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It was our first time to go birding in Thailand. Budget birders that we are, we did not hire any packaged bird tours. What we did was book into the birding lodges in Petchaburi which is one of the prime birding areas in Thailand. Birds can be seen in the premises of these lodges and they have local bird guides which can be hired for a fee.
Lodges:
Kum Nangpaya Resort. We booked our one-day stay here using the booking.com website. The owner, Nokki, arranged for us to be picked up from the airport. The accommodations are very nice with hot shower even. Breakfast was also included in the daily rate. The resort grounds had plenty of birds. The local guide, Nuy, took us to a hide where we saw the Blue Pitta. The fee was 250 baht per person.
Baan Maka Nature Lodge was where we stayed the next 4 days in Thailand. We contacted them and made our booking via email (baanmaka@yahoo.com). They always replied promptly to our questions. When we were already back in the Philippines and reviewing our bird pictures they even helped us identify some of the birds we saw at their place when we emailed them for help. Our lodge was very nice with airconditioning, hot showers, and some amenities. They also arranged for our ride to the airport hotel on our last day and instructed our driver to stop over by the ricefields so we could take photos of the birds there. The owners, Ian and Games, are both birders. Games also conducts occasional birding tours being a guide herself. She also arranged our visits to the different hides in the area and a half day trip to Kaeng Krachan Park. Depending on the place, the entrance fee to the hides varies from 200 to 300 baht per person. The rates for the use of local guides depend on the length and destination. The premises are also good for birding. Here is their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BaanMaka.NatureLodge
Both lodges are highly recommended.
One of the hides we went to was the Baan Songnok. The owner, Auntie Ek, was very friendly and knowledgeable of the birds in and around her property.
Prior to our departure back to Manila we decided to stay at a hotel near the airport since our flight would be in the morning. We stayed at the Miracle Airport Hotel, which provides a free airport transfer.
Our experience:
Traffic: What surprised us was the traffic coming from and going back to the airport. Although we are used to the terrible traffic jam in MetroManila, we didn't expect it to be that bad in Bangkok. For one thing, the roads are wide and well paved, very similar to the freeways of California (unlike that in Manila). Another thing is that there were very few public vehicles (the bane of traffic in the Philippines). There were no jeepneys or tricycles and only a few (very few) buses.
Birding: Although we did not see our target birds (Black-and-red Broadbill, Long-tailed Broadbill, and Orange-headed Thrush) we still garnered 47 lifers! Most of our birding was done around the area where we stayed and in various hides recommended by Nokki and Games.
Food: One of my worries before going to Thailand was the kind of food that will be served in the lodges. I always thought that Thai food was spicy which was something my taste buds could not handle. It turned out my fears were for naught. Both lodges had an extensive menu which had a variety of dishes including Chinese and Western cuisine.
Overall, we had a good time birding in Thailand. We are thinking of going back perhaps in high season which is around April or May.
February 13 - our third day of birding in Thailand. Games, the owner of the Baan Maka Nature Lodge where we were staying, recommended that we go visit the hides at Baan Songnok. Her driver would take us to that place, she said. She also told us that the owner of the hide, Auntie Ek, speaks English and knows the birds in the area very well.
Right after breakfast we headed off to Auntie Ek's place. She greeted us cordially and escorted us to where her hides were. Expect the partridges to come, she assured us. At first only the uber common birds - the Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Red Junglefowls and Spotted Doves - showed up. Then slowly, a covey of partridges emerged from the dark side of the forest. The first kind was the Bar-backed Partridge and lifer #25 for us.
Then came the more shy Scaly-breasted Partridge and our 26th lifer.
Satisfied that we got what we came for, we walked outside. Auntie Ek, bless her heart, pointed at the top of the electric pole across the street from her place. "Plain-backed Sparrow," she said. Somehow this individual was looking at something inside one of the wire connections as it kept flying in front of it then perch at the top of the pole. It kept this interesting routine the whole time we were trying desperately to get a good photo of this hyperactive bird and our 27th lifer.
Soon our driver came to pick us up and bring us back to Baan Maka. As we were about to leave, Auntie Ek, encouraged us to return in the afternoon. "There will be different birds at that time," she said with such confidence, "besides your entrance fees are good for one day anyway."
"We'll be back," we told her in the most Schwarzenegger-ish accent.
Back at Baan Maka, we had time to spare before our second visit to Baan Songnok. Of course, we wandered around the premises again and were lucky enough to add three more species to our life list: the Dark-necked Tailorbird, the Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher and a Bronze-winged Jacana.
A little before 3 pm and we were back at Auntie Ek's place. And she was right - there were different birds that came to the hide that afternoon. We had a bonanza of lifers!
Lifer #31 - Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush
#32 - Brown-cheeked Fulvetta
Our 33rd lifer was a challenge. Several species look so very similar that it was hard determining which is which. We believe that the one we just photographed was the Tickell's Blue Flycatcher.
When lifer #34 came, I saw it first and I kept telling Cynthia, "blue-and-white, blue-and-white" as I kept taking photos of the said bird. I was curious why my wife wasn't reacting at all. When I asked her why she was not photographing the Siberian Blue Robin, she said she had no idea what the "blue-and-white" thing I was taking about. I guess that despite its color, that tiny bird blended well with the darkish background and did attract Cynthia's attention.
Having settled the issue, another bird showed up by the small "pool". And yes, it was another lifer - the Pin-striped Tit-Babbler.
After the Tickell's and the Siberian Blue Robin had left, another bird came that looked like a hybrid between those two species. The Hainan Blue Flycatcher was lifer 36 for us.
As we were about to pack up, one more lifer came and our final for the day - the Abbott's Babbler.
Baan Songnok, or I should say Auntie Ek's spot, is definitely a birding paradise.
