Baan Maka Nature Lodge is a privately
owned guesthouse, set within some nice gardens and next to
a small lake, just a short drive from the main entrance of
Kaeng Krachan national park in Petchaburi province; it is
a great place to stay and a good birding site in its own right.
A variety of habitat types within a small area means that
a large number of species have been recorded on this property;
lawns, ornamental plants, forest edge, bamboo groves, ponds
and lakeside margins all attract their own species and nearby
open-country and farmland also hold a few different species.
The fact that there is always water available at Baan Maka
means that when the surrounding area is at its driest these
gardens become something of a magnet for birds.
Food and water is provided for birds here which makes for
good viewing of some species and photographic opportunities
with several hides placed around the grounds and a few trails
into the nearby secondary forest.
Helpful staff, good food and pleasant gardens make this a
nice place for a lazy day and a good place to relax for non-birders.
Birding Highlights
Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush
(Photo by Nick
Upton)
Most of the species that can be seen at Baan Maka are fairly
common and can be seen at many locations, but the highlight
here is that really excellent, close-up views can be had of
many birds in the low trees and coming to the food and water
provided by the owners; White-rumped Shama and Puff-throated
Babbler are fairly tame with Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
and Oriental Pied Hornbill being quite spectacular garden
birds.
Throughout the year both Lesser Necklaced and Greater Necklaced
Laughingthrushes regularly give bird watchers a good show
as do Red Junglefowl; yes, they really are wild Junglefowl
as unlikely as it may seem.
A real highlight at Baan Maka appears around the end of April
and stays until August/September; Blue-winged Pitta which
is surprisingly easily seen here and at the same time of year
several pairs of Orange-bellied Flowerpecker are present,
frequently visiting feeders alongside many of the regulars.
For those who enjoy owling, Baan Maka is a good place to look
for several species; Collared Scops Owl is common here and
Brown Boobook can often be found too. Asian Barred Owlet is
best found in daylight hours but for the determined Oriental
Scops Owl and Brown Wood Owl are in the area; the commoner
Spotted Owlet can often be found on posts along the road outside
of Ban Maka.
A checklist of the birds for this location can be found here
- Baan
Maka
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 find Baan Maka Nature
Lodge. The blue line shows the routes from Kaeng Krachan National
Park HQ at the lakeside and the national park entry gate (Red
Pins) to Baan Maka (Blue Pin).
Getting to Baan Maka is fairly easy once having reached
either Kaeng Krachan national park HQ, next to the lake, or
the park gate. Detailed directions to Kaeng Krachan can be
found here - Kaeng Krachan.
By Car/Motorcycle
From the HQ simply continue along the road, ignoring side
turning until just before the army camp, where one should
turn left. The road goes through some forest before coming
to a cross-roads; here there is a sign for Baan Maka where
one should turn left again. A kilometre or so along this dirt
road the Baan Maka sign will be seen on the right next to
a clump on bougainvillea flowers.
If coming from the national park gate birders should turn
left at the first junction outside the park and proceed along
the road through forest patches and farmland until reaching
the cross roads where (coming from this direction) one should
turn right onto the dirt road where Baan Maka is situated.
By Public Transport
Baan Maka is most easily reached with one's own transport;
getting there by public transport would be impossible without
chartering a vehicle for the last leg of the journey. However,
it is possible to get to Kaeng Krachan municipality by minivan
which departs from the hospital on the Petkasem Highway in
Petchaburi. If you are staying at Baan Maka it would probably
be possible to arrange that they collect you from Kaeng Krachan
municipality at the end of your minivan journey.
Finding Birds
Baan Maka Nature Lodge covers a fairly small area so finding
birds is really just a question of sitting and waiting or
strolling around a bit to find feeding hotspots; the following
is a run down of the basic habitat types and the birds associated
with them.
The
Gardens & Restaurant: Baan Maka's gardens
are pleasant and well-maintained containing a variety of species.
The restaurant is open-plan and overlooks a cleaing with an
area on which the staff normally place bananas and papaya
for birds to feed upon making this a nice spot to sit with
a drink and wait to see what turns up; a good place to start
your photography.
Regular visitors to the fruit on the feeding station include
large numbers of Streak-eared Bulbuls, hardly Thailand's most
exciting bird but at least here you can actually get to see
the streaks. Stripe-throated Bulbul and Sooty-headed Bulbul
also join them but more exciting are both Lesser and Greater
Necklaced Laughingthrushes - both fairly common birds but
they can be really hard to see, but not here. Golden-fronted
Leafbird is a colourful visitor to the fruit pile and most
years, in the dry season, an Orange-headed Thrush spends some
time here but White-rumped Shama can always be counted upon.
Other birds that can be seen while sitting here can include
Lineated Barbet, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Greater Racket-tailed
Drongo, Little Spiderhunter, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Red
Junglefowl and Pale-legged Leaf Warbler - not bad for a bird
table! And for those of you who thought that Pittas were difficult
to see, sit here in the early wet season and you are sure
to see Blue-winged Pitta, you might even have it fly through
the restaurant and over your lunch.
If it has been dry for a long period you could be lucky enough
to see Scaly-breasted Partridge or Kalij Pheasant here.
Birding around the gardens will turn up some interesting birds
too with the colourful Black-hooded Oriole ever present along
with Lineated and Coppersmith Barbets. Listen out for Banded
Bay Cuckoo and crowds of Hair-crested Drongos and Black-naped
Orioles feed on flowering trees in the dry season, sometimes
Chestnut-tailed Starlings or rarer Starlings will join them
- I have even seen Eyebrowed Thrush joining these feeding
frenzies.
A small group of Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrikes is often to
be found in the gardens and at the driest times Large Woodshrike
will also be seen. Common Flameback is another woodland species
which frequents the larger trees in the garden and, of course,
many of the commoner garden birds are present; Common Iora,
Olive-backed Sunbird and Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker. At night
Collared Scops Owl can usually be found and sometimes other
owl species can be located.
The
Lake: Although the species that can be seen
at this small lake are fairly easily seen in all freshwater
wetland habitats, it is a photogenic spot and provides some
variety to a birding session at Baan Maka and a few tricky-to-see
species can sometimes be observed here.
Bird
Watching Trips To Kaeng Krachan:If you
have only a few days for birding from Bangkok,
Kaeng Krachan makes an excellent two or three
day trip.
At any time of year a good selection of colourful
forest birds are present with migrants present
in the dry season and resident birds more obvious
in the wet season. Ban Maka is an ideal base for
exploring the national park.
Contact me to arrange a trip and/or to discuss
the best birdwatching options for you: nickupton@thaibirding.com
Some common waterbirds are ever-present here including Little
Egret, Chinese Pond Heron and White-throated Kingfisher but
the emergent vegetation often holds Yellow Bittern and sometimes
birders are lucky enough to see Cinnamon Bittern in flight
too. A few other waterbirds are frequently seen here including
Bronze-winged Jacana; Black Bittern occasionally shows up
during migratory times too.
The Typha growing in the water plays host to Oriental
and Black-browed Reed Warblers in the dry season and while
they are both common migrants they are hard to see; sitting
on the chairs on the pier will give patient birders a chance
to eventually see these birds well as they emerge at some
point from the vegetation.
Common Moorhen and White-breasted Waterhen are both also frequent
here but you may also be lucky enough to see Ruddy-breasted
Crake in the watery margins. Although both Red-breasted Crake
and Slaty-legged Crake are regularly seen at nearby sites
it is worth remembering that these are secretive forest birds
and not particularly likely to be seen at the lake.
For those who havegrown a little tired of tough forest birding
in the national park and feel like taking a break, a morning
or afternoon sat by the lakeside at Baan Maka could provide
some nice, relaxing birding.
Trails: A few trails have
been cut into the nearby forest, penetrating a little way
into this secondary vegetation. Walking along these may turn
up interesting migrants in the right season and allow birders
to find secretive species such as Large Scimitar Babbler and
even Eared Pitta if lucky. The trail network continues to
be established at Baan Maka so it is best to ask the owners
where they begin.
The
Road & Surrounding Farmland: The dirt road
leading to Baan Maka has a few birds of interest even though
it passes through largely sterile pineapple plantations. Common
open country birds can be seen readily and Indian Roller is
extremely common, seen sitting on overhead wires. Indochinese
Bushlark is often found by the roadside and Barn Swallow flocks
frequently sit on the wires or bathe in the dust along with
Red-rumped Swallows.
One of the most interesting species to be found in this habitat
is Chinese Francolin. It is certainly not common but can be
heard calling from the farmland and sometimes it is seen on
the road itself; other ground birds here include Barred Buttonquail,
Blue-breasted Quail and Yellow-legged Buttonquail - none are
common but there is always the possibility of a sighting.
A number of large, bare trees in the farmland are worth scanning
in the early morning and late afternoons, or after a rain
shower, as interesting sightings are occasionally made. In
the past these have included Ashy-headed Green Pigeon but
species such as Coppersmith Barbet, Asian Koel and Banded
Bay Cuckoo are more likely. Small numbers of Vinous-breasted
and Black-collared Mynas are in the area and are most likely
to be found in open areas.
At night birders are almost certain to see Large-tailed Nightjars
on the dirt road; if not listen out for their call and spotlight
them on posts. Those who like night birding can also find
Collared Scops Owl, Brown Hawk Owl and, sometimes, Oriental
Scops Owl in scrubby areas along the road and Spotted Owlet
often sits on posts and wires.
Facilities
As Baan Maka is a guesthouse it is natural that there is
accommodation and food on site. Accommodation is in simple
but clean bungalows which are dotted around the gardens, some
of which have parking right next to them, which is useful
for those with limited mobility; the bungalows are comfortable
with private showers and air conditioning. All rooms also
have bedside reading lights and kettles with tea/coffee provided.
Food at Baan Maka is really good and always cooked freshly
to order. Most conveniently the staff are used to catering
for bird watchers so early breakfasts and packed lunches are
not a problem. Most of all the staff are very helpful and
any reasonable request is handled efficiently. For those who
enjoy an evening beer, a range of imported ales are available
as well as local lagers.
WiFi is available in the restaurant area and since 2019 it
is also in all of the bedrooms. Internet speed here can sometimes
be a little slow when lots of birders are using it in the
evening or if weather conditions are poor, so do not rely
on the internet here for important business.
Other facilities here include a shelf full of wildlife reference
books, items such as snacks, batteries and toiletries for
sale and there is also a small stock of the excellent Thai
language field guide to the birds of Thailand for sale as
well as The Butterflies of Thailand and an increasing number
of other books.
There are some small convenience stores in nearby villages
but the nearest ATM machine is a 25 minute drive away at Kaeng
Krachan municipality where there is also a 7/11 convenience
store and a few local foodstalls that stay open very late
if your arrival time is after about 9pm when the kitchen of
Baan Maka closes.
Baan Maka is not a national park so there is no fee for birding
here, but as it is a privately run guesthouse you need to
be staying here if you want to be birding in the grounds;
view the guesthouse's website for further information - Baan
Maka Nature Lodge.
Useful Books
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.
How
Birds Migrate This is one of the most informative books on birds
that I have ever read. Covering all aspects of bird
migration this is a great read for broadening your knowledge.
There are usually some cheap second-hand copies available
through the link above.
Bird
Watching Trips:
Baan Maka makes a nice lazy morning's birding as part
of your visit to Kaeng Krachan as well as some nice mid
day bird viewing for those who do not wish to slog around
the forest all day. A stay at Baan Maka is always pleasant
and rewarding for bird sightings too.
Download
a full 
Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan,
25th May - 7th June 2024
- Pallas's Sandgrouse, Ibisbill, Black Lark, White-browed
Tit Warbler, Saxaul Sparrow, Caspian Plover: £3850
- 1 space
