BIRD WATCHING DESTINATIONS

Central Thailand. Khao Yai National Park is the closest national park to Bangkok and probably the most popular bird watching site in the country. One of the country’s larger parks spanning 3 provinces, it is home to rare species of birds, most notably, all four species of hornbill: the great, wreathed, oriental pied and brown. Another prominent location for bird watching is Kaeng Krachan National Park, home to 250 species of birds include the hornbill and the grey peacock. Nortern Thailand. The north of Thailand is home to 364 species of birds, many of them not seen elsewhere in the country. The best time for bird watching here is from November to February. The best known sites for sightings are Doi Inthanon National Park and Doi Ang Khang. Northeast Thailand. Khao Yai National Park extends into northeast Thailand and a popular destination for bird watching as well as all kinds of nature related activities such as camping trekking ect. Other notable sites in the northeast are Nam Nao National Park and Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary. Southern Thailand. Prominent sites include Sam Roi Yod Natioanl Park, Khao Sok Natioanl Park, Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary and Khao Pra Bang Khram Wildlife Sanctuary.

BIRD WATCHING: HOW TO GET STARTED?

For novice bird watchers, start your research at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s website at http://www.thailandtourism.org/. There are a number of really great websites regarding bird watching in Thailand, the most notable being http://www.friendsofnature93.com/, http://www.thailandbirdwatching.com/ and http://www.naturetrails.homestead.com/. Also visit the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST) http://www.bcst.or.th/ and Siam Society http://www.siam-society.org/ websites for bird watching expeditions.

BIRD WATCHING IN THAILAND

Bird watching can be an interesting part of your trip if you intend to do some jungle trekking and camping. With 96 National Parks, 48 Wildlife Sanctuaries and a numbers of Non-Hunting areas, Watershed Reserves, Forest Parks and Biosphere Reserves that have been protected by law, Thailand is one of THE foremost destinations for bird watching where different variety of birds can be seen all year round at different points in time. More than 900 species of birds or 10% of the world’s bird species have been recorded in Thailand. Most of the birds found here are shared species and subspecies residing in Thailand and in the plains of Myanmar to the west, Indochina to the east and Malaysia in the southern peninsula. Thailand is also an important area for a wide variety of migrant birds from Northern Eurasia. The majority of birds are found in forested national parks or sanctuaries where they are still fertile enough to support a number of umbrella bird species such as woodpeckers and hornbills. Small birds like jungle babblers, sunbirds, flycatchers and flower-peckers also abound posing sighting challenges for birders. Forest of secondary growth, grassland, lowland water swamp, wetland and coastal areas also support a great variety of interesting open-country and water birds.

BIRD WITHOUT NUMBER

That’s a slight exaggeration, of course, but Thailand is a bird-watcher’s paradise with about 1,000 spices in the world, and more birds than in the whole of Europe. The best place to see them is at Khao Yai. This national park, some three hours drive from Bangkok has a confirmed 318 species within its borders. Most famous are its four species of hornbill, but look too for the silver and Siamese fire back pheasants, several species of pigeon and owl, and perhaps the world’s fastest bird, the brown needle tail. Among winter migrants, staying mostly from October to April, are the Siberian blue robin, mountain hawk eagle and several leaf-warblers, wagtails and stonechats.

The next best bird haven has a very different range of species. It is Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park in Prachab Khiri Khan. It contains Thailand’s most important wetlands: Extensive freshwater marshland, coastal mud flats and mangroves. It harbors an amazing variety of water, wading, shoreline and sea birds, both residents and migrants. Among its 275 confirmed species are painted storks, several different kinds of herons and egles, harriers, stilts and egrets. The spotted greenshank is one of the park’s rarer visitors. The park now provides hides for seabird watching. Its mangroves should be carefully investigated. Another bird watcher’s treat is Kaeng Krachan National Park just west of Hua Hin on the rugged border with Myanmar. It has 250 confirmed species, including an astonishing number of great hornbills along with serpent eagles, scarlet minivets, kalej pheasants and several kinds of peacock. Kaeng Krachan is also one of the last refuges for the woolly-necked stock. Birds, is it? Central Thailand is certainly the place.

GET TO KNOW THAILAND!

With an area of 514,000 square kilometers, Thailand is bordered by Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. The Andaman Sea bound it by the Gulf of Thailand and to the southwest. The capital and largest city is Bangkok. The Chao Phraya or the “River of Kings” is its chief river.

Thailand has a tropical climate with a high degree of humidity. The average temperature is 30 degrees Celsius. There are three seasons: hot (March to May), rainy (June to October), and cool (November to February). The country has 77,697 kilometers of highways and 3,999 kilometers of inland waterways. Bus services operate on routes from Bangkok to every region and between main provincial towns. The railway system, with nearly 4,000 kilometers of track, is divided into five regions each with a trunk line from Bangkok’s Hua Lampong station. There are several domestic airlines and international airports at Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Phuket. The basic unit of currency is the baht which is divided into 100 satang, Banknotes are in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 baht. Coins are in 25 and 50 satang. Government offices open from 8:30 to 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday.