Introduction
What would be an interesting birding trip in the month of
June? Having spent a lot of time at Kaeng Krachan and Khao
Yai as well as Northern Thailand up to this point in the year
I decided that Southern Thailand would be the way to go. The
best options were either Krung Ching or Hala-Bala Wildlfie
Sanctuary and with the latter being safe and convenient to
visit these days that was the option I went for, particularly
as it would give me the opportunity to visit a part of Thailand
that I seldom visit as well as the chance to see some really
spectacular birds; some of the scarcest and most range-restricted
species in Thailand.
Hala-Bala would be the main focus of this birding trip but
I turned it into something a little more extensive by visiting
several sites in the south that I had been meaning to visit
for some time on my journey to and from Bangkok; a long journey
that needs breaking up.
Vehicle
I used a Nissan
Calibre pick up, a powerful vehicle that deals with potholed
and muddy tracks well allowing for exploration down farms
tracks and small remote roads that are in a bad state of repair.
This vehicle is surprisingly fuel efficient and robust with
enough space in the cab for all of my luggage and equipment,
although the rear portion is also covered for further luggage
storage, I did not need it.
Bueng Khun Thale
Having driven from Bangkok I rested for the night at the conveniently
located The
LePhant Hotel, getting up before sunrise to drive twenty
minutes or so to Bueng Khun Thale just to the south of the
city of Surat Thani, a site I had never previously visited
but had a series of eBird lists posted by other observers.
I arrived a short time after first light to find the location
easy to park at and the temperature moderate due to overnight
rain. A walkway runs around the lake and swampy areas and
although it is not a huge lake, due to the long, snaky shape
of it the walkway/road extends for a distance in excess of
ten kilometres. I took a walk for about 1.5 kilometres with
the call of Blue-winged Pitta welcoming me from a nearby plantation.
With a track providing access it did not take long for me
to find this smart bird; a great start! On the water an Oriental
Darter was cruising around like a submarine about to disappear
under the surface with a few Asian Openbills and Little Cormorants
perched on waterside trees.
These early mornings are always a good time for seeing a
lot of birds quickly and calling Yellow-bellied Prinias, Common
Flameback, Baya Weaver, Common Iora, Pin-striped Tit Babbler
and Racket-tailed Treepie all came one after the other. A
pair of flyover Lesser Whistling Ducks flew over, surprisingly
not landing on the lake with a single Bronze-winged Jacana
flushing from floating vegetation. Further along an interesting
call came from some waterside trees and within a few moments
a pair of Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpeckers appeared. A fairly
common bird in Thailand but any species of woodpecker is always
nice to see in my mind. While standing on a bridge with a
good outlook over the lake a spotted a couple of Black Bitterns
flying past, a few Purple Herons and a single noisy Red-wattled
Lapwing. Things were warming up so I turned around and within
a few minutes I noticed a group of mynas bathing in a puddle
on the edge of the road. Mostly they were Great Mynas but
in among them were three Jungle Mynas, a scarce bird in Thailand
now.
I decided to take a more extensive look around the long, meandering
arms of the lake by car, stopping at various places to see
what was around. In this way I came across a group of Pink-necked
Green Pigeons feeding in a fruiting tree and a single Grey-headed
Swamphen lurking around in dense floating vegetation. A couple
of Asian Palm Swifts flying around a palm tree were quickly
followed by a pair of House Swifts and my final stop turned
up a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and two Lesser Coucals calling
from an area of thick grasses. With quite some distance to
cover and other sites to check out along the way I deaprted
the site a little before 9am.
Thale Noi Thale Noi is a very well known, large area of wetlands
close to the town of Phattalung which provides the best wetland
birding in Southern Thailand but somehow I had never visited
but now was the opportunity. At first I parked near the Nature
and Education Centre on the west side of the lake where large
numbers of Grey-headed Swamphens and Bronze-winged Jacanas
were obvious on floating weeds that were choking the water
here. The 400 baht entry fee to walk on a boardwalk of about
500 metres meant that I didn't hang around too long but an
Ashy Tailorbird announced its presence with its loud call,
a few Oriental Pratincoles were soaring and calling overhead
with a Brahminy Kite cruising around too. I could see on a
map that a road (Route 5050) runs right through the larger
area of wetlands and sedge swamp so I got back in the car
and headed along that, making several birding stops over the
course of the next couple of hours.
The first stop didn't turn up anything much of note, a single
Jungle Myna, an Indochinese Roller and a Purple Heron but
the second stop was a bit more promising with a pair of Chestnut
Munias, lots of Oriental Pratincoles, a single Siamese Pied
Starling and a Black Bittern in flight. I could see that further
along the road things were getting much wetter and there were
large numbers of birds in the shallows but heat haze meant
that it was essential to get closer so that's exactly what
I did. Once I had found a good observation point I could see
across a very large area of shallow wetlands either side of
the road with large numbers of Asian Openbills, Grey-headed
Swamphens and Lesser Whistling Ducks the most obvious species.
A small group of Painted Storks were in among the Openbills
with a scattering of Black-winged Stilts also present while
a small number of unseasonal Whiskered Terns alternated between
fishing and sitting on bamboo poles. While I was scanning
through the groups of birds a large raptor flew through my
field of view and managing to follow it gave me a great view
of a massive White-bellied Sea Eagle cruising low over the
water. Little Cormorants, Great Egrets, Medium Egrets and
a single Common Moorhen made up the numbers but the bird I
was really hoping for, Knob-billed Duck, was nowhere to be
seen so I decided to head to another site which turns up regular
sightings of that weird species.
Ranod Phang Yang Rice
Fields
This area of rice and other various types of agriculture has
become a reliable place to see Knob-billed Duck, a species
which is otherwise very seldom seen in Thailand. Entering
the area I was welcomed by a Black-winged Kite hovering next
to the dirt track and a Zitting Cisticola displaying over
rice stubble. Driving further along the track took a turn
along an irrigation canal and a bird in flight caught my attention.
Jumping out of the car I managed to get some flight shots
of a male Knob-billed Duck before three more came flying across
in front of me.
It is always nice when one gets success quickly like this
and having parked next to an area that looked very suitable
for munias I pushed my luck to see if I could find my next
target bird. A couple of Magpie Robins and a Brown-throated
Sunbird were in the tree next to me along with a Plain-backed
Sparrow but a soft noise from tangles of self-seeded rice
made me immediately focus my attention on it. A short wait
and eventually four White-headed Munia flew out and perched
in some tall rice stems; another bird with a very patchy distribution
in southern Thailand. With the two birds I was hoping to see
in the bag I drove on a bit further, toying with the idea
of heading towards my hotel in Hat Yai, but a field full of
recently germinated rice full of birds stopped me. With over
twenty Knob-billed Ducks and some Oriental Pratincoles and
Bronze-winged Jacanas this field was a real hotspot and gave
me plenty of time to take some video of them feeding, interacting
and bathing. Whilst doing this a small group of Cotton Pygmy
Geese flew in and a female Watercock suddenly launched itself
across the field. This was a really nice session of birding,
exactly what I had been hoping for and a great way to finish
the day before a fairly long drive to Hat Yai.
Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai Campus
A short drive, grabbing a quick coffee and breakfast in a
convenience store along the way, took only about twenty minutes
to get to the university campus which was much more built
up and busy than I had expected. The target bird here was
Pied Triller and I had been hoping to go into the site and
find it quickly but there was quite a large area to cover
and heavy cloud cover meant that bird activity was very low.
There were lots of Pink-necked Green Pigeons feeding on fruiting
trees close to where I parked the vehicle and another small
fruiting tree a little further along was a magnet for Coppersmith
Barbets and a couple of Lineated Barbets as well as several
Vernal Hanging Parrots. A Banded Woodpecker gave flight views
but even though I thought I knew where it had landed I couldn't
relocate it until I heard it laughing from quite some distance
away.
We continued walking around the lake, greeting the morning
joggers along the way but bird activity was rather low. Pacific
Swallows were hunting over the water and Common Ioras were
numerous in the low trees. At one point I thought I heard
a Pied Triller call but it was in an area that was inaccessible
so as I was keen to get to Hala-Bala I called an end to the
morning and started the drive to the main birding site.
Hala-Bala
Wildlife Sanctuary
The drive to Hala-Bala was uneventful and I arrived in the
nearby village of Ban Buketa in time for an early lunch in
a small restaurant run by two ladies who seemed delighted
to have a foreign visitor. After this refreshment I went to
my accommodation to ensure that they knew I had arrived before
heading straight into the forest.
There is a long stretch of quiet road that runs through
miles of prime habitat here so one could stop anywhere and
go birding but I decided that I would start by checking out
an area that has a good view over a
large area of forest and has often been a good spot for hornbills
in the past. Considering it was the middle of the day there
was a good amount of bird activity with a group of foraging
birds including Great Iora, a few Blue-winged Leafbirds and
a Grey-breasted Spiderhunter feeding on some small flowers
in the treetops but the call of some hornbills took my attention
away from these. Scanning the huge trees in the distance I
spotted a Rhinoceros Hornbill but unfortunately it flew away
before I could photograph it. I walked a short way up the
road, spotting some Buff-vented Bulbuls and Hume's White-eyes
in a small fruiting tree before getting to a spot that gave
a much better view across the forest. From here I noticed
a couple of hornbills and once I looked though the 'scope
I could see they were Wreathed Hornbills.
I heard the call of Black-and-yellow Broadbill and a very
short burst of playback drew in at least three of these outrageously-coloured
birds for some really great views. A Black-eared Barbet performed
in a similar way for me, although I needed the telescope to
be able to appreciate the colours on this one but a Yellow-crowned
Barbet just would not show itself. Next I spotted a Verditer
Flycatcher and bulbuls that would be seen throughout the few
days here included Asian Red-eyed Bulbul and Spectacled Bulbul.
Rain clouds were building quickly so I thought I would try
and outwit the weather by going elsewhere but the heavens
opened for about an hour or so but this would be the only
rain during the daytime that I would experience during the
stay.
Periods of clear weather after rain can be really good in
forests like this with birds perching out in the open to dry
themselves and take the opportunity to feed. Firstly, I found
a low fruiting tree at one of the ranger stations which over
the course of several visits, over several days, gave me fantastic
views of lots of Yellow-vented Flowerpeckers, several Orange-bellied
Flowerpeckers and the only Thick-billed Flowerpecker of the
trip. Every time I stopped there I saw Black-eared Barbets
feeding on the fruits, on one occasion a juvenile Red-throated
Barbet and on the last day I got spectacular views of Yellow-crowned
Barbet here. Scaly-bellied Bulbul was another really attractive
bird that I only saw at this little fruiting tree; one of
the best of the bulbuls for sure. Further along the after
rain effect meant that at the forest lookout I spotted some
superb birds in the form of Rhinoceros Hornbill and Great
Hornbill drying themselves after the downpour. At another
location a flock of Plume-toed Swiftlets were feeding over
the forest allowing me to clearly see their white bellies
and greenish upperparts and the fact that they were joined
by a Silver-rumped Spinetail was a bonus. On my way out to
complete the first day I also encountered a wet Blyth's Hawk
Eagle as well as a Crested Serpent Eagle before having dinner
in the village and preparing for the next day.
Over the next three days I enjoyed rain-free birding throughout,
visiting lots of different spots along the road as well as
making two visits to the Toh Moh Gold Mine Trail. This trail
follows a stream along the border with Malaysia going through
lowland forest. I never actually got that far down the trail
as I saw a lot of species on my walks along there with a good
number of babblers to be seen including a nice group of Grey-headed
Babblers, abundant Chestnut-winged Babblers and a lovely pair
of Black-throated Babblers aggressively calling. At one point
there were two pairs of Chestnut-rumped Babblers involved
in a territorial dispute but it was tough to get a good look
at them. Eventually I did get onto one pair once the commotion
had subsided. The Toh Moh trail was also good for woodpeckers
with Buff-necked Woodpecker on both visits as well as a Crimson-winged
Woodpecker allowing me to walk right up to it as it was so
busy pecking on a small branch. Buff-rumped Woodpecker was
also seen along here as well as Banded Woodpecker and the
scarce Grey-and-buff Woodpecker with a nice pair of these
birds being very active. There was always a good selection
of bulbuls along here including parties of the attractive
Grey-bellied Bulbul on both visits and this was the only place
I saw Blue-throated Bee-eaters which was odd as they are usually
abundant in this region. Black Magpie is a bird that is very
scarce in Thailand but here I first heard the weird call of
this bird before getting several brief views of a pair as
they moved through the forest. Parties of small birds were
fairly frequent here too with common species such as White-bellied
Erpornis, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher
joined by the much more range-restricted (in Thailand) Black-winged
Flycatcher-shrike.
Broadbills are always great birds and as well as Black-and-yellow
Broadbill, which is quite common in the south of Thailand,
I had a smart pair of Black-and-red Broadbills along the Toh
Moh trail, a gorgeous Green Broadbill, a couple of Dusky Broadbills
along the road and a pair of Banded Broadbills at the Wildlife
Research Centre. This last location also proved quite good
in the late afternoon and early morning with a fruiting tree
giving great views of Red-throated Barbets and Gold-whiskered
Barbets with a couple of Black-thighed Falconets nearby on
an exposed tree. In the late afternoon here I saw several
Grey-cheeked Bulbuls, a fairly rare bird and a flock of Bushy-crested
Hornbills flew overhead. However, probably the best bird was
a Bat Hawk flying by way before dusk; perhaps the cloudy conditions
had tricked it into thinking it was much later in the day.
Hornbills are perhaps the prime reason to visit Hala-Bala
Wildlife Sanctuary. Having seen Rhinoceros Hornbill at distance
several times I eventually got amazing views of this monster
of a bird one morning as it flew over the road right over
my head and landed in a tree close by. I also had a couple
of close encounters with the magnificent Great Hornbill and
a few groups of Bushy-crested Hornbills at various places
in the forest. However, one afternoon was very notable for
two really great hornbill species. I had been birding on a
quiet afternoon seeing only a few common species when I spotted
some large birds from the car. Stopping I could see that these
were White-crowned Hornbills, an amazing-looking bird. I was
able to watch them as they crashed around in some trees in
front of me and after I had parked I saw them several more
times over the course of the next hour or so; spectacular
birds. While enjoy these I heard the call of Helmeted Hornbill
and after a lot of searching a pair of these real life "dragons"
flew over the road for nice flight views of this endangered
species. Sometimes birding is all about moments that happen
for patient people and these two magical birds were a great
reward for my persistence.
Such is the quality of the birding at Hala-Bala that I have
not yet mentioned some of the other fantastic birds that I
saw that include the stunning Rufous-collared Kingfisher,
an Orange-backed Woodpecker, a flyover Olive-backed Woodpecker,
Sunda Scimitar Babbler, Diard's Trogon, Maroon-chested Philentoma,
Rufous-chested Flycatcher, Red-billed Malkoha and Blue-crowned
Hanging Parrot. The birding here is really good at the right
time of the year!
Tammalang Mangroves, Satun
After a trouble-free journey I reached Satun and then checked
into the Singkiat
Buri Hotel, heading straight out to the mangroves after
putting my things in my room.
It is only a ten to fifteen minute drive to Tammalang Mangroves
and I headed straight to an area that I thought would turn
up one of the main targets in the late afternoon. The first
bird of interest I saw was an Ashy Drongo. This is a really
common species in much of the country but this resident, dark
subspecies is surprisingly different not only in colouration
but it has a shorter tail; surely a potential split in the
future. Getting into a position to get a good view of this
bird revealed a fruiting tree that was full of Pink-necked
Green Pigeons and Coppersmith Barbets gorging themselves.
A family of Yellow-vented Bulbuls were taking advantage of
this larder of food too with the chicks screaming loudly for
more every time the adults turned up with a fruit. Standing
close to some small dead trees full of small holes paid off
when eventually a pair of Sunda Pygmy Woodpeckers showed up;
this species being restricted to this area within Thailand
although common through much of its global range. An incredible
group of nine Brahminy Kites began circling overhead, calling
as they flew, but the appearance of a male Copper-throated
Sunbird, among the many Brown-throated Sunbirds, was another
exciting moment as this was another of the targets at this
location. Shortly after this the distinctive call of Cinereous
Tit was heard and it didn't take long to track down a pair
of these jolly little birds foraging for food in low trees.
There were some more target species to locate and I felt
that I should move on to find them so the remainder of the
afternoon was spent searching for Mangrove Pitta and Brown-winged
Kingfisher. Ashy Tailorbirds obliged us as did a couple of
Golden-bellied Gerygone but I could not find either of these
targets, although I did hear Brown-winged Kingfisher from
a bridge with a good view of the mangroves and felt that if
I returned in the morning I might have more luck. From this
spot I did see plenty of Collared Kingfishers though and a
surprise in the form of a Brown-backed Needletail flying past.
With light fading I went and found a restaurant for dinner
before returning to the hotel.
The following morning I went out early, grabbing some breakfast
in a convenience store and heading to the bridge. The light
was not very good due to heavy clouds and a little drizzle
but as I pulled up I noticed a Brown-winged Kingfisher sitting
on wires right next to me as it peered down into the water
looking for food. This was exactly the sort of result I was
hoping for and I was able to watch this impressive bird at
length while I ate my breakfast. This success allowed me to
move a short distance down the road to an area that looked
good habitat for Mangrove Pitta. With the very gloomy weather
things did not look that great but I took a slow walk while
carefully listening. Cinereous Tit, Ashy Tailorbird and Ashy
Drongo all showed and suddenly there was the call of Mangrove
Pitta. It took a little searching but after a while I found
this Mangrove Pitta calling from high up in a mangrove tree,
giving great views; a very pleasing result. It seemed like
finding any more species might be quite difficult and I was
keen to visit another spot so I drove around fifty minutes
to nearby Thalebun National Park.
Bird
Watching Trips in Southern Thailand:
Birding in the south of Thailand is best in the breeding
season when birds are active and vocal. March to July
usually provides a large number of exciting forest birds
including Pittas, Hornbills and Woodpeckers. Coastal
and wetland sites can also make for some variety with
several excellent locations for mangrove specialities.
Contact me to arrange a birding trip and/or to discuss
the best bird watching options for you: nickupton@thaibirding.com
Thalebun National Park protects a sizeable lump of forest
along the Thai-Malay border but access to the habitat is more
or less restricted to the headquarters area and the campsite/accommodation
areas. It does have a very photogenic lake surrounded by forest
with a limestone karst backdrop and there are a good number
of scarce southern species that can be found here.
The weather was still fairly poor, a little light rain
interspersed by dry periods but always heavy dark clouds making
things difficult. However, there were still good birds to
see with a group of four Black-thighed Falconets engaged in
some strange behaviour, hanging from palm leaves! nearby a
Raffles's Malkoha was feeding but then I heard the call of
some woodpeckers. A short wait and they appeared nearby but
the angle and light made it hard to identify them easily.
A few quick photographs allowed me to see that they were Checker-throated
Woodpeckers, a really scarce bird in Thailand so a good sighting
indeed. I continued walking along and was surprised to hear
a high-pitched call followed by a flash of movement and then
a Chestnut-tailed Forktail landing on the track where a puddle
held some attraction for this beautiful bird. I watched this
bird as it went little by little up a rocky stream before
disappearing into the forest.
There is one "nature trail" at Thalebun HQ and this
is where I wanted to go in order to search for Malayan Banded
Pitta. A couple more species showed up before getting to the
trail head including a Hairy-backed Bulbul and a pair of Lesser
Green Leafbirds. As is typical on these forest trails in the
south, things were really quiet with the weather not helping
as a persistent drizzle ensued. I did see a Fulvous-chested
Jungle Flycatcher flitting around in the dark and plenty of
leeches on my legs. The trail was longer than remembered and
a bit indistinct at several points but eventually I did hear
the call of Malayan Banded Pitta close to the trail. I was
convinced that I was going to see it but somehow it completely
avoided me and eventually disappeared without a trace. A bit
disappointing but I chose to appreciate the birds I did see,
particularly Chestnut-naped Forktail, rather than the ones
I did not. In the end it was a bit of a relief once I was
out of the trail and as I got close to the lake a good number
of birds appeared. Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker and Buff-rumped
Woodpecker were both active but the most obvious and easily
observed birds were a group of Grey-rumped Treeswifts swooping
around and perched upon the trees. Lots of Pacific Swallows
were present too but after taking a few scenery photos I decided
that it was time to go back to the hotel for a shower and
then get lunch before making the journey back up the peninsula
but not before taking a look at a group of Rufous-bellied
Swallows along the way.
Sirindhorn Botanical Gardens
After an early breakfast in the rain I got on the road with
a long journey ahead of me, heading back to Bangkok. The location
that I had pinpointed to visit was under heavy, black cloud
and rain so I turned north towards what looked like slightly
brighter weather and after about one hour I arrived at Sirindhorn
Botanical Gardens in Nakhorn Sri Thammarat province, a small
area of forest and gardens set among limestone hills.
This is a site that I had never visited before but it turned
out to be a nice spot with easy walking along paved tracks
through some nice habitat and a good abundance of birds. Common
species like Common Iora and Oriental Magpie Robin greeted
me but the early morning birdsong included the sweet whistle
of Streaked Wren Babbler, predictably emanating from an area
of rocky limestone. Sometimes this species can be hard to
spot in the undergrowth but I was lucky on this occasion with
the bird sitting out on an exposed branch, uttering its morning
song before bouncing around on the limestone rocks.
Moving along I came across the first of a few Little Spiderhunters
followed by a Red-throated Barbet and a calling Blue-eared
Barbet but the sound of a Blue-winged Pitta drew my attention
rather more. Calling from high up in a tall tree it was not
particularly difficult to spot although it kept flitting around
and hiding behind leaves in the upper canopy. A fruiting tree
held a Vernal Hanging Parrot, Yellow-vented Bulbul, some Streak-eared
Bulbuls as well as some squabbling Banded Bay Cuckoos and
a noisy Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. Continuing my walk around
the circular loop track I came across several Blue Whistlingthrushes
lurking around in cave-like areas, although photographing
them was very challenging due to heavily overcast skies. The
high-pitched "pipping" of Rufous Piculet came from
some dense bushes but luckily it flew out into a more open
area to give me some amazing views of this tiny little woodpecker;
a real highlight of the visit. Shortly after I was treated
to a very confiding display from a Red-throated Barbet that
allowed me to photograph it from every angle before a flypast
from a Black-bellied Malkoha.
As my lap of this location neared conclusion I added a calling
Black-naped Oriole and Lineated Barbet to my morning list
with groups of Pacific Swallows swooping around over the water
and a pair of Rufous-bellied Swallows cruising around higher
above. A Black Bittern flew overhead as I was approaching
the vehicle in which I was able to cool down and get a break
from the high humidity. The only thing left was to begin my
marathon drive back to Bangkok but on the way out of the botanical
gardens an Oriental Honey Buzzard was the final addition to
a nice morning's birding.
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