Bangkok birding: Bang Pu and Mahachai Mangrove Research Station/ Ao Mahachai Mangrove Forest Natural Education Center

My friend arrives

Bang Pu mangroves from the pier

Brown-headed Gull / นกนางนวลธรรมดา - Bang Pu, Bangkok

Brown shrike - นกอีเสือสีน้ำตาล

Walking through a lush area

Keeping an eye on the lower branches under the leafs

Malaysian Pied Fantail - นกอีแพรดแถบอกดำ

Keeping an eye on the lower branches under the leafs

Collared Kingfisher - นกกินเปี้ยว

Malaysian Pied Fantail - นกอีแพรดแถบอกดำ

Collared Kingfisher - นกกินเปี้ยว

We leave the streets to walk down a path towards the sea

We end up off the beaten tracks

Golden-bellied gerygone - นกกระจ้อยป่าโกงกาง

We also see an Oriental Magpie Robin

We end up off the beaten tracks

Collared Kingfisher

Bicycles used as water pumps

Brown shrike - นกอีเสือสีน้ำตาล

Black-winged Stilt - นกตีนเทียน

Eurasian Tree Sparrow / นกกระจอกบ้าน

Bamboo bridge over the mangrove

Concrete bridge over the mangrove

We spot a Red and yellow spotted twatter (great chested bustard)

Brahminy kite - เหยี่ยวแดง

Black-winged Stilt - นกตีนเทียน

Brahminy kite - เหยี่ยวแดง

Of course, all bird pictures available on my Thailand
bird checklist of bird I have seen by clicking HERE

How to kill a day in Bangkok #22
Review: Birding/ bird watching at Bang Pu

Fee: Free

Web page: No official web page. But visit Nick Upton's web page Thaibirding for information about Bang Pu Here you find all the information you need about Bang Pu, maps and what bird you can expect to see. And of course info on how to get there

Address:
Sukhumvit Road. As I wrote in my review about the Ancient City: I took the sky train to the Baering sky train station (The stretch to the crocodile farm will be ready in about 2 years, Bang Pu Nature Education Centre's Bang Pu Nature Reserve

Bang Pu Nature Education Centre's Bang Pu Nature Reserve

almost all the way to the Ancient City) I took a taxi from the sky train station and it took about 20 to 30 minutes to the Ancient City. The trip set me back with 153 Baht (as it was a nice Driver I gave him 180 Baht, about 6 US Dollars)

Just drive a few km past the Ancient City coming from Bangkok and make a U-turn and you are at Bang Pu recreation. BE AWARE!! There are several different spellings of Bang Pu - Bang pu Bangpoo. And when you have passed the Ancient City you can follow the road signs to Bangpoo.

And by the way, Bang Pu means the home of the crabs or something like that.
ปู Poo means crab
บาง Bang means settlement, village

Tel: 02-323-9138, 02-323-9983 From www.tourismthailand.org - February 2016

Opening Hours:: 08.00 - 18.00

We got out of the taxi at the pier. We saw some golf carts taking people out to the restaurant at the end of the pier so I guess there are this service available. But we walked, and there were many of the Black-headed Gulls. And there was a kiosk where you could by cold water and food to feed the Brown-headed gulls with.

The sea gulls are so use to get feed and they are almost hovering in front of you looking

to see if you have any food for them. It was very fun to watch them and here you can spend quite some time.

So there were good opportunities to see sea birds and a HOT TIP is to check out the time for low water and try to come here then if you want to see wader birds walking around in the mud looking for food. When it is low water the sea bed is dry, well, mud all the way down past the restaurant. There are plenty crabs and fishes in the mud and it is fascinating to watch them.

The birding would have been a gorgeous experience if it would not have been for all the garbage laying around as you can see on the above pictures. But we saw quite a few birds.

Bangkok Tourist attraction review - Reviewed by Review Man

Bangkok Tourist attraction review - Reviewed by Review Man

Rated:

Yes, it was OK so I give it 2 stars. This could easily have been a 3 or 4 star experience if they would have cleaned up the area. But as it was now it looked terrible at places. But we will be back here for birding again.

I want to come back during the low water because there were no waders as it was high water during our visit. We saw waders in the ponds, but we want to see them on the sea bed digging in the mud.

Review Man

UP DATED REVIEW 12 February 2016
We explored the area East of the pier and they had a proper concrete bridge going through the mangrove. The gate to come here is closed but today there were students collecting mud for a research on what kind of animals that was living in the mud. So me and my friend went inside. There was not so much garbage on this side, only garbage that the sea had brought in.

There were information boards along the route above the mangrove with information about the different trees and animals. We never saw many birds here, most likely because it was midday by the time we came here. But try early morning

When you go out on the pier there is a few houses on your left hand side, 50 meters before you reach the pier. Walk up behind the houses and there is a wooden bridge and you are on the nature trail and you can reach the concrete bridge. So if you come here you just ignore the locked gate and take to the left and walk 50 meters up to the houses. Cross the bridge and there is a toilet on you left hand side and then you're on the nature trail.

And this time we were here during low water. It is fascination to see the life on the sea bed when the water is gone so a few beeches to sit on along the pier facing the water/ sea bed would have been at least to say very nice.

I saw Collared Kingfishers and Black Capped Kingfishers

Now it is a strong 2 star experience to do bird watching down here at Bang Pu. I will be back on Monday again so keep an eye out for an updated review. Will Bang Pu reach 3 or 4 stars?

Review Man

UP DATED REVIEW 15 February 2016
Me and my friend we left early morning, just after 6 o'clock to check out the nature trail. As I understand it from what I have found from the internet is that it is Bang Pu Nature Education Centre that are in charge over the Bang Pu Nature Reserve. And the nature trail is located within the Bang Pu Nature Reserve. They have a PDF that I think you will find interesting to read before you get out on the nature trail. And you can read it by clicking HERE.

You will find observation towers and hide outs along the nature trail in the Bang Pu Nature Reserve. And to enter the Bang Pu Nature Reserve in the early morning you need to cross a wooden bridge that have seen, well, the bridge is due for renovation.

There is a gate but the gate have been locked every time I have been to Bang Pu. And we were told to use the bridge to exit when we tried to leave Bang Pu Nature Education Centre's Bang Pu Nature Reserve.

Anyway, you reach the pier and you have to start behind the buildings belonging to Bang Pu Nature Education Centre. Walk 50 meters and you will find a wooden bridge on your right hand side. Cross the bridge and you’re in the Bang Pu Nature Reserve

Click HERE for bigger picture

The wooden bridge across the water filed ditch (February 2016)

Walk passed the toilets when you are across the bridge and there is a map over the nature trail.

There are shelters along the nature trail for you if you want to do some birding. There is a big pond behind the hedges and these observation/ hide outs are excellent. You get a good view over the pond from the first observation house as there a 2 floors. And I was impressed by the pond and all the birds in the pond.

We were pleasantly surprised when we discovered a suspension bridge. There was a bird watching tower and another tower behind the bird watching tower and from the bridge there was a suspension bridge over the mangrove to the concrete trail along the ocean.

The whole birding adventure turned in to a Indiana Jones adventure.

Bangkok Tourist attraction review - Reviewed by Review Man

Rated:

Yes, I highly recommend a trek around the nature trail in Bang Pu Nature Education Centre's Bang Pu Nature Reserve. And that is even if you don't like to watch the birds. The only thing to complain about are some of the wooden bridges, they are at least to say in need of some maintenance.

Same when you come down from the suspension bridge there is a ditch with water and there was some old, at least to say flimsy planks on bamboo supports. This needs immediate attention from the maintenance staff. If you walk on the trail along the ocean it is impossible to find the suspension bridge as the bridge (flimsy heap of plank and bamboo) looks like some garbage laying around.

Anyway, if you are at the end of the trail, maybe 100 meter from the end of the trail you can look in to the mangrove and you might discover the suspension bridge.

There is not much garbage around in this area, just what the tide brings in. And they were putting up more wood pilings along the mangroves when we were there and this helps to prevent the garbage to come in to the mangrove.

Anyway, come on down for a day of fun at Bang Pu

Review Man

How to kill a day in Bangkok #22
Review: Birding/ bird watching at Mahachai Mangrove Research Station/ Ao Mahachai Mangrove Forest Natural Education Center

Fee: Free

Web page: No official web page. But visit Nick Upton's web page Thaibirding for information about Mahachai Mangrove Research Station Here you find all the information you need about Mahachai Mangrove Research Station, maps and what bird you can expect to see. And of course info on how to get there.

Address:
In the middle of nowhere. But it was very easy to find the place by help from Nick Upton's description on his web page. Took us about 2 ours to drive from Bang Pu A HOT TIP: Look for Ao Mahachai Mangrove Forest Natural Education Center on the GPS as I could not find Mahachai Mangrove Research Station on the map. But it is the same place

We started to walk down a path towards the sea front and after 10 meter or so there was a bamboo bridge over the mangrove on our right hand side. We walked on the bamboo bridge through the mangrove on the South side of the Ao Mahachai Mangrove Forest Natural Education Center. I saw a Collared Kingfisher and an Oriental Magpie Robin. The bamboo bridge have seen better days and we were scared at times. But we made it to the platform at the beach front.

Walking back towards the parking place on the walk path we passed a concrete bridge and we went up to. We started to walk along the concrete bridge to explore the North Area. The concrete bridge was in worse condition than the bamboo bridge and we were soon turning around to walk back.

When we were back at the parking lot we entered another path and this was only about 100 meters long before it ended in a ditch filled with water.

We continued our birding/ bird watching on the other side of the road west of the Mahachai Mangrove Research Station/ Ao Mahachai Mangrove Forest Natural Education Center. That was in intersting area to discover with a pond with Black-winged Stilts and a Brahminy kite

Bangkok Tourist attraction review - Reviewed by Review Man

Rated:

This place would have been rated a 3 star birding place if they would have had proper bridges over the mangrove. I will never come back to walk on these bridges again. And to clean up the place would not hurt. Not so much garbage as in Bang Pu and I think most of it came in with the high water.

I saw a few Collared Kingfishers and we saw some waders on the beach front but they were too far away. The Brahminy kite is the best we saw here.

Review Man

There are really no limits for how stupid people are

Crossing the bridge over Chao Phraya River to Bangkok

OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.

Jiffy (also jiff)

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ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

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