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Showing posts from August, 2014

South to Central #5

Off to the airport and a flight to Don Muang, Bangkok. Taxi to my house and pick up my own comfortable Toyota Camry. Drive to Kaengkrachan and discussing what strategy to adapt for the remaining birds on their respective lists. The lists did not correspond very well anymore so a logistic nightmare over again. On the way to the park we dropped by some fields and saw many common bird which included all 3 Weavers: Streaked, Asian Golden and Baya. Two of these were on their wanted lists so reason to rejoice again. We stayed at Baan Maka and hired the services of Piyak  as he has a sturdy off road vehicle suited for the road to higher grounds as well as being updated on the latest birding in the park. Two main targets were soon taken care off: Red-bearded Bee-eater and Long-tailed Broadbill. Both found  at their respective nests. I had heard of a Von Schrenck’s Bittern at a pond by the Broadbill’s nest a couple of weeks earlier. I was very keen on seeing if it was still there and I

The South part 4

In the afternoon we revisited Sri Pangnga National Park looking for Chestnut-naped Forktail. Instead we found a Hooded Pitta that Francesco had fun photographing. The next morning we chased Blue-winged Pittas in a palm oil plantation as it was on Leonardo’s wanted list. These birds have just arrived and were calling  so not that hard to track down. Then back to the park and waiting for the Forktail. As Francesco sat in the hide I walked off to look for other things. A male Rufous-collared Kingfisher perched rather close to me and I got my very own images of this elusive forest Kingfisher. Meanwhile Francesco had a pair of Forktails in front of his hide. Just as he wished! So late morning we drove off to Thaimuang about 90 km South of the park. Here is a known roost for Spooted Wood Owl. Inspite of 2 hours search we failed to find the birds. (I later was told by a local birder that the birds have not been seen for some time, at least it wasn’t us missing the bird for lack of trying). O

A short twitch!

Ever since I heard of a Pied Cuckoo (Jacobin Cuckoo) being seen at Phuket I always wanted to see one. Then a couple of years later a pair showed up at Chiang Rai by the Mae Kong River but I didn't fancy a 1000 km drive. Thridly, last year another was spotted at Beung Borapet when I was in Europe. So when I saw a posting of this bird by Thanarot I knew I had my chance.  Thanarok kindly invited me to his home and we enjoyed a true Thai meal at a restaurant by the river.                                                      Thank you Thanarot! Very yummie! In the morning we did general birding in the wetlands surrounding Beung Borapet (240km North of Bangkok) and saw a lot of birds including a roosting Savanna Nightjar, Glossy Ibises and plenty of Streaked Weavers.......We then sat down to view the trees he had seen the Cuckoos in. After 2 and a half hours and no bird I thought; 'better pack up, bet that will bring it in, a bit sarcastically'. Before we got our s

South, part 3

I had heard of a stake out for Great Argus but during my research found  that it was being sold by a resort for a rather handsome amount of money. I kept digging and finally found the direct connection with the villager that initially set up the stationary hide by the bird’s lek. And that at a lot cheaper price then the upscale resort. Well, it wasn’t all that easy to get the communications right and even harder to find the villager  at his appointed spot. We drove to the km mark we were told only to find out that the road department had changed all the road markers. Through a set of nothing but small miracles we finally met up with the man deep inside the jungle only to find out that he meant for us to come a day later. Ha! Well, we found a very nice resort in the area some 20 km East of the entrance to Khao Sok National Park. Again, good food, warm showers, big bed and air-con for weary souls. The next morning we drove off to Sri Pangnga National Park about an hour’s drive fur

South, part 2

At noon I went to pick up Francesco and Leonardo at the airport. Francesco had graciously brought some Italian salami which I cherished throughout the trip. Thank you! The drive to Krung Ching took most of the afternoon. A better option is to fly to Nakorn Sritamaraht with Airasia. Hertz allow for free drop off of their vehicle if hired more then 5 days. We were greeted at a nice Homestay by the park and a sumptuous meal was waiting for us as well. The ranger Daang and his family has set up a little homestay with 4 rooms available. They are air-conned with hot water and a big blessing as opposed to using the park bungalows with all their ‘wildlife’ in the room, no warm water and no air-con. At the homestay you can also have 3 meals that are wonderfully cooked by the Grandmother of the house. The next morning we set out with our target in mind. We were accompanied by ‘R’, Daang’s nephew. It was his job to locate the Babbler and bring it to us. After about an hour of searching alo

A few from the South in May 2014

Francesco Veronesi  and his birding friend Leonardo Beghellini had been asking me to see the Malaysian Rail Babbler for a long time. So when I got news of one showing at Krung Ching in Southern Thailand they immediately wanted to visit. Francesco is a dedicated photographer with over 3200 species in his portfolie as well as a lister and Leonardo is a global lister with over 6000 birds seen. Along with the Babbler they gave me a list with rather difficult birds and so I was faced with both a logistic challenge as well as finding the birds. I couldn’t set a fixed itinerary since we didn’t know how long it would take to nail down the Babbler. I flew down to Krabi in advance as I wanted to visit Satun some 4 hours drive to the South of Krabi. I used a Honda City from Hertz which turned out to be a reliable vehicle for the entire trip. It was interesting to see the landscape and the make up of this area as I drove through the western part of the very South. Satun ha