North Eastern Thailand,
also known as Isarn, is largely deforested and under agriculture
but a number of important forested uplands still exist which
are the home to a number of Indochinese specialities including
a few regional endemics. A number of different forest types
and wetlands make a varied set of birds particularly with
some Himalayan species occurring in the region. With areas
of forest and reservoirs dotted along the border with Cambodia
that are extremely under-visited it is likely that birders
could discover both migratory and resident birds that have
either never been seen in Thailand before or very rarely.
Speciality species of the area are Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo
which is not uncommon at Khao Yai, although hard to see, Austen's
Brown Hornbill and another near endemic, Siamese Fireback.
Sarus Crane has successfully been reintroduced to wetlands
in Buriram province and Mekong Wagtail can be found on the
river where Thailand, Laos and Cambodia meet where a small
population of Great Thick-knees also persist. The cambodianum
subspecies of Fire-breasted Flowerpecker is sometimes split
as Cambodian Flowerpecker and this is easily seen at Khao
Yai as well as Moustached Barbet.
The western limit of this region is a little difficult to
define exactly but the other parts of the northeast are quite
clearly identified. The birding sites are marked on the map
below and listed by name below the map.
Forest on upland plateaus is the biggest draw
in the region to birders with easy access to high quality
mixed evergreen forest making several sites in the region
the most accessible places to see a number of quite widespread
birds that are usually in hard-to-access forest. A couple
of the main sites are easy to reach by private vehicle or
public transport but there are also a lot of locations that
get very little attention and would be worth exploring. Areas
of dry dipterocarp woodland are also very interesting with
several species that are very scarce in Thailand as well as
the possibility of finding a few birds that have not been
seen for a very long time (if ever) but are seen regularly
just across the border in Cambodia. A number of interesting
wetlands close to the border with Cambodia, particularly in
the province of Buriram, add variety to the avifauna of the
region and the Mekong in Ubon Ratchathani and Amnat Charoen
is very healthy and still holds most of the rarer river-dwelling
species.
Apart from Khao Yai, Northeastern Thailand is a region infrequently
visited by bird watchers making it ripe for exploration; there
is the strong possibility that there are some very rare birds,
particularly migrants, out there waiting to be discovered
by adventurous birders.
Highlights
Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, Blue Pitta, Austen's Brown Hornbill,
Siamese Fireback, Mekong Wagtail, Short-tailed Parrotbill,
Silver Pheasant, White-browed Fantail, Black-headed Woodpecker,
Eared Pitta, Moustached Barbet, Rufous-throated Fulvetta,
Great Thick-knee, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker (cambodianum),
Silver-backed Needletail, Chinese Francolin, Sarus Crane,
Van Hasselt's Sunbird, Black-eared Parrotbill, Brown Prinia,
Indochinese Cuckooshrike, Black-and-buff Woodpecker, Blue-eared
Kingfisher, Great Hornbill, Rufous-winged Buzzard, Red-headed
Trogon, Great Eared Nightjar
Weather
The lowland parts of the region are hot all year round with
temperatures reaching their peak in March-May with midday
temperatures often reaching 40+C. However, the upland areas
of the region usually experience some pleasantly cool weather
between early November and the end of January, a feature which
attracts large numbers of people from Bangkok to visit Khao
Yai National Park during this period. The dry season (November-April)
is not as reliable in this region as it is in much of the
country with storm fronts sometimes moving in from China which
can bring days of grey skies and drizzle and the wet season
can be very prolonged with frequent flooding in large parts
of the north east. The early rainy season usually brings afternoon
storms with fairly lengthy periods of sunshine at other times
but by August to October it is always very wet with leeches
at their most numerous.
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.
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