Half Day Tours from Bangkok

1. Pathum Thani Rice Fields - Experimental rice plots on Bangkok's northern boundary host a high concentration of open country and wetland species and allow for a high number and variety of birds to be seen in a morning. Resident species include Stork-billed Kingfisher, Small Minivet, Asian Golden Weaver, Java Sparrow, Greater Painted Snipe, Streaked Weaver and many more. Between the months of November to April they are joined by seasonal visitors that include Grey-headed Lapwing, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, Long-toed Stint, Pied Harrier, Oriental Reed Warbler and Pintail Snipe to mention a few. This is a good place to get acquainted with many of Thailand's open country and wetland species: contact me.

Indian Nightjar (Photo by Nick Upton)

2. Bang Khaem Aquaculture Ponds - An area of fish ponds, reedy pools, dry areas and rice fields is a good place to see a wide variety of open country and wetland birds. Storks, weavers, larks, egrets, bitterns and many other birds can be found here in a short space of time. Bang Khaem is a good place to find Indian Nightjar, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Indochinese Bushlark and, between March and August, both Oriental and Small Pratincoles breed here. This location provides good birding throughout the year with a changing selection of birds through the seasons.

A network of tracks allow access to much of the site making it a good spot for using the car as a hide for photographing birds which also makes it a suitable place for birding for those with limited mobility: contact me.

Day Tours from Bangkok

Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Photo by Nick Upton)

3. Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale - Mud flats, salt pans, mangrove and freshwater pools provide one of Thailand's premier birdwatching locations. Here we can find Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann's Greenshank, Malaysian Plover, Great Knot, Far Eastern Curlew, Asian Dowitcher and much more. This is the most rewarding day trip option from November to the end of March when very large numbers and variety of shorebirds are present.

4. Chulachomklao Military Academy & Pak Pli Rice Fields - Parkland and woodland edge provide a variety of species including Black-collared Starling, Vinous-breasted Starling, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Oriental Darter, Lineated Barbet and in the wet season Blue-winged Pitta is abundant and Malayan Night Heron is quite often seen.

In the afternoon visit nearby Pak Pli rice fields which is rewarding throughout the year with resident species including Striated Grassbird, Asian Golden Weaver, Black Kite, Horsfield's Bushlark, Indochinese Bushlark, Oriental Skylark and Greater Painted Snipe. Between November and March migrant birds include Pied Harrier, Red-throated Pipit, Bluethroat and huge numbers of Black-eared Kite while wet season visitors include Black Bittern and Spot-billed Pelican. This is a rewarding day trip at any time of the year.

5. Khao Luk Chang & Petchaburi Rice Fields - Fragments of dry dipterocarp woodland around a temple contain Black-headed Woodpecker, Asian Barred Owlet, Spotted Owlet, Lineated Barbet and a number of other woodland species. This can be a good area for migrants at the right times of the year too.

Later on spend time in an agricultural landscape of rice fields, fish ponds with reedy ditches where Jacanas, Reed Warblers, Crakes, Rails, Egrets, Herons and Bitterns make for a fantastic day's birding. This is a good (but long) day trip at any time of the year.

6. Bang Pra, Bang Poo & Muang Boran Fishponds - A shallow reservoir surrounded by semi-natural woodland is a good place to see a wide variety of birds including White-crested Laughingthrush, Lineated Barbet, Yellow Bittern, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker and Lesser Adjutant.

Moving on to mud flats and mangrove remnants at the right time of year numerous shorebirds can be seen along with resident Collared Kingfisher, Javan Pond Heron and Golden-bellied Gerygone.

Finally, an area of fish ponds provides plenty more species with Striated Grassbird, Pheasant-tailed Jacana and Asian Golden Weaver being some of the specialities of the site.

Longer Tours from Bangkok

Blck-and-yellow Broadbill (Photo by Nick Upton)

7. Two or three days: Kaeng Krachan National Park - Three days is recommended but for those with limited time a good selection of birds can be seen in two days. This is one of the best locations for bird watching in the whole of Thailand and the longer one stays the more birds will be seen. Species including Great Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Black-and-red Broadbill, Orange-breasted Trogon, Tickell's Brown Hornbill, Crested Serpent Eagle, Black-thighed Falconet and Black-and-yellow Broadbill are all frequently seen and, of course, this is the place, in Thailand, to look for the weird Ratchet-tailed Treepie.

On a three day trip you will also visit one of the nearby hides to view a wide variety of birds coming to bathe and drink for close-up views; species such as Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Large Scimitar Babbler and Bar-backed Partridge are regular.

On the final afternoon of both the two and three day trip a visit to Petchaburi Rice Fields will be made on the way back to Bangkok to look for a variety of wetland species including Cotton Pygmy Goose, Yellow Bittern, Asian Golden Weaver and many others.

Kaeng Krachan is closed from 1st August until 1st November. Kaeng Krachan provides good birding at all other times with many of the most sought-after species most frequently seen in the breeding season, late February to June: contact me.

8. Three to five days: Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale and Kaeng Krachan National Park - Start the trip by spending a day near the coast searching for Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann's Greenshank, Malaysian Plover, Chinese Egret and other wetland and open-country species.

Travel on to nearby Kaeng Krachan and use the extra days to enjoy a magnificent variety of forest species including Woodpeckers, Hornbills, Broadbills, Raptors and, at the right time of year, Blue Pitta. There are always many wonderful birds to see here which change with the season and it is a place you will to go back to again and again.

The longer trips will also visit one of the hides near Kaeng Krachan where species such as Kalij Pheasant, Siberian Blue Robin, Scaly-breasted Partridge and Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush can often be seen at close quarters.

On the final afternoon of this trip a visit will be paid to Petchaburi Rice Fields, on the way back to Bangkok, where many wetland and open-country birds can be found including Egrets, Bitterns, Jacanas, Weavers and much more besides.

This trip is likley to produce a massive total of species due to the quality and diversity of the habitats visited.

This trip is productive for most of the year, although Kaeng Krachan National Park is closed for the months of August, September & October: contact me.

9. Two or three days: Khao Yai National Park - Due to busy roads between Bangkok and Khao Yai three days is recommended but for those with only two days to spare a good selection of species can usually be found. Highlights here usually include Great Hornbill, Red-headed Trogon, Banded Kingfisher and Long-tailed Broadbill. This is a very good location to search for Blue Pitta, Siamese Fireback, Silver Pheasant and Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo at the right time of year. Great Eared Nightjar is a great ending to the day in Khao Yai.

It is essential to visit Khao Yai during the week; weekends can get extremely busy. Khao Yai is best visited between January and April although still also quite good into June. The months of July to November are usually very wet and very quiet here: contact me.

10. Three days: Bueng Boraphet and Mae Wong National Park - Begin by spending a day at Bueng Boraphet taking a boat trip to look for wildfowl and other waterbirds including egrets, ibis and reed warblers. Move on to Mae Wong National Park to search for forest species with Rufous-necked Hornbill, Burmese Yuhina, Grey Peacock Pheasant and Coral-billed Scimitar Babbler amongst the target species: contact me.

Note: Rufous-necked Hornbill is most often seen between June and October.

11. Three days: Nam Nao National Park - Staying in national park accommodation we will explore dry and moist forest in order to observe a wide diversity of species. Nam Nao is superb for woodpeckers and barbets and there is a high likelihood of seeing White-bellied and Great Slaty Woodpeckers as well as many of the smaller species. The mixture of pine forest with grassy understorey along with moist mixed evergreen forest result in a high species diversity; Collared Babbler, Red-billed Scimitar Babbler, Collared Falconet, Long-tailed Broadbill, Red-headed Trogon and Common Green Magpie are some of the specialities: contact me.

12. Longer tours - Longer tours beginning in Bangkok can be arranged to take in any or all of the above mentioned national parks and travel further afield to the south and/or north for a greater number and variety of species: contact me.

Day Tours from Chiang Mai

13. Doi Inthanon - A variety of forest types, changing with altitude makes for a wide variety of species here. Highlights often include Slaty-backed Forktail, Silver-eared Mesia, Green-tailed Sunbird, Dark-sided Thrush, Pygmy Wren Babbbler, Hume's Treecreeper and Slaty-bellied Tesia. At the right times of year rarer species such as Green Cochoa or Grey-breasted Parrotbill can be found. The summit is always a highlight with flocks of colourful, and often tame, birds at all times of the year.

Longer Tours from Chiang Mai

14. Three days: Doi Inthanon National Park - Depart early morning from Chiang Mai and spend the morning birdwatching on Doi Inthanon's high altitude forest where we should see Hume's Treecreeper, Clicking Shrike Babbler, Large Niltava, Slaty-bellied Tesia, Rufous-backed Sibia, Silver-eared Mesia and much more. We will also check streams and waterfalls for Slaty-backed Forktail, Plumbeous Redstart, Black-backed Forktail and White-capped Redstart.

Over the next two days we will visit all altitudes of the mountain from the lower slopes where Collared Falconet and Black-headed Woodpecker are target species to the summit where Green-tailed Sunbird and Chestnut-tailed Minla are common and there is a good chance of secretive birds such as Dark-sided Thrush and Rufous-throated Partridge: at night we will look for Brown Boobook, Spotted Owlet and Collared Scops Owl: contact me.

15. Three days: Doi Ang Kang and Fang - A wide range of accommodation makes this trip suitable for all budgets. Departing from Chiang Mai in the early morning we will make a number of birdwatching stops on the journey to Ban Koom at Doi Ang Kang. Over the next few days we will walk a number of trails in order to find the specialities of Doi Ang Kang which include Crested Finchbill, Red-faced Liocichla and Spot-breasted Parrotbill. On the final day we will descend to the farmland around Fang where we can observe a number of wetland and open-country species contact me.

16. Three days: Thatorn and Doi Lang - Driving to Thatorn form Chiang Mai we will make a number of birding stops along the way before spending the afternoon and early evening tracking down wetland and open-country species in the farmland around Thatorn. Up early the next morning we will head up Doi Lang for high altitude species - birds such as Stripe-breasted Woodpecker and White-browed Shrike Babbler are common at this height but in the winter months we will be hoping to see the rarer species including thrushes and flycatchers as well as Jerdon's Bushchat contact me.

17. Seven days: Doi Inthanon, Doi Chiang Dao & Doi Ang Kang - Starting with Doi Inthanon this trip will give plenty of time to search for the specialities of all three of these fabulous mountains and a wide range of excellent bird species should be seen contact me.

18. Extended Trips in the North - Create a longer birdwatching itinerary choosing from sites such as Doi Inthanon, Doi Chiang Dao, Mae Hia, Doi Ang Kang, Doi Lang, Thatorn and Chiang Saen, or go wild and visit them all contact me.

Day Tours from Phuket

19. Thai Muang and Phang Nga Mangroves - From Phuket a short trip to the mainland takes you to Thai Muang where the old golf course and a nearby park provide some interesting birding. Here a wide range of the commoner open country species can easily be seen along with Lineated Barbet, Black-naped Oriole, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Spotted Wood Owl and Hoopoe. In October/November it is likely that migratory raptors will be seen passing through including Oriental Honey-buzzard, Grey-faced Buzzard, Black Baza and Chinese Sparrowhawk.

In the afternoon Phang Nga mangroves will be visited. This site has a good community of mangrove species and there is always a good chance of seeing Mangrove Pitta, particularly when it is calling between February to July. Other likely species include Streak-breasted Woodpecker, White-chested Babbler, Rufous-bellied Swallow, Black-and-red Broadbill, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Ruddy Kingfisher and Ashy Tailorbird: contact me.

Longer Tours from Phuket or Krabi

Blck-and-yellow Broadbill (Photo by Nick Upton)

20. Three days: Phang Nga Mangroves and Sri Phang Nga - Beginning with a morning boat in the mangroves we will look for the specialities which include Brown-winged Kingfisher, Mangrove Pitta and, if we are lucky, Ruddy Kingfisher. Moving on to Thai Muang there is time to look for Spotted Wood owl on its roost and then a stop at Laem Pakarang to check out the shorebirds for a Grey-tailed Tattler or maybe something rarer.

The time at Sri Phang Nga is best spent looking for the specialities here which include the wonderful Malayan Banded Pitta, Chestnut-naped Forktail, Wallace's Hawk Eagle, Scaly-bellied Bulbul, Banded Woodpecker, Green Broadbill, Red-bearded Bee-eater and lots more: contact me.

21. Five to seven days: Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, Bala Sector - This trip will involve a fair amount of travelling on the first and last days but it is worth it to get to this jewel of Thailand's forests. Spending three whole days at the Bala research centre we will indulge ourselves in the many species of hornbills that can be found, including Rhinoceros, Wrinkled, White-crowned, Bushy-crested and Helmeted Hornbills. Other birds we would hope to find are Javan Frogmouth, Bat Hawk and Chestnut-naped Forktail and there is the chance of finding really rare species including Garnet Pitta: contact me.

22. Extended Southern Trips - Longer southern itineraries can be constructed choosing from sites such as Krung Ching, Khao Sok, Phang Nga Mangroves, Hala-Bala, Thalebun,Sri Phang Nga and a large number of other speciality sites: contact me.

Extended Thailand Birding Tours

34. Design Your Own Tour- For those with more time longer itineraries to visit a number of regions of Thailand can be designed. In two weeks the central area and the north can be visited, with three weeks this can be done at a more leisurley pace. With three weeks to a month there is time to visit the southern, central and northern sites. Please contact me to discuss an itinerary that will suit you: nickupton@thaibirding.com