Southern Thailand, 25th-31st March 2019

Introduction
My wife and I decided to spend a few days relaxing on the beach at Karon, Phuket in late March 2019. We flew to Phuket from Bangkok but decided to make the return journey by car so that I could visit a few well-known birding sites in order to take some photographs of a few key birds as well as check out a few locations that had intrigued me when searching for birding sites on Google Earth satellite view. This resulted in some pleasant, low-key birding and a relaxing break.

Vehicle
We used a Toyota Revo pickup with a covered rear section which had plenty of space for just the two of us and our luggage although with the amount of shopping we did along the way things started to get a bit full! This vehicle has plenty of stability and it is not a problem taking it along dirt roads, it handles well, is fast and fuel efficient.

Accommodation
In on the Beach - Karon
SiamIS Hotel Phang Nga Bay - Ao Phang Nga
Good Morning Hotel - Takua Pa
Morakot Hotel - Chumphon

Food
We ate at a variety of places while staying at Karon beach, from seafood to western food in a pub. The general quality of food in these touristy areas is fairly good, although a little less tasty than local Thai food and considerably more expensive.

At Phang Nga bay we ate at a local restaurant a few hundred metres further along the road from the hotel and all the dishes we ordered were excellent.

At Takua Pa we ate at a local family-run restaurant 50 metres from our hotel. We have eaten here several times before and the food is superb, some of the best I have ever eaten in the whole country.

Field Guides
1. Birds of Thailand by Uthai Treesucorn & Wich'yanan Limparungpatthanakij
2. Birds of Southeast Asia by Craig Robson
3. Raptors of the World by James Ferguson-Lees & David Christie

Birding Highlights

Karon: White-bellied Sea Eagle, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Grey-faced Buzzard, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
Ao Phang Nga: Mangrove Pitta, Ruddy Kingfisher, Brown-winged Kingfisher, White-chested Babbler, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, Ashy Tailorbird, Mangrove Whistler
Bor Dan Beach: Pacific Reef Egret
Laem Pakarang: Terek Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler, Malaysian Plover
Ban Thung Yai Meadowlands: River Lapwing, Grey-headed Lapwing, Watercock, Grey-headed Swamphen, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, Oriental Pratincole
Laem Pho: Oriental Pratincole, Terek Sandpiper, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Malaysian Plover
Phanang Tak Bay: Stork-billed Kingfisher, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Western Osprey, Malaysian Plover
Laem Hua Mong: Black-naped Tern, Great Crested Tern, Pacific Reef Egret

Birding Diary

Karon Beach
After arriving at Phuket airport we drove to Karon beach and checked into our hotel. We spent three nights here and every morning I spent around an hour, before breakfast, taking a look around for birds. On the first and second mornings I just stuck around the hotel, at the north end of the beach which is next to a small lake which forms a park. A few Chinese Pond Herons, a Little Egret, a Little Cormorant and a Common Sandpiper were birds which were ever present but the most impressive bird was a White-bellied Sea Eagle which visited the pond every day for a varying amount of time, circling at low altitude, looking for fish. On one day it stayed for around 30 minutes while we swam in the sea. Brahminy Kites, of course, were regular here and a pair of Pacific Reef Egrets almost flew into us as we were in the sea one day.

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Photo by Nick Upton)

The trees and fragments of vegetation around the hotel contained a number of interesting birds in the early morning, before the crowds emerged, including Asian Glossy Starling, Collared Kingfisher, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Common Tailorbird, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Brown Shrike and lots of Yellow-vented Bulbuls and Eurasian Tree Sparrows. Throughout the day Pacific Swallows were obvious and in the evening the trees in front of our hotel hosted around 30-40 Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters gathering to roost. More details and photos on our stay at Karon can be found in this blog post - Birding When Not Birding.

On our last morning at Karon beach I spent an hour or so uphill a little. I found a small road leading uphill into some plantations and forest, the name of the road was Soi Lamyai. I did not see anything very special here but there were birds to add to the list including Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Little Spiderhunter, Red-eyed Bulbul and Plaintive Cuckoo; it is always the case that if you get into some different habitat you will see different birds.

Ao Phang Nga
I spent the late afternoon and the following morning birding around the headquarters area of Phang Nga Bay National Park. My main goal was to get some high quality photographs of some of the key mangrove species here and as ever the birding here was very productive. As usual I managed to observe all the key species in my short time here and it was satisfying to get some very nice photographs of Mangrove Pitta and Ruddy Kingfisher with Ashy Tailorbird, Rufous-bellied Swallow and Chestnut-bellied Malkoha into the bargain.

Mangrove Pitta (Photo by Nick Upton)

Arriving at about 3pm in the afternoon I just hung around the entrance to the road that goes through the mangroves until I heard a mangrove Pitta calling, something that did not take long to happen. Walking very slowly I managed to locate the bird and find a spot from which I could see through the foliage of the mangroves and spot the bird sitting on a mangrove root. I was lucky in that it came and sat even closer than it originally had been and managed some nice photos while the sweat streamed down my face. While following this bird I also got the most ridiculously prolonged and close-up views of a group of Chestnut-bellied Malkohas and was able to watch them catching cicadas just a few feet away at times. Black-and-red Broadbills were active in the same area, I got some poor photos of Brown-winged Kingfisher and I got very close to a Ruddy Kingfisher but it was scared away by a passing car before I got any decent photos!

The next morning I started in front of the hotel where a fruiting tree was attracting both Black-naped and Black-hooded Orioles as well as Olive-winged Bulbul, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Asian Glossy Starling and a single Pink-necked Green Pigeon. I then spent some time photographing the Rufous-bellied Swallows that had gathered on the wires along the road from the hotel; these attractive birds are quite common at this site and are quite vocal as they perch, preen and feed in flight. My main goal, though was to get some good photos of Ruddy Kingfisher, so I went back to where I had seen it the previous day to try. White-chested Babblers, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha and Brown-winged Kingfisher all made an appearance as did several Mangrove Pittas, two of which just hopped around on the road a few feet away! After enjoying these a phone call from my wife let me know that it was time for breakfast. After breakfast I went back out and chasing the call of Ruddy Kingfisher I found myself in the headquarters area and eventually tracked down a pair one of which obliged me by sitting on the same perch for more than 20 minutes and allowing me to get within about 15 feet: fantastic. I finished off a short, but very hot morning with a couple of Ashy Tailorbirds before joining my wife back at the hotel and taking a cool shower, a break of a few hours and then lunch.

Pacific Reef Egret (Photo by Nick Upton) Lesser Crested Tern (Photo by Nick Upton)

Bor Dan Beach
I was quite curious to take a look at the coastline south of the town of Thai Muang which is an area seldom visited by travellers of any type. The area in general was quite lonely and undeveloped with some interesting patches of habitat. One of the easiest places to access the beach was at Bor Dan where a series of lagoons lay behind a very lonely stretch of beach. My visit was during the intense heat of the day but even then the area had a fair abundance of commoner birds so it could be quite interesting in the early morning.

I only spent 20-30 minutes here but in that time I saw a few Vernal Hanging Parrots, Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters, a Green-billed Malkoha and a nice Pacific Reef Egret that performed in front of me catching an eel-like fish and gobbling it down.

Laem Pakarang
Laem Pakarang is usually a good place to see shorebirds in breeding plumage at this time of the year. However, on arrival I could see that the nature of the spit/coral dump had changed dramatically since my last visit a year before. Instead of being an island, the pile of dead coral was connected to the spit and it was obvious that human disturbance was higher than it had been previously with the construction of a small stone monument. Also there were no birds at all! As the tide went out I did find a group of shorebirds on some rocks that emerged to the west side of the spit - apparently the birds have shifted their roost spot. I spent a nice few hours gradually getting close to a group of birds that included a single Grey-tailed Tattler, lots of Terek Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones as well as both Lesser and Greater Sand Plovers, many in attractive breeding plumage.

With the late afternoon sun this is always a good place for getting photographs of birds and as I was sitting down waiting many of the birds got used to my presence and came quite close. It was not until a group of people came along the beach, being quite noisy and making quick movements did the birds begin to move further away. Just as I was leaving a single tern appeared in the distance and flew towards me, eventually flying around and settling to bathe in the water among the rocks - a nice Lesser Crested Tern. After a pleasant couple of hours we drove the short distance to Takua Pa where we took a nice shower before having an excellent dinner.

Some More Trip Reports Southern Thailand Photography Tour, 8-20th June 2016 Southern Thailand, 5-16th April 2016 Pitta Tour, 23-30th June 2015 Central Thailand, 13th-21st February 2015

Paddyfield Pipit (Photo by Nick Upton)

Ban Tung Yai Meadowlands
I was very curious to visit this area of grasslands and wetlands a very short distance from Takua Pa as recently an Oriental Plover had been seen there and I had been told that it was a good spot for many other birds. I had no pretensions that the Oriental Plover would still be around but I was still interested to see what the site had to offer, having never been there before. A well-known local landmark, "the iron bridge" provided access to the area for me, although I later found that I could have driven further into the area and saved myself an extremely hot walk. However, the iron bridge crosses a wet grassland area where in the early morning Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters and Pacific Swallows were very obvious sitting on nearby wires and a couple of Grey-headed Lapwings were in a damp, muddy patch. A Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler called from the vegetation beneath me and darted out into the open for a few seconds. I crossed the bridge to the opposite side of the nearby river and that is where the habitat opened up, with hedgerows, damp fields with some overgrown vegetation and dry fields with boggy patches. Over the course of a few hours this all proved to be very interesting with a number of species I rarely see in southern Thailand including Dusky Warbler, Oriental Reed Warbler, numerous Red-throated Pipits as well as more Grey-headed Lapwings.

The main highlight for me was seeing River Lapwing at close quarters. This is a species that has suffered badly from habitat degradation and disturbance in SE Asia so it was good to see these birds well, with at the very least, 9 birds being present. There were also quite large numbers of Oriental Pratincoles dotted around the fields and I spent a lot of time watching them at close range along with Pacific Golden Plovers and plenty of Paddyfield Pipits. In some marshy patches a Grey-headed Swamphen and Watercock were nice birds but the heat began to get very intense, even by only 9am so I walked back to the car having had a good few hours of birding.

Laem Pho & Vicinity
On our way back towards Bangkok we did not really know where we would stop but as we passed Surat Thani I saw signposts for an area I had noticed on maps and seemed like it could be interesting. Heading towards Laem Pho we had almost reached where I was heading to when my wife spotted a large market on the sea front. We parked up and she spent some time shopping while I looked around the small area of parkland, shoreline and mangroves that had hoards of people parading around on. Well, even in such circumstances I found Collared Kingfisher, Javan Pond Heron in breeding plumage, a Golden-bellied Gerygone that came so close I wished I had not left the camera in the car, 2 Blue-throated Bee-eaters, a Black-naped Oriole and a collection of common birds such as Coppersmith Barbet and Asian Koel.

After the shopping was done there was still some time to head to the sand spit which was easy to drive out onto as there was a dirt road to a fisherman's slipway. Scouting the coastline here I found a Malaysian Plover, a Terek Sandpiper, Whimbrel and a few Sandplovers. In a mangrove ditch a Ruddy-breasted Crake was feeding and on some coastal grassland a party of Oriental Pratincoles arrived and settled down close to the car. The area seemed to have great potential but in my brief visit most of what I saw were fairly common open country and coastal birds; it was still a nice hour spent at a location I have never visited before.

With it getting late we began the drive north towards Chumphon where we checked into the Morakot Hotel and found some food nearby.

Bird Watching Trips: Southern Thailand trips are usually best between February and June but combining birding with a beach holiday is always possible and a few day trips from either Phuket or Khao lak can usually turn up some excellent birds. Contact me to arrange a birding trip and/or to discuss the best bird watching options for you: nickupton@thaibirding.com

Blue-throated Bee-eater (Photo by Nick Upton)

Phanang Tak Bay
Chumphon has a few spots close to the town where birding can be quite good but I decided to try something different again and go to an area of beach and coastal vegetation that seemed quite quiet from looking at aerial photos. First impressions on arrival were good too with fragments of coastal forest remaining, mangrove remnants and a long beach with no people at all. The coastal vegetation held some resident species such as Asian Barred Owlet, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Racket-tailed Treepie, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and Puff-throated Babbler while on the beach, further along, I could see a group of shorebirds which drew me towards them. A few mangrove trees created a muddy spot where a Striated Heron was stalking fish and Collared Kingfishers were noisily chasing each other around. The shorebirds consisted of a few Grey Plovers, Whimbrel, 2 Common Greenshank and lots of Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers while on the shoreline a found a pair of Malaysian Plovers which were nice to photograph.

Talking of photos I spent quite some time with a group of Bee-eaters that included both Blue-tailed and Blue-throated Bee-eaters, watching them sally from the treetops to catch insects before a Shikra scattered them. A few migrant species came through too with a couple of Chinese Sparrowhawks, Black-capped Kingfisher, Black-naped Oriole, Taiga Flycatcher and Asian Brown Flycatcher. On a better day for migrants I think the area could be quite good but with blue skies it was a good day for migrants to be in flight.

I kept poking around the area and kept adding birds to my day list with a Purple Heron flying out of a small pool, a Pintail Snipe in a ditch, a flyover Western Osprey and lots more Blue-throated Bee-eaters. Once again by 9.30am the heat was quite intense (the maximum temperature on this day was 42C) and sweat was pouring off of me so I retreated to the hotel for a shower and to read my book for a bit.

Laem Hua Mong
Before we left Chumpon I wanted to take a look at Laem Hua Mong, a headland that I could see from Phanang Tak Bay. I did not really expect to see much other than a nice view given the heat but as we drove through some nice coastal habitat a male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher caught my eye. At the headland there were some viewing platforms where we took some touristy photos but I also spotted a few Collared Kingfishers and a Pacific Reef Egret. Furthermore, a scan of the sea revealed a Black-naped Tern fishing about 100 metres offshore and this was also joined by a Greater Crested Tern for comparison. This was a pleasant end to a nice, relaxing trip and we then made the long drive back to Bangkok.

Nick Upton (nickupton@thaibirding.com)

Karon Beach: KB
Soi Lynchee, Karon: SLK
Phang Nga Mangroves: PNM
Bor Dan Beach: BDB
Laem Pakarang: LP

Ban Thung Yai: BTY
Laem Pho & Vicinty: LPV
Phanang Tak Bay: PTB
Laem Hua Mong: LHM

1. Red Junglefowl: 1m at BTY.
2. Asian Openbill: A few at BTY.
3. Yellow Bittern: 1 at BTY.
4. Cinnamon Bittern: 1 at BTY.
5. Striated Heron: PNM, LPV & PTB.
6. Chinese Pond Heron: All sites.
7. Javan Pond Heron: 1 in breeding plumage at LPV.
8. Eastern Cattle Egret: KB, BDB, BTY & PTB.
9. Grey Heron: LP & BTY.
10. Purple Heron: 1 at PTB.
11. Eastern Great Egret: Singles at LP & PTB.
12. Intermediate Egret: A few at BTY & LPV.
13. Little Egret: KB, LP & LPV.
14. Pacific Reef Egret: KB, BDB, LHM.
15. Little Cormorant: KB, BDB, BTY & LPV.
16. Western Osprey: 1 at PTB.
17. Oriental Honey-buzzard: Singles at SLK & BTY.
18. Shikra: 1 at PTB.
19. Japanese Sparrowhawk: 2 at PTB.
20. Brahminy Kite: KB, PNM, BDB, LP & LPV.
21. White-bellied Sea Eagle: Daily at KB.
22. Grey-faced Buzzard: 1 at SLK.
23. White-breasted Waterhen: PNM, BTY & PTB.
24. Ruddy-breasted Crake: 1 at LPV.
25. Watercock: 1f at BTY.
26. Grey-headed Swamphen: 1 at BTY.
27. River Lapwing: 9 at BTY.
28. Grey-headed Lapwing: 7 at BTY.
29. Red-wattled Lapwing: BDB, BTY, LPV & PTB.
30. Pacific Golden Plover: LP, BTY & LPV.
31. Grey Plover: LP, LPV & PTB.
32. Kentish Plover: A few at LPV & PTB.
33. Malaysian Plover: A few at LP, LPV & PTB.
34. Lesser Sand Plover: LP, LPV & PTB.
35. Greater Sand Plover: Quite numerous at LP, LPV & PTB.
36. Pintail Snipe: BTY, LPV & PTB.
37. Whimbrel: Small numbers at LP, LPV & PTB.
38. Common Greenshank: A few at LP & PTB.
39. Wood Sandpiper: 7 at BTY.
40. Grey-tailed Tattler: 1 at LP.
41. Terek Sandpiper: LP, LPV & PTB.
42. Common Sandpiper: All locations.
43. Ruddy Turnstone: Many at LP, 1 at LPV.
44. Red-necked Stint: LP & PTB.
45. Oriental Pratincole: Quite a few at BTY & LPV.
46. Great Crested Tern: 1 at LHM.
47. Lesser Crested Tern: 1 at LP.
48. Black-naped Tern: 1 at LHM.
49. Rock Pigeon
50. Spotted Dove: Common in open country, seen everywhere.
51. Common Emerald Dove: 1 flypast at SLK.
52. Zebra Dove: A few at KB, BTY, LPV & PTB.
53. Pink-necked Green Pigeon: 1ad 2j at KB, 1 at PNM.
54. Greater Coucal: A few at SLK, BTY & PTB.
55. Chestnut-bellied Malkoha: A few at PNM.
56. Green-billed Malkoha: 1 at BDB, 2 at PTB.
57. Asian Koel: KB, PNM, BTY, LPV & PTB.
58. Plaintive Cuckoo: 1 at SLK.
59. Asian Barred Owlet: 2 at PTB.
60. Pale-rumped (Germain's) Swiftlet: All locations.
61. Asian Palm Swift: All locations.
62. Indian Roller: KB, LPV & PTB.
63. Brown-winged Kingfisher: A few at PNM.
64. Ruddy Kingfisher: A pair at PNM.
65. White-throated Kingfisher: LP, BTY, LPV & PTB.

66: Black-capped Kingfisher: 2 at PTB.
67. Collared Kingfisher: KB, LPV, PTB & LHM.
68. Common Kingfisher: Singles at PNM, LP, LPV & PTB.
69. Blue-throated Bee-eater: LPV & PTB.
70. Blue-tailed Bee-eater: 15 at PTB.
71. Chestnut-headed Bee-eater: KB, BDB & BTY.
72. Lineated Barbet: LP, BTY, LPV & PTB.
73. Red-throated Barbet: 1 at SLK.
74. Blue-eared Barbet: 1 at SLK& 1 at BTY.
75. Coppersmith Barbet: KB, PNM, BTY & LPV.
76. Peregrine Falcon: 1 at KB.
77. Vernal Hanging Parrot: PNM, BDB & BTY.
78. Black-and-red Broadbill: 2 pairs at PNM.
79. Mangrove Pitta: At least 4 at PNM.
80. Golden-bellied Gerygone: 1 at LPV.
81. Common Iora: All locations.
82. Ashy Minivet: A few in flight at KB & PNM.
83. Mangrove Whistler: 1 at PNM.
84. Brown Shrike (confusus): KB, PNM, BTY & LPV.
85. Black-naped Oriole: A few at KB, PNM, BTY, LPV & BTY.
86. Black-hooded Oriole: A few at PNM.
87. Black Drongo: BDB, BTY, LPV & PTB.
88. Crow-billed Drongo: 1 at SLK.
89. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo: 2 at PTB.
90. Pied Fantail: 1 at BDB & 1 at LP.
91. Racket-tailed Treepie: 3 at PTB.
92. Large-billed Crow: At all locations.
93. Black-headed Bulbul: A few, SLK.
94. Black-crested Bulbul: A few, SLK.
95. Stripe-throated Bulbul: A few at PTB.
96. Yellow-vented Bulbul: KB, PNM, BDB, BTY & LPV.
97. Streak-eared Bulbul: All locations.
98. Red-eyed Bulbul: A few at SLK.
99. Pacific Swallow: All locations.
100. Rufous-bellied Swallow: Numerous at PNM.
101. Dusky Warbler: Singles at BTY & LPV.
102. Pale-legged Leaf Warbler: 1 at PNM.
103. Sakhalin Leaf Warbler: 1 at PNM & 1 at PTB.
104. Oriental Reed Warbler: A few at BTY.
105. Black-browed Reed Warbler: A few at BTY.
106. Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler: 1 at BTY.
107. Common Tailorbird: KB, BDB, BTY & LPV.
108. Dark-necked Tailorbird: SLK, PNM & PTB.
109. Ashy Tailorbird: 2 at PNM.
110. White-chested Babbler: 2 at PNM.
111. Puff-throated Babbler: 1 at PTB.
112. Asian Glossy Starling: KB, PNM, BTY & PTB.
113. White-vented Myna: BDB, LPV & PTB.
114. Common Myna: Common at all sites.
115. Oriental Magpie Robin: Most open areas.
116. Asian Brown Flycatcher: KB, PNM & PTB.
117. Yellow-rumped Flycatcher: 1m at LHM.
118. Taiga Flycatcher: 1 at PTB.
119. Orange-bellied Flowerpecker: 1m at SLK.
120. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker: Most locations.
121. Brown-throated Sunbird: All locations.
122. Olive-backed Sunbird: PTB.
123. Crimson Sunbird: 1m at SLK.
124. Little Spiderhunter: 1 at SLK.
125. Eurasian Tree Sparrow: All open and urban areas.
126. Baya Weaver: BTY.
127. Scaly-breasted Munia: KB & BTY.
128. Eastern Yellow Wagtail: BTY.
129. Richard's Pipit: 1 at BTY & 1 at LPV.
130. Paddyfield Pipit: BTY & LPV.
131. Red-throated Pipit: Quite numerous at BTY.

Nick Upton can be contacted at nickupton@thaibirding.com

More information on Ao Phang Nga

More information on Laem Pakarang

If you are interested in arranging a bird watching tour you can see some suggested itineraries here - Birdwatching Trips - and you can contact me at the above email address to discuss the best options.

Email me at nickupton@thaibirding.com

Home
Guiding
Locations
Trip Reports
Checklists
Ornithology
Articles & Reviews
Birding Videos
Recommended Hotels
Thaibirding T-Shirts
FAQ