
in a mosaic of habitats and consequently high biodiversity
which means that large numbers of birds can be found here
throughout the year.
These rice fields are privately owned and there is no level
of protection afforded to them with the result that in recent
years farming methods have begun to intensify and many rough
patches have disappeared. The railway that runs through the
area is currently undergoing a major upgrade, creating some
disturbance and development "creep". However, currently,
bird abundance has not noticeably changed and this remains
an excellent location to see a high number of open-country
and wetland species in a short space of time; indeed, in the
early morning bird abundance can be spectacular.
Petchaburi rice fields is less than a 2 hour drive from Bangkok
making it a great site for day trips from the capital or combining
with a visit to Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale and it makes a great
stop on the way back to Bangkok from Kaeng Krachan national
park.
The undoubted highlight of birding at Petchaburi rice fields
is the high level of abundance of birds, both in numbers and
species. After some tough birding in the forests it can be
a really nice change of pace to go out into the rice fields
and easily see a wide range of species, including some fairly
scarce ones.
In the dry season the highest number of species are present
here, with large numbers of migrants, and for those who like
raptors, this is one of the best sites in Thailand; a great
place to catch up with Greater Spotted Eagle if you have missed
it elsewhere. Although they are not common at this site, a
male Pied Harrier is an undoubted highlight of a visit to
the rice fields for lucky birders; other species include Eastern
Imperial Eagle, Booted Eagle, Eastern Marsh Harrier and Steppe
Eagle.
Freshwater wetand species are also an attraction here and
some of those elusive bitterns can be found here; Yellow Bittern
is common and Cinnamon is fairly abundant. In the wet season
Black Bittern is common too and occasionally Great Bittern
is found amongst the Typha.
Although waterbirds and raptors are the obvious highlights
here, there are a lot of other species in the rice fields
that are perhaps not rare but not that frequently encountered
on birding tours of Thailand. Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Stork-billed
Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Plain-backed Sparrow and
Freckle-breasted Woodpecker can all be seen here all year
round while migratory birds include Siberian Rubythroat, Pallas's
Grasshopper Warbler, Black-browed Reed Warbler, White-shouldered
Starling and Yellow-breasted Bunting.
Most birders visit Thailand in the dry season but this area
holds attractions through the wet season that are not seen
in the dry. All three Thai species of weaver are very abundant
in the wet season, making their nests next to the roads and
Javan Pond Heron in breeding plumage is a very splendid bird.
Oriental Pratincoles can be seen in these months too and if
you want to see a male Watercock in breeding plumage or a
Black Bittern then the wet season is the time to visit. Spot-billed
Pelican is a species that is becoming increasingly common
as a wet season visitor to this part of Thailand and flocks
of many hundreds can be seen in flight.
Whatever the time of year, there are always many birds to
be found at this site.
Bird
Watching Trips:
If you need help organizing a bird watching trip to Thailand,
take a look at the suggested itineraries for ideas on
creating a tailor-made trip and contact me for advice:
Thailand
bird tours.
Travel Information
Use the interactive map below to plan your
route to Nong Pla Lai Raptor Watch Point and Tung Bang Jak
Rice Fields. The blue line shows the route from the Petkasem
highway a little north of Petchaburi city (green marker) to
Nong Pla Lai Raptor Watch Point (blue marker) and Tung Bang
Jak Railway Crossing (red marker).
Getting to the rice fields at Petchaburi is
easy for those with their own transport as the area is just
off of the Petkasem Highway. From Bangkok head out of the
city on the expressway, following signs towards Dao Kanong
until you see signs for Rama 2 road and Samut Sakorn. You
will head along Rama 2 road until it joins the Petkasem Highway
and a few kilometres before the town of Petchaburi there is
a road bridge over the highway - you can see the temples on
the hills in Petchaburi at this point. Turn left at the bridge
and the rice fields begin.
For those using public transport it is easy to take a bus
from the southern bus terminal in Bangkok to Petchaburi; any
bus heading to a southern province will stop there. However,
the rice fields cover a very large area and transport is essential
so a hiring a vehicle in nearby Cha Am or Hua Hin would be
necessary.
Finding Birds
These rice fields cover a large area and a
large number of the species to be found here can be seen over
much of the site. However, there are a few hotspots for birders
and places that are suitable for stopping and birding.
Irrigation
Canal Road: Birders will find themselves on
this straight road through the rice fields after turning off
of the Petkasem highway. It runs for a several kilometres
with an irrigation canal adjacent to its north side and a
large number of species can be seen in the vegetation in this
canal as well as the rice fields either side of the road and
the trees that line it.
As soon as birders turn off the highway birding can begin
but beware of the traffic, particularly fast-moving trucks
that sometimes drive along here; make sure you park carefully.
Along this first stretch of road many of the commoner birds
of the site can be seen - Red-wattled Lapwing, Egrets, Pond
Herons, Asian Openbill and others will be in evidence and
the numbers of birds along here can be very impressive first
thing in the morning. As well as the commoner species a few
Indochinese Bushlarks can be found along the drier verges
and Freckle-breasted Woodpecker is in small numbers in the
hedgerows while in the undergrowth a very few Siberian Rubythroats
may be found in the dry season, although they are much easier
to find in northern Thailand.
The irrigation canal that runs alongside this road often contains
fringing Typha in which Yellow Bittern can be numerous
and between March and July Asian Golden and Streaked Weavers
will be found nesting here. In fact waiting at a suitable
spot alongside this canal will probably reveal a number of
skulking birds such as Oriental Reed Warbler, Yellow-bellied
Prinia and Black-browed Reed Warbler and perhaps something
rarer, particularly when birds are migrating in autumn or
spring.
During the dry season it is always worth scanning the skies
for large raptors that will frequent the area when the rice
is being harvested; if there are plumes of smoke from urning
fields, large raptors are often close by feeding on the small
animals stirred up by the fire.
Radio
Mast: This tall mast is an obvious landmark
and parking here and hanging around a while can turn up a
surprising number of species. Common Iora and Green-billed
Malkoha are often in the trees here and Plaintive Cuckoo seems
to favour this spot. Ashy Woodswallows and Blue-tailed Bee-eaters
are always to be seen sitting on the support wires and quite
frequently a Peregrine Falcon will use it as a watch tower.
The rice fields adjacent to the mast can be very good for
birds with Cotton Pygmy Goose, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Eastern
Yellow Wagtail and Long-toed Stint just some of the regulars
depending on the water levels. In the wet season this is also
an excellent place to stand and wait for Spot-billed Pelicans
to fly overhead and also to observe a fantastic Baya Weaver
colony.
Fish
Pond Road: Turning right at the interesection,
where a large red and white metal tower stands, leads birders
onto a road along which there is some mixed habitat including
a number of fish ponds. Rice fields, Typha beds,
tall hedgerows and copses add to the patchwork of habitats
here and contain a number of species that are not easily seen
over the rest of the site.
Unfortunately, agricultural changes and development have
greatly diminished the number of fish ponds along here but
there is still a good variety of waterbirds that can be found
including both Pheasant-tailed and Bronze-winged Jacanas in
the dry season but usually only the latter in the wet season.
Little Grebes (both resident and migratory races) can be seen
in the water of these ponds although Cotton Pygmy Goose is
becoming rarer. The fishponds are probably also the best places
to look for crakes with Ruddy-breasted Crake being fairly
common and Slaty-breasted Rail resident but scarce; a small
number of White-browed Crakes exist in these ponds too and
occasionally Baillon's Crake turns up.
The Typha in the ditches along this road is an excellent
place to look for weavers and from March to August all three
Thai species can be found nesting along here - this is a good
place to find Streaked Weaver and Asian Golden Weaver. These
overgrown ditches hold good numbers of Pallas's Grasshopper
Warblers in the dry season and the thicker areas of Typha
play host to resident Chestnu-capped Babblers.
The taller hedgerows and copses here hold small numbers of
Pink-necked Green Pigeons, a very colourful bird which is
best found early in the morning or late in the afternoon;
Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Brown-throated Sunbird and Yellow-vented
Bulbul are all resident in this habitat too while the more
mature patches of banana and cocnot plantations hold a few
Stork-billed Kingfishers.
In the dry season months look for rice fields that are wet
and muddy, before planting, and there is a good chance of
finding Grey-headed Lapwing among the large numbers of Pond
Herons; this migratory species is scarce this far south but
they can usually be found between the months of November to
March.
Long-tailed Shrike seems to have died out in this area, as
it has in much of its range in Thailand, so any sightings
would be of note these days but other resident species to
look out for include Chestnut Munia, Grey-headed Swamphen,
Plaintive Cuckoo, Plain-backed Sparrow and Purple Heron.
Bird
Watching Trips Petchaburi Rice Fields: If
you have just a day or two for birding from Bangkok,
Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale is a great place to visit,
and if you are visiting Thailand to twitch Spoon-billed
Sandpiper before it becomes extinct,then visiting
this site is a must. Laem Pak Bia and Pak Thale
are at their best between late October and early
April and they are also must visit locations for
any longer birding trip.
Contact me to arrange a birding trip and/or to discuss
the best bird watching options for you: nickupton@thaibirding.com
What
is Typha? Typha angustifolia
commonly grows in ditches and uncultivated wetlands
all over Thailand and is one of the plants widely
known as cattails in the US and bullrushes in
UK. In the absence of reeds many birds use Typha
as an alternative habitat to skulk around in.
Nong
Pla Lai Raptor Watch Point: A road running
parallel to the Petkasem Highway overlooks a large area of
rice fields that are the favourite haunt of wintering raptors.
This area has become very famous in the Thai birding community
and there is an annual raptor watch festival held here, early
each year. Several signs featuring illustrations of the regularly
occurring species are placed at some of the best watch points
along the road and if the rice is being harvested the number
of individual birds can be amazing.
The most common large raptor to be found here is Black-eared
Kite (Milvus lineatus), which is still treated as
a subspecies of Black Kite by some. During migration numbers
of this species can be in the hundreds but throughout the
dry season flocks of them can be frequently found. Searching
the skies will almost always result in a sighting of Greater
Spotted Eagle too and in most years there are usually small
numbers of Eastern Imperial Eagle and Steppe Eagle to be spotted
too.
Brahminy Kites usually join the soaring birds here and the
juveniles can cause confusion so be careful! Harriers are
more easily distinguished from other species but some plumages
of Eastern Marsh Harrier and Pied Harrier can be tough to
identify. Males of either species are more easily diagnosed
and male Pied Harrier must be one of the most spectacular
raptors in the world, although most of the Pied Harriers seen
at this site are juveniles.
Booted Eagle often occurs here too but at distance can look
remarkably like Black-eared Kites. Nearly all the Booted Eagles
seen here are dark morph so look out for the diagnostic "landing
lights" to identify this species.
Other frequently seen raptors here include Black-shouldered
Kite, Common Kestrel and Peregrine Falcon but during autumn
migration flocks of Black Baza, Grey-faced Buzzard and Oriental
Honey-buzzard are likely too.
Other large birds in flight can often cause confusion and
soaring Asian Openbills are likely to repeatedly draw raptor-watchers
eyes towards them; Purple Heron and the occasional Spot-billed
Pelican can also be a distraction at times too. Oriental Pratincoles
are present between mid February and October, looking rather
falcon-like in flight.
Narrow
Track: A track divides from the main one close
to the railway crossing here and runs through the rice fields
towards some fish ponds. This area can be excellent for smaller
birds such as Weavers, Chestnut Munia, Reed Warblers and it
is a Bluethroat hotspot in the dry season. This is also another
good place to scan for raptors, particularly Harriers and
Red-throated Pipits and Grey-headed Lapwings can usually be
found between December and March when the fields are damp
or dry. This location is also one of the few spots in which
have seen Yellow-breasted Bunting in this part of the country
in recent years - keep an eye open for this ever-declining
winter visitor.
Facilities
In the rice fields themselves there are not really any facilities
at all, although there are some small shops farther down the
road from the radio mast. There are a couple of tiny food
stalls which are sometimes open and the food is actually pretty
good, safe and very cheap. However, the town of Petchaburi
is only a few minutes drive away where all sorts of facilities
are available from local markets to a large super market,
bars, banks and cinema.
There are a number of hotels in the town and I often stay
at the Sun
Hotel or Royal
Diamond Hotel which are both close to the Petkasem
highway, at the foot of the railway up the hill. Both of these
hotels have breakfast buffets that allow birders to get out
fairly early.
This location is not a national park and you will not be charged
to go birding here. Please do not forget that this is private
land and birders are tolerated by the locals. Please do not
do anything to create conflict between the local land owners
and bird watchers.
Books I Recommend
Raptors
of the World This is the slimmed-down version of this guide to
raptors. With excellent plates this deals with all of
the world's raptor species, but without the large section
of text that is present in some versions, this is an
excellent refernece that fits easily into a bag for
use in the field.
Pipits
& Wagtails This is a wonderful book. With all plumages of all
subspecies of the wildly diverse wagtails this is extremely
complete. Pipits can be a really difficult group of
birds to deal with but if you want to understand them
this is the book to help you with a wealth of information
and beautiful plates.
Bird
Watching Trips:
The rice fields around
Petchaburi always have some interesting birds to see and
is a great site to add to any Thailand birdwatching tour.
With large raptors in the dry season and breeding weavers
and visiting Spot-billed Pelicans in the wet season this
makes a good site to visit throughout the year.
I
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What
is Typha? Typha angustifolia
commonly grows in ditches and uncultivated wetlands
all over Thailand and is one of the plants widely
known as cattails in the US and bullrushes in
UK. In the absence of reeds many birds use Typha
as an alternative habitat to skulk around in.
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a full 
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25th May - 7th June 2024
- Pallas's Sandgrouse, Ibisbill, Black Lark, White-browed
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