Introduction
In autumn 2022 we flew from London Gatwick Airport to Phuket
for an all-inclusive family holiday in the Khao Lak area of
Phang Nga province. The trip was not a birding holiday, so
all birds were seen during casual birding at and around the
resort, in the nearby area or on various touristic excursions.
This birding report is provided to give others an idea of
what can be seen along the way while on a family holiday in
this region of southern Thailand.
Accommodation
We stayed at the Khao
Lak Merlin Resort, a very comfortable place to
stay on the beach just south of the main tourist area of Khao
Lak. The hotel grounds had a wide variety of mature vegetation
in and around it and right on the coast creating a decent
amount of habitat in which to look for birds on foot without
having to travel from where we were staying by vehicle.
Field Guides
1. Birds
of Southeast Asia by Craig Robson
Birding Highlights
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Crimson Sunbird, Thick-billed Green
Pigeon, Dusky Crag Martin, Pacific Swallow, Red-throated Barbet,
Little Spiderhunter, Coppersmith Barbet, Asian Glossy Starling,
Vernal Hanging Parrot
Birding Diary
Species are only mentioned when first seen at a location unless
seen in high numbers.
20th September: After arriving at Phuket airport we got
a transfer to our hotel at Khao Lak, a journey of around an
hour. Along the way a few Eastern Great Egrets and Large-billed
Crows were noted, as well as two Brahminy Kites which was
a very smart raptor to start the trip with.
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Chestnut-headed Bee-eater |
After our arrival at the hotel we were keen to look around
so found some time to take an initial walk around the accommodation
grounds where we saw some colourful Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters,
Lineated Barbet and another Brahminy Kite. Several Spotted
Doves were present on the beach lawn alongside the ubiquitous
Common Myna and Yellow-vented Bulbuls were present throughout
the resort. A pool next to the lawn attracted both a Common
Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail; species familiar from back
home in the UK.
The farmland, plantation and scrub opposite the hotel provided
some interesting birding and a slightly different set of habitats
from the hotel gardens. We viewed these areas from a pathway
through the accommodation, referred to in the remainder of
this report as the hotel viewpoint.
21st September: Along the beach next to
the resort we saw at least two Collared Kingfishers, typical
of the coastal areas of southern Thailand, and they were seen
feeding in the area on most days of our holiday. Colourful
Orange-bellied Flowerpeckers and Olive-backed Sunbirds were
seen in flowering trees and shrubs in the hotel grounds, with
Oriental Magpie Robins singing in the mornings and feeding
on the lawns. On the eastern side of the resort, from the
upper accomodation pathways, good views into farmland, a plantation
and the beyond forest were possible and this was the focus
of our birding attention for most of the time at the hotel.
From here a quick scan of the area revealed a small flock
of Eurasian Tree Sparrows perched on nearby and utlity wires,
a Brown-throated Sunbird feeding on some of the flowering
vegetation while a flock of Vernal Hanging Parrots flying
over towards the forest was a nice sighting of this tiny parrot.
Elsewhere around the accomodation non-avian species included
several Water Monitors, Grey-bellied Squirrels, Common Clubtail
Dragonflies, Common Flying Lizards and Common Treeshrew.
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Crimson Sunbird |
22nd September: Birding around the accommodation
produced many of the same common species as before but a stop
at the hotel viewpoint gave us views of some smaller passerines
including Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers, Common Tailorbirds
and Crimson Sunbirds, all smart little birds as well as the
rather duller Streak-eared Bulbul; all new additions to the
holiday list.
23rd September: We took an excursion to
Khao Sok National Park, around 1 hour 20 minutes away by car.
This resulted in very few avian species seen although a number
of White-throated Kingfishers perched in prominent places
were seen on the journey. At Khao Sok we heard the mournful
song of White-handed (Lar) Gibbons and saw a small troop of
Long-tailed (Crab-eating) Macques. It was an enjoyable visit
into southern Thailand's rainforest habitat although this
was not a birding excursion and no specific time was spent
searching for birds.
24th September: A walk to the settlement
down the road from the hotel resulted in more Eurasian Tree
Sparrows (up to 30), Pacific Swallows and a Brown Shrike in
the farmland/scrub opposite the hotel. Back at the resort
in the late afternoon we observed a Shikra flying through
while Feral Pigeons fed alongside Spotted Doves. While two
Indian Peafowls feeding on the resort lawn were an impressive
sight they were obviously ornamental/feral birds. Although
the hotel staff insisting that these peafowl “were wild
birds from the mountains” all the bird literature on
Thailand would suggest otherwise. We're not adding them to
our holiday list!
Note from Nick Upton:
Indeed, Indian Peafowl is not on the official Thai list and
is only a bird known as a feral species without a self-sustaining
population.
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Malaysian Pied Fantail |
25th September: As well as many of the species
we were now becoming familiar with a look into one of the
many manmade concrete creeks and streams around the resort
revealed a Striated (Little) Heron feeding. This bird was
seen in the same area on several of the days of our stay afterwards.
At the hotel viewpoint, Greater Coucal, Asian Koel and at
least two Malaysian Pied Fantails were all added to our list
of birds.
26th September: Most of the day was spent
visiting a nearby elephant sanctuary and also the Khao Lak
Turtle Sanctuary, which was situated next to a naval base.
While providing for an interesting day out it provided little
of avian interest apart from several pairs of noisy Red-wattled
Lapwing alongside the road approaching the Turtle Sanctuary.
However, a small flock of Grey-rumped Treeswift soaring over
the resort was a nice species to see and add to our ever-increasing
accommodation list.
27th September: Shortly after dawn we were
birding from the hotel viewpoint and this was rewarded with
a Purple Heron disappearing into a marshy area of the nearby
farmland; a somewhat unexpected bird given the general nature
of the habitat of the area. A flock of Dusky Crag Martin passing
over was good sighting of a sparsely-distributed bird and
in the southern vegetated hotel boundary there were several
species of bulbuls feeding; Black-headed Bulbuls, an Asian
Red-eyed Bulbul and Stripe-throated Bulbul were all new birds
for us. Common Iora is a colourful little bird which we also
found in the gardens on this day. Of non-avian interest, we
saw our first Himalayan Striped Squirrels.
28th September: A walk to the settlement
down the road from the hotel resulted in a presumed Chinese
Pond Heron seen in flight which disappeared into the same
marshy area of farmland as the Purple Heron from the day before.
About 40 Eurasian Tree Sparrows were present on the buildings
in the village and several Pacific Swallows were perched on
the utility cables.
29th September: Around the hotel gardens
and adjacent habitat many of the birds were now becoming familiar
but new birds continued to show up with Black-crested Bulbul
from the hotel viewpoint and a small distant flock of Green
Pigeons (possibly Orange-breasted).
30th September: We hadn't searched for birds
on the resort's front lawn for several days so today we paid
particular attention to the large, giraffe-shaped Banyan Trees.
To our delight we found a flock of 20+ Thick-billed Green
Pigeons feeding on the trees' fruit in company with several
Coppersmith Barbets; these types of colourful species are
exactly what birders hope to see when visiting Southeast Asia.
A single Peaceful Dove fed on the lawn with Spotted Doves.
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Thick-billed Green Pigeon |
1st October: A small flock of Germain's
Swiftlets flew over the hotel lawn and a lone Red-throated
Barbet feeding with 30+ Thick-billed Green Pigeons in the
Banyan Trees was a nice new bird. It was clearly being bullied
by the pigeons as were the Coppersmith Barbets in the same
tree. We also found a single Asian Brown Flycatcher and two
Little Spiderhunters from the viewpoint, feeding in the vegetation
to the south of the hotel.
2nd October: We took another excursion from
the hotel, this time to the Dragon Cave Temple half and hour
or so inland. Here we photographed a juvenile Blue Rock Thrush
sitting on one of the buildings and a female Asian Fairy Bluebird
were both new additions on what was another non-birding excursion.
No other new species for the holiday were seen around the
hotel grounds.
3rd October: This was our final day in Thailand
and it was nice to see at least one final new bird for the
holiday; a single Asian Glossy Starling that fed in the Banyan
Trees alongside the barbets and pigeons. This family holiday,
combined with some casual birding, resulted in several dozen
lifers and a wonderful time in this beautiful country.
Matt Barber |
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