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| Grey Peacock-Pheasant |
This
post follows an account of connecting with sun
bears and other mammals during a five-day stay at Baan Maka Lodge
in South Thailand, featuring visits to the nearby Kaeng Krachan
National Park and the Bird Hide, where mammals and birds are fed. Travelling
south from Bangkok towards our destinations we stopped at the Ton Maparo Paddies, 80km north of Hua Hin (where
we had a few days before visiting Baan Maka). At Ton Maparo I finally
caught up with Asian Golden Weaver. This was a bird I'd inexplicably
missed on multiple past trips. Males were in stunning breeding
plumage and small colonies were nesting along the paddyfield canals.
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| Asian Golden Weaver |
Glenn
and I spent our first morning in Kaeng Krachan watching bears and
other mammals. For the next two mornings I hired a guide, Nuy, who
knew where to go for some of the handful of targets I needed from the
area. Foremost among those was White-fronted Scops-Owl. It rained
heavily the night before and there was no sign of the owls at their
usual daytime roost. A Black-backed Kingfisher at its nest was a
consolation prize. A few of the targets eventually emerged, the first
of them a drab Olive Bulbul located by its distinctive call.
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| Guide Nuy |
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| Olive Bulbul |
Then
a party of 3 Tickell's Brown Hornbills flew over, followed an hour
later by a second group of 10 hornbills which landed in a large tree,
offering good but brief views before flying off. Another much-wanted
bird missed on previous trips, Dusky Broadbill, was finally in the
bag with a noisy group chasing each other in the canopy above the
road. These sightings were between small streams a short way west of
the Ban Krang campgrouynd.
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| Dusky Broadbill |
The
second morning was more successful with the owl. A pair of adult
White-fronted Scops-Owl together with a well-fledged immature bird,
roosting in the fronds of a palm tree, were a sight for sore eyes.
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| White-fronted Scops-Owl adult (left) & immature (right) |
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| White-fronted Scops-Owl (2 adults) |
We
drove further west to the park's second camping ground, Phanoen
Thong, higher up at 1000m, but we failed to connect with a couple of
potential targets there. Birds about the area included Great
Hornbill, Thick-billed Flowerpecker and a smart Red-bearded
Bee-eater (below).
Nice views of the forest in the national park (below).
We
stopped for a pair of Orange-breasted Trogons on the way back.
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| Orange-breasted Trogon |
Other
birds seen during roadside stops included Lineated Barbet and
Pale-legged Leaf-Warbler.
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| Lineated Barbet |
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| Pale-legged Leaf-Warbler |
Nuy
then showed me the way to the Bird Hide, a hide in secondary forest
outside the park where food is put out for some good species, about
12km from Baan Maka. I'd planned to spend the following morning
there. We had a quick look inside the hide and were happy to see 2
pairs of Bar-backed Partridges. A Chinese Francolin was seen along
the road on the way out.
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| Bar-backed Partridge |
Over
several hours at the hide the next morning, the parade of birds and
mammals was entertaining and never-ending. As many as 10 Ferruginous
Partridges, including several chicks, fed openly. This species is
notoriously shy and cryptic; although I'd heard it previously, this
was my first sighting.
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| Ferruginous Partridge (with chicks above) |
Bar-backed
Partridge was not seen again but a pair of Scaly-breasted Partridges
took centre stage for a while amid the plethora of ever-present Red
Junglefowl.
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| Scaly-breasted Partridge |
Puff-throated
Babbler and Streak-eared Bulbul were among quite a few passerines
attracted to the water baths and mealworms.
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| Puff-throated Babbler |
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| Streak-eared Bulbul |
Common
Flameback and Greater Yellownape showed well in the clearing.
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| Common Flameback |
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| Greater Yellownape |
As
did several Ratchet-tailed Treepies and some showy White-crested
Laughingthrushes.
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| Ratchet-tailed Treepie |
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| White-crested Laughingthrush |
A
fine male Grey Peacock-Pheasant made an exciting appearance after a
couple of hours. It came and went over the next half hour, showing
beautifully - another species I'd heard but not seen before.
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| Grey Peacock-Pheasant |
Birds
were also plentiful around Baan Maka Lodge, chief among them the
lovely Blue-winged Pitta. The pitta is a regular breeding visitor to
the lodge grounds and is easily seen and heard there.
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| Blue-winged Pitta |
Other
birds about the grounds include Oriental Pied Hornbill, Lesser
Necklaced Laughingthrush, Blue Whistling-Thrush and Greater
Racket-tailed Drongo.
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| Blue Whistling-Thrush |
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| Greater Racket-tailed Drongo |
The evening beer ritual at Baan Maka
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| Last day in Thailand |
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