Visit your favourite destinations

Southern Thailand,

Dear ones,

I just had the opportunity to travel with my immediate family for a 10 days journey to the South of Thailand. My father has settled there and wanted me to visit the completion of his new house. We decided to combine it with our annual vacation and make it into an experience for all. Though rains fell heavily at times, it helped to keep temperatures down and the intensity of the rainforests greenery was immense.

Here are a few short highlights from the birding side of things.

Prajoapkirikan province, 400 km south of Bangkok. Several Black-naped Terns, resident birds, fed near shoreline. Blue-throated Bee-eater did sorties for flying insects at the resort while kids were playing at the beach. Nice stopover on our way.

Kuraburi Greenview resort some 16 kilometer north of SriPangnga National Park, Pangnga province, were to be our next stop. Very tranquil and surrounded by green lush hill slopes. Bungalows of a high standard and relatively cheap. Highly recommendable resort.

Inspite of the rain in the morning I went ahead to the National park. Some 200 square kilometers of reserved forest lies within the boundaries, waiting to be discovered.

This time of year the forest was very quiet though. My highlight was a flowering tree that had attracted many Bulbuls, Sunbirds and Spiderhunters. Best bird and my first lifer was Red-throated Sunbird (4^th of June), a pair. This Sunbird is rare and difficult to find. My last Sunbird outside of Fire-tailed.

Hairy-backed and Grey-bellied Bulbuls were also special for me as I seldom get to birdwatch down south. A young Red-bearded Bee-eater was hunting for insects in the area adding to the charm of the forest as did a Rufous-winged Flycatcher. I had intended to camp out here but was forced to seek refuge at the resort (much to everyone's delight).

Following day, 5^th of June, I went for a quick visit to the Mangrove National Park of Pangnga town.

No sooner had I stepped out of the van but a Streak-breasted Woodpecker came in front of me. I was immediately greeted by several Mangrove Pittas calling from all over. It didn't take long to track one down for better views. This was my 2^nd lifer. Brown-winged Kingfisher is easy here but what caught my attention was the rather explosive whistle of something from inside the mangroves. After a bit of searching a Mangrove Whistler came in full view and my 3^rd life bird was recorded.

We then spent 2 nights at an Eco-resort half an hour outside of Pangnga town. Unbeknownst to me, my father had arranged accommodations for us here only a 5 minutes drive from Song Praak waterfall, Tonpariwat wildlife sanctuary. The fall is rather large and good amounts of water whipped up a bit of a torrent down the stream. Kids enjoyed some exciting rafting and swims surrounded by hillslopes covered in rubber trees on lower levels and native trees on higher grounds.

I visited the sanctuary (200 square km) and was impressed with the potential of the area. Gibbons could be heard calling and apparently many mammals can still be found. My next lifer was to be here (6^th of June), a Blue-banded Kingfisher came swiftly flying up along the stream. Never got to see it perched but the ice cool blue back/rump band gave it away, along with its call. Other nice birds here was Grey-rumped and Whiskered Treeswifts as well as Lesser Green Leafbird.

One day we spent discovering the island of Phuket. It is now possible to drive along the coast line from beach to beach. This southwestern part of the island still holds patches of secondary growth and along with the many hills and beaches makes for a beautiful setting. At the cape of the island several Brown Needletails were doing acrobatics. A cup of coffee in a restaurant while enjoying my first World Cup match (Sweden-England) was another pleasure.

Then an outing the 9^th of June to Ramon waterfall just outside of Pangnga town. The park is too small to be declared National Park but still enjoys protection from the Forestry department. One have to travel through many fruit orchards with trees heavily laden with rambutans, mangosteen and durian. Finally at the water fall a smaller lawn and restaurant welcomes the visitor. Along the 8 tiers waterfall (not very steep) there is a nature trail. It was just beautiful to be inside this wonderful piece of nature looking for birds. I was rewarded with my target bird and 5^th lifer, Chestnut-capped Forktail. A pair of Soothy-headed Babblers came in view as well.

In the afternoon we took a boatride to James Bond island. Lots of tourists out there but still a pair of Brown-winged Kingfishers were displaying for all of us to see. A few resident Blue Rock Thrushes were seen on the limestone outcrops giving me identification problems (I was unaware of their existence).

I ended up with over 100 species for the journey which actually was a family adventure and not a birding trip. As long as I made sure everyone's needs were taken care of it seemed that I was blessed with many special moments in God's Glorious Creation.

Peter

Birds seen between 2-12th June 2002 while driving south and visiting Pangnga province.
1. Little Egret	61. Asian Paradise Flycatcher
2. Pacific Reef Egret	62. Grey-headed Flycatcher
3. Cattle Egret	63. Rufous-winged Philentoma
4. Javan Pond-Heron	64. Black-naped Monarch
5. Little Heron	65. Verditer Flycatcher
6. Little Cormorant	66. Pied Fantail
7. Black-winged Stilt	67. Common Iora
8. Black Bittern	68. Lesser Green Leafbird
9. White-breasted Waterhen	69. Red-throated Barbet
10. Red-wattled Lapwing	70. Green-eared Barbet
11. Lesser Whistling Tree Duck	71. Coppersmith Barbet
12. Common Myna	72. Abbott's Babbler
13. White-vented Myna	73. Sooty-headed Babbler
14. Magpie Robin	74. Rufous-fronted Babbler
15. White-rumped Shama	75. Striped Tit Babbler
16. Eurasian Tree Sparrow	76. Puff-throated Babbler
17. Plain-backed Sparrow	77. Dark-necked Tailorbird
18. Indian Roller	78. Common Tailorbird
19. Zebra Dove	79. White-rumped Munia
20. Spot-necked Dove	80.Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
21. Emerald Dove	81. Little Green Bee-eater
22. Turtle Dove	82. Blue-throated Bee-eater
23. Rock Pigeon	83. Red-bearded Bee-eater
24. Pink-necked Pigeon	84. Chestnut-capped Forktail
25. Asian Pied Starling	85. Rufous-winged Bushlark
26. Black-collared Starling	86. Paddyfield Pipit
27. Vinous-breasted Starling	87. White-throated Kingfisher
28. Glossy Starling	88. Collared Kingfisher
29. Lesser Coucal	89. Blue-banded Kingfisher
30. Greater Coucal	90. Brown-winged Kingfisher
31. Asian Koel	91. Black Drongo
32. Plaintive Cuckoo	92. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
33. Black-shouldered Kite	93. Blue Whistling Rock-Thrush
34. Brahmy Kite	94. Blue Rock-Thrush
35. Shikra	94. Yellow-bellied Warbler
36. Crested Serpent-Eagle	95. Yellow-bellied Prinia
37. Large-billed Crow	96. Grey-breasted Prinia
38. Asian Palm Swift	97. Streak-breasted Woodpecker
39. Barn Swallow	98. Common Flameback
40. Striated Swallow	99. Olive-backed Sunbird
41. Red-rumped Swallow	100. Purple-naped Sunbird
42. Pacific Swallow	101. Red-throated Sunbird
43. Grey-rumped Tree Swift	102. Ruby-throated Sunbird
44. Whiskered Tree-Swift	103. Plain Sunbird
45. Brown Needletail	104. Streaked Spiderhunter
46. Silver-rumped Needletail	105. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
47. Ashy Wood-Swallow	106. Mangrove Pitta
48. Edible Swiftlet	107. Mangrove Whistler
49. House Swift	108. Black-naped Tern
50. Streak-eared Bulbul	109. Asian Fairy Bluebird
51. Yellow-vented Bulbul	110. Scarlet Minivet
52. Sooty-headed Bulbul	111. Banded Broadbill
53. Stripe-throated Bulbul	112. Ashy Tailorbird
54. Black-headed Bulbul
55. Black-crested Bulbul
56. Hairy-backed Bulbul
57. Red-eyed Bulbul
58. Buff-vented Bulbul
59. Grey-bellied Bulbul
60. Ochraceous Bulbul

A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia Craig Robson: Buy from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk A new flexi-cover edition of this superb and influential book is now available (UK) making it far more useful in the field. The birds of South-East Asia details the identification, voice, breeding, status, habitat and distribution of the 1250 species and distinctive sub-species of the region covering Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, West Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. The illustrations are excellent and Craig Robson's text reflects his position as one of the foremost ornithological authorities of S.E.Asia. Indispensable for anyone visiting the area.

The Birds of Thailand Craig Robson: Buy from Amazon.com orAmazon.co.uk At last, the quality of field guides for the Far East has caught up with those of Europe and America. Craig Robson's "Birds of Thailand" is a tour de force...950 mouth watering species all beautifully illustrated and expertly described, each with its own distribution map. The natural riches of Thailand make it an ever more popular birding destination and this indispensible guide will set the standard there for years to come.

Peter Ericsson

Why not send us a report, or an update to one of your current reports?

Back to top	Back to Birdtours.co.uk
	Recommended Books, Worldbirder.com