Khao Yai and Kaengkrachan, 9th-15th of January, 2022

Participants: Walter Bachman and Roger Greminger, Peter Ericsson

Some folks I see regularly. One of them is Walter Bachman from Switzerland. We have been together twice to West Papua, once to Sulawesi and Halmahera and a couple of times in Thailand.

Walter is a nature lover and thrives on what Mother Nature has to offer whether it is in the sea, on land or in the air. His camera is ready at all times.

This time Walter managed to find a niche in the many restrictions and booked himself to a tropical island on the Western side of Southern Thailand. Here he lives on the beach with access to many forms of habitat.

But Walter wanted to visit Khai Yai and Kaengkrachan so arrangements were made.

Walter is not interested in long lists or poor sightings. He wants good views, photographic opportunites and certain special birds.

We met up at a nice restaurant/hotel near my home for supper. Walter had company with him. A Swiss restaurant owner, Roger Greminger. Roger wanted to chil in a tropical surrounding away from cold Switzerland. A few craft beers, some fusion food and discussing plans.

Day 1. Pick-up at the hotel and off to a site in Pathum Thani with experimental rice beds.
Here a family of Barn Owls had made a broken palm tree their home and gave good opportunity for photography. Next to the tree was a perfectly watered field with many birds showing in glowing morning light. Stilts, Egrets, Herons, Waders, Kingfishers, Swallows, Weavers…..we could have stayed on for long.

But we wanted to visit a temple ground North of Salaburi for Rufous Wren Babbler (a bird with a very small distribution range) so we had to move on.

The temple is set in picturesque limestone with jagged outcrops. Temple dogs greet you with their barking and birds are singing from the surrounding rocks and trees. BUT you need to be early. This time we got there slightly late and it took quite some time to get on to the Babblers, but get on to them we did.

Another drive followed to the entrance of Khao Yai National Park where we arrived late morning. Birdlife is not that active in the heat of the day but there were many interesting butterflies by the stream near headquarters.

We did see and hear things like Blue-eared, Moustached and Green-eared Barbets, Pied Hornbill, Crested Serpent Eagle, Fairy Bluebirds, various Bulbuls etc.

A late lunch and onwards to Khao Kaew Radar station. A Black Eagle was present and after much looking we saw 2 male Silver Pheasants next to the road. Walter chased after them with his camera while I followed in the car.

The day ended watching a squadron of 30-40 Brown-backed Needletails as they looped around a lake dropping down to drink and a quick dip in the waters. A real spectacle it was!

Night in a quaint hotel outside the park and some genuine local barbecue chicken, roasted fish, papaya salad and cold beers.

Day 2.

The main target for today was Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo (not a sniff even) and a pair of Buffy Fish Owls. The owls performed for hours as the mother was caring for her young away from the nest. Great opportunity for pictures. Walter was all smiles.

Then unexpectedly a Male Wreathed Hornbill posed for us. That is quite a treat as most times they are only fly bys.

The rest of the day we revisited places and added a visit to Haew Suwat waterfall. Khao Yai provide great opportunity to get a feel for tropical forests as there are several trails, waterfalls, fields, streams, view points etc. Mammals are also present in the park and though we did not see any elephants this time, we did see Gibbons, Pig-tailed Macaques, Sambar and Barking Deer and Variable Squirrels.

Another target was the stunningly beautiful Harlequin butterfly. It lives in the dark and until you see it well it simply just looks dark. But get on to it and a splendor of color and patterns are revealed. We did find one of them but the encounter was too brief.

Day 3.

Khao Yai is 2.5 hours Northeast of Bangkok and our next destination, Kaengkrachan, is 2.5 hours Southwest of Bangkok so we decided to start driving in the early morning.

Around noon we visited the fields of Petchaburi where some eagles are found. We did see Greater Spotted Eagle but decided to go on to Baan Maka Nature Resort.
The reset of the day was spent on the premises of the resort which holds many birds, dragon andbutterflies plus fresh coffee and great food. If you haven’t visited you have really missed something!

Day 4.

The day was spent inside the park beginning with an hour at an open spot where viewing is normally good. The afternoon was spent between the streams.
Best birds were a pair of Black-thighed Falconets in a tree top. 22 Rusty-cheeked Brown Hornbills making a lot of racket and allowing close approach inside a trail.
Also, Great Hornbill, Pied Hornbill, Black-red Broadbill, Sultan’s Tit, Orange-breasted Trogon, Flamebacks, Minivets, Bulbuls, Drongos, Babblers and other things were encountered.
Between the streams there was a built up of butterflies as well as dragonflies.
The environment in here is a totally different world from our lives in big cities. Only one day in these surroundings gives you so many impressions it is almost unbelievable. Always best when hopes are high but ambitions kept at bay. Nature has a canny way of slowing us down.

On the way out we came across a group of Stub-tailed Macaques...they seem increasingly common here.

Evening meal at the resort accompanied with calling Collared Scops Owls and Large-tailed Nightjars.

Day 5.

A 4WD is needed to get up to Panern Thung, the top of the park. It has been closed to visitors for almost 3 years now and new regulations as to how to get up there are in effect.

We used the services of Khun Biak, arranged through the resort. Biak knows his park well and was a blessing to have with.

The main target was Ratched-tailed Treepie, a bird only found in this spot in Thailand. It can be very vocal and that sure helps in finding one as they are by no means guaranteed.

There were many other people around with the same hope but it took about an hour to get on to one. Ha! It gave great views! There were many other birds about and the backdrop of distant mountain ranges with valleys covered in a sea of cloud while the singing monkeys, the Gibbons, could be heard simply made for incredible impressions. We also got to enjoy a Banded Langur feeding at close range.

Birds are different at the top about 1000m asl. Ashy Bulbul, Greater Leafbird, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Great Barbet, Blue-throated Barbet, Golden Babbler, Ahlstrom’s Warbler, Flavescent Bulbul, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Long-tailed Broadbill, Red-headed Trogon being some of them.

Cars are not allowed to drive back down until 16.00 pm so we walked ahead, getting our steps for the day. It was a welcomed sight when the car caught up with us.

Day 6.

We had booked a hide for the morning. A Blue Pitta had been showing. No sooner had we got there and it popped up. It was too quick for us to get ready so we had to wait for another appearance which took a long time. Ha! But well worth the wait!

As we waited we had fun viewing Large Scimitar Babblers, Greater and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrushes, several flycatchers, Emerald Dove, Green-legged Partridges and more.

After another lunch at the resort we revisited the fields of Petchaburi but first a short stop to photograph Indian Thick-knee. This time we were entertained by a Booted Eagle in pursuit of feral pigeons. A custodian of the pigeons, a Large-billed Crow, kept warding off the intruder. Interesting to see how the fight kept going on.

A couple of Greater Spotted Eagles were also present but too high up for our likening.

We did not visit any wader sites as Walter had already visited them on previous trips.

Walter had booked a taxi from Petchaburi to his island in the South so I booked a room in town for myself and we all went for a sumptuous meal, crab curry being the main dish. After such a meal I was happy I did not have to drive back to Bangkok immediately.

Day 7. Only me as Walter and Roger had left.

I decided to park myself at a spot with the sun behind me at Pak Taley. I had fantastic views of so many waders in the ambient morning light. No pressure to find Spoonie, so I let it rest. Ha!
I got to view lengthy views of many Asian Dowitchers, Great and Red Knots, Terek Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers etc. It was lovely to just take in the scenery as opposed to try to see every bird about.

Welcome back guys, it was fun!