Birdwatching tour to Thailand (1 Viewer)

[Jose Ramon]

Hi everybody,

we are agroup of birders that are planning a birdwatching tour to Thailand in November.

I am searching information in internet and I would like to have some help from you.

1.- Is November a good month for birdwatching in Thailand?

2.- One of the target bird would be the spoon-bill sanpiper. I believe that the best place is Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale, not far from Bangkong. Is this one the best place for this bird?

3.- Another good bird would be the Rail-Babbler. I have found that the best place in Thailand seems to be Hala Bala NP in the South of Thailand. Anyway, I believe that it is a difficult bird to watch. Maybe it would be better to try this bird in Malaysia or Borneo? Any suggestion?

4.- Do you know any reputated proffesional birdwatching guide that I may contact by email?

Thanks in advance

 

[Ben88]

1. Maybe. The rainy season ends in November, so you still may get some rain.

2. Yes, Pak Thale is the best place for Spoon-billed Sandpiper. I saw two there in January. However, if it's still raining a lot when you get there it may be harder to find. I know people had trouble last November (but still found it after some effort).

3. Peninsular Malaysia is best for Rail-babbler (Taman Negara or Panti Forest). I believe Hala Bala is currently unsafe due to terrorism.

 

[ovenbird43]

Last year I went on a tour with the company South Thailand Birding and highly recommend them (despite the name, they also offer tours in the North). We saw Rail-babbler at Krung Ching in the Peninsula, and visited Hala Bala - perhaps not recommended for an independent birder, but guides know the safe places to visit so it's not entirely off-limits (unless things have worsened considerably over the last six months).

 

[fmorais]

Hi Jose.

I went to Thailand last January on a tour with company
Wild Bird Eco
http://www.wildbirdeco.net

Everything was very well organized and I recommend them.

Regards

 

[tombac]

Usually the Spoobills arrive early November, This season the waterlevel in the salt pools was high due to much raining so the birds where more difficult to find there. They where often in the Laem Pak Bia area.
If you need a guide in PT/LPB in November I'm villing to guide you there. I live in Hua Hin,50km South of LPB. I do speak some Spanish too.
Krung Ching should be good for the Rail babbler although in Hala Bala it's probably easier to find it.
Here is a useful link:http://www.norththailandbirding.com/

Hasta luego!

 

[Swissboy]

Hi Jose.

I went to Thailand last January on a tour with company
Wild Bird Eco
http://www.wildbirdeco.net

Everything was very well organized and I recommend them.

Regards

We used Wild Bird Eco this January/Februay (I just returned last Wednesday) on three different short tours, and we have had very mixed experiences. For the Chiang Mai/Doi Inthanon part, we had an excellent woman with the name Chintana whom we can very much recommend.

But for the other tours, to Khao Yai NP and to Kaeng Krachan NP we had a guide named Pank whom we can't recommend at all. He is a very kind person and his knowledge of birds is pretty good except for voices. But his communication ability is rudimentary as he speaks very little English. Despite the fact that Wild Bird Eco had promised us an "English speaking guide". There were other deficiencies in communication as well. Though some improvements were noticeable after our complaints for the second tour. Pank did very well on the shorebird part of that tour, where we had all the expected species, including three Spoon-billed Sandpipers at Pak Thale and Nordmann's Greenshank later on.

A major complaint with the tour organizer was that the minibusses out of Bangkok did not have seat belts for most of the passenger seats, but the drivers doing some racing at times. And one bus had windows that were so dark that we called it the "night express". Birding through those windows was downright impossible!

 

[wildambience]

I wouldn't bother searching for Rail Babbler in Thailand, when there are good sites for it such as Panti & Taman Negara in Malaysia. A few weeks ago they were calling regularly in the afternoon from near the hide at the Merapoh entrance, Taman Negara.

 

[Mick R]

before driving down to Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale, don't forget to check out the vast salt pans at Khok Kham, near Samut Sakorn (just south of Bangkok) for Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Plenty of other waders here too. If he's still around (i used him 10yrs ago), visit Mr Tii . . . a local bird guide that knows the area like the back of his hand. If there's any Spoony's around, he'll know about it.

 

[amears]

Trust you've found this web site, Jose:

http://www.thaibirding.com/index.htm

Details for contacting Mt Tii (Tee?) here - a bit ancient but you never know, they may still work:

http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=399

Cheers,
Andy.

 

[allthai]

Here is a good up to date bird checklist with videos for Doi Inthanon Nationa Park.