Whether you are on a short stopover in Bangkok
or spending a few days in the capital before moving upcountry,
thaibirding.com can now arrange birding day trips tailored
to your requirements. Day trips can be centred around 1, 2
or even 3 locations and, for those birders with a specific
target list of birds, day tours can be personalized in order
to maximize the chances of finding them.
Pick up and drop off from your hotel in Bangkok, or airport,
is included for all day trips.
To make an enquiry about birding day trips from Bangkok please
e-mail me with your requirements, including dates and number
of birders in the group along with any target species you
may have: nickupton@thaibirding.com
Suggested Birdwatching Day Trips
3. Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale Best time to visit - November to March
Habitat - Salt farms, mudflats, mangroves & scrub
This is Thailand's premier site for shorebirds which
can be reached within a couple of hours from central
Bangkok and here we can search for one of Thailand's
most sought-after species, the endangered Spoon-billed
Sandpiper, as soon as we reach the site. Other excellent
birds which regularly occur in this area are Nordmann's
Greenshank, Far Eastern Curlew, Terek Sandpiper, Great
Knot and Asian Dowitcher; with the benefit of local
knowledge we should be able to find most, if not all,
of these species. Along the way there are lots of far
commoner birds to appreciate too including Curlew Sandpiper,
Long-toed Stint, Whiskered Tern, Painted Stork, Marsh
Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Brown-headed Gull and
many more; 30+ species of shorebird in a day is quite
normal here.
Having feasted on shorebirds we can have lunch and then
enjoy another highlight of any day trip to this area
-the boat trip out to the sand spit where Malaysian
Plover is a resident breeding bird. It is also here
that we can find Chinese Egret and White-faced Plover
as well as checking for species such as Lesser &
Greater Crested Terns, White-winged Tern or perhaps
Heuglin's or Pallas's Gull. Usually the offshore breakwaters
attract Pacific Reef Egret and either on the way out
or on the way back we will expect to see Collared and
Black-capped Kingfishers.
On completion of the boat trip we should have a little
time remaining to check some scrubby areas for Indochinese
Bushlark, Plain-backed Sparrow, Green Bee-eater and
perhaps get lucky with White-shouldered Starling before
making the journey back to Bangkok.
Starting in the heavily wooded parkland at Nakhon Nayok's
Chulachomklao Military Academy a variety of the commoner
woodland/parkland species can easily be seen with Lineated
and Coppersmith Barbets, Green-billed Malkoha, Greater
Racket-tailed Drongo, Black-collared and Vinous-breasted
Starlings, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Puff-throated Babbler
and Indochinese (Tickell's) Blue Flycatchers all resident.
Between the months of November to April plenty of wintering
birds will also be present with Ashy Drongo, Black-naped
Oriole, Black-winged Cuckooshrike, Asian Brown Flycatcher
and many others regularly found and all manner of migrants
can be expected in March and April. From mid-April to
July this is an excellent place to see Blue-winged Pitta.
With some determination and a little luck other forest
birds here can include Heart-spotted Woodpecker and
Common Flameback.
After some lunch the afternoon can be spent at nearby
Pak Pli rice fields where large areas of rice agriculture
attract a wide range of species. There are plenty of
birds to be found at all times of the year but December
to March is best when lots of migratory birds are present
including vast numbers of Black-eared Kites, Brown Shrike,
Bluethroat, Red-throated Pipit, Pied Harrier, Pin-tailed
Snipe, Eastern Yellow Wagtail among others. Resident
species include Long-tailed Shrike, Indochinese Bushlark,
Oriental Skylark, Yellow Bittern, Greater Painted Snipe,
Plain-backed Sparrow, Horsfield's Bushlark, Asian Openbill,
Striated Grassbird and Bronze-winged Jacana. From March
to July you can also expect to see Asian Golden Weaver
and Baya Weaver in breeding plumage along with Javan
Pond Herons while in the wet season Black Bittern, Oriental
Pratincole and Spot-billed Pelican are all possible.
E-mail me and book a day tour to Bang Pra, Bang Poo
& Muang Boran Fishponds: nickupton@thaibirding.com
5. Khao Luk Chang & Petchaburi
Rice Fields Best time to visit - December to April, although
good all year round
Habitat - Woodland, rice fields & fish ponds
Wat Khao Luk Chang, in Petchaburi Province, contains
a small area of dry dipterocarp woodland where, in the
morning, the stunning Black-headed Woodpecker can be
found. Other species frequently seen here include Lineated
Barbet, Asian Barred Owlet, Rufous Treepie, Greater
Racket-tailed Drongo and Spotted Owlet. In the wet season,
in the adjacent farmland, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Indian
Thick-knee and Vinous-breasted Starling can also be
seen and in April and October a number of migrants pass
through.
In the afternoon you will move on to an area of rice
fields close to the city of Petchaburi which is always
full of a wide variety of species. Egrets, Herons and
Bitterns can be found in good numbers here and Jacanas,
Crakes, Reed Warblers and other tricky birds can be
found with patience.
There are always a lot of birds to see in this area
regardless of the time of year but, of course, things
change with the seasons; between December and March
there are a number of large raptors in the area including
Greater Spotted Eagle, Steppe Eagle and Pied Harrier;
between end of February and July three species of Weavers
can be seen in breeding plumage as well as Watercock;
between late November and early March wintering passerines
include Dusky Warbler, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler
and Siberian Rubythroat.
6. Bang Pra, Bang Poo & Muang
Boran Fishponds Best time to visit - December to April, although
good all year round
Habitat - Woodland, fish ponds, open water, mangrove
& mudflats
Bang Pra reservoir and surroundings are home to a wide
variety of open country, woodland and wetland species
enabling us to see birds such as Rufous Treepie, Lineated
Barbet, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, White-crested
Laughingthrush, Racket-tailed Treepie and Freckle-breasted
Woodpecker shortly after arrival. As the morning progresses
we should be able to track down a variety of species
such as Indochinese Bushlark, Zitting Cisticola, Yellow-bellied
Prinia, Yellow Bittern, Lesser Coucal, Plain-backed
Sparrow, Oriental Reed Warbler, Baya Weaver, Stork-billed
Kingfisher and many others. If the water level is low
we have an excellent chance of seeing the impressive
Lesser Adjutants that inhabit this site and Asian Openbill
can congregate in impressive numbers.
At the right time of year there is a chance for Chinese
Francolin, although it is never easily seen, and other
possibilities include Greater Painted Snipe, Asian Barred
Owlet and Laced Woodpecker. This location can also be
very good, in April and October, for passage migrants
and if the water level is low (usually in March/April)
Oriental Pratincole can be found breeding here in good
numbers while Blue-winged Pitta calls from the fringing
woodland in late April and May.
Having found a wide selection of freshwater wetland
species we can move on and have lunch at Bang Poo where,
between October and April, mudflats and pools provide
an opportunity to see shorebirds, gulls and terns. A
large flock of Brown-headed Gulls winter here and occasionally
other gull species show up too and in the mangrove remnants
we can track down Golden-bellied Gerygone at any time
of the year. In October and April this is also a good
site for passage migrants.
Set between Samut Prakarn's Muang Boran open air museum
and large factories, the fishponds near Muang Boran
are a real surprise and full of excellent wetland birds.
Having found our way into the site, through a maze of
residential streets, good views across the wetlands
provide the opportunity to find White-winged Tern, Pheasant-tailed
Jacana and a myriad of egrets, herons and bitterns as
well as one of the site's most conspicuous birds - Striated
Grassbird.
A number of points around this site have their own specialities
and with experienced knowledge of this location we should
be able to find many types of crakes and rails, Asian
Golden Weaver, Indian Cormorant and a variety of warblers
with a chance of finding Manchurian Reed Warbler. This
can be a superb site if one knows where to look!
E-mail me and book a day tour to Bang Pra, Bang Poo
& Muang Boran Fishponds: nickupton@thaibirding.com