Chumpon Raptor Watch & Petchaburi Wetlands, 21st-25th October 2011

Introduction
Jools Tolboom contacted me saying that he would be in Bangkok for a conference in October and would like to do some birding whilst visiting. He explained that his main interest was in raptors. Well, I told him, he was in luck because the end of October is just about the peak raptor migration time in Thailand and a short trip to Chumpon to join the Raptor Watch would be his type of thing. So that we didn't just end up racing to and from Chumpon (which is about a 5 hour drive from Bangkok) we decided to also do some birding in wetlands in Petchaburi province on the way and on the way back.l.

Car Hire
We used a 2-door Toyota Vigo from Thairentacar which I collected at their downtown, Bangkok, branch at Petchaburi road, which is open 24 hours. This was a good, sturdy vehicle which allowed us to travel comfortably at high speeds on the highway and not have to worry about hitting potholes.

Road Quality
The roads between Bangkok and Chumpon are largely in good condition and access to all the sites we visited was possible with a saloon car. Driving on the roads in Thailand can be quite dangerous so it is advisable not to drive at night.

Accommodation
We stayed 1 nights at the pleasant Morakot Hotel in Chumpon, 1 night at a small resort at Tung Wua Laen beach, Chumpon, and 2 nights at the Sun Hotel in Petchaburi.

Food
Decent breakfasts were available in the mornings at all the places we stayed. There are lots of places to eat in the night market in Chumpon but foolishly we went into an air conditioned restaurant close to the market which served very mediocre food at inflated prices. We found excellent food at a restaurant at Tung Wua Laen beach and at the Sun Hotel.

Lunch is a problem when raptor watching at Khao Dinsor (Pencil Hill) as one must take a stiff walk up the hill and walking down during the day would miss the best raptor migratory waves. With this in mind some sort of packed lunch is essential.

Notes on Finding Birds
The nature of the majority of the birding on this trip made finding birds very easy indeed. At the raptor watch sites simply finding a good spot with a wide field of view towards the north (the direction from which the raptors were approaching) was sufficient along with a little patience. Out in the open areas of the salt pans and rice fields simply moving around and scanning for birds was enough - very easy birding!

Finding birds at Khao Look Chang was quite tricky at this time of year due to heavy foliage and low levels of bird activity, which is typical in woodland and forest areas at this time of year.

Bird Calls
We hardly used any bird calls at all on this trip. I mimicked the call of Puff-throated Babbler and Asian Barred Owlet and used call playback for Black-headed Woodpecker and Rufous Treepie, all at Khao Look Chang.

Bird calls used were from The Birds of Tropical Asia and a few calls downloaded from Xena Canto.

Field Guides
1. A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand by Craig Robson
2. Guide to the Birds of Thailand by Philip D. Round & Boonsong Lekagul
3. Raptors of the World by James Ferguson-Lees & David Christie

Birding Highlights

Tung Bang Jak: Black Baza, Asian Golden Weaver, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Watercock, Black Bittern, Cinnamon Bittern,
Wat Khao Takrao: Spot-billed Pelican, Painted Stork, Black Kite.
Radar Hill: Black Baza, Greater Spotted Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Booted Eagle.
Pencil Hill: Black Baza, Greater Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, Pied Harrier.
Nong Yai: Vinous-breasted Starling, Purple-backed Starling, Grey-headed Lapwing, Pacific Swallow.
Khao Sam Roi Yot: White-bellied Sea Eagle, Malaysian Plover, Terek Sandpiper.
Khao Look Chang: Black-headed Woodpecker, Asian Barred Owlet.
Laem Pak Bia: Red-necked Phalarope, Heuglin's Gull, Slaty-breasted Rail, White-shouldered Starling, Indian Nightjar.
Wat Komnaram: Milky Stork, Grey-headed Lapwing, Black-headed Ibis.
Pak Thale: Eastern Curlew, Great Knot.

Birding Diary

21st October: I met Jules at the Pullman Bangkok Grande Sukhumvit, at 5am and we headed straight towards the rice fields at Tung Bang Jak close to the town of Petchaburi; we made very good time arriving around 6.30am. We stopped along a road where I had noticed some weavers and we got very lucky with a couple of male Asian Golden Weavers still in breeding plumage although it was clear that they were just beginning their moult into winter plumage. Standing in one spot we saw lots of common open country species such as Green Bee-eater, Asian Openbill, Little Egret, Black-winged Stilt, Red Collared Dove as well as the less common Plain-backed Sparrow. We also saw out first two raptor species of the trip, the residents Brahminy Kite and Black-shouldered Kite.

We moved along to the regular mid winter raptor watch spot but this really only comes into its own when the rice has been harvested so we did not expect too much of the location. However, we immediately found a field where a male Eastern Marsh Harrier was sat preening and shortly after a migratory Japanese Sparrowhawk sped past us! With Jules being a raptor man these two species excited him a lot. Staring into the light we decided to move around the huge rice field in the car and stopping at various spots we found some nice birds including a Bronze-winged Jacana with chicks, a Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, some Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, a couple of Oriental Reed Warblers in fine fresh plumage and a Black-browed Reed Warbler which very uncharacteristically showed itself well a couple of times. I also spotted some more raptors for Jules including 4 Grey-faced Buzzards, 2 Oriental Honey Buzzards and 3 more Eastern Marsh Harriers whilst Jules spotted a passing flock of 10 Black Bazas.

So far our raptor trip was going well with a total of 7 species inside the first two hours!

We moved around the rice fields and fish ponds stopping here and there finding plenty of new birds including a Black Bittern flying past, a female Watercock flushed from a field, a Streaked Weaver, Purple Herons, Pheasant-tailed Jacanas and a fishing Osprey.

The day was beginning to heat up as we headed to Wat Khao Takrao where I hoped to find some large waterbirds. We were in luck with 12 Spot-billed Pelicans hanging around (they are usually gone by mid November) and a flock of Painted Storks. Nearby we also had nice views of a large flock of Lesser Whistling Ducks which included around 40 fledged ducklings. Some Yellow-vented Bulbuls made us work hard for a view but a group of around 30 Black Kites (race lineatus, sometimes considered a full species - Black-eared Kite) gave Jules his 9th raptor species of the morning.

We decided it was time to think about making the drive south but made a little time to look out for more raptors in the rice fields. We saw a few distant Oriental Honey Buzzards, plenty of Brahminy and Black-shouldered Kites and a single govinda Black Kite as well as a Peregrine Falcon.

With the heat increasing and bird activity dropping off we stopped for a quick lunch in Big C supermarket in Petchaburi and started driving south towards Chumpon.

The plan was to stop at the first raptor watchpoint, Radar Hill, as we would reach it first and it was right next to the highway. The turning to Radar Hill is on the left just before the Khao Po service station, still in Prachuab Kirir Khan province. When we went there was a large Raptor Watch Festival sign indicating the turning. After that we simply drove up the hill and parked in the small area at the top. There was a small group of friendly Thai birders already there and a glance at my watch told me it was 4pm and the view was great. We arrived moments after a small storm and migration suddenly took off! Over the next few hours we saw very large numbers of migrating raptors with numbers of Black Bazas being somewhere around 5000 birds. There were also large numbers of Grey-faced Buzzards, Japanese Sparrowhawks and Oriental Honey Buzzards, indeed, these four species were to make up the large bulk of the migrating raptors we were to see over the next few days. Most people were watching with binoculars and cameras but I used my telescope which allowed me to spot the raptors well in advance and point out smaller numbers of Chinese Sparrowhawks, a Crested Goshawk and a Greater Spotted Eagle to Jules. Some of the birds came spectacularly close and a Crested Serpent Eagle appeared in front of us from nowhere at one point.

Raptor watching at Radar Hill provided easy access and excellent viewing into the far distance and at least 180 degrees visibility.

After this we travelled the 75 kilometres to Chumpon and checked into the Morakot Hotel and had dinner.

22nd October: We woke up to the most suboptimal raptor watching weather you could possibly imagine; low grey cloud and rain! Well, there was certainly no need to rush and we lazily had breakfast from the buffet provided. We also bumped into Robert DeCandido whose directions in the article "Khao Dinsor, Thailand: the premier site to observe migrating raptors in the Orient?" we were to follow to find Pencil Hill (Khao Dinsor in Thai but I will use the English translation here) and a number of other birders attending the Raptor Watch Festival.

Due to the truly awful weather we did not hurry to Pencil Hill, but instead checked out a small patch of wetlands close to Chumpon Sports Stadium. Every time I visit this area has become slightly smaller and this was no different. Still, we got some very good views of Grey-headed Lapwing, Purple Swamphen (sometimes dubiously split as Black-backed Swamphen), Yellow Bittern, Lesser Whistling Duck, Purple Heron and Lineated Barbet after which time the weather began to improve and we headed to Pencil Hill. Following the accurate directions in Robert DeCandido & Chukiat Nualsri's article, we found the Raptor Watch site easily. Large numbers of people were present and a noisy opening ceremony was proceeding. We quickly headed up the trail.

It should be noted that the trail up Pencil Hill is a fairly steep walk of 30+ minutes but the trail is very slippery with a steeply sloping concrete base which has rocks imbedded in it for some stretches and very few for others. On our visit it had been raining and the trail was quite dangerous; people with restricted mobility or overweight would find this trail quite dangerous in wet conditions.

We managed to get up without accidents and joined a small crowd of birders at the third shelter. Raptor migration was slow at first due to the poor weather but as soon as things dried up raptors began to move. Peak raptor migration was between 10am and 2pm and once again most birds were Black Baza, Grey-faced Buzzard, Oriental Honey Buzzard and Japanese Sparrowhawk with good numbers also of Chinese Sparrowhawk. Once again, a telescope helped me spot raptors much earlier than others and this enabled us to pick up a few rarer species such as Eastern Marsh Harrier (2juv females) and Greater Spotted Eagle (2). Undoubtedly the highlight for us was a great view of a male Pied Harrier and excellent views of 4 Booted Eagles were also good. Another interesting bird was a Peregrine that had many people confused; originally diagnosed by myself and a few other European birders as a Peregrine others confused it with a Northern Hobby because of heavy streaking on the breast. However, shape left it unmistakably a Peregrine but still it got confused as the race ernesti when in fact it was just a heavily streaked juvenile japonicus as it had a clear moustache.

Overall raptor watching at Pencil Hill on one of the main days of the Raptor Festival was fun because of the large number of birds and other birders. Being in a group where some people had telescopes and others had cameras was good for spotting birds early and getting photos to help with difficult identification. Having said that, variety of species was very low and I have to confess to getting a little weary of looking at the large number of very difficult to identify Accipiters.

At about 4.30pm raptor migration had died down and an approaching thunder storm made most observers head down the hill. The storm broke as we were halfway down and made the trail extremely slippery and dangerous. It took all my concentration and energy to get down safely and we were fortunate that Chukiat Nualsri helped Jules get down without accident. Thanks Chukiat!

Having reached the car safely we arranged some accommodation at nearby Tung Wua Laen beach and then drove back towards Chumpon town to visit Nong Yai King's Project.

The easiest way to access this site is to drive to Chumpon railway station and cross the railway. Turn right and head along the road with the railway on your right. Eventually you get to a large left hand turning near a museum, take this left and head uphill a little, then follow the signs to Nong Yai King's Project. Cross the large canal for the best habitat in the area marked on the map.

We found some nice birds here including Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Grey-headed Lapwing, Pacific Swallows, Asian Openbill and a large roost of Vinous-breasted Starlings which are unusually common in Chumpon; we also found 1 Purple-backed Starling amongst this group and given Chumpon's reputation as a haven for migratory starlings this roost would be worth checking out at other times. The three Red-breasted Parakeets we saw here are likely to be a relict population of wild birds, I have been informed, rather than the escapes I initially assumed them to be.

Standing at Nong Yai with dusk approaching was interesting with large numbers of egrets and pond herons heading to roost with the sun setting in the background. We also saw one more new species; a pair of Pink-necked Green Pigeons, before going to eat dinner.

23rd October: With a stop at Radar Hill planned for more raptor migration we felt no need to get up too early and had a nice breakfast before making the 30 minute journey north. When we arrived at radar hill the weather conditions were once again not great for raptor migration with cloud and spells of rain. However, we once again saw good numbers of Japanese Sparrowhawk, Grey-faced Buzzard, Oriental Honey Buzzard and Black Baza. Excellent views of Crested Serpent Eagle, a Crested Goshawk and a Peregrine made for some variety before we decided to head off just before midday with a stop at Khao Sam Roi Yot national park our next destination to try and find Jules a White-bellied Sea Eagle.

It took somewhere in the region of two to two and a half hours for us to reach Khao Sam Roi Yot and as we drove in I spotted a large raptor in the air. We jumped out of the car and very quickly realized that this was indeed a White-bellied Sea Eagle, which was joined by a second bird. Both the eagles performed nicely for us and their wings held high forming a deep V made them easy to id even at long range. After paying the park entrance fee we stopped at a beach close to HQ where we quickly found some Malaysian Plovers and a couple of Terek Sandpipers, getting good views of both. From the beach Jules spotted another White-bellied Sea Eagle soaring over the limestone mountains.

Unfortunately, the rest of our afternoon at Khao Sam Roy Yot didn't really prove as successful with virtually all the habitat destroyed and under cultivation for shrimp farms. Over the years habitat destruction has become worse and worse here, making a mockery of the status of national park, with some luxury homes built on the beach and even a housing estate under construction on what used to be an interesting wetland. We did see plenty of commoner waders; Curlew Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, but nothing else of note. We had an unsuccessful search for Oriental Hobby amongst the limestone outcrops before heading off to our accommodation at Petchaburi. Khao Sam Roy Yot hardly seems worth visiting these days with much better birding in the wetlands around Petchaburi.

Bird Watching Trips To Chumpon & Petchaburi: Chumpon is best visited in October for the annual raptor watch festival when tens of thousands of birds can be seen in a single day. Wetlands near Petchaburi are good all year round but during the dry season many winter visitors are present. A few days here is a great option from Bangkok or as part of a longer birdwatching tour of Thailand. Contact me to arrange a birding trip and/or to discuss the best bird watching options for you: nickupton@thaibirding.com

24th October: This morning was about finding an Asian Barred Owlet for Jules at Khao Look Chang, a small area of dry dipterocarp forest that was discovered by David Scott. We left the Sun Hotel at 6.30 am and arrived at Khao Look Chang at 7.10am. Heading to the appointed spot we quickly found the reliable Black-headed Woodpeckers, a group of four, together with Rufous Treepie and both Greater and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrushes. This is one of the most beautiful woodpeckers in Thailand and a bird that I consistently see at Khao Look Chang - however, it is not easy, one needs to know the right spot!

Asian Barred Owlet caused as a little more problem but eventually we had fine, telescope views, for prolonged periods. Other species we found included Racket-tailed Treepie, Puff-throated Babbler and Lineated Barbet.

Having had a successful spell at Khao Look Chang we moved on to Laem Pak Bia to check out shorebirds and open country species in the area; the drive took about 1 hour. We started at a scrubby piece of wetland just before Had Chao Samran beach where we were able to get good views of a couple of juvenile Eastern Marsh Harriers, a couple of Grey-headed Lapwings and a single Black-headed (Chestnut) Munia.

After lunch we spent time in both Laem Pak Bia and Pak Thale districts taking a look at shorebirds. A large number of species were found including 1 Far Eastern Curlew among a flock of 250+ Eurasian Curlews, 1 Red-necked Phalarope, c1800 Great Knot, c10 Red Knot, 5 Dunlin and many other common species. Gulls and terns that had returned included 1 Heuglin's Gull, 1 Black-headed Gull and around 200 Brown-headed Gulls plus Great Crested, Little, Common, Whiskered, Gull-billed and 1 White-winged Tern.

However, it was our stop at Wat Komnaram that produced the best bird of the day in the form of a Milky Stork. This was with a group of Painted Storks and with the knowledge that there are sometimes leucistic Painted Storks that closely resemble Milky, we examined the bird with much scrutiny. We were able to get great views and confirm the id of this bird. At the same site we also came across 36 Grey-headed Lapwings and a few singing Oriental Skylarks. We also managed to add Common Kestrel to our raptor list here.

With the day growing old I decided that we would make out final stop at the King's Project, Laem Pak Bia, to see what was lurking in the experimental reedbeds. As usual we were able to get good views of both Common and Pintail Snipe skulking in the wet areas; these are easy to identify in flight as the Pintail Snipe has dark under the wings and no white in the trailing edge of the wings. However, on the ground the best feature to observe is the steep, square forehead of the PIntail Snipe, plus relatively short bill, against the gently sloping forehead of the Common Snipe. We were able to see these features nicely through the telescope. I was expecting crakes at this spot but the only one to put in an appearance on this occasion was a splendid Slaty-breasted Rail.

With dusk quickly approaching I ushered Jules over to another part of the King's Project where a tree often hosts flocks of starlings as they come in to roost (this tree has been consequently cut down along with most of the others in the King's Project, during works in 2011-2012). We were successful in seeing a small party of White-shouldered Starlings as they gathered before flying off into the mangroves. By now it was dark but time for just one more bird - an Indian Nightjar in the headlights, viewed at a range of about 3 metres as it sat in the road.

Half an hour later we were drinking beer and ordering our dinner!

Other Raptor Pages Khao Dinsor, Thailand: the premier site to observe migrating raptors in the Orient? Raptor Migration in Thailand. Timing and abundance of Grey-faced Buzzards Butastur indicus and other raptors on northbound migration in southern Thailand, spring 2007–2008. Autumn 2003 raptor migration at Yang Chum, Prachuab Khiri Khan province, Thailand. Spring migration of Oriental Honey-buzzards Pernis ptilorhyncus and other raptors at Tanjung Tuan, Malaysia, 2000–2001. Autumn 2003 raptor migration at Chumphon, Thailand: a globally significant raptor migration watch site.

25th October: For our last day of birding together we decided to head back out into the rice fields around Petchaburi to see if we could find any more flocks of migrating raptors. As we toured around the large area of agriculture we came spotted a number of the raptor species that we had seen before but added no new species to our list of raptors; 3 Oriental Honey Buzzards, 3 Black-eared Kites, 2 Grey-faced Buzzards, 4 Eastern Marsh Harriers, several Black-shouldered Kites, a Peregrine Falcon and a number of Brahminy Kites.

We made the short drive back to Wat Khao Takrao to see if there was any sign of the large numbers of Kites that had been present a few days earlier, hoping that there may be other raptors with them, but we were out of luck, however, present in one small pool were a total of 109 Spot-billed Pelicans which was quite an amazing sight.

The rice fields always offer good birding at any time of year and our day total of species must have been very high with raptors, open country species, wetland birds and others seen. We added a few species to our list that had eluded us so far on the trip; 1 female Cotton Pygmy Goose, a couple of Lesser Coucals in the road, 2 male Cinnamon Bitterns, 3 Long-tailed Shrikes, Common Iora, Red-rumped Swallow, Zitting Cisticola, Baya Weaver, White-rumped Munia and Scaly-breasted Munia.

Our final stop took us to Khao Yoi where I thought we had an outside chance of finding Oriental Hobby on the limestone cliffs. We had a moment of excitement as a medium-sized falcon swooped past us and then later landed on the cliffs. We managed to find the bird using the telescope but unfortunately it turned out to be a male Peregrine falcon. Our final bird of the trip was a Blue Rock Thrush, spotted at the very top of the limestone cliffs, before we decided to head back to Bangkok and a well-earned shower.

A total of nineteen species of raptor was very pleasing and the total of 179 species was quite high considering that we had limited our options by visiting only a few different types of habitat and focusing our efforts on raptors.

Nick Upton (nickupton@thaibirding.com)

Tung Bang Jak: TBJ
Wat Khao Takrao: WKT
Radar Hill: RH
Pencil Hill: PH
Nong Yai: NY

Khao Sam Roi Yot: KSRY
Khao Look Chang: KLC
Laem Pak Bia: LPB
Wat Komnaram: WKN
Pak Thale: PT

1. Lesser Whistling Duck: a150 at WKT.
2. Cotton Pygmy Goose: 1f at TBJ.
3. Little Grebe: A few at TBJ.
4. Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker: 1 at TBJ.
5. Black-headed Woodpecker: 4 at KLC.
6. Lineated Barbet: 4 near Chumpon & 1 at KLC.
7. White-throated Kingfisher: Common at all wetlands.
8. Black-capped Kingfisher: TBJ, WKT, LPB & PT.
9. Collared Kingfisher: 2 at KSRY & 1 at LPB.
10. Common Kingfisher: 1 at KSRY & 1 at LPB.
11. Green Bee-eater: Fairly common at TBJ, LPB & KSRY.
12. Blue-tailed Bee-eater: Many migrating at all sites.
13. Greater Coucal: 1 at King's project, LPB.
14. Lesser Coucal: 2 on the road, TBJ.
15. Plaintive Cuckoo: 2j at TBJ.
16. Asian Koel: 1m at NY & 1m at TBJ.
17. Green-billed Malkoha: 2 at TBJ.
18. Indian Roller: Common in open areas.
19. Dollarbird: 1 at RH.
20. Red-breasted Parakeet: 3 at NY.
21. Common Hoopoe: 1 at King's project, LPB.
22. Germain's Swiftlet: Many at all sites.
23. Asian Palm Swift: Common at TBJ, KSRY, LPB, PT.
24. Fork-tailed Swift: 30-40 at PH.
25. Brown-backed Needletail: a10 at PH.
26. Barn Owl: 1 at King's project, LPB.
27. Asian Barred Owlet: 1 at KLC.
28. Indian Nightjar: 2 at King's project, LPB.
29. Feral Pigeon: Common.
30. Spotted Dove: Common.
31. Red-collared Dove: Common at TBJ, LPB, PT & KSRY.
32. Peaceful Dove: Common.
33. Pink-necked Green Pigeon: 2f at NY.
34. White-breasted Waterhen: A few at TBJ & LPB.
35. Watercock: 1f at TBJ.
36. Purple Swamphen: a10 near Chumpon.
37. Common Moorhen: A few at TBJ, LPB & KSRY.
38. Slaty-breasted Rail: 1 in King's project, LPB.
39. Pintail Snipe: 2 at King's project, LPB.
40. Common Snipe: 6 at King's project, LPB.
41. Eastern Black-tailed Godwit: a150 at PT.
42. Whimbrel: a10 at PT.
43. Eurasian Curlew: a250 at PT.
44. Eastern Curlew: 1 at PT.
45. Pheasant-tailed Jacana: a40 at TBJ.
46. Bronze-winged Jacana: a50 at TBJ.
47. Spotted Redshank: A few at PT.
48. Common Redshank: a40 at KSRY.
49. Marsh Sandpiper: Common at KSRY, LPB & PT.
50. Common Greenshank: A few at KSRY, PT, LPB & WKN.
51. Wood Sandpiper: Common in all wetlands.
52. Terek Sandpiper: 2 at KSRY.
53. Common Sandpiper: A few at TBJ, KSRY, PT & LPB.
54. Ruddy Turnstone: 2 at KSRY.
55. Red Knot: a10 at PT.
56. Great Knot: 1500+ at PT.
57. Red-necked Stint: Flocks of a500 at KSRY, LPB & PT.
58. Temminck's Stint: 4, LPB.
59. Long-toed Stint: a150 at KSRY.
60. Dunlin: 5 at PT.
61. Curlew Sandpiper: a30 at KSRY & a60 at PT.
62. Broad-billed Sandpiper: A few at KSRY & PT.
63. Red-necked Phalarope: 1 at LPB.
64. Black-winged Stilt: Common in all wetlands.
65. Little Ringed Plover: A few at KSRY & LPB.
66. Kentish Plover: Small groups at KSRY, LPB & PT.
67. Malaysian Plover: 4 at KSRY.
68. Lesser Sand Plover: Flocks of 300+ at KSRY, LPB & PT.
69. Greater Sand Plover: a100 at PT.
70. Oriental Pratincole: TBJ & NY.
71. Pacific Golden Plover: a10 at KSRY & a30 at LPB.
72. Grey Plover: 2 at LPB.
73. Grey-headed Lapwing: NY, WKN, LPB & TBJ.
74. Red-Wattled Lapwing: TBJ, WKT, WKN, LPB, PT & NY.
75. Heuglin's Gull: 1 second winter at LPB.
76. Brown-headed Gull: a200 at PT & LPB.
77. Black-headed Gull: 1 at PT.
78. Great Crested Tern: 12 near PT.
79. Common Tern: a500 at PT & LPB.
80. Gull-billed Tern: a15 at PT.
81. Little Tern: a12 at LPB.
82. Whiskered Tern: Common at PT & LPB. A few at TBJ.
83. White-winged Tern: 1 at LPB. 2 at TBJ.
84. Black Baza: 10 at TBJ. 5000+ at RH. 1000+ at PH.
85. Oriental Honey-buzzard: TBJ, RH & PH.
86. Black-eared Kite: A few at TBJ. a20 at WKT.
87. Brahminy Kite: Common at TBJ, WKT, LPB & PT.
88. White-bellied Sea Eagle: 3 at KSRY.
89. Osprey: 1 at TBJ.
90. Eastern Marsh Harrier: A total of 10 including 1 adult male at TBJ. Others seen at TBJ, LPB & PH.

91. Pied Harrier: 1 male at PH.
92. Shikra: a10 at PH; 1j at KLC.
93. Chinese Sparrowhawk: a10 at RH; a50 at PH.
94. Japanese Sparrowhawk: a100 at RH; a300 at PH.
95. Crested Goshawk: 2 at RH.
96. Grey-faced Buzzard: 4 at TBJ; a150 at RH; a400 at PH.
97 Greater Spotted Eagle: 1j at RH. 1ad & 1j at PH.
98. Crested Serpent Eagle: 3 at RH.
99. Booted Eagle: 4 at PH; 1 at RH, all dark morph.
100. Black-shouldered Kite: Common at TBJ.
101. Peregrine Falcon: A few, TBJ, PH, RH.
102. Common Kestrel: 1f at KLC; 1m & 1f at LPB.
103. Little Cormorant: Common in wetlands.
104. Indian Cormorant: 2 at TBJ.
105. Little Egret: Common in wetlands.
106. Great Egret: A few at all wetlands.
107. Intermediate Egret: A few in most wetlands.
108. Eastern Cattle Egret: Fairly abundant.
109. Grey Heron: Fairly common at KSRY & WKT.
110. Purple Heron: Fairly common at TBJ; 1 near Chumpon.
111. Chinese Pond Heron: Common in most wetlands.
112. Javan Pond Heron: Common in most wetlands.
113. Black-crowned Night Heron: Many at LPB.
114. Little Heron: 2 at LPB.
115. Yellow Bittern: 3 near Chumpon.
116. Cinnamon Bittern: 1 at TBJ.
117. Black Bittern: 1 at TBJ.
118. Black-headed Ibis: 6 at WKN.
119. Milky Stork: 1 at WKN.
120. Painted Stork:About 50 at WKT; a20 at WKN; a20 PT.
121. Asian Openbill: Many at TBJ; a20 at NY.
122. Spot-billed Pelican: 13 at WKT on 21st & 109 on 25th.
123. Brown Shrike: Common in all open areas.
124. Long-tailed Shrike: 3 at TBJ.
125. Black Drongo: Common at all sites.
126. Ashy Drongo: 1 leucogenis at TBJ & 1 nigrescens at RH.
127. Spangled Drongo: 4 at KLC.
128. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo: 8 at KLC.
129. Eastern Jungle (Large-billed) Crow: A few at TBJ.
130. Rufous Treepie: 2 at KLC.
131. Racket-tailed Treepie: 1 at KLC; 1 at TB.
132. Black-naped Oriole: 1 at PH; 2 at KLC.
133. Ashy Minivet: a10 at PH.
134. Pied Fantail: Fairly common in open country.
135. Common Iora:2 at TBJ.
136. Blue Rock Thrush:1 at Khao Yoi.
137. Asian Brown Flycatcher: 2 at KLC.
138. Taiga (Red-throated) Flycatcher: A few at KLC.
139. Oriental Magpie Robin: A few at TBJ.
140. Eastern Stonechat: A few, TBJ.
141. Ashy Woodswallow: A few at KSRY & TBJ.
142. Asian Pied Starling: Common in open country.
143. Purple-backed Starling: 1 at NY.
144. White-shouldered Starling: a15 at King's project, LPB.
145. Vinous-breasted Starling: a100 pre-roost at NY.
146. Common Myna: Common in open country and towns.
147. White-vented Myna: Common in open country.
148. Barn Swallow: Common at all sites.
149. Pacific Swallow: 3 at NY.
150. Red-rumped Swallow: 2 at TBJ.
151. Black-headed Bulbul: 3 at KLC.
152. Streak-eared Bulbul: A few at LPB, KLC & TBJ.
153. Yellow-vented Bulbul: 6 at WKT.
154. Golden-bellied Gerygone: 2 at King's project, LPB.
155. Zitting Cisticola: 3 at TBJ.
156. Yellow-bellied Prinia: 1 at TBJ.
157. Plain Prinia: A few, LPB & TBJ.
158. Common Tailorbird: 1 at PT; 2 at KLC.
159. Black-browed Reed Warbler: 1 at TBJ.
160. Oriental Reed Warbler: A few at TBJ.
161. Yellow-browed Warbler: 1 at KLC.
162. Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush: 3 at KLC.
163. Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush: 2 at KLC.
164. Puff-throated Babbler: 1 at KLC.
165. Brown-throated Sunbird:1male at TBJ.
166. Olive-backed Sunbird:2f at KLC.
167. Richard's Pipit: 14 at LPB.
168. Paddyfield Pipit:A few at NY, PT, LPB & TBJ.
169. Indochinese Bushlark:3 at LPB.
170. Yellow Wagtail: A few at KSRY & TBJ.
171. House Sparrow: Several at LPB & TBJ.
172. Plain-backed Sparrow: A few at TBJ.
173. Eurasian Tree Sparrow: Common around buildings.
174. Streaked Weaver: 1 at TBJ.
175. Baya Weaver: Common at TBJ.
176. Asian Golden Weaver: A few at TBJ.
177. White-rumped Munia: 6 at TBJ.
178. Scaly-breasted Munia: A few at TBJ.
179. Chestnut Munia: 1 at LPB.

Nick Upton can be contacted at nickupton@thaibirding.com

More information on Khao Sam Roi Yot
More information on Petchaburi Rice Fields

More information on Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale

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

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