Introduction
My wife and I found that we had some time on our hands to
get away from Bangkok for a short time. We did not want to
drive too far at such a busy time of the year so we opted
for the Suan Pheung area of Ratchaburi province, just about
two hours away; a very rural area but one that recieves some
Thai tourists who like to visit various petting zoos, cafes
and scenic areas. While this was to be a family trip there
is always the opportunity to do a little birding, so naturally
I took my binoculars and took a couple of early morning walks
as well as watching for birds while sitting outside our accommodation
having dinner in the evening. Thailand is a country blessed
with a high abundance of birds even in unprotected areas and
even on non-birding trips like these, it is possible for birders
to see a good number of species and so I have
created this short trip report to demonstrate that birders
on family holidays can still enjoy some interesting bird watching.
Vehicle
A Toyota Vios was used, which is a medium-sized saloon car,
which was sufficient as we did not plan on driving on anything
other than well-maintained public roads, and this is how it
turned out; generally Thailand's roads are in a very good
condition, even in fairly remote areas.
With just two people this car was big enough, particularly
as we were travelling light, but if there were more than two
birders it would probably be too small for them and all the
birding equipment. It was, however, a cheap option to hire
and very fuel-efficient.
Accommodation
The accommodation was chosen just to be somewhere quiet and
pleasant, away from the city with no real expectation of it
being anything special for birding. This, after all, was just
a weekend away. Cozy
Cottage Farm Stay turned out to be a pleasant
little house, in a field, next to a small resort where we
had our breakfast on both days of our stay. Accommodation
used
Notes on Finding Birds
No real special effort was made to find birds other than being
out in the early morning and late afternoon into the evening.
Of course, these are by far the most productive times to see
birds in the tropics, before the temperature gets too hot
and birds rest in the shade. Near our accommodation we went
for an early morning walk on both days and sat in the garden
in the late afternoon and into the evening as we had dinner,
watching birds that passed through. Some effort was made to
see crepuscular and nocturnal birds with some call playback
used, but all of these species were seen very quickly after
hearing them.
Field Guide
1. Birds
of Thailand by Uthai Treesucorn & Wich'yanan Limparungpatthanakij
Birding Highlights
Indian Thick-knee, Indian Nightjar, Large-tailed Nightjar,
Shikra, Rufous Treepie, Forest Wagtail, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
Birding Diary
Hup Pa Sawan 28/12/25
Leaving Bangkok mid-morning, after having breakfast
at a local cafe, we drove along the highway towards Rathcaburi
province. Inevitably we stopped along the way to buy snacks,
use the toilet and this turned into a shopping stop too! Eventually
we got on our way and shortly after entering Rathcaburi province
we stopped at an area known as Hup Pa Sawan (heavenly valley).
This is quite a scenic spot with limestone karst ridges covered
in scrubby forest and various monuments on the peaks.
We had intended to walk up onto the ridge for some good views
but it was very hot by the time we arrived so we settled for
some photographs at the big Buddha and I took a quick look
around, finding a couple of Forest Wagtails on the edge of
the forest.
This species is fairly scarce so was a little surprising
but more familiar birds of this type of forest edge/parkland
type habitat included Coppersmith Barbet with its persistent
call, a screaming Asian Koel, Malaysian Pied Fantail darting
around in the shadows and a leucogenis subspecies
of Ashy Drongo swooping around to catch insects. A couple
of Ornate Sunbirds were also typical of this type of location
and a male Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker was uncharacteristally
easy to photograph; usually they stay high up in the tree
tops.
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
As it was hot and there was some sort of ceremony going
on at the temple we decided to continue to our accommodation
to see if we could check in early.
Cozy Cottage Farm Stay 28/12/25
Arriving at this site in the early afternoon we were a bit
too early to check in to our accommodationas it was still
being cleaned so we drove a short distance into the nearby
village to have lunch. After that we did some touristic things,
taking photos, feeding sheep and doing some archery before
checking into our accommodation for the next two night in
the late afternoon.
Having bought some food in the local market we sat down to
eat it on a picnic table in the garden which overlooked some
farmland and woodland edge habitat. A gathering of Barn Swallows
were swooping around low over the garden, taking advantage
of the abundance of insects in flight while joining the aerial
feeding frenzy were a group of six Asian Palm Swifts, with
their distinctive "diddly-dee" flight call, as well
as a single White-nest Swiftlet.
In between mouthfulls of food the distinctive call of a
Rufous Treepie caught my attention and luckily this colourful
bird landed close to use in a small bare tree, where it sat
ask the sun set for the next five minutes or so. A couple
of noisy Large-billed Crows headed towards a roost site and
other flyover birds included a Eurasian Hoopoe, a Medium Egret
and a calling Forest Wagtail. An Ashy Drongo was active into
dusk, catching a last minute meal and mimicking the call of
Shrika and as it became dark the call of Indian Nightjar began
to echo through the evening. I decided to see if it would
show itself so I walked a few moetres into the garden and
played the call from my phone. Within seconds an Indian Nightjar
was sitting on a post just a few feet away from me; wonderful!
A little later this individual was joined by two others as
they cruised around over the garden hunting for prey. Shortly
afterwards a Large-tailed Nightjar began calling from a nearby
garden and it took only a short time to track this down, sitting
on a branch.
Large-tailed Nightjar
This was a nice ending to our al-fresco dinner and after
the bird activity had died down we sat in the cool air chatting
and drinking tea; a very relaxing way to end the day.
Cozy Cottage Farm Stay 29/12/25
After seeing a surprising number of birds while relaxing at
the accommodation on the previous evening I was quite keen
to see what else I could find walking around the area. Having
not put much effort into choosing our accommodation it had
been really nice to find it in such a pleasant rural area
with mixed habitat; farmland, woodland patches, farm ponds,
gardens and scrubland; and it seemed like there was a fair
bit of potential for birds. This was proven to be true at
dawn with the distinctive call of Indian Thick-knee luring
me out of bed to track it down in a nearby field hanging around
with a pair of Red-wattled Lapwings.In the garden I tracked
down a Thick-billed Warbler lurking in the tall, dense grass
and a Shikra swooped in a landed on an early morning perch
to sun itself.
Shikra
Opposite the field in which our accommodation was situated
was an area of secondary forest growth so I walked along the
road through this habitat a short distance. Black-crested
and Black-headed Bulbuls were feedng on fruiting bushes joined
by large numbers of Streak-eared Bulbuls; not one of Thailand's
most exciting birds but a regional endemic! Yellow-browed
Warbler was heard and seen as well as Two-barred Warbler,
both common birds of this type of habitat, but less expected
was the call of what sounded like Greenish Warbler. It was
easy to find the calling bird, showing just the hint of a
single wing bar, and I checked the call against Greenish Warbler
calls on my phone and it was indeed a match. This species
is common further north but far less reported in this area;
certainly not unprecedented but a little unusual for this
part of the country.
Unfortunately there was no public access to the area of secondary
forest so I took a walk along a quiet, rural road which wound
its way through mixed habitat into a small village. A large,
exposed tree attracted an Asian Brown Flycatcher buzzing around,
chasing after insects, and a couple of Greater Racket-tailed
Drongos enjoying the morning sunshine, always a nice bird
to see. The familiar sound of a Coppersmith Barbet put me
onto this attractive, common parkland bird while several Barn
Swallows swooped around overhead. Further along the road a
large ploughed field gave me a view over a wider area of the
local scenery and while scanning I spotted large numbers of
Eastern Red-rumped Swallows in flight against the forested
hillsides while in some roadside bamboo a few Dark-necked
Tailorbirds were engaged in some sort of territorial dispute,
at least this how it seemed from the commotion they were causing.
As I entered the quiet village a Greater Coucal crossed the
road while garden birds such as Ornate Sunbird, Eurasian Tree
Sparrow, Malaysian Pied Fantail and Brown-throated Sunbird
were in evidence and it would have been hard to miss the male
Asian Koel sitting in a low tree screaming out over the village
like a morning alarm call. As things were warming up and breakfast
was calling me I stopped at a village pond where I decided
I would turn around, however, quite a few birds were to be
found here, delaying my return. A pair of Siamese Pied Starlings
were obvious, feeding in a small tamarind tree, joined by
large numbers of Streak-eared Bulbuls with a splash of colour
provided by a lovely Chestnut-headed Bee-eater. In fallen
branches at the water's edge a couple of Pied Fantails darted
around along with a Taiga Flycatcher but with time ticking
by I decided to head back to join my wife for breakfast.
Crested Honey Buzzard
On the way back a Crested Honey-buzzard flew past and a couple
of Asian Green Bee-eaters provided a colourful distraction,
while back at the accommodation a Rufescent Prinia was the
final addition to the morning's bird list before a very nice
breakfast on the veranda at the accommodation.
Alpaca Hills
After breakfast and some lounging around we drove around thrity
minutes into the hills to a local tourist site: Alpaca Hills.
This is basically a petting zoo where there are animals such
as Alpacas, Capybaras, Guinea Pigs, Wallabies, Parakeets &
Budgerigars, Sheep and other docile animals. Set in pleasant
countryside it made for a nice afternoon with an interlude
for drinks in one of the on-site cafes, and although this
was not a birding excursion, I kept my eyes and ears open
for birds all the time. One of the more obvious birds here
was Paddyfield Pipit which was found everywhere there were
grazing animals such as deer, sheep and horses; Common Mynas
were often to be found feeding close to the larger mammals
too. Common species such as Spotted Dove, Yellow-browed Warbler,
Ashy Woodswallow and Brown Shrike were always going to be
present here and given the number of grazing animals Eastern
Cattle Egret was also easily seen here. However, perhaps the
most unexpected bird here were two Crested Treeswifts cruising
overhead, picked up by their distinctive call they spent several
minutes hunting over the sheep enclosure.
Most of our time was spent feeding the animals and taking
photos but as we relaxed in the cafe overlooking the Ostrich/Deer
enclosure a pair of Indochinese Rollers entertained us and
an Ashy Drongo swooped down repeatedly to catch insects drawn
to the piles of deer droppings. A big surprise was created
by a pair of Ostriches chasing around towards the back of
the large enclosure. This activity disturbed a pair of resting
Indian Thick-knees into flying around and calling out as they
searched for a more secluded resting spot. This species seems
to be seldom recorded in Ratchaburi province, according to
eBird, but given my experience on this short trip I suspect
it is vastly under-recorded due to low numbers of birders
visiting the right habitat in this area.
As the afternoon drew on we realised that we had not had
lunch so we decided to head out for a late lunch/very early
dinner before doing some shopping in a local market and then
going back to our accommodation.
Cozy Cottage Farm Stay 29/12/25
Similarly to the previous evening we sat at a picnic table
in the garden, enjoying the sunset while drinking tea. Also
similarly was a flock of Barn Swallows feeding over the garden.
Interestingly they were absent in the morning, but obviously
their habit was to visit this location before dusk only. A
noisy White-throated Kingfisher joined us in watching the
sunset from a nearby tree while there were a few flyover birds
including a couple of Eastern Cattle Egrets, a Great Egret,
an Ashy Woodswallow and a Large-billed Crow.
As darkness came we heard the call of Indian Nightjar again
and one came flying past us as we took a short walk around
the garden, followed by a flypast Large-tailed Nightjar. As
we walked we disturbed an Asian Barred Owlet which squawked
at us from its perch and the call of Collared Scops owl came
from close by and the lighting in the garden allowed us to
track it down without needing call playback or a flishlight.
A nice ending to a nice day.
Cozy Cottage Farm Stay 30/12/25
We both woke up early so my wife joined me on the morning
walk. We followed the same route as I walked the previous
day, along a quite rural lane and through a small village.
Predictably many of the same birds were seen, including the
early morning Shikra and the same collection of Black-crested,
Black-headed and Streak-eared Bulbuls. Common gardens birds
such as Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Ornate Sunbird and Oriental
Magpie Robin while an addition to the list was a smart Black-naped
Oriole. The flutey call of this bird was a nice addtion to
the morning chorus and it was a little surprising not to have
seen it before in this habitat.
Black-naped Oriole
It is interesting that although many of the same birds will
be seen on successive visits to any particular site it is
also true that different species will also be seen. This morning
I heard the distinctive song of Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher
where on the previous day it had been absent. It did not take
long to find this very active bird and a couple of Dark-necked
Tailorbirds were active in the same area. As we walked towards
the village a couple of Hair-crested Drongos flew past and
the air was full of Eastern Red-rumped Swallows. We took some
time to check out some land for sale before reaching the same
village pond as yesterday. Here there was a Little Egret and
a White-breasted Waterhen with a Black-browed Reed Warbler
skulking in the waterside vegetation and a pair of Grey-breasted
Prinias chuckling from nearby grasses. Once again, it was
starting to feel like time for breakfast so we turned around
and took a slow walk back. On this occasion there were more
birds on the way back than on the way out with a Radde's Warbler
and a female White-rumped Shama to add to list as well as
a Rufous Treepie, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and several
Asian Brown Flycatchers.
Back at the accommodation there was a final new bird before
we stopped for breakfast with the distinctive sound of a Banded
Bay Cuckoo which conveniently flew in to a nearby tree as
we started to eat our eggs and toast. This was the end of
the birding on this pleasant little trip; we started heading
back to Bangkok via a shopping trip in Ratchaburi Old Town,
but I hope it serves as an indicator to birders travelling
with a non-birding partner/family/friends that it is possible
to enjoy birds anywhere you find yourself in Thailand.
Nick Upton (nickupton@thaibirding.com)
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