29 March 2022

Bird watching trip report


Introduction

Phetchaburi Rice Fields is located north of the city Phetchaburi and it is about 2 hours from Bangkok with car. There is a lot of eBird hotspots in Phetchaburi and there are five eBird hotspots with paddies in the names. I will only visit two hotspots today as I will start at Praek Nam Daeng Marshlands & Fish Ponds (general area).

1) Khao Yoi paddies (We will visit this hotspot today)

2) Khao Yoi aquaculture

3) Bang Tabun Ok "Duck & Ibis" Lake

4) Wat Khao Takhrao aquaculture

5) Nong Pla Lai – Bang Chak paddies (general area) (We will visit this hotspot today)

6) Ban Laem agricultural area

7) Ban Khum fish ponds and paddies

8) Thong Chai paddies

9) Bang Chak paddies

10) Ton Maphrao paddies

11) Khao Luang Cave (Tham Khao Luang)

To skip the information and to go straight to the TRIP REPORT click HERE


Guide

I usually don't use any bird watching Guide in / around Bangkok. But could be a good idea to have a Guide to help me identify all the birds I see. As it is now my eBird checklists are not very impressive as I can only ID half of the birds I see.


Land transportation


You will need a car and if you don't have your own a taxi is a very convenient way of travelling. Depending on the early morning traffic it will take about 2 hours to reach the area. You rent the taxi for a full day and it will set you back with about 2000-3000 Baht (May 2020) depending on distances etc. And of course, depending on your negotiation skills.

There is a highway all the way from Bangkok to Phetchaburi so the area is easy to reach. The roads between the fields are good but there are some dirt track in very poor condition. So don't be surprised if the taxi driver refuse to enter some roads.

Equipment

Canon 5D Mk. III + Canon 5D Mk. IV
Canon EF 28-300/3,5-5,6 L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200/2,8L IS II USM
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens
Canon Speedlite 600EXII-RT flash
Canon PowerShot G7X Mark II
Panasonic HC-W585 video camera

Sound recorder
ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder

Binocular
Steiner Skyhawk 8x32 (Since May 2020)


Weather / climate

From Wikipedia


References/Resources

Thai National Parks - About the National Parks in Thailand A very good web page - Do you know that there are still wild tigers, elephants, leopards, tapirs, gaurs, bears and many monkey species in many tropical rainforests across Thailand? Do you also know that around 10% of all marine species in the world can be found in Thailand? And the fact that Thailand is the best bird-watching destination in mainland Asia?

National parks are protected areas of land because they have unspoilt landscapes and a diverse number of native plants and animals. There are 127 national parks in Thailand, of them 22 marine national parks. These parks offers a diverse range of flora and fauna, home to important population of endangered species.
So now it will be easy to find out if there are any National Park close to you.

Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST) - The Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST) is one of the oldest Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST)organisations conserving birds and nature in Thailand and is the country partner of BirdLife International. BCST's role to the local community is to spread awareness about urban birds and reconnect people back to nature.

The Logo
Dated back to 1986 when BCST was then a loosely-formed “Bangkok Birdwatching Club”, the Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis), or “Nok Gang Ken Baan” in Thai, has been chosen to represent the organisation.

There are two sites covering Thailand and I have used them many times. These two web pages are actually everything you need for your birding adventures in Thailand. All the information you need about all the birding spots. Click on the map and then select your spot and you will have maps and everything you need to know about the areas. They have put a lot of jobs in to their web pages, North Thailand Birding and thaibirding.com A must to visit before you go bird watching in Thailand.

www.norththailandbirding.com - A one stop only for all your birding in Thailand

thaibirding.com - Nick Upton's one stop only for all your birding in Thailand.

Use both www.thaibirding.com and www.norththailandbirding.com and you have a winner. Some of the maps on www.norththailandbirding.com are way better than Nick Upton´s, while some of Nick's maps are much more detailed. So I have found that if I use both the web pages for information, well, nothing else needed.

PBase/Peter Ericson - Peter Ericson, a guy I thought was from USA because of his family name. I met him at Lat Krabang Paddies in May 2020 and turned out that he was Swedish. Anyway, I have used his excellent page PBase since 2016 as help to ID birds by the help from his beautiful bird pictures.

Here you can also find information about birding tours.

He is also having a Blog - Thaibirds and more with interesting information.

Bangkok City Birding - A lot of interesting birding stories and information on this bird watching blog by David Gandy. Bangkok-based patch-worker in Suan Rot Fai, a large park close to the city's famous weekend market. He have recorded 150 species on his patch since 2008. As one of the only big green spaces in the city, “SRF” acts as a real magnet for migrants during spring and autumn, and holds a healthy selection of "sibes" during the winter months.


The East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership - The East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership is a network of partners within the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). The East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) aims to protect migratory waterbirds, their habitat and the livelihoods of people dependent upon them.

The Flyway is one of 9 major migratory routes recognised globally. Partners include National Governments, Inter-Governmental Organisations, International Non-governmental Organisations, and International Private Enterprise, which agree to endorse the text and support the objectives and actions under this Partnership.

Thailand have three Flyway Network Sites - www.eaaflyway.net/thailand to find more information.
Pak Thale – Laem Phak Bia Flyway Site
Khok Kham Flyway Site
Krabi Estuary and Bay

www.tideschart.com GET THE LATEST TIDES IN THAILAND AND AROUND THE WORLD - A must to check out times for HIGH and LOW water when going to look for waders / shorebirds.

ebird - Find birding hotspots with bird checklists from all over the world

Avibase - is an extensive database information system about all birds of the world, containing over 25 million records about 10,000 species and 22,000 subspecies of birds, including distribution information for 12,000 regions, taxonomy, synonyms in several languages


www.oiseaux.net This web page is also excellent for identifying birds. There is information and range maps for many many birds from all over the world. This page is almost guaranteed to give you any answer you have about any bird in the world.

Cloudbirders - Read birding trip reports from all over the world

Fatbirder - Linking birders worldwide... Wildlife Travellers see their sister site: WAND


Fatbirder is a fantastic web page with information from, I think every country in the world. My first stop when I plan for my bird watching trips. There is information about locations and guides, well, pretty much everything you need to know. Sometimes this is the only place I need to visit to plan my trip.

BirdingPal - find a birding Guide around the world

BirdingPal


And the web page you cannot live without. I have been around the world looking for birds. I usually have a Guide, but sometimes it is not possible to find a Guide. So, well, I have lost count on how many times I have had help to ID birds at BirdForum. Joining this forum have been very very good for my bird watching experience.

www.birdforum.net

ClimaTemps.com is the place to learn about the worlds climates with more than 4000 locations documented. Each aspect of the climate is represented using colour enhanced tables and professional graphs so that data can easily be compared by switching between locations in different tabs in your browser.

“A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South East Asia by Craig Robson”


A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South East Asia by Craig Robson

A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South East Asia by Craig Robson. New edition updated with 76 species since previous edition “A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South East Asia by Craig” Nick Upton at www.thaibirding.com wrote “This quite excellent book is packed full of quality illustrations and written information on 1251 species recorded in Southeast Asia”

I bought this book for bird watching in Thailand, but it goes for all over SE Asia

I have been very happy with the “A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South East Asia by Craig Robson” But I had a fire in my condo 2019 and I needed to buy a new book. I was looking for the “A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South East Asia by Craig Robson” as I liked the book. But this book is not available anymore so I had to buy the “A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand” by Craig Robson.

What a disappointment this was, using the pictures in the book didn't helped to ID any birds.

“Birds of Thailand” by Uthai Treesuconand Wich'yanan Limparungpatthanakij


I met Peter Ericson, a famous bird watcher and he recommended the “Birds of Thailand” by Uthai Treesuconand Wich'yanan Limparungpatthanakij. I bought the book as soon as the book stores opened after the Wuhan virus. And I am very happy with the book and I have managed to ID some birds using the book.

Birds of Thailand by Uthai Treesuconand Wich'yanan Limparungpatthanakij

This new field guide will help you identify all 1049 species to have been recorded in the country to date, including the 20 species endemic or near-endemic to Thailand.

-Taxonomy follows the HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World.

-Detailed texts covering status, habitat and behaviour, age, sex and geographical variation, voice, and confusion species.

-Almost 2200 illustrations covering all species and distinctive subspecies, birds in flight, males and females, juveniles and non-breeding plumages, where appropriate.

-QR code for each species, linking to the Internet Bird Collection gallery of photos, videos and sounds.

-More than 1025 full-colour range maps for all species other than vagrants.

-Well-marked subspecies groups receive full accounts, and the distributions of subspecies breeding in the region are clearly mapped.

-Local species name and local conservation status included.


I like the book, but I miss the picture index.


Places to visit

Phetchaburi Rice Fields

Birding/ Bird watching at Phetchaburi Rice Fields, Thailand
About 115 km from the Sukhumvit / Asoke intersection in DOWN TOWN Bangkok

You will need a car and if you don't have your own a taxi is a very convenient way of travelling. Depending on the early morning traffic it will take 90 minutes to reach the area. You rent the taxi for a full day and it will set you back with about 2000-3000 Baht (May 2020) depending on distances etc. And of course, depending on your negotiation skills.

Or show the driver a map. Click HERE for a map to Khao Yoi paddies, a good start if you come from the north

Scan for map to Khao Yoi paddies


Phetchaburi Province

Phetchaburi (Thai: เพชรบุรี) or Phet Buri is one of the western or central provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Ratchaburi, Samut Songkhram, and Prachuap Khiri Khan. In the west it borders the Tanintharyi Division of Myanmar. Phetchaburi is home to Kaeng Krachan National Park.

Environment
Phetchaburi's shoreline on the Inner Gulf of Thailand in the area of Pak Thale consists of salt pans, mudflats, mangroves, and sand spits. It has been termed, "...the premier bird watching site for shorebirds in Thailand,..."

The 123 acre site provides sustenance for both passage and wintering species, as well as residents. The area hosts more than 7,000 waterbirds during the northern hemisphere winter. Economic development of the tidal flats, compounded by the impacts of climate change, threaten this ecosystem's future.

Several regular visitors are under threat, including the critically endangered Spoon-billed sandpiper and Great knot, Nordmann's greenshank, and Far Eastern curlew.

From Wikipedia

eBird hotspots in Phetchaburi
eBird hotspots around the Phetchaburi Rice Fields

There are several eBird hotspots around the, have a look at these if you CLICK the names below:

Khao Yoi paddies

Khao Yoi aquaculture

Bang Tabun Ok "Duck & Ibis" Lake

Wat Khao Takhrao aquaculture

Nong Pla Lai paddies

Ban Laem agricultural area

Ban Khum fish ponds and paddies

Thong Chai paddies

Bang Chak paddies

Ton Maphrao paddies

Khao Luang Cave (Tham Khao Luang)

Khao Yoi paddies

Easy to miss the road to exit the highway. Just a very narrow road so it is easy to mistake it for an entrance to a house. But never mind, just take the next, as soon as you have passed through the row of houses along the highway it is rice fields for as long as you can see.

All the hotspots are very close together and you can look for birds for hours and never have left the paddies and ponds.

There are many birds associated with farmland and ponds in the area.

There are water in some of the fields and if you come here midday in the heat you will find birds bathing and drinking in the puddles. Small irrigation canals with many birds at the bottom foraging. And it is also a very beautiful area to drive around in.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies




Khao Yoi aquaculture

Khao Yoi aquaculture is an area where you drive between the ponds and it is pretty much the same as the other hotspots and no surprises here. Driving along the fish farms and there was many birds in the area, especially Egrets and Cormorants.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi aquaculture
Khao Yoi aquaculture

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi aquaculture
Khao Yoi aquaculture

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi aquaculture
Khao Yoi aquaculture

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi aquaculture
Khao Yoi aquaculture




Bang Tabun Ok "Duck & Ibis" Lake

This area is a pond / lake and a dirt track. Reaching the NE corner of the pond / lake and there is a building. The dirt road continue down on the east side of the pond / lake. When we came back to the building there was a car. The man gave us a warning, the road following the east side can collapse any time as the lake are eating on the barrier.

There are mangroves along the dust road on the east side and we spotted a crake.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Tabun Ok Duck & Ibis Lake
Bang Tabun Ok "Duck & Ibis" Lake

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Tabun Ok Duck & Ibis Lake
Driving on the dirt track between the ponds

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Tabun Ok Duck & Ibis Lake
Pond

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Tabun Ok Duck & Ibis Lake
Pond

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Tabun Ok Duck & Ibis Lake
Pond from the building

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Tabun Ok Duck & Ibis Lake
Leaving the area on the dirt track

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Tabun Ok Duck & Ibis Lake
Leaving the area on the dirt track

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Tabun Ok Duck & Ibis Lake
Leaving the area on the dirt track

3 Spot-billed Pelicans were spotted in the pond / lake. There were Black-winged Stilts sitting on eggs on the dry areas in the pond. Egrets and of course Red-wattled Lapwing.



Wat Khao Takhrao aquaculture

Another pond and paddies hotspot. But here we had vegetation along the road and it was not possible to see the ponds at many places. When you could see the ponds you discovered a lot of Egrets and Cormorants.

We could hear the Collared Kingfishers and we could see the Kingfisher sitting on the wire along the road. Same as the other Phetchaburi hotspots, keep an eye in the wires along the road as there are many birds sitting on the wires.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Wat Khao Takhrao aquaculture
Driving along the ponds

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Wat Khao Takhrao aquaculture
Driving along the ponds

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Wat Khao Takhrao aquaculture
Driving along the ponds

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Wat Khao Takhrao aquaculture
Dirt track

Driving along the ponds and again, the same birds that you will see at the other hotspots.



Nong Pla Lai paddies

Leaving the eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies driving south and you reach a bridge over a canal. I stopped my eBird track from Khao Yoi paddies and I restarted the eBird app tracking the eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies All the hotspots are very close together and you can look for birds for hours and never have left the paddies and ponds.

Turn left after having crossed the bridge and you will drive towards east for a kilometre or so. Then the road and turns to south and you keep on driving along the canal.

There are many birds associated with farmland and ponds in the area. There are canals with Water hyacinth so keep an eye out for birds on the Water hyacinth as birds are walking around looking for food. Small irrigation canals with many birds at the bottom foraging. And it is also a very beautiful area to drive around in.

Water hyacinth

Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin, and is often a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range.

Water hyacinth has been widely introduced in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and New Zealand. In many areas it has become an important and pernicious invasive species. In New Zealand it is listed on the National Pest Plant Accord which prevents it from being propagated, distributed or sold.

In large water areas such as Louisiana, the Kerala Backwaters in India, Tonlé Sap in Cambodia and Lake Victoria it has become a serious pest. The common water hyacinth has become an invasive plant species on Lake Victoria in Africa after it was introduced into the area in the 1980s.

When not controlled, water hyacinth will cover lakes and ponds entirely; this dramatically affects water flow and blocks sunlight from reaching native aquatic plants which often die. The decay processes depletes dissolved oxygen in the water, often killing fish.

The plants also create a prime habitat for mosquitos, the classic vectors of disease, and a species of snail known to host a parasitic flatworm which causes schistosomiasis (snail fever). Directly blamed for starving subsistence farmers in Papua New Guinea, water hyacinth remains a major problem where effective control programs are not in place.

Water hyacinth is often problematic in man-made ponds if uncontrolled, but can also provide a food source for goldfish, keep water clean and help to provide oxygen.

Water hyacinth often invades bodies of water that have already been affected by human activities. For example, the plants can unbalance natural lifecycles in artificial reservoirs or in eutrophied lakes that receive large amounts of nutrients.

From Wikipedia

Read more in Bangkok Post:

War on weed

Water hyacinths to be cleared from Chao Phraya (Updated)

Looking on the canal side and you have many Drongos, Racket-tailed Treepies and other birds associated with forest. On the right hand side you have wires following the road and you will see Bee-eaters and other birds sitting on the wire. In the fields you have Stilts and Lapwings together with “Rails and coots” That is what this kind of birds are grouped as in my book.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Driving along the canal, eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Driving along the canal, eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Open fields on the other side of the road, eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Driving along the canal, eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
You will not get tired of the landscape

Driving south for 8 km or so and you reach a bridge, turn left and cross the bridge and you reach a road. There is farm lands and you have a small drainage along the road, keep an eye at the bottom for birds. And one thing is for sure, you will love the landscape. Worth a day just to drive around even if you don't like to look for birds.



Ban Laem agricultural area

This is a very beautiful area and you drive along the rice paddies looking out for birds. And at this time of the year you have to look carefully, as you only see the bird's heads sticking up from the rice. And there are many birds feeding in the fields.

Many trees with Baya and Asian Golden Weaver nest. Some nest under construction and it looks like some of the nest have babies in them.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Ban Laem agricultural area
Ban Laem agricultural area

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Ban Laem agricultural area
Ban Laem agricultural area

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Ban Laem agricultural area
Ban Laem agricultural area

Look at the wires along the roads, Kingfishers and Hoopoes like the wires. And keep an eye in the irrigation canals along the road, birds are bathing and cooling down if you are here in the middle of the day when it is hot.



Ban Khum fish ponds and paddies

Driving along road #4040 and you have a small dirt track going south. Get up on this dirt track and follow the road towards south along the paddies and ponds. There is a lot of birds and I spotted two Purple Herons and I managed to come close, actually never been any closer to a Purple Heron.

Many birds but it is the same birds we see on the other hotspots in the area.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Ban Khum fish ponds and paddies
Get up on the dirt track and drive south

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Ban Khum fish ponds and paddies
Drive along the ponds and paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Ban Khum fish ponds and paddies
Many birds in the fields




Thong Chai paddies

I don't know if I understand this eBird hotspot: . Very close to the eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies It was a paved road and we could not see any dirt tracks leaving out to the wilderness. I might have got the hotspot wrong. But the hotspot is located just on the paved road. There were fields on both sides of the road.

We tried to leave the paved road but it looked like the roads we found was for private areas.



Bang Chak paddies

Just next to the eBird hotspot: Thong Chai paddies and it was a beautiful farmland. There is a canal next to the road and fields on both sides. And it is the same birds as we have seen at the other hotspots.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Drive along the road at eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Follow the canal at eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Follow the canal at eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Follow the canal at eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Follow the canal at eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies




Ton Maphrao paddies

This hot spot, like the others, are surrounded rice fields. Narrow road and it is an elevated concrete road so there are no room to meet another car. And some parts of the road looked very bad so we had to turn around. Getting out on another narrow concrete road and we met a lorry and we gave up.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird Ton Maphrao paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Concrete road at eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird Ton Maphrao paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Concrete road at eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields - eBird Ton Maphrao paddies
Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Very narrow road at eBird hotspot: Bang Chak paddies




Khao Luang Cave (Tham Khao Luang)

We arrived to the Khao Luang Cave and we were told that Khao Luang Cave was closed because of the Wuhan Virus. The cave is on a hill and in front of the gate to the cave we have the town going all the way up to the gate.

Otherwise the hill is surrounded by farm land where you have the normal birds that you expect to find around farmlands.

WARNING!!!

The area is full of monkeys, and it is not the kind sort of monkeys.

Approaching the gate area and I was lucky to close my window. One monkey (While we were driving) ran out and jumped up on the car hanging outside my window. I CAN JUST IMAGE THIS “BEAST” COMING IN TO THE CAR. What a disaster!




Bird checklist

I never use any bird lists, but since I try to make it in to Cloudbirders. A very helpful site when planning your birding trips. But they ask for a bird checklist, and if I use their service, of course I want to contribute as well. My two first bird watching trip reports was rejected by Cloudbirders.

So I started to take ideas from the reports I found on Cloudbirders. So I have started to use bird lists, eBird generate one for me and I can post it on Cloudbirders. I will post my birds on eBird and on my different “BIRDS THAT I HAVE OBSERVED” pages.

Full Thai list updated to the taxonomy, nomenclature and sequence of the IOU/IOC World Bird List. The complete checklist, including Thai names and synonyms, can be downloaded in Excel format - Thailand Bird Checklist. - Version 8.2 (2018) - found at www.norththailandbirding.com

Check lists can come in handy to find out the local name of the bird etc. And Avibase have a list with pictures and sounds, excellent!

So I will post bird checklists here and if my Guides provide me with checklists I will also post them here.

Cloudbirders


Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World

Phetchaburi bird checklist from Avibase, click HERE - eBird version 2019 taxonomy

Avibase is providing you with bird checklists from all over the world. And I´m impressed by their web page. Select country and area and you get the bird checklist. Like the PDF files I got from Avibase on the links above. You also get the checklist with pictures and sounds.

The best part is that you get the local names of the birds and the online checklist gives the names in English plus the language you have selected. But it seems like the PDF cannot handle some alphabet.

For example the Japanese language so it is blank in the PDF checklist. But it worked excellent with Swedish. But you get them in the local language on the online version.


Bird list

I only list birds I have got on picture on my list of OBSERVED BIRDS. But since I started using eBird I have changed a bit. I list all the birds on the eBird checklist. See the DAY TO DAY report in the itinerary below.

And you can visit my list of “Birds I have seen in Thailand” ONLY BIRDS I HAVE ON PICTURE.


Trip Report


29 March 2022 and we make a stop at 7 Eleven next to the highway. I saw something I never seen before when I got out f the car, a parking for females only. Refreshing to see, not the “whatever gender you like” crap we see in the Western World, a world quickly falling apart.

I bought two bottles of water and two bottles of MAX and I was back in the taxi and we continued towards south.

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Stopping to buy water

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Parking spaces

Leaving and it was about 10 minutes to drive to the first eBird hotspot I wanted to visit, the eBird hotspot: Khao Yoi paddies. We took off the highway and I could start the eBird app two minutes later. I recognized the area even though I have not been here for a very long time now.

The rice fields starts almost as soon as you have left the highway and I had my eBird app ready. There was the Heron, Egrets and Openbills in the fields.

We drove through the area for 50 minutes before we decided to leave for the next eBird hotspot: .

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Khao Yoi paddies

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Khao Yoi paddies

Streak-eared Bulbul, Pycnonotus blanfordi, นกปรอดสวน

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields
Purple Heron / นกกระสาแดง

Bird watching in Phetchaburi Rice Fields

eBird

eBird Report


Khao Yoi paddies, Phetchaburi, TH
29 Mar 2022 10:27 - 11:07
Protocol: Traveling
3.65 kilometer(s)
20 species

Feral Pigeon 2
Greater Coucal 3
Asian Koel 2
Plaintive Cuckoo 1 Heard only
White-breasted Waterhen 1
Black-winged Stilt 6
Red-wattled Lapwing 4
Asian Openbill 41
Grey Heron 8
Purple Heron 1
Intermediate Egret 13
Cattle Egret 11
Chinese Pond Heron 4
Javan Pond Heron 6
Black Drongo 5
Streak-eared Bulbul 1
Asian Pied Starling 2
Common Myna 2
Great Myna 4
House Sparrow 1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S105814481

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Khao Yoi paddies
Today's track at Khao Yoi paddies

Turning off my eBird app at 11:07 and I restarted the app at 11:32 at the eBird hotspot: Nong Pla Lai – Bang Chak paddies (general area). We are driving north and it is a beautiful area and there are plenty Herons, Egrets and Openbills in the paddies. Black Winged Stilts all over the area as well.

I ID one bird as a Grey Heron but it turned out to be a Purple Heron and I spotted 6 Purple Herons in total, never seen so many Purple Herons before, a total of 6 on my eBird check list.

Looking out over the paddies and my driver pointed at a bird and asked what bird it was. I told him it was an Oriental Pratincole. While we were sitting there a Black Drongo landed just next to the car and I could get some pictures before we continued on our bird watching adventure.

Birding at Nong Pla Lai
Oriental Pratincole

Black Drongo, कालो चिबे, Dicrurus macrocercus, นกแซงแซวหางปลา

Black Drongo, कालो चिबे, Dicrurus macrocercus, นกแซงแซวหางปลา
Black Drongo / นกแซงแซวหางปลา

Black Drongo, कालो चिबे, Dicrurus macrocercus, นกแซงแซวหางปลา
Black Drongo / นกแซงแซวหางปลา

Black Drongo, कालो चिबे, Dicrurus macrocercus, นกแซงแซวหางปลา
Black Drongo / นกแซงแซวหางปลา

Birding at Nong Pla Lai
Beautiful area

Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea, นกกระสาแดง

Driving along the dirt tracks between the rice paddies. I spotted a small bird, too far away for any good pictures. I had no clue of the ID so I really needed a picture. I got a poor picture and I could ID the bird when I came back home to my BIRDS OF THAILAND book, it was a Amur Stonechat.

We continued and there were several Purple Herons in the paddies but as they are very scared it was not easy to get any pictures of the Purple Heron.

It is a very beautiful heron so I really would like to have a couple of good pictures, well, maybe next time.

Birding at Nong Pla Lai
Amur Stonechat

Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea, นกกระสาแดง
Purple Heron / นกกระสาแดง

Streak-eared Bulbul, Pycnonotus blanfordi, นกปรอดสวน

We continued and we approached two trees on the lefthand side of the road. I asked the driver to stop to have a look at two birds sitting in the trees. I brought out my binoculars and I discovered that it was one Indochinese Roller and one Black-winged Kite. I asked the driver to continue very slow.

I was hoping to get some good pictures but the Black-winged Kite took off as soon as we started to move again.

But the Roller stayed and I could have a few pictures, not so good as the bird was between me and the sun. One Brown Shrike landed in the same tree, but was half covered by a branch so no pictures.

Indochinese Roller, Burmese roller, Coracias affinis, นกตะขาบทุ่ง

Indochinese Roller, Burmese roller, Coracias affinis, นกตะขาบทุ่ง
Indochinese Roller / นกตะขาบทุ่ง

Intermediate Egret, Median Egret, Smaller Egret, or Yellow-billed Egret, Ardea intermedia, チュウサギ, นกยางโทนน้อย

Birding at Nong Pla Lai
Many birds in the fields

Javan Pond Heron, Ardeola speciosa, นกยางกรอกพันธุ์ชวา

Eastern Cattle Egret, Bubulcus coromandus, นกยางควาย

Asian Golden Weaver, Ploceus hypoxanthus, นกกระจาบทอง

Asian Golden Weaver, Ploceus hypoxanthus, นกกระจาบทอง
Asian Golden Weaver / นกกระจาบทอง busy with the nest

Birding at Nong Pla Lai
Wildlife in Phetchaburi

eBird

eBird Report


Nong Pla Lai - Bang Chak paddies (general area), Phetchaburi, TH
29 Mar 2022 11:32 - 13:13
Protocol: Traveling
10.89 kilometer(s)
29 species (+1 other taxa)

Feral Pigeon 50
Red Collared Dove 1
Zebra Dove X
Greater Coucal 2
Asian Koel 1
Plaintive Cuckoo 1 Heard only
Black-winged Stilt X Many
Red-wattled Lapwing 4
Oriental Pratincole 3
Asian Openbill X Many
Little Cormorant 2
Purple Heron 6
Intermediate Egret 20
Little Egret 4
Cattle Egret X Many
Chinese Pond Heron 12
Javan Pond Heron X Many
pond heron sp. 3 Winter plumage so not possible to give a proper ID
Black-winged Kite 1
White-throated Kingfisher 3
Indochinese Roller 1
Black Drongo 3
Brown Shrike 1
Plain Prinia 3
Streak-eared Bulbul 1
Asian Pied Starling 8
Common Myna 8
Great Myna 14
Amur Stonechat 1 Poor picture, kept for ID purpose only
Asian Golden Weaver X Many of them all over the area. Not possible to count

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S105817824

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track at Nong Pla Lai – Bang Chak paddies (general area)
Today's track at Nong Pla Lai – Bang Chak paddies (general area)

We drove back to Bangkok and I was back home around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The driver will come to pick me up on Thursday morning at 6 o'clock and we will go look for birds in Lat Krabang just outside Bangkok. Click HERE to see if we see any birds. I will keep myself busy until then with my pictures and trying to ID some of the birds I saw today.

At the Dentist

And I will have to visit the Dentist as well.


Bird watching trip report



       
                  
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)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

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!

Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas

Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!

Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!

Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra

Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!

คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!

E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Flag of Skåne / Skånska flaggan Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.


                                       

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