I
am frequently asked to recommend places where casual birdwatchers
might stay and do a little birding or for places where birders can
see some nice species while on holiday with non-birding friends
and/or family. My attention was drawn to such a location recently
by Ivor Oke, who spent some time in early February 2007 at the Ban
Suan Saipan Resort in Saraburi province, just an hour or so outside
of Bangkok.
This resort
is situated in low, forested hills and is about halfway between
Bangkok and Khao Yai National Park and looks very comfortable and
attractive on their website: Ban
Suan Saipan. |
Ivor
had this to say about his stay:
"The
Saipan resort, where I stayed at the weekend, was rather laid
back and ideal for a beginner to get a relaxing weekend, not move
too far and add a number of birds to their collection."
Whilst this
area is not a location where a large number of the highly sought
after species will be found, it is obviously a place where plenty
of the more common species can be observed.
"I
managed to take in a large number of the more common birds. The
haul included some Chinese Pond Herons, White-breasted Waterhen,
Green-billed Malkoha, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Black-collared
Starling, Black-crested Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul ( yellow and
red rumps ), Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Indian Roller, Brown-throated
Sunbird, Ashy Drongo, Oriental Magpie Robin, Taiga Flycatcher,
Yellow vented Bulbul, Spotted Dove, Greater Coucal and Verditer
Flycatcher."
The region to
the west and south of Khao Yai National Park has many similar resorts
to this and there are a number of waterfalls and places to walk
where species similar to those seen by Ivor occur. I saw my first
Rufous-bellied eagle at the Sida Resort to the south of Khao Yai
in 1999. |
