| Tour
date: February 20th to March
5th, 2011
Tour
introduction:
 The
peninsula of southern Thailand, part of geological Sundaland,
is a birders and naturalists paradise. Bounded by the Gulf
of Thailand to the east and the Andaman Sea to the west, this
lush tropical region boasts a maritime climate and a unique
combination of terrestrial and marine attractions that rank
among the best globally.
Our
tour is designed to incorporate the most spectacular of the
region’s unique karst limestone scenery in searching
for the region’s diversity of specials. The Gurney’s
Pitta of Khao Nor Chu Chi is the star attraction
for any avid world birder. But it is not only Gurney’s,
the region is a mecca for this brazenly-coloured family, and
our tour includes locations for Hooded, Banded, Mangrove,
Blue-winged and that rarely seen enigma of a bird
– the Giant Pitta. Pittas aside, the
jungles we visit teem with flamboyancy in their birdlife –
five potential Broadbills; Great, Helmeted and White-crowned
Hornbills among others, ten species of tropical Kingfisher,
5 species of Trogon and more. 
In
addition, our route includes a location where the extraordinary
and difficult to see Malaysian Rail-Babbler
is frequently sighted. The normally very difficult-to-see
Great Argus is also available!
We
visit a range of national parks to find these specials picking
up scores of ornately coloured Woodpeckers, unique jungle-living
Babblers, attractive Leafbirds and more along the way. Our
itinerary includes an outing for the tricky Nordmann’s
Greenshank. Whilst birding we may encounter intriguing
jungle mammals including Dusky Langur, Pig-tailed Macaque,
the aptly named Giant Squirrel, the beautiful White-handed
Gibbon, and with luck, the nocturnal Slow Loris.
Visits
to the marine islands around Ko Phi Phi for a Frigatebird
spectacle and the world-famous Similan Islands for Nicobar
Pigeon gives participants the opportunity to get underwater
with snorkel or scuba gear and experience the wonders of this
diverse coral seascape.
This
tropical birding adventure, set amidst extraordinary karst
limestone landscapes and rich tropical seas, is one not to
be missed!
Day
1: Khao Pra Taew National Park and a Frigatebird roost
 Arrive
at Phuket International Airport. We start our birding at the
nearby Khao Pra Taew National Park
for an introduction to the birdlife of southern Thailand.
First sightings of species like Red-whiskered, Stripe-throated
and Yellow-vented Bulbul, Scarlet-backed
and Orange-bellied Flowerpecker and Crimson
Sunbird are a delight.
We
visit a nesting site for the attractive Blue-eared
Barbet. The call of the aptly-named Coppersmith
Barbet will likely guide us to a sighting.
Other
potential species include the dazzling Asian Paradise
Flycatcher and wintering Forest Wagtail.
After
our first Thai lunch we will embark by speeadboat into the
spectacular limestone-crag dotted seas south of Phuket. Here,
we visit a roost of large numbers of Lesser and smaller numbers
of Christmas Island Frigatebirds. These roosts,
can turn into a Frigate extravaganza numbering thousands.
Overnight
Chalong Bay.
Day
2: Phang-na Province and Ko Pra Thong Island
 An
early departure will see us travel to Thai Muang,
where an abandoned golf course provides for excellent open
area birding. Species that we will search for here include
Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Dollarbird
(in the Roller family), Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
and the diminutive Vernal Hanging Parrot.
We are also likely to sight a range of more common species
such as Red-wattled, River and Gray-headed Lapwing
and Lesser Whistling Duck.
Our
next stop is the Morning Glory Farm where will search for
Bitterns. Yellow, Cinnamon, and Black Bitterns
are all possible as is Watercock and the
White-breasted Waterhen.
Our
third stop en route to Khao Sok is one of southern Thailand’s
shorebird meccas.  Terek
Sandpiper is the main attraction here together with
Greater and Lesser Sandplover and Great
Crested and Black-naped Terns.
Our
destination for the day is Ko Pra Thong,
one of Phang-Nga provinces most exclusive and beautiful islands.
With over 15km of isolated, white sandy beaches, the island
is a real paradise. The birds are rather special too, which
is of course why we visit here.
The
species we will search for here include the enigmatically
ugly Lesser Adjutant, and a wide range of
birds of prey: White-bellied Sea Eagle, Grey-headed
Fish Eagle, Grey-faced Buzzard,
the exquisite Black Baza, Changeable
Hawk Eagle, Pied Harrier, and the
striking Brahminy Kite among others.
At
night we will search for the Great-eared Nightjar.
Day
3: Phang-na Province en route to Khao Sok
We
spend the morning birding the island of Ko Pra Thong during
which we will look for the diminutively-spectacular Velvet-fronted
Nuthatch and the striking Crimson Sunbird
among others.
After
soaking the island birds we travel through to Khao
Sok National Park river to our lodge which boasts
awe-inspiring views across a valley peppered with craggy limestone
rock towers. This is where our jungle birding starts in earnest.
The Black-crested Bulbul is spectacular whilst
the similarly coloured Black-headed Bulbul
is somewhat less so. Colourful Brown-throated
and Ruby-cheeked Sunbirds flit about the
trees together with Orange-bellied Flowerpecker.
Overnight
Khao Sok.
Day
4: Sri Pang Nga National Park and Khao Sok National Park Reservoir
 A
predawn start will see us enjoying sunrise over the limestone
crags en route to Sri Pang Nga National Park
where we will spend a full morning. Sri Phang Nga is home
to the prodigious Helmeted Hornbill as well
as flocks of the Bushy-crested variety and
the immaculate Great Hornbill. The skies
above the stream that flows through Sri Phang Nga should produce
the obscure Whiskered Treeswift and Silver-rumped
Needletail.
Chestnut-naped
Forktail occurs as does the range-restricted Lesser
Fish Eagle. This national park is an excellent location
for both Banded Pitta, reputed to be Thailand’s
most dazzling, and Banded Broadbill. 
Other
potentials include Little and Thick-billed Spiderhunter
and Purple-naped Sunbird. We shall always
keep an eye to the sky and an ear open for the possible Great,
Helmeted, White-crowned Hornbills that occur here.
We
return to our idyllic lodge for lunch before embarking on
a long tail boat trip through the exquisite scenery that is
the Ratchaprapha Dam. Between the limestone
cliffs that tower hundreds of metres above we will search
for White-bellied Sea Eagle, Oriental
Hobby and Grey-headed Fish Eagle.
This
boat-based excursion provides for excellent vistas into the
jungle and provides one of our best chances of good sightings
of Helmeted, Great and White-crowned Hornbill
as well as Woodpeckers like Greater and Common Flameback.
In
addition, jungle mammals like Dusky Langur and the White-handed
Gibbon, which utters a beautifully haunting call from the
jungle canopy are likely.
Overnight
Khao Sok.
Day
5: Khao Sok National Park river section and travel to Khao
Luang Krun Ching
 We
will spend a full morning session birding the Khao Sok River
National Park. Here, we search for the elusive Rufous-collared
and Blue-banded Kingfishers. The dense jungle here
is also a good spot to get to grips with a range of babblers
including Striped Tit, Chestnut-winged, Black-capped
and Spot-necked.
A
range of Woodpeckers occur including the flashy Maroon
and Bamboo Woodpeckers as well as other forest birds
like the Streaked Spiderhunter. This is one
of the sites where we will search for the gaudy Chestnut-naped
Forktail as well as the Banded Pitta.
After
lunch we will make our way to the relatively undiscovered
Khao Luang Krun Ching National Park
on the eastern side of the Peninsula.
We
will arrive in time for some late afternoon birding during
which we will scan for Brown Barbet, Red-bearded
Bee-eater, Black and Yellow Broadbill
and many more. 
After
dinner, we embark on some owling in the form of Brown
Wood Owl and Buffy Fish Owl. The
aptly-named Slow Loris is a possibility as is Javan
Frogmouth.
Overnight
Krun Ching.
Day
6 to 7: Khao Lang Krun Ching
The
Malaysian Rail Babbler is the only species
of the family Eupetidae and is suitably unique in
appearance – part Rail – part Babbler. This is
not an easy bird to find and with the help of a local guide
Krun Ching is one location where it is regularly sighted.
The Rail Babbler is the focus of our efforts on this day,
but the jungles here hold a plethora of other specials that
we will be on the lookout for as well. 
These
include White-crowned Forktail, the strikingly
petite Rufous Piculet, the range-restricted
Crested Jay, Green and Dusky Broadbill,
Banded Pitta, Scarlet Minivet,
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Gold-whiskered
Barbet and breeding Wallace’s Hawk
Eagle.
Great
Argus, a very rarely seen bird is often heard vocalising
here and with the help of the local experts and a creative
strategy that requires participants to be dead silent we actually
have a reasonable chance of a sighting this Pheasant of Pheasants.
Overnight
Krun Ching
Day
8: Khao Lang Krun Ching and the wetlands of Thale Noi
A
last morning session at Krun Ching gives us the opportunity
to search for any species still missing from our lists such
as the Indian Black Eagle and Bat
Hawk. 
Our
next destination is the wetlands of Thale Noi
home to two species of extravagant Jacanas: Bronze-winged
and Pheasant-tailed. In addition to the Jacanas other
wetland species such as Cotton Pygmy Geese,
Stork-billed Kingfisher, Chinese
Pond Heron, Eastern Marsh Harrier
and Black-headed Ibis, Slaty-breasted
and White-browed Crake occur.
The
habitat around the wetland is home to Yellow-bellied
Prinia, Common and Dark-necked Tailorbird,
and White-rumped and Scaly-breasted Munia.
We have a chance here of winter migrants like Arctic
and Yellow-browed Warbler and Cuckoos such as Banded
Bay, Plaintive and Chestnut-winged.
Overnight
near Thale Noi
Day
9: Khao Po Khao Yai and travel to Khao Nor Chu Chi
Our
morning on day 7 is spent at Khao Po Khao Yai
National Park. The park headquarters and campground
contains a large cleared area where the large trees remained
intact making it an excellent place to sight birds like Woodpeckers
and Leafbirds. Of these, the kaleidoscopic Banded
Woodpecker is one of the highlights. Blue-winged,
and Greater and Lesser Green Leafbirds occur
as does Brown-streaked Flycatcher.
The
jungles here are a little more open making viewing easier
and are home to Rufous-tailed Tailorbird and
Moustached Babbler among others.  Our
key target species here are the splashy Banded Kingfisher
and the Streaked Wren Babbler, which feeds
around the bottom of the National Parks limestone cliffs.
After
lunch, we make our way to Khao Nor Chu Chi in time for a late
afternoon birding session.
Overnight
at KNC
Days
10 to 11: Khao Nor Chu Chi (KNC) and Krabi
Khao
Nor Chu Chi (also known as Khao
Pra Bang Kram) is the holy grail of birding
in Southern Thailand. This is so, because it is the only locality
outside of Myanmar where the rare and endangered Gurney’s
Pitta can be found.  Finding
the Gurney’s requires special effort and is the focus
of our time and effort at KNC. In addition, this last remnant
patch of lowland jungle in southern Thailand is home to a
profusion of megas.
During
our stay we will search for flamboyancy in the form of Orange-breasted
and Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Red-crowned Barbet,
Chestnut-bellied and Raffles Malkoha,
Crested Jay, Hooded, Blue-winged
and Banded Pitta and Rufous-collared and
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher.
Less
gaudy, but as impressive are many species of cryptically marked
Babblers including Rufous-crowned, Puff-throated,
Black-capped, Scaly-crowned and Spot-necked. Buff-rumped
Woodpecker is exquisite in the subtlety of its markings.
Globally there are only two species of Philentoma
– Maroon-breasted and Rufous-winged
and both occur here at KNC. Black-naped Monarchs
are common as is the aureate white form of the Asian
Paradise Flycatcher. 
KNC
is one of the very few places where the enigmatically elusive
Giant Pitta has been sighted.
Our
after-dinner outings at KNC will be in search of Great-eared
and Large-tailed Nightjar as well as Oriental
Bay Owl and Gould’s Frogmouth.
During our stay at KNC we will make an outing to the nearby
Krabi mangroves and shoreline. It is here that we will search
for one of the trickiest of the Tringa genus – the Nordmann’s
Greenshank. This area is also home to the range-restricted
Mangrove Pitta and Black-and-Red
Broadbill. Both Brown-winged and
Ruddy Kingfishers occur as does Mangrove
Whistler.
Overnight
at Morakot resort, KNC on days 7, 8 and 9.
Day
12: Khao Nor Chu Chi to Khao Lak via Phang Nga Bay
After
a last morning at KNC we make our way to the extensive mangroves
of Phang-Nga Bay. Here, we have
another chance of southern
Thailand’s mangrove specials including Brown-winged,
Ruddy, and Collared Kingfisher, Mangrove
Whistler, Black-and-Red Broadbill and
Mangrove Pitta.
We will enjoy lunch at a wonderful deck restaurant overlooking
the mangroves before making our way to our final stop at Khao
Lak – our springboard to the Similan Islands.
Day
13: Similan Islands
The
Similan Islands are one of the
few places outside of the Nicobars where the pompous Nicobar
Pigeon can be found. It is a two hour boat trip on
the Andaman Sea during which we will search for the elegant
Black-naped and Bridled Tern as well as Great
and Lesser Crested. 
Nicobar
Pigeon is not the only bird on the Similan islands, Green
and Pied Imperial Pigeons also occur. The Similans
are world-famous among scuba divers as one of the top dive
sites in the world. The combination of a wealth of coral reefs
and associated marine life and 20 metre plus water visibility
on many days makes for a sublime underwater experience.
After
finding the requisite Nicobar, participants will have an opportunity
to get underwater with a snorkel or scuba tank if you are
a diver, and marvel the marine life of this tropical paradise.
Overnight Khao Lak
Day
14: Return to Phuket International Airport
After
some final morning birding at the wetland and shorebird sites
near Khao Lak, we return to Phuket International Airport where
the adventure began.
Click
here to see our 2009 Jewels of the South bird
list.
 Not
enough birding? Check out this central
Thailand extention. This
will take you to some temples, shores and Khao Yai National
Park. You'll certainly add some impressive species to your
list. The dates for the extension are February 13th to the
19th
Your
international guide: Duan Biggs
Duan Biggs
was born in Windhoek, Namibia and spent many of the weekends
of his young days in this vast and wild country chasing down
Pale Chanting Goshawks and other birds of prey his parents
(both ecologists) were studying. At the age of 10 Duan moved
with his family to the Kruger National Park in South Africa,
where his interest in birds turned into a lifelong passion.
He started guiding at the age of 17, initially in South Africa,
from where he expanded to other African destinations.
Duan is
currently based in Townsville, Australia where he is completing
a PhD. He has led birding expeditions in the Antipodeans and
started guiding in Asia in 2007. When not sharing his birding
fervor on birding tours Duan spends his time writing scientific
papers and popular articles presenting talks at conferences
on ecotourism, development and conservation.
TOUR
PRICE: US$3085
per person sharing
--------------------- Single
supplement: US$235
Included
in tour price
•
All Accommodation
•
All meals
•
International guide
•
Local licensed Thailand Tourism Authority Guide
•
Snorkelling on the day trip to the Similan Islands
•
All national park entry fees
Excluded
in tour price
•
Drinks and Alcoholic beverages
•
Alcoholic beverages
•
Diving costs on the trip to the Similans
Most photographs
by Ian Dougdale
Itinerary
developed by Duan Biggs for exclusive use for the
Birding Ecotours
and Thailandbirding.com
collaboration tour.
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