Introduction
Having been birding with Kai Spratt the previous week she
had told me that she wanted to visit Lat Krabang Rice Fields
and Bang Poo so we put together a day out to visit these two
sites to the eastern side of Bangkok. These two locations
have become regular ones for birders in Bangkok; Lat Krabang
being within the bounds of the province of Bangkok while Bang
Poo is in the adjacent province of Samut Prakan. I took a
look at eBird to find a suitable site to visit while travelling
from Lat Krabang to Bang Poo and came up with a location that
was out of the ordinary, somewhere that had been seldom-visited
by others and had some potential to offer us a different habitat.
Vehicle
We made this trip in a small saloon car which was perfectly
adequate for these sites, all connected by sealed roads and
any dirt tracks that we used were well-maintained and not
rutted; any vehicle is sufficient for visiting all of the
sites we birded on this day trip.
Notes on Finding Birds
Arrival at Lat Krabang in the early morning was essential
with activity tailing off as the weather became hot around
9-10am. After a flurry of activity of birds at dawn it took
an hour or so before smaller, more skulking birds became active,
which was unusual indeed. As with other open country sites,
finding birds was a matter of scanning as well as listening
to calls coming from thick vegetation. At Singha Land Park
Ville Abandoned Village we spent a short amount of time, so
just picked a few spots with good visibility and scanned pools,
exposed perches and the sky. At Bang Poo finding birds consisted
of searching through the flocks of gulls and shorebirds to
locate as many species as possible.
Field Guides
1. Birds
of Thailand by Uthai Treesucorn & Wichayanan Limparungpatthanakij
Birding Highlights
Lat Krabang: White-browed Crake, Chestnut
Munia, Pied Harrier, Asian Golden Weaver, Eastern Marsh Harrier,
Grey-headed Lapwing, Bluethroat
Bang Pu: Great Knot, Golden-bellied Gerygone,
Swinhoe's White-eye, Ashy Minivet, Slender-billed Gull
Muang Boran Fishponds: Western Osprey, White-browed
Crake
Notes
Having picked Kai up at 5.30am we got to Lat Krabang Rice
Fields rather quicker than we expected, arriving while it
was still dark, so we went to a nearby 7/11 convenience store
to get a coffee. Our second arrival on site coincided with
first light and we were able to see good numbers of birds
moving around, creating atmospheric shapes gliding through
the sunrise.
Lat Krabang is an area of regularly farmed rice fields and
as such the habitat changes on a regular basis depending on
the stage of rice development and on the stage of the cycle
of the fish ponds that are also part of the site. With this
in mind we used our first minutes at Lat Krabang to drive
the length of the dirt track that allows access to the site
to assess the habitat of the various fields. Much of the rice
was about halfway grown, with dense growth but with very few
plants seeding. However, one area stood out, having been left
fallow for some time and totally overgrown, appearing like
perfect habitat for many species. Our first stop revealed
a couple of Pink-necked Green Pigeons in one of the few in-field
trees; these birds are reasonably abundant around the leafier
parts of the city but this does not make them any less attractive.
Inevitably there were Asian Openbills floating in from various
places along with Great Egrets, Little Egrets and a few Intermediate
Egrets while the first of many frustrating Red Avadavats whizzed
by without settling.
Walking along the track a little we saw the first of what
would be many Asian Golden Weavers. This was no surprise but
what was unexpected was that several males were already in
virtually full breeding plumage; at least a few weeks early
for this bird. In their testosterone-charged state we were
able to watch them in a highly agitated state at close quarters,
proclaiming their territories and nest-building. A bulky Oriental
Reed Warbler was less colourful and bouncing around in a tree,
not very reedy either but this is quite typical behaviour
for this species on its wintering grounds. Perhaps more in-keeping
with their name were a couple of Black-browed Reed Warblers,
showing themselves every now and then while creeping around
in dense Typha quickly followed by another little
brown job in Dusky Warbler.
The overgrown habitat looked like perfect habitat for Yellow-breasted
Bunting, a critically endangered migrant that is regularly
seen here but despite a lot of scanning and walking through
the fields we never found any. However, we did find plenty
of other species including a couple of Bluethroats, including
one with a nice colourful throat, and a group of Grey-headed
Lapwings alongside noisy Red-wattled Lapwings. Out on exposed
perches among the overgrown vegetation we picked out Blue-tailed
Bee-eaters, Plaintive Cuckoo, Black Drongo and a Streaked
Weaver all of which were disturbed by a male Eastern Marsh
Harrier, cruising over looking for prey. This turned out to
be the first of three different Eastern Marsh Harriers as
well as a juvenile Pied Harrier using the fields as a hunting
ground. As the day started to warm up considerably we began
to walk back to the car flushing a few Common Snipe and one
Pintail Snipe as well as Richard's Pipit and lots of Eastern
Yellow Wagtails. Once back on the main track the heat suddenly
hit us with reflection off of the road as well as from above
so we took a short drive to cool off, using the vehicle as
a hide, looking unsuccessfully for crakes. We did find some
overgrown, boggy ponds where Bronze-winged Jacanas, Common
Moorhens, Little Grebe, Wood Sandpiper and a single Pheasant-tailed
Jacana were lurking.
Determined to find at least one species of crake we drove
a little further, looking for areas of habitat that looked
right for these creeping birds. At first we did not find any
but got extremely close views of a White-winged Tern fishing
along with several Whiskered Terns and a couple of Chestnut-tailed
Starlings hanging around on a street light. Eventually though,
we found a suitable-looking piece of habitat and struck gold;
a White-browed Crake creeping along the edge of a pool full
of floating vegetation. This provided an excellent closing
bird for our visit to Lat Krabang and was our prompt to start
driving towards Bang Poo for lunch, leaving time for another
stop along the way.
After driving through an assortment of agricultural areas,
housing developments and industry we arrived at the entrance
of Singha Land Park Ville Abandoned Village. Indeed, it is
an abandoned village, a housing estate abandoned in the early
stages of building with just a few completed houses present,
falling into extreme decline and lots of scruffiness in the
form of Typha-lined pools, overgrown gardens and
rubble-strewn patches. Not exactly beautiful but the sort
of dirty, unkempt place that birds like. Standing on a bridge
over a canal we quickly saw Brown-throated Sunbird, Chestnut-tailed
Starling, Blue-tailed Bee-eater perched at eye-level with
Painted Stork and Brahminy Kite soaring overhead. Birding
around a shallow pool revealed an Eastern Yellow Wagtail,
some Black-winged Stilts and more Asian Golden Weavers while
on some stony ground nearby a pair of Paddyfield Pipits drew
our attention with their call. Trees that were originally
planted to landscape the housing development were in flower
and attracting Common Iora, Coppersmith Barbet and Asian Koel
while a short walk gave us nice views of a Yellow Bittern
although a Thick-billed Warbler was harder to observe.
By this time lunch started to become more attractive than
birds so we completed our journey to Bang Poo where we ordered
some typically tasty Thai food. After lunch and some cooling
drinks we visited the pier where a large flock of Brown-headed
Gulls hang out, waiting to be fed by visiting day-trippers.
It gave us the chance to study them in detail and to pick
out a few Black-headed Gulls and a single Slender-billed Gull
among them.
With the tide high there was not a lot more to see here but
hidden within the mangroves is a pool where wading birds roost
so we took a stroll to the hidden hide. We had the hide to
ourselves and with some shade and a little breeze it was noticeably
cooler than outside on the exposed pier. Large numbers of
Black-tailed Godwits were immediately in evidence, with some
birds very close to us but a flock of several hundred resting
in the middle of the roosting pools. Other species that stood
out included small numbers of Marsh Sandpipers with their
needle-like bills as well as a Common Greenshank, a similar-looking
species but a little bigger, bulkier and with a stouter bill.
A quick scan through the godwit flock and the red legs of
Common Redshank made this species stand out while the golden-sheen
of a few Pacific Golden Plovers was also obvious among the
plainer plumages of other species. Lesser Sand Plovers and
Greater Sand Plovers were obviously different from the multitude
but a little trickier to separate from each other, although
several birds had the decency to stand side-by-side for comparison.
As is so often the case when watching shorebirds, the closer
we looked, the more species were revealed and particularly
interesting were a couple of Great Knot and a small party
of five Red Knots for comparison. A disturbance by a Brahminy
Kite resulted in a rearrangement of the birds after which
a few Whimbrel were revealed to be added to the day list.
Mangroves in the Gulf of Thailand are not what one would
call the most bird-rich habitat, but they do hold a few species
to add variety to a day's birding and can hold some interesting
migrants during migration. Being too early for passage migrants
we did not expect too much from the mangroves but Pied Fantails
always play around among the twisted branches and Collared
Kingfisher was another new bird for the day's total.
One speciality of these mangroves, however, is Golden-bellied
Gerygone which was easy to locate from its trilling song and
impressive abundance here. A couple of these tiny birds curiously
came to investigate us before having a disagreement between
themselves. As we took a walk alongside the mangroves we could
continually hear the song of this bird, the only species of
the gerygone family to be found in Thailand. A Black-capped
Kingfisher was a nice splash of colour before we had one of
those birding moments that left us not knowing which way to
look with both Ashy Minivet and Swinhoe's White-eye calling
from somewhere in the tops of the mangrove trees. Luckily
enough both species emerged fairly close to each other so
that we were able to get good views of them through the telescope
after spotting them with binoculars.
In the late 1990s I used to visit this location a lot and
over the course of time the mangroves here have recovered
a lot, becoming more mature and becoming suitable habitat
for more species. Although we did not see it, I suspect Mangrove
Whistler has recolonized this area but we did see a pair of
Pink-necked Green Pigeons that were certainly not present
years ago. As we were preparing to leave I noticed a pair
of swallows that seemed to be displaying pair-bonding behaviour
on an overhead wire. Barn Swallows are common winter visitors
but they do not breed in Central Thailand so these birds deserved
another look. They flew away so we had to wait a while before
they came back and revealed themselves to be a pair of Pacific
Swallows, a scarce species in this part of Thailand.
With a little time remaining we decided to make a quick stop
at nearby Muang Boran Fishponds. Having not visited for some
time I was quite concerned for the site having taken an alarming
look at Google Maps recently. Alas, my fears were confirmed
as on arrival we could see that large parts of the site had
been flattened and there was large-scale construction in process;
a sad thing to see at a site that had contained Striated Grassbirds
in a density that I have not seen anywhere else. However,
there was enough habitat remaining to add some birds to our
day list - Western Osprey, Long-toed Stint and Little Ringed
Plover.
 Bird
Watching Trips:
If you only have a short time for birding from Bangkok,
Lat Krabang Rice Fields and Bang Poo provide for a good
day's birding. At all times of the year a good selection
of interesting species can be seen, with a wider variety
of migratory species between November and May,
Contact me to arrange a birding trip and/or to discuss
the best bird watching options for you: nickupton@thaibirding.com |
More Central Thailand Trip Reports
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We turned our backs on the area of destruction to look across
some of the remaining ponds with a couple of White-browed
Crakes to add to the one we had seen at Lat Krabang Rice Fields.
Lots of Little Grebes were in evidence, in various states
of plumage and we spotted at least three Javan Pond Herons
already in full breeding plumage. Usually this species starts
to moult into breeding colours in mid-February, showing a
few traces of its colour so it was a surprise to see these
birds already in their full splendour. Joining them in breeding
plumage were more Asian Golden Weavers with other birds we
had seen at other sites throughout the day including Plain
Prinia, Amur Stonechat, Asian Openbill, Grey-headed Lapwing,
Purple Heron and Indian Cormorant to name but a few.
In the past I have seen plenty of Ruddy-breasted Crakes at
this location so we tried to find the right type of muddy
edge habitat that would allow us to see this common but secretive
bird. Most of the pools had either high water or were completely
dry but we did manage to find a spot that looked promising.
Getting into the right spot we disturbed a group of Grey-headed
Lapwings, Black-winged Stilts and Wood Sandpipers but no crakes;
perhaps the group of puppies we found had disturbed them.
With the light beginning to fail it seemed difficult to add
any further species to our list but without even aiming for
it we had managed to see over one hundred species in a day,
all within a short drive of the mega-city that Bangkok has
become. Even with continuing expansion of the city there are
still lots of places in and around town where birds occur
in good numbers and variety. This is partly due to the high
levels of biodiversity in tropical regions as well as the
general levels of scruffiness that exists between built up
places that provide foraging areas for birds.
Inevitably we ran into some traffic as we headed back into
the city and by the time I dropped Kai off at her accommodation
it was dark again; a dawn until dusk birding day!
Nick Upton (nickupton@thaibirding.com) |
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