Petchaburi, Thailand
29/12/21-3/1/22

Day 1, 29th Dec.

It took 21 months to get a proper birding tour lined up!

Petri and Nina from Finland braved all the rigmarole in booking a trip over New Year to primarily Kaengkrachan, Petchaburi. They were just as keen as I was in seeing this trip come to fruition after such a long time in the ‘waiting room’.

Thailand had instituted a Test and Go program which meant only 1 day in quarantine.
So early in the morning I was waiting outside their hotel not far from my house.

We quickly agreed to visit Lat Krabang, my home patch, only 20 minutes from the hotel.

The morning was young as we arrived and activity flourishing. In an hour and a half we had 69 species on the list. Quite overwhelming coming from a very cold Finland and only a few birds seen on a daily basis. Wetlands and rice fields with interspersed vegetation makes the area still
attractive for many birds in spite of all the farming going on.

I was quite happy to be able to introduce some migratory birds besides common resident ones such as Baikal Bush Warbler, Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, Siberian Rubythroat, Bluethroat and Grey-headed Lapwings. A very curious pair of Spotted Owlets instantly popped up when I called and did their usual frantic display.

Then it was time for a 2 hour drive to Paktaley and Lampakbia in Petchaburi. I choose to not rush off there first thing in the morning since we also had the next day scheduled for shorebirds and I felt pretty good about getting on to our target birds with the time given.

Well, today was just one of those days. It took not more then 2 minutes to find Spoon-billed Sandpiper. What a relief! Petri is one of those birders that simply breaths birds and he had longed for this bird for many years. Sheer joy!

Shorebirds were abundant and we got to go through them one by one using our 2 scopes.
There were a flock of no less then 100 Asian Dowitchers along with 1 Nordmann’s Greenshank not far away. So all the 3 big ones in quick succession. 200 Terek Sandpipers, 500 Eurasian Curlews, 500 Lesser Sand Plovers, 30 Greater Sand Plovers, etc etc….

Our first sumptuous Thai meal was enjoyed and throughout the trip both Petri and Nina raved about the quality of the food. I love it when people appreciate the full kitchen! Ha!

The night was spent at a hotel in town after another great meal. Due to c19 restrictions the restaurant was not allowed to sell alcohol but they gladly got some beers for us from a shop
nearby. I just love the flexibility!

Day 2, 30th Dec.

Today we decided to look for Nordmann’s Greenshanks as we had only had distant views of one individual the day before. The morning light is simply gorgeous for scope viewing the many shorebirds and we immersed ourselves for some time. A record number of 190 Nordmann’s were seen at Lampakbia.

Lampakbia is not complete without a boat ride and visit to the sandspit for Malaysian Plovers, White-faced Plover and Chinese Egret. Our boatman, Daeng, skillfully maneuvered his boat to avoid getting splashed by the waves. The tide was very high and nothing we could alter but we did get great views of our two Plover targets. The Chinese Egret does not like to show during high tide as it retreats into the mangroves so that one has to wait for another time.

All in all we had 35 species of shorebirds in the first two days of birding. Long-toed, Red-necked and Temminck’s Stints, Curlew, Marsh, Broad-billed, Common Sandpipers, Spotted and Common Redshanks, Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits, Ruff, etc etc.

After lunch followed a drive to Baan Maka Nature Resort, our choice of stay by default.

Along the way we stopped at a known site for Indian Thick-knees.

The afternoon was spent relaxing and enjoying the extensive garden of the resort.
The last hour of light was spent viewing the sun set over the hill tops while sipping cold beer in an improvised bar set up by the resort’s vegetable gardens.

Day 3, 31st Dec.

Being the last day of the year we knew the National Park would be full of campers and day visitors. We hired a comfortable 4WD vehicle to reach the top at Panern Thung.
Loads of people but just about all had disappeared by 9:30. Most people come for the sea of clouds and the sunrise.

Wonderful ambiance with distant mountain peaks greeted us. The next 4 hours we walked about the area and little by little got on to higher altitude birds (1000m).
Some highlights: Wreathed and Rust-cheeked Hornbills, Rufous-browed Flycatcher, Great and Blue-throated Barbets, Golden Babbler, Mountain Hawk-Eagle and White-browed Piculet.

After lunch at the top we set out to walk down towards km 27.5. Car was not allowed to follow until 16.00. The walk was nice and yielded some interesting birds such as Marten’s Warbler, Collared Babbler, White-browed Scimitar-Babbler and Pale Blue Flycatcher.
This area of the park has been closed off to the public for about 3 years so a very welcomed revisit it was. The drive up takes a long time but one never knows what can show along the road. Possibilities of Leopard, Grey Peacock-Pheasant, Golden Jackal, Kalij Pheasant and more.

Once back at the resort it was repeat performance of lovely sunset and drinks at the improvised bar. The difference was that we added some nocturnal sounds to the trip. Oriental Bay Owl, Indian Thick-knee, Collared Scops Owl and Large-tailed Nightjars.

Day 4, 1st Jan.

I had booked a visit to one of the permanent hides in the area. A Blue Pitta was the main attraction. Not bad to start the New Year with a stunner like that. The bird showed well.

Many other birds were about: Large Scimitar-Babbler, Orange-headed Thrush, Fulvettas, Babblers, Bulbuls, Flycatchers and a pair of White-browed Piculets outside the hide itself.

The rest of the day we spend at and around Baan Maka which have good grounds including a nature trail and a walk to a hill top. Some of the regulars: Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Hooded Oriole, Black-naped Monarch, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler, Blue Whistling Thrush, Lesser and Greater-necklaced Laughingthrushes, Blue-bearded Bee-eater and Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters.

Day 5, 2nd Jan.

Time for a visit to the lower levels of Kaengkrachan National Park.

We parked ourselves at various spots along the road and waited for performing birds. A few fruiting trees attracted an array of things: 12 Rusty-cheeked Hornbills, 4 Great Hornbills, many Pied Hornbills, Thick-billed Green Pigeons, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Green-eared and Blue-eared Barbets plus many Bulbul species.

Several hours walking in between the streams followed. Less birdy in here but some good ones: Orange-breasted Trogon, Great Slaty Woodpecker and Heart-spotted Woodpecker to mention a few.

We also had great views of White-handed Gibbons, Dusky Langurs, Yellow-throated Marten, Fruit bats, a variety of squirrels, Northern Treeshrew etc.

We also got to enjoy many butterflies along the way.

Last evening at the resort to enjoy the ambiance and the great food!

Day 6, 3rd Jan.

Early rise and drive to Wat Khao Lookchang an hour away. The Black-headed Woodpeckers previously seen in the dry forest now seem to have moved on. But we did see a few things previously not seen such as Rufous Treepie and Red-breasted Parakeets.

Then we visited the “Ibis and Duck Lake” at Bang Tabon. The air was not shimmering as it does during strong sunlight so we got decent scope views. Eurasian Wigeons, Garganey, Pin-tailed Ducks, Lesser Whistling Treeducks and Northern Shoveler, Black-headed Ibises and a single Spot-billed Pelican rounded off 6 days of good birding.

A sumptuous lunch and a drive to Petri and Nina’s choice of resort by the beach just South of Hua Hin and I was on my way home.

A great trip!