The lake
at Thalebun National Park HQ
(Photo by Nick
Upton)
Thalebun National Park, in Satun province,
is actually a complex of mountains which consists of evergreen
forest with a little deciduous forest, mangrove forest and
an offshore island; it has been a National Park since 1980.
In the past there was occasional trouble with Islamic separatists
but these days it is not one of the troubled provinces and
bird watchers can feel safe and welcome visiting this national
park and, indeed, the whole province of Satun.
Park headquarters is easily visited and it is very picturesque
with a beautiful lake nestled in between lush forest. Other
locations at which to enter the park also exist with a small
area of grassland and larger areas of mangrove making for
a mixture of habitats.
Very few birders seem to visit this National Park, but with
some effort I'm sure a lot of very exciting birds could be
found given the quality of the habitat here. If nothing else,
this is a relaxing spot which, during the week at least, receives
very few visitors.
Since there are very few bird watching records from this
location in recent years it is difficult to identify many
known highlights. This in itself makes the Park an exciting
place to visit with the high possibility of finding good birds
in a "new" location. The quality of the habitat
is such that there is no reason why most of the southern specialities
should not be found here by those ready to follow gullies
and unexplored trails.
Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot is a scarce bird which has been
seen around the park headquarters on a number of occasions
and the rare Green-backed Flycatcher has also been seen. Malayan
Banded Pitta is possibly the most beautiful Pitta species
in Thailand and it can be found in suitable forest around
HQ as can several species of Woodpeckers.
National Park staff talk about sightings of rare birds such
as Great Argus, Giant Pitta, Rail Babbler and Diard's Trogon
but you will have to make an effort to get into the forest
somewhere other than HQ for such treats! Thalebun could prove
very rewarding for birders wishing to get off the beaten track
and makes a good stopover if coming from Malaysia.
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 Thalebun National Park. The blue line shows the route from
the Satun (A) to Thalebun National Park (B).
For those driving their own vehicle, finding the park headquarters
is very easy as it is sign posted from the main Had Yai -
Satun road (route 406); the border crossing is also sign posted
from the main road, which is just a few kilometres further
than the national park HQ.
Getting to Thalebun National Park by public transport should
not be too tricky. The easiest way would be to take a bus
to the provincial capital Satun (pronounced Sa Toon; long
"oo"). From here take a songtaew going to the Malaysian
border which is about 2.5 Km beyond the park headquarters;
I have not done this myself but I would imagine that songtaews
run fairly frequently in business hours. Motorcycle taxis
are also available at the junction from route 406 to the HQ.
If coming from Malaysia I would imagine that Alor Setar is
the place to travel from or it is quite likely that Padang
Besar is geared up enough for backpackers to have transport
to the Thai border near Thalebun National Park.
When leaving the national park it is a simple affair to jump
on a songtaew on its way to Satun from the Malaysian border.
One can ask the National Park staff for details of these;
when I visited there were staff who could speak English at
HQ.
Finding Birds
Bird watching at Thalebun can be a little frustrating due
to the lack of good trails into the forest, however with some
effort there are plenty of exciting birds to see here and
the possibility of some birds seldom seen in Thailand.
Ya Roi Waterfall
: A trail which begins at a small car park, at the
end of a narrow road, proceeds for 700 metres to the waterfall
and has the potential for quite a few forest species while
the waterfall itself apparently holds Chestnut-naped Forktail;
get here before it is crowded with locals. I have not visited
this area so there is plenty of potential to add to the park
checklist provided here.
The Road
: In the past birders would walk along the road birding
the surrounding forest. However, these days corruption has
resulted in development along the road and the destruction
of most of the roadside forest which has resulted in an invasion
of open-country species such as Large-billed Crow, Yellow-vented
Bulbul, Common Myna, Zebra Dove and suchlike. This combined
with the fact that the road can get quite busy means that
it is not a good birding option any more. It does not take
long to walk to the Malaysian border where visas can be quickly
renewed if this is required and a ramshackled market sells
all sorts of things from food to faked designer handbags.
Wang Pra
: There is a ranger station here which can be reached
by driving along 10 kilometres of dirt road - there is a signpost
in Thai only, but as far as I understand entry is only allowed
in the company of a forest ranger. The dirt road is not suitable
for saloon cars but it is easily navigated in a pickup when
things are dry, it could be a challenge when things are wet
though. The area of grassland and stunted forest at the end
of this track is reached after rather depressingly driving
through nothing but rubber plantations where there is supposed
to be forest - the ranger I was with told me that just 10
years ago there was good forest all along here! The main reason
to access this area is to look for Dusky Eagle Owl, the only
know site for this species in Thailand, but it certainly is
not guaranteed as I found out in 2016, although I did see
it on a subsequent visit in 2022.
At the turnoff from the road another ranger station, only
2 kilometres away, is also sign posted - this may be worth
checking out too.
Headquarters
: The Headquarters area is the most easily visited
part of Thalebun National Park and is where most visitors
will start their birding. Just birding around the buildings
will turn up a lot of the commoner species, particularly if
any of them are producing fruit or seeds; I have seen Blue-crowned
Hanging Parrot on a seeding tree behind the restaurant on
a couple of visits. Species such as Red-throated Barbet, Grey-bellied
Bulbul, Spectacled Bulbul, Sooty Barbet and Golden-whiskered
Barbet are also likely to show up on fruiting trees around
HQ.
Both Grey-rumped Treeswift and Whiskered Treeswift frequent
exposed perches around the headquarters area and can also
be seen soaring around.
Birding along the short stretch of road which goes to the
campsite and park accommodation can be quite productive with
Black-and-yellow Broadbill being quite common along with a
number of Bulbuls and species such as Green Iora, Lesser Cuckooshrike,
Lesser Green Leafbird joining flocks. The potential for finding
woodpeckers is good too and I have seen Buff-rumped, Grey-and-buff,
Rufous, Banded and Crimson-winged Woodpeckers along this stretch.
When birds are migrating plenty of interesting species can
be found in the clearings among the forest here with Yellow-rumped
Flycatcher, Green-backed Flycatcher, Mugimaki Flycatcher,
Tiger Shrike and Forest Wagtail all occurring.
The Lake
: This is a very photogenic area which attracts most
of the visitors to this site. It is an extremely beautiful
spot to just sit and relax and given the lack of trails it
is quite probably worth finding a comfortable spot to sit
by the lake and wait to see what turns up. Grey-rumped Treeswift
and Silver-rumped Needletail both frequent the lake and in
2003 I saw Blue-eared Kingfisher here. I have also seen White-bellied
Sea Eagle and Great Hornbill by just sitting and waiting next
to the lake. Certainly in October this could be a good place
to sit and watch migrating raptors; a member of the park staff
told me that hundreds can be seen in a day at migration's
peak.
The margins of the lake do not seem to attract much birdlife
although Yellow-bellied Prinia can be heard calling from a
reedy area close to the boardwalk.
The large trees just behind the boardwalk are visited by a
lot of birds in the morning, particularly when they produce
fruit. Gold-whiskered Barbet, Streaked Bulbul, Blue-crowned
Hanging Parrot, Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker and many other
species are regular - perhaps something rarer may join them.
Nature
trail : Parts of this trail area bit
overgrown but it does get birders right into the forest and
there is a good chance to find Babblers, with Black-capped
Babbler being quite common. Several gullies are ideal habitat
for Malayan Banded Pitta, and I saw a pair along here in April
2014. As with most forest interior birding things can be hard
work but with patience interesting birds that do not come
to the forest edge can be seen. Other interesting birds that
I have seen along here include Moustached Hawk Cuckoo, Purple-naped
Sunbird and Grey-headed Babbler.
Rani Waterfall
: A very short trail goes about 30 metres into the
forest to the foot of this small waterfall but it does allow
adventurous birders to follow the course of the stream further
in order to find scarce forest species. Chestnut-naped Forktail
is possible and other potential species include Green Broadbill,
Fulvous-chested Jungle-flycatcher and Diard's Trogon as well
as a variety of Babblers.
Poo Yoo Cave:
One can attempt to hire a boat at Tam Malang to go
to Poo Yoo cave, a journey which goes through some good quality
mangroves which will contain some excellent birds such as
Mangrove Pitta, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker,
Mangrove Blue Flycatcher and possibly Masked Finfoot. Most
of these species can be more easily seen, though, birding
the mangroves around Satun town and Tam Malang pier itself.
Facilities
Facilities in this park are ok, with most
of the accommodation in a better state of repair than in many
National Parks in Thailand.
There are bungalows for rent here which can be booked in
advance by contacting the visitor centre on 0747292023, although
this could prove frustrating given the scope for language
problems if you do not speak Thai. Considering that this is
not a busy national park visitors can probably just turn up
and find some accommodation - even during Thai New Year 2014
most of the park bungalows were empty! There is also a camp
ground in a convenient place with toilets and showers available.
There is a drink and snack shop next to the lake and a small
restaurant next to the car park where simple, but tasty, food
and drink is available, but the opening hours are not particularly
convenient; 8 am to 4.30 pm. The lady in the restaurant will
cook food to take away to be eaten at a later time if asked,
but it is perhaps a good idea to bring something to cook with
and food to prepare at leisure: Satun is a decent sized town
with several large supermarkets where virtually anything can
be obtained. There are plenty of hotels
in Satun, which is about a 40 minute drive away
if you prefer something a little more comfortable.
Although
the entrance fee for foreigners is 200
baht on the occasions that I have visited the staff
were lenient and let me in for the Thai price after I spoke
to them briefly in Thai.
Some Useful Books
Kingfishers,
Bee-eaters & Rollers This book details all of the kingfishers, bee-eaters
and rollers of the world in a series of well-illustrated
plates. With a wealth of kingfisher species in southern
Thailand this is a really nice work of reference to
have.
Birds
of Thailand This field guide has set new standards in identifying
birds in the wild in Thailand. With the most up-to-date
taxonomy of any publication this is the book you need
if you are birdwatching in Thailand. Forget all of the
older guides and buy this one.
Bird
Watching Trips:
Thalebun National Park is a good site
to explore in conjunction with other seldom-visited sites
in southern Thailand; some scarce species can be found
and with some effort a few surprises are a very real prospect.
Download
a full 
