Petchaburi, 26-29th of March, 2024

Participants: Bob and Linda from the UK
Peter Ericsson

26th: Pak Tale
27-28th Kaengkrachan
29th: Pak Tale

Bob and Linda booked 4 days birding before they flew of to Southern Thailand for a family reunion.
The objective was to see and enjoy birds without any particular targets or list building.

Day 1.

Early pick up at 5 am. Arrived at Pak Tale by 7 am. This time of year many of the birds are in or assuming breeding plumage and we were able to go over some mixed flocks taking time to observe the various differences in bills, legs, plumages etc. Using a scope is a must with shorebirds.

We saw several Asian Dowitchers, Nordmann Greenshanks, Great and Red Knot, Broad-billed Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers, Long-toed Stints and many more.
After a sumptuous lunch we headed out to the sand spit of Lampakbia. Many terns were resting on the exposed bars and we had good views of Malaysian Plovers.
At our hotel, near the entrance of Kaengkrachan National Park, we cooled down with some cold beers and excellent Thai food. Rooms were clean, modern with fully working AC. It was a first for me to stay here at Samarn Birdcamp and I enjoyed it.

Day 2.

First stop was at km 9 which is an area many medium sized birds are seen. The scope come to good use and birds fly about. Gray-headed (now Black-naped) Woodpecker was our first bird. Common Hill Myna, Pied Hornbill, Greater Yellownape, Thick-billed Pigeons, Blue-eared Barbet, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Crimson Sunbird and more.

From there we drove onwards and made a few short stops. At one such stop I was able to tape in a Banded Broadbill. This time of year is very good for forest birds as they mostly are in breeding mode.

We spend a lot of time in between the streams where we got to see amongst other things Silver-breasted Broadbills, Orange-headed Trogons, Green Magpie and Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher.
A major highlight was a female Banded Kingfisher that perched for a long time and inviting close up photography.

A lot of butterflies also to brighten things up.

Dusky Langurs and White-handed Gibbons were both heard and seen as was Giant Squirrel.
Another peaceful dinner in very green surroundings. Again great food.

Day 3.

A 4WD SUV arrived at 6 am for our drive up to Panern Thung. The driver, a young man, is very keen to help with birds as well and was of great help in finding some special birds.
First of all he knew where to go for Black-red Broadbills, then he took us to the White-fronted Scops Owl that we had not seen on the day before.

Going up the mountain he suddenly stopped and said ‘Red-bearded Bee-eater’! Ha! What a treat!
We also stopped to view a nest building pair of Long-tailed Broadbills!

Once up the mountain we took our time enjoying the panoramic views of green laden valleys and mountain peaks. Several new species were added as to be expected.

After lunch we drove down a couple of kilometers to a well known birdy area. This is the best area to try for Ratchet-tailed Treepie and we did get to see and hear a couple howbeit briefly.
A Rusty-cheeked (brown) Hornbill flew over our heads, Collared Babblers showed well as did a Bamboo Woodpecker. A Crow-billed Drongo was a new one and is a bird I don’t often see.
In a small little pond I had heard that a very rare dragonfly had been seen. I got on to 3 individuals that never stopped flying. Ha! Somehow I did manage some flight shots!

Day 4.

After having talked it over it was decided to go back to Pak Tale and also to visit some wetlands before the journey back to Bangkok.

It was a lot of repeats from Day 1 with the massive exception of 2 SPOON-BILLED SANDPIPERS feeding at length! Now that was a major highlight even for Bob and Linda!

We stopped for a sumptuous seafood lunch before we continued on with wetland birding.
The drop off went well inspite of it being Friday afternoon and I found myself back home in time for supper.

It had been a well balanced trip with some fabulous birds seen!

Getting a huge list never was a priority but nevertheless almost 200 species were heard or seen.
https://ebird.org/tripreport/216693

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