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Introduction
Having been alerted to the presence of Limestone Wren Babblers (calcicola subspecies) at Wat Pra Puttabaht Noi, in Saraburi province some years previous, I decided that a visit was way overdue.

Although the site is only about 1.5 hours from Bangkok I had never visited due to the fact that I had seen Limestone Wren Babbler (crispifrons subspecies) before at Hellfire Pass, Kanchanaburi province. However, the wren babblers were reportedly much easier to see at Wat Pra Puttabaht Noi and this location is much more convenient than Hellfire Pass, being closer to Bangkok and close to the route taken when travelling from Bangkok to Khao Yai; making it a convenient stop off for this species with a very restricted range.

I decided to go on the spur of the moment and having missed the early morning I decided to head to Wat Pra Puttabaht Noi in the afternoon, aiming to arrive at about 3.30pm when the birds should be active, having been told that it might be tough to find this species in the middle of the day.

Getting There
My wife and I set off from our home, in the southwestern part of Bangkok, taking the expressway north. For those beginning nearer the city centre the expressway heading north from Din Daeng and on past the old airport towards Rangsit is the one to take; signs for Saraburi appear shortly after the expressway finishes. We travelled in the afternoon on a Sunday when the traffic was light and it took somewhere in the region of 1.5 - 2 hours to reach the temple. Usually, if heading to Wat Pra Puttabaht Noi from Bangkok, it would be advisable to start the journey at around 5am to avoid heavy traffic heading out of the city.

One should head directly into Saraburi and drive straight through the town, following signs north on highway 1 to Lopburi. After some distance one comes to an intersection with traffic lights, signs still indicate Lopburi straight ahead and Pra Puttabaht is also signposted. Be aware that the Pra Puttabaht that is signposted is not the destination that you want to end up at.

Eventually you will get to an intersection (named "Phu Khae Intersection") where the signposts indicate Petchabun straight on and Lopburi as well as Pra Puttabaht to the left. The highway actually bears left and to go straight on you have to stop at some lights. Head towards Petchabun (straight on) and not Lopburi/Pra Puttabaht. After a few hundred metres you will come to a u-turn which you should take. Drive back down the road towards Saraburi (the way you have just come) and immediately after the junction there is a left hand turn, just before a footbridge over the road; you should be able to see the footbridge over the road some distance before getting to the junction, your indication to slow down and stay on the left. This is a busy intersection so if you miss any of the turnings just carry on, do a u-turn somewhere and try again, don't be tempted to cut across heavy traffic which will not slow down and let you through.

At this intersection the natural route of the traffic is shown by the black lines. To follow the red lines one must wait at some traffic lights. From Saraburi head straight on, following the red line towards Petchabun and then take the u-turn. If you find yourself heading towards Lopburi, don't panic, do a u-turn, follow the road towards Petchabun and then take the next u-turn before heading back to the turning for Wat Pra Puttabaht Noi.

Having made the turning you will soon (about 100m along the road) see signs in English for Ban Song Khon, this will let you know you have taken the correct turning. Follow this road for a little over 10km and you will reach a sharp 90 degree right hand bend with a small police post on the corner in front of you. Turn left on the dirt track here and follow the main track to the temple gate.

For a more detailed map of the temple area itself see Stin De Win's map here: Wat Pra Puttabaht Noi.

As we came down the staircase, back towards our car, I heard another Limestone Wren Babbler below us, but did not see it. However, a small flock of migrants passed through the forest halfway down the staircase and in this flock we saw several Black-naped Orioles, a Crow-billed Drongo, 2 Ashy Drongos, 1 Eastern Crowned Warbler and 1 Yellow-browed Warbler.

I wanted to see for myself how easy the Limestone Wren Babblers were to find here so decided to look for some more at another part of the temple. Going through some sort of gateway I walked through a forest patch with limestone boulders either side. Very quickly I caught a glimpse of another wren babbler jumping around on rocks. I didn't make any attempt to call it out and didn't see it again but having found 2 Limestone Wren Babblers and heard one more in a visit that lasted only about 1 hour I was fairly convinced that the birds are easier to find here than anywhere else I know of.