| Birdwatching
Day Trips from Bangkok |
Whether
you are on a short stopover in Bangkok or spending a few days in the
capital before moving upcountry, thaibirding can now arrange half,
full or multiple day birdwatching trips tailored to your requirements.
Day trips can be centred around 1, 2 or even 3 locations and, for
those birders with a specific target list of birds, day tours can
be personalized in order to maximize the chances of finding them.
Pick up and drop off from your hotel in Bangkok, or airport, for all
day tours.
To make an enquiry about day tours please e-mail me with your requirements,
including dates and number of birders in the group: nickupton@thaibirding.com |
| Suggested
Day Tour 1: Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale |
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| Best
time to visit - November to March |
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Habitat
- Salt pans, mudflats, mangrove & scrub. |
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Spoon-billed Sandpiper by Nick
Upton |
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This
is Thailand's premier site for shorebirds
can be reached within a couple of hours from
central Bangkok and here we can search for
one of Thailand's most sought-after species,
the endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, as
soon as we reach the site. Other excellent
birds which regularly occur in this area are
Nordmann's Greenshank, Far Eastern Curlew,
Terek Sandpiper, Great Knot and Asian Dowitche;
with the benefit of local knowledge we should
be able to find most, if not all, of these
species.
A
highlight of any trip to Laem Pak Bia is the
boat trip out to the sand spit where we Malaysian
Plover is a resident breeding bird plus it
is here that we can also find Chinese Egret
and White-faced Plover as well as checking
out the gull/tern roost for species such as
Lesser & Greater Crested Terns along with
Heuglin's and Pallas's Gull. |
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Having feasted on shorebirds and seabirds we can
have lunch and later move on to a series of nearby
locations in search of Painted Stork, Black-headed
Ibis and wintering Aquila eagles.
This region is such a magnet for birds that a large
number and a wide range of species can easily be
seen in a single day, and there is always the chance
of a rarity here!
E-mail me and book a day tour to Laem Pak Bia/Pak
Thale: nickupton@thaibirding.com |
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| Suggested
Day Tour 2: Bang
Pra, Bang Poo & Muang Boran Fishponds |
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| Best
time to visit - All year round, although
migrant species present between October and April. |
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Habitat
- Open water, freshwater wetland, woodland, mangrove,
scrubland. |
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Asian Golden Weaver by Nick
Upton |
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Bang
Pra reservoir and surroundings are home to
a wide variety of open country, woodland and
wetland species enabling us to see birds such
as Rufous Treepie, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo,
White-crested Laughingthrush and Laced Woodpecker
shortly after arrival. As the morning progresses
we should be able to track down a variety
of wetland species such as Jacanas, Bitterns
and Egrets along with other birds including
both Baya and Asian Golden Weaver as well
as Oriental Reed Warbler, Black-browed Reed
Warbler, Yellow-eyed Babbler, Chestnut-capped
Babbler and many others.
This is a good location to search for Chinese
Francolin, although it is never easily seen,
and other possibilites include Greater Painted
Snipe, Lesser Coucal, Asian Barred Owlet and
Dusky Warbler. This location can also be very
good, in April and October, for passage migrants. |
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Having found a wide selection of freshwater wetland
species we can move on and have lunch at Bang Poo
where mudflats and pools provide an opportunity
to see shorebirds, gulls and terns. A large flock
of Brown-headed Gulls winter here and occasionally
other gull species show up too and in the mangrove
remnants we can track down Golden-bellied Gerygone.
Set between Samut Prakarn's Muang Boran open air
museum and large factories, the fishponds near Muang
Boran are a real surprise and full of excellent
wetland birds. Having found our way into the site,
through a maze of residential streets, good views
across the wetlands provide the opportunity to find
White-winged Tern, Pheasant-tailed Jacana and a
myriad of egrets, herons and bitterns as well as
one of the site's most conspicuous birds - Striated
Grassbird.
A number of points around this site have their own
specialities and with experienced knowledge of this
location we should be able to find many types of
crakes and rails, Asian Golden Weaver, Indian Cormorant
and a variety of warblers with a chance of finding
Manchurian Reed Warbler. This can be a superb site
if one knows where to look!
E-mail me and book a day tour to Bang Pra, Bang
Poo & Muang Boran Fishponds: nickupton@thaibirding.com |
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| Suggested
Day Tour 3: Khao Luk Chang & Petchaburi Rice Fields |
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| Best
time to visit - All year round, although
migrant species present between October and April. |
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Habitat
- Woodland, rice fields, fish ponds. |
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Spotted Owlet by Nick
Upton |
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Wat
Khao Luk Chang, in Petchaburi Province, contains
a small area of dry dipterocarp woodland where,
in the morning, the stunning Black-headed
Woodpecker can be found. Other species frequently
seen here include Lineated Barbet, Asian Barred
Owlet, Rufous Treepie, Greater Racket-tailed
Drongo and Spoted Owlet. In the wet season,
in the adjacent farmland, Blue-throated Bee-eater,
Indian Thick-knee and Vinous-breasted Starling
can also be seen and in April and October
a number of migrants pass through.
In the afternoon you will move on to an area
of rice fields close to the city of Petchaburi
which is always full of a wide variety of
species. Egrets, Herons and Bitterns can be
found in good numbers here and Jacanas, Crakes,
Reed Warblers and other tricky birds can be
found with patience. |
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There are always a lot of birds to see in this area
regardless of the time of year but, of course, things
change with the seasons; between December and March
there are a number of large raptors in the area
including Greater Spotted Eagle, Steppe Eagle and
Pied Harrier; between end of February and July three
species of Weavers can be seen in breeding plumage
as well as Watercock; between late November and
early March wintering passerines include Dusky Warbler,
Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler and Siberian Rubythroat.
E-mail me and book a day tour to Khao Luk Chang
& Petchaburi Rice Fields: nickupton@thaibirding.com |
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If
you have, or wish to know about, other day tour possibilities contact
me with your enquiries.
nickupton@thaibirding.com |
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