Dry Dipterocarp Woodland,
Sab Sadao (Photo by Nick
Upton)
Sab Sadao is the name of a ranger station
on the northern side of Thap Lan National Park, and several
jeep tracks and a network of cattle trails give birders access
to several large patches of dry dipterocarp woodland with
surrounding farmland, secondary growth, ditches and reservoirs.
Dry dipterocarp woodland is a habitat which has a number of
specialist species and for birders this creates some variety
from the forest type and avifauna of nearby birding locations.
Topography at this location is fairly flat but temperatures
here can get really high, very quickly meaning that it is
very easy to work up quite a sweat.
Sab Sadao is quite some way off the beaten track, meaning
that it receives few visitors and birding here is nearly always
peaceful and the habitats surrounding the woodland mean that
quite a high tally of birds can be seen quite quickly not
to mention that there are a few exciting species can be found
here reasonably easily.
For birders who like to explore, this area undoubtedly holds
some hidden patches of habitat and perhaps some species of
woodpecker that are extremely rarely seen in Thailand.
Sab Sadao plays host to one species that seems next to impossible
to see anywhere else in Thailand: White-browed Fantail. I
am not aware of sightings of this species from anywhere else
in Thailand in recent years but it is fairly easy to find
at Sab Sadao among flocks of other small birds.
Many other species that prefer dry dipterocarp woodland are
also present here with Black-headed Woodpecker a real highlight
and abundant here. White-bellied Woodpecker is also present
and Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker is incredibly common. Intriguingly
there are historic reports of Rufous-bellied Woodpecker from
this site (although I have so far failed to find it) and it
has been suggested to me that Yellow-crowned Woodpecker is
also possible here.
A splash of colour is provided by Small Minivet, Velvet-fronted
Nuthatch, Black-hooded Oriole and Plains Nuthatch which is
present here but rare and this is quite a good site for raptors
with Black- Baza, Collared Falconet, Rufous-winged Buzzard
and others likely to be seen.
Other birds which are scarce in other locations but abundant
at Sab Sadao include Common Woodshrike and Brown Prinia, both
of which are drab in colouration but rarely seen by bird watchers
in Thailand. Chestnut-capped Babbler is often to be seen in
the undergrowth and this is also a good location to get to
grips with Indochinese Cuckooshrike and get a good view of
Chinese Francolin; Cinereous Tit has also been photographed
at this site.
Bird
Watching Trips:
If you need help organizing a bird watching trip to Thailand,
take a look at the suggested itineraries for ideas on
creating a tailor-made trip and contact me for advice:
Thailand
bird tours.
Travel Information
Use the interactive map below to plan your route to
Sab Sadao. The blue lines show the route from Route 304, which
is the main highway between Kabinburi & Nakorn Ratchasima
(Blue Pin) to Sab Sadao Ranger Station (Red Pin) and Mun Bon
Reservoir (Yellow Pin).
By Car/Motorcycle
Getting to Sab Sadao and surrounding areas is a little complicated
and involves driving down dirt roads for quite some distance,
meaning that a sturdy vehicle is advisable. The simplest way
to get there is to get on Highway 304 between Nakorn Ratchasima
and Kabinburi and turn off the road at Km 92 following the
signs for "Khonburi Sugar". Follow this road until
it takes a sharp right hand and turn left, still heading towards
the sugar factory. After a few kilometres the turning for
the sugar factory is seen, but ignore this and carry straight
on - the road is really pot-holed here! Continue for several
kilometres, passing a crenellated wall and then a small government
compound "Chorake Hin Municipal Office". Soon after
there is a sealed road on the right - turn here. In fact any
of the right hand turnings along here will get you to the
correct area. Drive along the road and continue after it turns
to dirt, always taking the road straight ahead. After around
15 kilometres there is a right hand turn along a sealed road
- it is the only right hand turn which has power lines running
along it. Turn down this road and at the T-junction turn left.
Continue along this dirt road, through villages, for about
7km until entering the forest and seeing the ranger station
on the right.
By Bus/Train/Plane
It is just not practical to reach Sab Sadao by public transport,
the last 15 kilometres are down dirt tracks, too far to walk
and with no local transport. One could travel by bus, train
or plane to Nakorn Ratchasima and then hire a car but it has
no advantage over hiring a car in Bangkok. Theoretically it
would probably be possible to take local transport to somewhere
nearby and then charter a driver but the time wasted in doing
all of that would be considerable. A private vehicle is needed
to reach this site.
Finding Birds
There are lots of tracks and trails that allow birders
to explore this area and the open nature of the forest makes
it easy to go off trail and not get lost. Some birds are more
likely to be seen in certain areas, however.
Sab
Sadao Ranger Station Area : This is the most
easily accessible large lump of dry dipterocarp woodland in
this area and contains most of the speciality species of this
site. Although birders can park at the substation I once had
some trouble with some drunken rangers, so these days I drive
just a little past the ranger station, turning left, on the
track towards the lake, then walk. One cannot drive straight
past the ranger station as there is a barrier and razor wire;
once on foot birders can walk down this track though. In the
past White-rumped Falcon has been seen around the ranger station
itself.
Before reaching the ranger station birding can begin along
the entry track where degraded woodland on the right contains
some large, isolated trees where species such as Rufous-winged
Buzzard, Indian Roller and Large Cuckooshrike can be spotted
perched atop the trees. This area is also good for spotting
Blossom-headed Parakeets in the early morning or late afternoon.
The first flocks of birds are likely to be encountered in
the less disturbed woodland along the entry track and Small
Minivet, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
are likely to be constituents of those flocks. Black-headed
Woodpecker is abundant at this site and it is worth looking
out for them as soon as entering the dry dipterocarp woodland
along the entry track.
Although vehicular access is possible along Track 1 it is
extremely rough and any vehicle without a high ground clearance
will have trouble, so best to park and walk along the track.
Undergrowth along here often contains Thick-billed Warbler
and mixed groups of Rufescent Prinia and Brown Prinia; areas
with the thickest vegetation are where Chestnut-capped Babbler
dwells - this is a species which is much more attractive than
field guides suggest. Large trees and open woodland along
here contain birds such as Plains Nuthatch, White-bellied
Woodpecker, Black Baza and Collared Falconet. White-browed
Fantail can also be found with mixed flocks of small birds
Track 2 can be walked along and goes through some nice open
woodland. Common Woodshrike often precedes White-browed Fantail
and Brown Prinia lurks in the undergrowth. Black-headed and
White-bellied Woodpeckers often occur along this track and
listen out for calling Chinese Francolin, this is a great
place to find one in the late afternoon. Indochinese Cuckooshrike
is a difficult bird to find in Thailand but a few birds exist
along this track but Large Cuckooshrike is much more obvious
with its noisy call uttered in flight. Eurasian Jay is fairly
common here too and is a nice-looking bird, quite different
to the subspecies that many birders are familiar with in Europe.
After about 1.5 kilometres this track goes into some moist,
secondary woodland which contains common forest birds such
as Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Black-crested Bulbul and
Pin-striped Tit Babbler.
Track 3 goes through more dry woodland with a thick understorey
and gives birders more opportunity to explore this area. The
rare Streak-throated Woodpecker has been seen along this track,
but not for some years.
Farmland
: As birders drive towards Sab Sadao Ranger Station they
will pass through a lot of farmland with isolated trees. These
trees are excellent for spotting Rufous-winged Buzzard perched
upon them. This species is quite common out here and by scanning
dead branches it should not take long to find several individuals
of this species. In the dry season posts or wires are likely
to have Shrikes perched on them; both Brown and Burmese Shrikes
are quite abundant here. Other birds of interest to look out
for when driving in include Vinous-breasted Starling, Pied
Bushchat, Indochinese Bushlark, Green Bee-eater and Plain-backed
Sparrow.
Bird
Watching Trips to Sab Sadao: Sab Sadao is well
off the beaten track and provides an opportunity to
see some species that are scarce in Thailand.
This is a good location, and habitat, to add to a birding
tour which visits Khao Yai in order to see a wider variety
of species, including some wonderful woodpeckers and
particularly if you want to want to add White-browed
Fantail to your Thai list.
Contact me to arrange a birding trip and/or to discuss
the best bird watching options for you: nickupton@thaibirding.com
Forest
Plateau : This wooded plateau is covered in
undisturbed dry dipterocarp woodland and presumably contains
a full avifauna associated with this habitat in this part
of the country. Reports of rare woodpeckers, in the past,
included Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, may be worth chasing up
on this plateau although access to it will require a lot of
walking in high temperatures.
There are some small trails entering this area from its northern
end, closest to the sugar factory. Blossom-headed Parakeet
is often seen emerging from this area and larger Woodpeckers
which require big trees and large areas of habitat will be
found here, such as White-bellied, Greater Flameback, Greater
Yellownape and Black-headed Woodpecker.
Mun
Bon Reservoir Area : Around Mun Bon Reservoir
are some interesting patches of habitat for birders to explore
including areas of dry dipterocarp woodland (degraded and
good quality patches), marshy ditches and open country. This
area has received even fewer birders than the Sab Sadao Ranger
Station area so exploring could turn up something interesting;
I have found wintering Yellow-streaked Warbler here on a couple
of occasions, some distance from its previously known wintering
range.
Areas
of dry woodland fragments (1) contain a few birds - Rufescent
and Brown Prinias are easily found here - but they are not
large enough for many birds that specialize in this habitat.
Birders can drive or walk around a large, marshy ditch which
can contain Lesser Whistling Duck and Bronze-winged Jacana,
and in the early morning it is possible to find skulking birds
such as Siberian Rubythroat and Lanceolated Warbler. The trees
running up to this ditch can also play host to some interesting
species as they come down to drink - I have seen Red-billed
Blue Magpie, Lineated Barbet and Eurasian Jay all behaving
like this here so it may be a good place to sit and wait in
the heat of the day to see what emerges from nearby woodland
to drink and bathe.
Turning right at the end of this marshy ditch accesses a large
area of dry dipterocarp woodland, much of it heavily degraded,
but the steep, rocky slope on the left, after turning in here
(2) seems to be a good place to search for Red-billed Blue
Magpie and White-crested Laughingthrush and Asian Barred Owlet
calls frequently here in the morning. The dry woodland along
the track here has lots of cattle trails to explore and this
area has plenty of Purple Sunbirds, Hoopoes and Prinias. Flocks
of small birds containing Small Minivet, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
and Common Woodshrike can also be found; I have also seen
Spot-breasted Woodpecker in the more open areas towards the
food stalls.
Some open-country species can be found on the grassy areas
around the food stalls at Mun Bon "Beach" with the
very attractive Plain-backed Sparrow fairly abundant and Indochinese
Bushlark calls from the ground and small posts; some emergent
vegetation around the water's edge may allow birders to find
some skulking species such as Siberian Rubythroat or Bluethroat.
A small temple can be reached by following a dirt track past
the sugar factory and several woodland fragments contain species
such as Black-hooded Oriole, Rufous Treepie and Eurasian Jay
while Burmese Shrike can be found perched on wires. Exploring
the woodland that stretches out the back of the temple may
be rewarding; I have found Brown Prinia, Small Minivet and
Common Woodshrike in these habitat patches.
Facilities
Facilities at and around Sab Sadao are severely limited.
At Sab Sadao Ranger Station itself there are no facilities
available to visitors whatsoever. In the small villages along
the dirt track into Sab Sadao there are a couple of small
noodle shops and stores selling snacks and drinks but nothing
that is obvious to visitors who are not familiar with Thailand.
Villages along the sealed roads travelling to Sab Sadao have
a few food shops dotted around here and there, with a open-fronted
shop that sells good, cheap Thai food at the turn off on Route
304. At Mun Bon "Beach" there are several food stalls
which are the best option for most birders visiting this area;
there are also some toilets here.
Accommodation options are also problematic here. There are
a couple of small hotels/guesthouses at the nearby town of
Khonburi, but none that I could recommend although they are
serviceable for one night. A homestay along the road from
Route 304 to the sugar factory has a sign in English and is
probably sufficient for small groups of birders. The town
of Pak Tong Chai has a really grotty old hotel but the city
of Nakorn Ratchasima has a whole host of accommodation and
other facilities given that it is Thailand's second largest
city. Unfortunately, Nakorn Ratchasima (Khorat) is further
from Sab Sadao than is convenient - over an hour away.
Although Sab Sadao is part of Thap Lan National Park, the
rangers do not usually attempt to collect any entry fees from
visitors.
Some Useful Books
Woodpeckers
of the World This is a beautiful collection of photographs detailing
every species of woodpecker in the world. The amount
of text is very limited so there are no detailed species
accounts but it is a wonderful way to become familar
with woodpeckers of the world.
Birds
of Thailand This field guide has set new standards in identifying
birds in the wild in Thailand. With the most up-to-date
taxonomy of any publication this is the book you need
if you are birdwatching in Thailand. Forget all of the
older guides and buy this one.
Birdwatching
Trips:
For those birders who like to get a little off the beaten
track, Sab Sadao is a good option. A full day of birding
at this location should provide views of most of the speciality
species, which makes it a good site to add to any birding
itinerary that visits the northeast or southeast regions.
Download
a full 
