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Introduction
From 22nd to 31st August I took one of my rare trips to southern Thailand - birding in Krabi Mangroves (Krabi province), Khao Sok, (Surat Thani province), Laem Pakarang (Phang Nga province), Krung Ching (Nakorn Sri Thammarat province) and the Tiger Cave Temple (Krabi). This trip was a combination of birding and visiting friends and both aspects of the trip were enjoyable - this report may give some birders an idea on birding options when holidaying with a less bird enthusiastic partner.

August is usually regarded as one of the worst times of the years for forest birding as most species have finished breeding and are not calling or lying low. However, although at times birding was slow, particularly at Khao Sok, with patience, sharp eyes and ears and of course a little luck it was still possible to see a good number of species; indeed many sought-after species were seen and, particularly at Krung Ching, the birding was generally good.

Transport
I traveled to Krabi by bus, from Bangkok's "Sai Tai" bus station. The fare was 720 baht and the journey was a tolerable 9.5 hours, starting at 7am and arriving in Krabi at 4.30pm - usually it takes longer but somehow we did it in that time. From Krabi bus station to the town centre was 50 baht by motorcycle.

The journey from Krabi to Patong in Phuket was also done by bus. Buses leave throughout the day from Krabi's bus station to Phuket - 165 baht. At Phuket bus station touts were quoting a ludicrous 600 baht for a taxi to Patong so I opted to get a Songthaew for 25 baht. Admittedly this resulted in a little hassle and lugging around of bags but as much as I don't mind paying more for a good service, 600 baht for this journey is a rip off - added to the fact that the taxi drivers were just plain rude.

From Patong thairentacar delivered a Toyota Vigo to my hotel earlier than the alotted time which was convenient. This car I used for three days to visit Laem Pakarang and Khao Sok and it was a good choice of vehicle for driving on the often pot-holed roads and in wet conditions.

From Krabi to Krung Ching I hired a car from the Krabi Friendly Tour & Travel Company. I used a Suzuki Caribean, a choice made purely on the fact that it was the cheapest vehicle available at 800 baht per day. However, this model of vehicle is rather under-powered and unstable, not to mention noisy, and it is worth spending the extra on something better. The journey from Krabi to Krung Ching took 3.5 hours.

Getting to the Tiger cave Temple was easy from Krabi. A motorcycle taxi took me for 80 baht; the distance is around 10 kilometres and the temple is widely known.

The return journey to Bangkok was made by bus again and cost the same 720 baht. This journey took 12 hours though and was something of a torture with Thai music at high volume for most of the journey.

Notes on Finding Birds
In Krabi mangroves birding was at its best in the traditional morning and late afternoon periods. However, at Khao Sok it was very slow throughout the day and in fact we had many of our best birds around lunchtime. In the wet season birders should be prepared to stay out all day and patiently hunt down the birds slowly and not expect too many mixed flocks.

At Krung Ching bird activity was high and not restricted to mornings and late afternoons. During rain showers bird finding is almost impossible but in between rain there is usually a flurry of activity and birders should be out ready to make the most of these periods.

Accommodation
In Krabi I stayed at The City Hotel which is in the town centre opposite the market and has well-maintained air-conditioned rooms starting at 650 baht per night.

There is an ever increasing supply of accommodation at Patong and in the wet season occupancy is fairly low and it is easy to find a reasonable air-conditioned room for 600 baht per night.

Although there are quite a number of accommodation options at Khao Sok, generally the quality is fairly poor and overpriced. Very simple huts are available from 200 baht per night but only one location seems to have air-conditioned rooms: Khao Sok Treehouse Resort. Rooms with fans are sufficient to be able to sleep comfortably here but with the high humidity the sheets always felt slightly damp and all my clothes were slightly soggy after 2 days.

At Krung Ching well-maintained national park bungalows are 600 baht per night; reservations can be made by calling 075-460000. As far as I could tell there are no other accommodation options anywhere close to the forest.

Birding Highlights

Krabi Mangroves: Mangrove Pitta, Ashy Tailorbird, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Pacific Swallow.
Laem Pakarang: Terek Sandpiper, Malaysian Plover.
Khao Sok: Buffy Fish Owl, Chestnut-naped Forktail, Black-and-red Broadbill, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Bushy-crested Hornbill, Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher, White-bellied Munia.
Krung Ching: Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Maroon-breasted Philentoma, Green Broadbill, Maroon Woodpecker, Buff-necked Woodpecker, Banded Pitta, Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher, Buffy Fish Owl, Blyth's Hawk Eagle, Dark-throated Oriole, Brown Barbet.
Tiger Cave Temple: Streaked Wren Babbler, Banded Kingfisher.

Daily log

22nd August : After arriving in Krabi and checking into the City Hotel I rushed straight out of the door and walked along the waterfront to the mangrove boardwalk to check out the late afternoon birding. On the waterfront Pacific Swallows are easy to find and it only took a minute or so for me to find a couple of these handsome characters perched on a boat. A few common birds such as Large-billed Crow and Olive-backed Sunbird were seen as I moved along the waterfront and 3 Common Sandpipers were feeding at the water's edge.

I always find mangroves a slow and frustrating habitat to be in and this was no exception. Few birds were active or calling and most of those that were, were very common species such as Common Tailorbird, Common Iora, Streak-eared Bulbul etc but about halfway along the boardwalk I ran into a group of Ashy Tailorbirds - I species I have seldom seen in Thailand but are common enough at this site.

Having reached the end of the boardwalk I turned around and was immediately stopped by the call of a Brown-winged Kingfisher. After a little effort I got great views of this bird and ran into a couple more on the way back. With the light beginning to fail I walked back to the hotel, coming across a Collared Kingfisher on the way.

In the evening, as I was walking to a restaurant in Krabi town centre, a Barn Owl flew across the road, screeching as it went.

23rd August : Up fairly early and back onto the mangrove boardwalk for about 7am. Once again it was a bit quiet but Ashy Tailorbirds and Brown-winged Kingfishers were in abundance and a mixed flock of bulubls included one Red-whiskered Bulbul, presumably an escaped cage bird as this species is reportedly almost extinct in the south due to trapping.

After much listening I heard no Mangrove Pittas but on playing back the call just once, one flew in close by and gave me superb views for about 10 minutes as it hopped around on mangrove roots and on the mud. Apart from common stuff like Little Heron, Brahminy Kite and Germain's Swiftlet I didn't see much else but any view of a pitta is to be celebrated so I went back to the hotel happy.

I also took the time to take some photos at Krabi.

The rest of the day was spent travelling to Patong beach, Phuket where I did see some Asian Glossy Starling on a roadside power cable.

24th August : Having had a vehicle delivered I was awake early and heading to Laem Pakarang. The journey took a little over 1 hour and there was a fair number of shorebirds including 1 white morph and 3 dark morph Pacific Reef Egrets. It was not difficult to find plenty of Lesser Sand Plovers, Whimbrel and Ruddy Turnstones and with a little searching I found 1 Malaysian Plover, 1 Greater Sand Plover, 2 Pacific Golden Plovers and a nice Terek Sandpiper - this bird always seems more attractive than in the illustrations in the books to me.

After the heat getting a little intense I drove to a nearby convenience store for soem cold drinks and continued towards Khao Sok. On the road from Takua Pa to Khao Sok there is a fairly large river which can be seen on the right (there is a right hand turning there) and I stopped here to look for River Lapwings on the sand bar. 3 River Lapwings were easily found along with a Common Sandpiper. Also in the area were a few Pacific Swallows perched next to some Barn Swallows, which was nice for comparison and a Lesser Coucal along with a calling Yellow-bellied Prinia in the grass.

Once at Khao Sok I had a little trouble finding anywhere nice to stay but found somewhere acceptable after a while and had a nice lunch. Whilst hunting for some suitable accommodation a flock of 7 Bushy-crested Hornbills flew across the valley.

After lunch it was into the forest and pay the 200 baht entry fee which is valid for 24 hours. I walked along the wide jeep trail which is the easiest walking and usually less leech-ridden of the two trails at Khao Sok. Birding was exceptionally slow with only Abbott's Babbler, Moustached Babbler, Chestnut-winged Babbler, White-rumped Shama, Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker and Ochraceous Bulbul being abundant, but with some patience I also found Yellow-bellied Bulbul, Red-eyed Bulbul and Orange-bellied Flowerpecker; not that much considering the effort put in but I went back for dinner hoping for a better day in the morning. As I was walking back a Red-throated Barbet displayed itself very nicely in the HQ area - a nice bird to finish the day with.

25th August : Back on the same trail for 7am and any hope of more action was quickly quashed - very slow and frustrating again. 2 Grey-breasted Spiderhunters gave a good view, a male Crimson Sunbird and a obliging Black-capped Babbler gave some hope but things got very quiet very quickly on a very overcast day.

Purple-naped Sunbird briefly gave views and a Chestnut-breasted Malkoha was an overdue large, colourful bird.

Dominic Le Croissette mentioned in a recent trip report (Khao Sok, July 2008) that he found Chestnut-naped Forktail unusually common in July and whilst it wasn't quite as abundant as it obviously was then it was still easy to find and I had great views of one on the trail shortly after the substation at Km 2.8.

The forest after the substation (where cold drinks can be purchased) is nice and a couple of flat areas give some good opportunities for forest birds. I only managed to add Rufous-fronted Babbler to my list of birds before turning around at about 11.30.

Usually one would expect bird activity to be at its slowest at this time but somehow things had become more lively and at one spot a group of Rufous-winged Philentomas gave great views and 3 Buff-rumped Woodpeckers noisily gave themselves away. Add to this a few more species of bulbul and the very common Asian Fairy Bluebird and it turned out to be not such a bad morning if a little slow.

After exiting the park for lunch I decided to try the other trail on the afternoon. Unfortunately this turned out to be even quieter than the jeep trail with only a Black-bellied Malkoha in two hours of walking. Still the trees around HQ turned out to be worth checking as they contained lots of flowerpeckers including a nice male Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker.

An hour before dusk I walked around HQ which was deathly quiet until a flock of 5 White-crowned Hornbills came in and gave fantastic display. Listening to some of the Thai staff talking it appears that this flock is regular as one lady knew how many there were without even looking, so it would be worth hanging around this area from about 5.30pm onwards. waiting for dusk a couple of Great Hornbills flew overhead too before lots of bats began to feed.

26th August : My final morning at Khao Sok turned out to be the best. After a slow morning seeing a few new babblers; Rufous-crowned and Short-tailed I was resigned to one of the poorest trips in a long time, however, a Buffy Fish Owl sitting out in an open piece of bamboo woodland was an spectacle. With it being so compliant I managed to take a few record shots of it using a compact digital camera and my 10x binoculars.

Strangely, at around noon when I had pretty much given up on seeing many good birds things suddenly came alive with Black-and-yellow Broadbill calling from one side of the trail and Black-and-red Broadbill calling from the other side. With some effort I managed good views of both species and moved along to bump into a pair of Red-bearded Bee-eaters showing very well. Watching these alerted me to small feeding flock of birds which contained a number of babblers, 3 White-bellied Munias and a Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher.

On a number of my wet season trips the best birding has been around midday and with this flurry of birds I also added Red-throated Sunbird, Hairy-backed Bulbul, Rufescent Prinia, Black-naped Monarch, Great Iora and Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike.

With that it was nearly 3pm and after a late lunch it was time to head back to Phuket arriving around 6pm.

27th & 28th August : Non birding days.

29th August : Having arranged a vehicle the evening before I had a late start due to receiving a phone call from home in the middle of the night. Arriving at Krung Ching at 10.30 am I was not too hopeful of my birding chances until later. However, bird activity was high and it took just a few minutes to run into a Blyth's Hawk eagle perched in the mid-storey of the forest. Without moving very far the call of Green Braodbill alerted me to its presence but before I had time to track it down a Scarlet-rumped Trogon began calling in front of me. It was so close that it didn't take much tracking down and I was able to watch this bird for quiet some time: Krung Ching is apparently one of the best places in Thailand to find this species.

Krung Ching Waterfall map
(Photo by Nick Upton)

The Green Broadbills were abundant and I found some more very shortly. Enjoying this good run the forest was very productive and quiet beautiful. Other nice birds that I saw were Rufous-winged Philentoma, Rufous Piculet and Streak-breasted Woodpecker before a downpour killed the birding for 2 hours. I waited it and when the rain finally stopped the birds came out in abundance. In one spot, within about 10 minutes I saw Brown Barbet, Green Iora, Greater Green Leafbird, Gold-whiskered Barbet, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Hairy-backed Bulbul, Little Spiderhunter and Vernal hanging Parrot, proving that it is worth staying out and waiting for the breaks in the rain. As the afternoon drew on the activity slowed down but I found a splendid Maroon Woodpecker before exiting the forest.

Around the HQ at Krung Ching there is good night birding with Buffy Fish Owl hunting around a pool which is crammed with fish; if I were a fish owl this is exactly where I would hunt due to the overabundance of fish. The owl is fairly easily seen by hanging around and looking with a decent flashlight for the bird near the pool; also listen for its call!

A little up the entrance track there is a small car park and a sign saying "bird watching" and apparently this is where Javan Frogmouth regularly appears. Despite much effort it wasn't to be found but the rangers told me that it was a reasonably reliable spot - but not every night.

30th August : Along the waterfall trail in the early morning bird activity was high. In fact even around HQ beforehand there were lots of birds with Dark-throated Oriole and Lesser Green Leafbird in the trees and Silver-rumped Needletail overhead.

This morning and early afternoon were some of the best birding I have had for a long time with Green Broadbill, Thick-billed Pigeon, Raffle's Malkoha, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Grey-headed Babbler and Scaly-breasted Bulbul all interesting for someone who makes infrequent trips to the south.

I should also mention that outside of Kaeng Krachan this location is one of the best I have ever seen for butterflies with good numbers and a wide variety of species present.

Whilst lots of birds are always good, there was still time to find some more quality species and the first I found was a group of 3 Maroon-breasted Philentomas which actually mobbed me for about 5 minutes giving me great views of this species which is very scarce in Thailand. Another excellent bird was a Banded Pitta which was calling in a spot which I had been tipped off about; there is a small trail heading to a cave "Tam Gleua" which is signposted from the main trail and after about 30 metres it crosses a gully. I waited at this gulley and after about 10 minutes the bird came into view - excellent. In the same spot was a Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher.

With time pressing it was difficult to drag myself away from this location and I was further slowed by a couple of Buff-necked Woodpeckers and a Rufous Woodpecker further along. Finally finishing my "morning" walk at 3.30pm my last bird was Glossy Swiftlet before making the journey back to Krabi.

31st August : My final day in the south saw me lounging around Krabi for most of the day but in the afternoon I headed to the Tiger cave Temple which is around 10km from the town centre. I took a motorcycle taxi to the temple which is well-known and headed up the stairs to the cave. There are 2 sets of stairs here and the first goes to the top of the limestone outcrop which must be a long and hot walk. The second set goes to the cave and a nice patch of forest, requiring only a short climb.

Once in the forest patch I followed a trail which makes a circle of about 1km and seemed to have good potential, however, arriving at 4pm was a bit late as the light fades quickly here due to the high limestone outcrops blocking the sun. Still, I found some nice birds worth making the trip for; 3 male Banded Kingfishers were very vocal and came to me after I mimicked their whistle, a Chestnut-breasted Malkoha was nice and Gold-whiskered and Red-throated Barbets were busy calling from the impressive trees here. However, for me the highlight was a pair of Streaked Wren Babblers which I saw close to the rocks just as I was leaving the area at nearly 6pm. I am sure a mornring visit would be quite productive here.

As I was leaving the temple complex I saw my last additions to my southern trip list; a couple of House Swifts which seemed to be nesting in the new temple being constructed.

1. Rufous Piculet : 1, KC.
2. Buff-rumped Woodpecker : 3 at KS & 2 at KC.
3. Buff-necked Woodpecker : 3 at KC.
4 . Streak-breasted Woodpecker : 1, KC.
5. Maroon Woodpecker : 1 seen KC, heard at KS.
6. Rufous Woodpecker : 1, KC.
7. Gold-whiskered Barbet : Heard at KS, KC & TT; 1 seen at KC.
8. Blue-eared Barbet : 1 seen at KC, several heard at KS, KC & TT.
9. Red-throated Barbet : 1 at KS, Common KC & TT.
10. Brown Barbet : Common, KC.
11. Great Hornbill : 2, KS.
12. Bushy-crested Hornbill : 7 seen at KS & heard at KC.
13. White-crowned Hornbill : 5 at KS.
14. Wreathed Hornbill : 6 at KC.
15. Scarlet-rumped Trogon : 1 male at KC.
16. Banded Kingfisher : 3 males at TT.
17. Brown-winged Kingfisher : Fairly common, KM.
18. Collared Kingfisher : 1, KM.
19. Red-bearded Bee-eater : a pair at KS.
20. Lesser Coucal : 1 near KS.
21. Black-bellied Malkoha : 1 at KS & 1 at KC.
22. Raffle's Malkoha : A pair, KC.
23. Chestnut-breasted Malkoha : A few at KS & KC; 1 at TT.
24. Indian Roller : 1 near KC.
25. Dollarbird : 1 near KS.
26. Vernal Hanging Parrot : 1 seen at KC, many heard at KS.
27. Glossy Swiftlet : A few, KC.
28. Germaine's Swiftlet : A huge flock at Thai Muang town; common at TT.
29. Silver-rumped Needletail : Fairly common at KC & KS.
30. Asian Palm Swift : A few at TT.
31. Fork-tailed Swift : Common at KS.
32. House Swift : A pair at TT.
33. Brown-backed Needletail : A few at KS.
34. Whiskered Treeswift : 1 at KC.
35. Barn Owl : 1, Krabi town centre.
36. Buffy Fish Owl : 1 at KS; 2 at KC.
37. Spotted Dove : A few near KS.
38. Thick-billed Pigeon : A large flock at KC; roosting flock at TT.
39. Emerald Dove : 1 at KC.
40. Whimbrel : Around 20 LP.
41. Common Redshank : 7, LP.
42. Terek Sandpiper : 1, LP.
43. Common Sandpiper : Several at KM; 1, LP.
44. Ruddy Turnstone : Common, LP.
45. Malaysian Plover : 1, LP.
46. Lesser Sand Plover : Common, LP.
47. Greater Sand Plover : A few, LP.
48. Pacific Golden Plover : 2, LP.
49. River Lapwing : 3, near KS.
50. Red-wattled Lapwing : A few near PhanNga.
51. Brahminy Kite : A few near KC.
52. White-bellied Sea Eagle : 1 near Thai Muang.
53. Crested Serpent Eagle : 1, KS.
54. Blyth's Hawk Eagle : 1, KC.
55. Pacific Reef Egret : 3 dark morph & 1 white, LP.
56. Great Egret : 2, KM.
57. Little Heron : 1, KM.
58. Banded Pitta : 1, KC.
59. Mangrove Pitta : 1, KM.
60. Black-and-red Broadbill : 1, KS.
61. Black-and-yellow Broadbill : A pair at KS; common at KC; a pair at TT.
62. Green Broadbill : Fairly common, KC.
63. Greater Green Leafbird : A pair, KC.
64. Lesser Green Leafbird : A few, KC.
65. Blue-winged Leafbird : A few, KS.
66. Asian Fairy Bluebird : Common, KS & KC.
67. Tiger Shrike : 1, KS.
68. Large-billed Crow : 1 near KS.
69. Dark-throated Oriole : A few at HQ, KC.
70. Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike : A few at KS & TT.
71. Common Iora : A few at KM & TT.
72. Green Iora : A few, KC.

73. Great Iora : 1, KS.
74. Black-naped Monarch : Fairly common, KS.
75. Rufous-winged Philentoma : 3 at KS, 2 at KC.
76. Maroon-breasted Philentoma : 3, KC.
77. Blue Whistling Thrush : Common at TT.
78. Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher : 1 at KS; 3 at KC; 1 at TT.
79. Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher : 1 juv female, KS.
80. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher : A few at KS & KC.
81. Oriental Magpie Robin : 1 at KS.
82. White-rumped Shama : Common, KS & KC; 1 at TT.
83. Chestnut-naped Forktail : A few, KS.
84. Asian Glossy Starling : Flocks at a number of places including Krabi, Thai Muang and Patong.
85. Common Myna : Common around human habitation and open country.
86. White-vented Myna : Fairly common near human development.
87. Barn Swallow : Abundant at most sites.
88. Pacific Swallow : Common at KM & 2 near KS.
89. Rufous-bellied Swallow Cecropis badia (Recently elevated to species statuts in the new checklist of Thai birds : A few at TT & KM.
90. Black-headed Bulbul : A few, KS.
91. Black-crested Bulbul caecilli : A few at KS & KC.
92. Scaly-breasted Bulbul : A few small parties at KC.
93. Red-whiskered Bulbul : 1, KM - escape?
94. Stripe-throated Bulbul : A few, KS & TT.
95. Streak-eared Bulbul : Common, KM.
96. Cream-vented Bulbul : A few, KC.
97. Red-eyed Bulbul : A few at KS & KC.
98. Spectacled Bulbul : 1 at KS; 1 at KC.
99. Grey-eyed Bulbul : Very common at KS
100. Ochraceous Bulbul : Fairly common, KS, KC & TT.
101. Grey-cheeked Bulbul : Common at KC.
102. Yellow-bellied Bulbul : 1 at KS, 3 at KC.
103. Hairy-backed Bulbul : 3 at KS; fairly common at KC.
104. Rufescent Prinia : 1 at KS.
105. Yellow-bellied Prinia : 1 near KS.
106. Common Tailorbird : A few at KS & KC; common at KM.
107. Dark-necked Tailorbird : A few at KS, KC & TT.
108. Ashy Tailorbird : Common, KM.
109. Abbott’s Babbler : Common, KS.
110. Short-tailed Babbler : 1, KS.
111. Puff-throated Babbler : A few, KS.
112. Black-capped Babbler : 1 KS; 1 KC.
113. Streaked Wren Babbler : 2 at TT.
114. Moustached Babbler : Common, KS & KC.
115. Rufous-crowned Babbler : A few at KS; fairly common at KC.
116. Striped Tit Babbler : Abundant at KS & KC.
117. Rufous-fronted Babbler : 1, KS.
118. Grey-headed Babbler : Fairly common, KC.
119. Chestnut-winged Babbler : Common at KS & KC.
120. Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker : Fairly common at KS; 1 at KC.
121. Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker : 1 male at KS.
122. Yellow-vented Flowerpecker : 1, KC.
123. Orange-bellied Flowerpecker : A few, KS, KC & TT.
124. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker : A few in Krabi; 1 male at KS.
125. Purple-naped Sunbird : 1, KS.
126. Plain Sunbird : A few, KC.
127. Brown-throated Sunbird : A few, TT.
128. Red-throated Sunbird : 1 male, KS.
129. Olive-backed Sunbird : A few, KM.
130. Crimson Sunbird : 1 male at KS; 1 male at TT.
131. Little Spiderhunter : Common at KS, KC & TT.
132. Grey-breasted Spiderhunter : 2 at KS.
133. Grey Wagtail : A few at KS; 1 at KC.
134. Eurasian Tree Sparrow : Common near human development.
135. Scaly-breasted Munia : Small flock near TT.
136. White-bellied Munia : 3 at KS.