Introduction
After some great birding at Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary I
finished leading a Southern Thailand birding tour at Hat Yai
airport. With time on my hands I made arrangements to meet
a National Park Ranger, Mr Yum, at Thalebun National Park
in order to look for a roosting Dusky Eagle Owl. This species
was discovered in the early 2010s as a resident species in
this national park and is only known in Thailand from a very
few on the Thai-Malaysia border. In 2016 I accompanied Mr
Yum to look for this species but unfortunately it had shifted
its roosting place and we failed to find it so I hoped for
a better result this time, particularly as I was in the area
anyway when normally it requires a very long journey from
my home in Bangkok. Further to this I wanted to revisit a
few interesting birding spots around the town of Satun before
heading towards Phuket to meet my wife for a holiday.
Vehicle
I used an Isuzu D-Max pickup that I had been driving on a
longer trip that had just finished. This type of vehicle was
more or less essential for accessing the area for the Dusky
Eagle Owl, although if I had been driving a less suitable
vehicle the park ranger would have driven me up there in their
vehicle.
Notes on Finding Birds
Birding in southern Thailand is often quite difficult, requiring
determination and a lot of patience, particularly in forest
habitats. In April it is frequently very hot, making large
portions of the day low in bird activity and this was true
on this visit which was why I did my forest birding early
in the day and moved to more open habitats later on. This
proved to be a good tactic with a high level of bird activity
in the very early morning in the mangroves and birds still
possible to see in open areas later on. Even so, it would
have been nice to have been at every birding location at 6-8am.
Field Guides
1. Birds
of Thailand by Uthai Treesucorn & Wichayanan Limparungpatthanakij
Notes
I had made an appointment with Mr Yum, a ranger at Thalebun
National Park who knows where to find roosting Dusky Eagle
Owls, at 2pm just giving me enough time to drive from Hat
Yai Airport to the park headquarters, a journey of little
over an hour. Our meeting was spot on time and we immediately
drove from the park headquarters to Tung Ya Wang Pra ranger
station along a dirt track that was becoming a bit muddy because
of regular afternoon rain storms, one beginning just as we
arrived.
Fortunately, we were on the edge of the storm and the rain
did not last too long allowing us to check out the first known
spot for Dusky Eagle Owl. This resulted in a blank and strangely
few other birds were active, just a Dark-necked Tailorbird.
With this first roost site supposedly being reliable it was
disappointing to find it unoccupied but further on there was
another area to check out. An area of grassland with scattered
trees has been "the" place to look for this bird
in Thailand and reaching it requires a walk of a kilometre
or so. Much of the trail was completely under water due to
the rain but luckily the rangers had a pair of Wellington
boots I was able to borrow to save me from getting very wet
feet.
As we walked across the grassy areas a few birds showed themselves,
Yellow-vented Bulbul, Spectacled Bulbul and a Barred Buttonquail
that flew away almost as we stepped on it. A pair of handsome
Black-thighed Falconets were busy catching insects, swooping
out from an exposed perch and returning to eat them. While
Mr Yum looked for the owls in regularly used trees I also
spotted a Red-throated Barbet calling from a tall tree. We
checked out several regular spots for the owl without success
until Mr Yum told me that the last time he saw the birds they
were in a particular tree that we could now see across the
grassland. Looking through my binoculars to scan the tree
I immediately spottted a Dusky Eagle Owl starring back at
me from a large horizontal branch. Fantastic!
We moved around a little to get a better angle from which
to view the bird but did not go very much closer, not wanting
to disturb it and scare it away from this stakeout. Having
missed this bird in the past, it was very satisfying to see
it this time. After enjoying watching it staring back at me
with piercing eyes and getting the best photos I could from
the distance we were watching from we started back to the
vehicles, finding a calling Blue-winged Pitta in the dense
vegetation close to where we had parked.
Although it would have been nice to linger and see what else
I could find I wanted to get to Satun town and find somewhere
to stay before dark so I made the short drive towards town
as another downpour threatened, making a very quick stop at
Satun Airfield. This abandoned airfield is used by locals
for driving practice and picnics, playing host to some open
country birds with the highlights being a male Pied Harrier
and a few Oriental Pratincoles. As the rain began I checked
in to Singkiatburi
Hotel, a hotel I have used before and I recommend;
a comfortable place to stay with a good view from the upper
floors.
As I watched the rain clouds pass from my hotel room I decided
to take a walk along a riverside walkway that started just
50 metres from the rear of the hotel. The walkway goes alongside
a river channel towards a limestone outcrop on the edge of
town. Not the pinnacle of birding sites but somewhere to spend
the last hour of light and a pleasantly picturesque location.
In fact it turned out to be a pleasant place to be as the
sun set with Pacific Swallows and Rufous-bellied Swallows
cruising around, giving great views, along with common open
country birds like Yellow-bellied Prinia, Asian Glossy Starling
and Greater Coucal. A little surprising was an Oriental Reed
Warbler singing from waterside vegetation; this far south
I had sort of expected this species to have moved out by this
time of the year. Overhead an Oriental Honey-buzzard was joined
by a Brahminy Kite but my favourite bird of this walk was
a Blue Whistlingthrush which was very confiding on the limestone
rocks. Here the subspecies crassirostris is a resident
and frequently found in caves and on rocky outcrops.
To finish the day I saw a large number of Asian Glossy Starlings
coming in to roost at Wat Chanathip Chaloem as I walked to
get dinner, with many birds cramming themselves into the ornate
sculptings on the temple gate and temple buildings.
The next day I decided to get up very early and have my breakfast
in the car park of nearby Tammalang Mangroves. It gets hot
very quickly in this part of the country at this time of the
year so I wanted to take advantage of the early burst of bird
activity as the sun first hits the trees. Mangroves in Satun
province provide the only known habitat for Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker
in Thailand and I have had success in finding this bird on
each of my visits at a particular tree that it seems to favour.
Parking the car close to this tree I had to stop eating my
breakfast when first one, then two Sunda Pygmy Woodpeckers
appeared and began drumming from what appears to be their
favourite tree. Long live this particular tree!
In the same area a number of small trees were really loaded
with Swinhoe's White-eyes feeding on tiny seeds/fruits. These
mangrove-dwelling White-eyes have undergone a lot of taxonomic
reassignment over recent years and I suspect may end up being
reclassified again at some point in the future. While watching
them a Common Flameback appeared on the same tree as the Pygmy
Woodpeckers and a pair of Copper-throated Sunbirds flitted
around with the White-eyes. This area always seems to be good
for Mangrove Whistler and it didn't take long to find one
of these rather sombre-plumaged birds. A couple of nigrescens
Ashy Drongos made themselves obvious, sallying for insects
from overhead power cables while Pied Fantail chased around
after insects in the mangrove roots.
I moved along a little to finish my breakfast and take a
walk on the mangrove boardwalk. However, in the car park I
heard a calling Black-naped Oriole which was easy enough to
spot perched in a tall casuarina pine tree. This
bird was of the subspecies maculatus which is resident
in some parts of Thailand and may well be split in the future
as Sunda Black-naped Oriole. A flyby Pink-necked Green Pigeon
was also of interest as was a Chestnut-bellied Malkoha which
swooped into the mangroves from a more exposed area.
Heading along the mangrove boardwalk I hadn't got far down
it before hearing a high-pitched song mixed with lower notes.
It sounded a little like a Cyornis flycatcher but
I assumed that it would end up being an Oriental Magpie Robin
performing some mimicry. I decided to track it down anyway
and good job too as it turned out to originate from a male
Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, a really rare bird in Thailand that
I have only seen once before, also at these mangroves. This
was a really unexpected bird and a real highlight of the visit
to Satun. Further along Collared Kingfishers were abundant
and more expected and a calling Brown-winged Kingfisher sat
on the edge of the mangroves enjoying some early morning sunshine.
The tide was all the way in so waterbirds were restricted
to a few Chinese Pond Herons and a Striated Heron. Back at
the car park a pair of Indochinese Rollers were making a commotion
as a Brahminy Kite flew through their territory before I drove
a short distance to another access road to the mangroves.
I hadn't been here for long before finding the bird I was
looking for: Mangrove Pitta.
One of the speciality species of the mangroves here is Cinereous
Tit; another bird which has a very restricted range in Thailand.
Usually I come across some of these but had missed them so
far on this visit but I wanted to move on so got back in the
car and began to head back to the hotel. With the window wound
down I could hear a variety of bird calls and put on the brakes
when I heard the scolding of Cinereous Tit. Two pairs were
having a territorial dispute and were not bothered about my
presence so I was able to get a few photos to finish my mangrove
visit with. I went back to my hotel for a cooling shower and
to pack my bags before moving on to my next stop.
Khao To Phaya Wang Park is a park on the edge of Satun town
centred around a large, forested limestone outcrop. I had
briefly visited once before and thought I would make another
quick visit to see if I could find any birds that might make
it worth recommending for other birders. Pools of water around
the limestone rocks make this a good place to easily see Blue
Whistlingthrush but some musical calls from a large tree drew
me towards them. Common Hill Myna is a rare bird in southern
Thailand so I was surprised to confirm that the call came
from a pair of these smart birds; in fact they were mimicking
Black-naped Oriole but it was inaccurate enough for me to
tell it was coming from another species. In the same tree
several Streak-eared Bulbuls were busy making a noise and
a Blue-winged Pitta called from some dense vegetation before
showing itself. The "pink" call of a Forest Wagtail
alerted me to this bird foraging on the ground before a high-pitched
call in the trees lured me across a lawn to find a pair of
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpeckers. Not bad for a very short visit
but before I left a soaring White-bellied Sea Eagle was another
addition to the list.
My next stop was at a roadside area of wetlands. I found
this spot while searching through eBird and thought it would
be interesting to check out for a short period of time. Luboh
Batoo Wetlands is a strange spot, seemingly some wetlands
created by some excavations and home to some species of open
country and wetland birds. I saw species such as Purple Heron,
Black-winged Stilt, Paddyfield Pipit and Yellow-bellied Prinia
but probably the most uncommon birds, in a southern Thailand
sense, was Black-winged Kite. The heat was getting a bit intense
here, with no shade so I moved on again to Nong Plak Phraya
Non-Hunting Area where I knew there were some nice mature
trees under which I could shelter while looking for water
birds.
Bird
Watching Trips:
Satun is a good province to visit to see several species
with restricted ranges in Thailand and there are a number
of great forest birding sites within driving distance
of excellent accommotion within the town. This is a
good addition to southern Thailand birding trips.
Contact me to arrange a birding trip and/or to discuss
the best bird watching options for you: nickupton@thaibirding.com
I found a pleasant place to sit and have my lunch while looking
out across the lotus swamp, spotting numerous Purple Herons,
a few Grey-headed Swamphens, a group of Little Cormorants
as well as singles of both Bronze-winged Jacana and Pheasant-tailed
Jacana. Most of the birds here are common open country species
including Coppersmith Barbet, Asian Koel, Common Iora and
Common Tailorbird to mention a few. However, a singing Arctic
Warbler was interesting, obviously coming into breeding condition
before reaching its nesting grounds.
This non-hunting area also encompasses a forested hill as
well as wetlands and with a little time remaining before I
needed to move on I visited the HQ area and went for a short
walk in the shady fringes of the limestone outcrop. By this
time of the day there was little activity but a pair of Asian
Glossy Starlings feeding young was a nice sighting but was
eclipsed by a superb Bue-eared Kingfisher. I heard the high-pitched
call of this bird coming from some tangles and was surprised
to see it sitting close to me when I looked for it. The setting
was so shady and dark that I had to adjust the camera settings
to an incredibly high ISO to allow enough light in for a photograph
but with the bird being so close I was able to get a few nice
shots which you can see, along with a selection of other bird
photos from this trip, here - Birding
in Satun, Thailand, April 2022.
I decided that Blue-eared Kingfisher was a great bird to
end my birding in Satun with and began my journey towards
Phuket, hoping that I could return to this pleasant province
in the near future.
If you are interested in arranging a bird
watching tour you can see some suggested itineraries here
- Birdwatching
Trips - and you can contact me at the above email address
to discuss the best options.
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