Bird watching at Baan Maka Nature Lodge, Kaeng Krachan National Park - Thailand bird watching trip report

Introduction

Kaeng Krachan National Park is still closed due to the Wuhan Virus. But Baan Maka Nature Lodge has opened and I booked the weekend. Baan Maka Nature Lodge is a famous place for bird watching and it is close to many eBird hotspots that I will try to check out. Kaeng Krachan National Park is closes but there is still many eBird hotspots outside the check points.

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

Guide

Baan Maka Nature Lodge have Guides and click HERE for information and prices

Guides

Baan Maka Nature Lodge give you a choice of local expert guides.

Piak and Son have been guiding in Kaeng Krachan NP for years and know the place like no-one else. They are passionate and knowledgable about the birds and speak a little English.

Games has been a bird guide around Thailand for many years, knows the park well and speaks good English. She can also take you to other local birding spots like the world famous shorebird site, Laem Pak Bia.

Land transportation

Baan Maka Nature Lodge can organise taxi/minibus transfers from Bangkok / Hua Hin and other local areas. More information by clicking HERE

I took my own taxi from Bangkok and I paid 2500 Baht ONE WAY. The driver will come to pick me on Monday. I have been hiring this driver when doing bird watching around Bangkok so I know it is a good driver. It is about 2 h and a half hour to 3 hours depending on traffic from Bangkok to Baan Maka Nature Lodge.

Off the Bangkok - Phetchauri highway and it
is green all the way to Baan Maka Nature Log

It is a very beautiful stretch of road and you can see the mountains and forest for long as you can see.

Accommodation

Baan Maka Nature Lodge is a small hotel dedicated to making your visit to Kaeng Krachan as enjoyable and rewarding as possible.

They offer comfortable rooms with hot showers & air conditioning. There is a restaurant on-site using homegrown produce. The lodge is situated a few kilometres from Kaeng Krachan NP in five hectares of gardens, forest & farmland.

www.baanmaka.com

Grounds

Baan Maka Nature Lodge have 5 hectares of grounds including gardens, forest, farmland and lakeside.

Baan Maka Nature Lodge have a few bird hides in the grounds at water holes and feeding stations.

There is a 1km forest trial around the edge of the grounds which can be walked during the day to look for birds and at night to look for snakes. We now also have a 500m loop trail around the hill at the back of the lodge allowing great views of the surrounding area and sunsets.

There are three kayaks (2 singles and 1 triple) you are welcome to use to explore our lake which is about 1km long.

Entrance to Baan Maka Nature Lodge

Road to Baan Maka Nature Lodge

I will live in the house next to the restaurant

My room

Bathroom

My balcony

The restaurant

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

Weather, I don´t know if Bangkok is the hottest capital in the world. But this is what they say and I have no reason to doubt this information because it is darn hot.

Bangkok, Thailand - Climate & Temperature

Pictures from www.climatemps.com

Bangkok, Thailand - Climate & Temperature - Click picture for full size

Pictures from www.climatemps.com

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

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. 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.

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

Kaeng Krachan

Kaeng Krachan National Park

Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thai: อุทยานแห่งชาติแก่งกระจาน, RTGS: Utthayan Haeng Chat Kaeng Krachan, is the largest national park of Thailand. It is on the border with Burma, contiguous with the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve. It is a popular park owing to its proximity to the tourist town of Hua Hin.

History
The park was declared a reserve in 1964 and on 12 June 1981 it became the 28th national park of Thailand. Originally covering an area of 2,478 km2 (1.5 million rai; 240,000 ha), it was enlarged in December 1984 to include the boundary area between Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan Provinces, an additional 300,000 rai.

The park has been included in the list of ASEAN Heritage Parks. Since 2011, Thailand has proposed that Unesco designate Kaeng Krachan Natural Park a world heritage site. Myanmar claims that about one-third of the land included in Thailand's claim—almost 1,000 km2—is part of Myanmar's Tanintharyi Region and has opposed Thailand's effort.

The killing of wild elephants is a big problem at the park, with authorities unable to control poachers. Some park officials are allegedly involved in the trade of elephant parts.

Despite national park status, there are private plantations within the confines of Kaeng Krachan National Park. Some of these are surrounded by electric fences which, in June 2013, fatally electrocuted an elephant calf.

In 2018, the park started taking bids on a project to pave 18.5 kilometres of the Bang Krang to Phanoen Thung Road. It is budgeted at 87.62 million baht. The existing one-lane dirt road is "broken beyond repair" according to the park's chief. Environmentalists oppose the project on the grounds that easier accessibility will mean more tourists in the fragile ecosystem.

The park chief says, "...the project does not violate regulations...and [we have] a duty...to proceed with the project." The project was halted, at least temporarily, in early-November 2018 by the National Parks Department to allow opponents to be heard on the issue.

Geography
The park covers parts of the districts Nong Ya Plong, Kaeng Krachan, and Tha Yang of Phetchaburi Province, and of Hua Hin of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. It consists mainly of rain forest on the eastern slope of the Tenasserim Mountain Range. The highest elevation in the park is 1,513 meters, in a "joint area of Thailand and Myanmar".

The second highest mountain peak is Kao Panern Toong with an elevation of 1,207 m. Two main rivers originate within the park area, the Pranburi River and the Phetchaburi River. The Phetchaburi is impounded by the Kaeng Krachan Dam at the eastern border of the park. The dam creates a lake covering an area of 46.5 km2. The dam was built in 1966.

From Wikipedia

Kaeng Krachan National Park is of course the obvious place to visit. But now it is closed during the Wuhan Virus. But there is a lot of bird hides and eBird hotspots outside the gate. And the ground itself around Baan Maka Nature is a heaven for bird watchers. So it is no problem to kill a few days in the area even though the national park is closed.

There are so many eBird hotspots in the Kaeng Krachan so it will take a very long time to cover them all. But I managed to visit a few of them:

• Baan Maka Nature Lodge

• Kaeng Krachan NP--Lung Sin's hide

• Kaeng Krachan NP--Ban Song Nok

• Kaeng Krachan NP--Huai Mae Priang rambutan orchard

• Wat Phra Phuttabat Khao Luk Chang

• Open areas on Hwy. 3510 at Km.48 vicinity

• Kaeng Krachan NP--Hin Lad

• Kaeng Krachan NP--Khao Sam Yot Reservoir and vicinity

Baan Maka Nature Lodge

There is a couple of bird hides in the area and a nature trail around the compound. And the owner is updating you with the latest sightings. He had been seeing 200 different birds by the time I was there in June 2020.

Nature trail at Baan Maka Nature Lodge

If you walk in the other direction you will end up at a lake and there is a bridge where you can sit and watch for birds in the reeds. Walking towards the bridge and you might see Hornbills in the trees. Walking towards the entrance to the compound and I could see a couple off Brown Boobooks.

There are water and a forest next to the road and I spotted orioles and pittas in the area.

Walk path to the lake at Baan Maka Nature Lodge

Bridge at Baan Maka Nature Lodge

eBird hotspot: Kaeng Krachan NP--Lung Sin's hide (restricted access)

There are many bird hides in the area and all the eBird hotspots with (restricted access) means an access fee. Around 200 Baht and that is OK as they are maintaining the bird hides and they cannot work for free.

They called the “care taker” from Baan Maka and when I was in the hide an old Gentleman came to collect the money. So don't be surprised if suddenly someone come to collect money.

There is a walk path from the road and it is easy to walk on the walk path. No UP and DOWN and the path is quite even. A little rocky at the beginning, but no problem to reach the hide.

You have a sign on the tree at the side of the road

Leave the road and walk along the walk path

Leave the road and walk along the walk path

Walk path to the hide

View from the hide

You will most likely spot the Mouse Deer coming to the hide. I have never seen this deer before and I really didn't knew what it was. Back at the hotel they told me that it was a Mouse Deer.

There are also many different squirrels, size from very small to almost gigantic size.

Chevrotain

Chevrotains are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only from fossils. The extant species are found in forests in South and Southeast Asia, with a single species in the rainforests of Central and West Africa.

They are solitary or live in pairs, and feed almost exclusively on plant material. Chevrotains are the smallest hoofed mammals in the world. The Asian species weigh between 0.7 and 8.0 kg, while the African chevrotain is considerably larger at 7–16 kg.

In November 2019, conservation scientists announced that they had photographed silver-backed chevrotains (Tragulus versicolor) in a Vietnamese forest for the first time since the last confirmed sightings in 1990

From Wikipedia

I spotted the Large Scimitar-Babbler and this was the most exciting bird I spotted in the hide. There was another bird I had never seen before so it makes it two birds I have never seen before. Black-napped Monarch otherwise it was the normal bulbuls. The hide is well worth a visit even though it is a little low on light.

I was lucky that I brought my flash and I suggest that you bring your flash, not only for the hide, even for the forest or you will have to use a crazy ISO speed. And if you are here in the rainy season you should bring a rain cover for the camera if you need to leave the hide in the rain.

eBird hotspot: Kaeng Krachan NP--Ban Song Nok

This place is about 5 minutes from the Baan Maka Nature Lodge with car. Hotel reception / office at the parking. They have a monitor with a live transmission from the hide so you can see what birds you have in the hide. The lady working in the office was very friendly and helpful. And you do not have any question when you leave the office.

I paid the 200 Baht and we took the two minutes’ walk to the bird hide.

Monitor at the office

Walking to the hide

Reaching the hide

View from the hide

There are plenty space in the hide and the chairs are OK to sit on. And there is a good view over two water wells where the birds come to drink and bath. It is a place well worth visiting. The otherwise so shy Red Junglefowl is coming up close and you can get great pictures.

The lighting conditions are good if the sky is not overcast.

eBird hotspot:
Kaeng Krachan NP--Huai Mae Priang rambutan orchard

This area is just as the name suggest, and orchard with rambutan trees. There is a parking lot in front of a building / shed. There is a walk path on the right side of the building and there are two ponds behind the building.

Orchard

A piece of enclosed land planted with fruit trees.

Parking lot

Walking towards the rambutan trees

Walk past the ponds and you reach the orchard located on the hill. Walk up the hill while looking for the Vernal Hanging-parrot and this bird is what making this area “famous” for birders.

This is the place where you will see the Vernal Hanging-parrot but you will need to find the trees with ripe rambutan fruit. You will see the bird hanging upside down eating the rambutan.

It is a dry area

Looking for birds in the rambutan trees

BUT IT IS NOT EASY TO SEE THE BIRD!A small green bird in green trees, I spotted several but impossible to take pictures in the trees. But I was lucky and I spotted two birds sitting in the sun eating from fruits hanging outside of the tree.

The area is also known for the beautiful Crimson Sunbirds.

eBird hotspot: Wat Phra Phuttabat Khao Luk Chang

About 30 minutes away from Baan Maka Nature Log you have the Wat Phra Phuttabat Khao Luk Chang. There is a remnant patch of dry dipterocarp forest where diurnal owls, woodpeckers and plenty of other good birds can be found.

Diurnal

adjective
1 of or during the day.

• Zoology (of animals) active in the daytime.
• Botany (of flowers) open only during the day.

2 daily; of each day: diurnal rhythms .

Park the car, there are plenty space and you can walk around among the trees. Up on the left hand side you have a set of stairs leading to a reclined Buddha. Straight forward and you will reach the temple. There are a small forest but there is no paths to walk on around the temple.

Between the road / parking and the stairs to the declined Buddha it was possible to walk as there was only leafs on the ground around the trees.

But around the temple it was not possible to walk, at least not if you want to be quiet and if you want to see snakes etc. before stepping on them.

Looking for birds at the Wat Phra Phuttabat Khao Luk Chang

Walk up the hill and you will end up in an area with some colourful animal statues and something looking like a playground. Here it was possible to walk around on something that might have been paths. But it was open ground with only leafs so you could have been sneaking up on any birds if you would only have seen them.

Looking for birds at the Wat Phra Phuttabat Khao Luk Chang

When I was there with my Guide there was next to no birds at all, but you can ask the Guide before going if it is the right season to go bird watching at the temple. It is definitely worth a visit, BRING MOSQUITO REPELLENT!

eBird hotspot: Open areas on Hwy. 3510 at Km.48 vicinity

We drove along the road # 3510 coming from the south and we leave the road getting on road # 4013 towards west in the vicinity of the eBird hotspot: . No other hotspot so I use the Open areas on Hwy. 3510 at Km.48 vicinityas we were within 2 km from the hotspot.

And the hotspot is the same as other paddies and field hotspots. We passed some rice paddies and we spotted some birds and we stopped. We walked around the paddies and, well, as soon as we were out from the car the birds took off.

Fields at eBird hotspot: Open areas on Hwy. 3510 at Km.48 vicinity

Drive along a dust road

Fields at eBird hotspot: Open areas on Hwy. 3510 at Km.48 vicinity

A nice area and you can come close to the birds if you use the car as a bird hide. But the birds are pretty much the same birds you see in other areas like this. So I don't know if it is worth a visit wasting time you can use at Kaeng Krachan.

eBird hotspot: Kaeng Krachan NP--Hin Lad

You drive along road #4010 and you reach a check point, Kaeng Krachan National Park Protection Unit 1 (Khao Hin Lat). Just before the check point there is a field with papaya trees and here you have the chance to see birds in the fruit trees.

Pass the checkpoint follow the road # 4010 up the mountain and after about 4 km you reach the next eBird hotspot: Kaeng Krachan NP--Hwy. 3410where we turned around. Driving in the forest, great if you want to thick of a bird list, but for bird photography, not so good.

Birding/ Bird watching at Kaeng Krachan NP--Hin Lad, Thailand

2 different eBird hotspots

Driving on the mountain side

Passing the check point and you will pass a dam / reservoir and then you will drive through a farm area. Before you reach the forest you drive through a small rubber tree plantation. We spotted two Common Buttonquail (Small Buttonquail in eBird) and this was obviously something very special as my guide started to sound like a child.

He stood on the brake pointing and jumping up and down in the seat. I was in the back seat, boiling.
- Turn the car!!! Turn the car!!!

Impossible to get any pictures from the back seat through the front window.

Rubber trees

Approaching a small farm village

But I had more luck with the Lesser Coucal. First time I could get an OK picture of the Lesser Coucal. And here are many Hornbills in the area, Oriental Pied in the lower area and when driving up the mountain you will have a chance to see the Great Hornbill. And even if you don't see any birds it is a nice area to see.

eBird hotspot:
Kaeng Krachan NP--Khao Sam Yot Reservoir and vicinity

This hotspot is just next to the eBird hotspot: Kaeng Krachan NP--Samarn CampThe hotspot make is just inside the Kaeng Krachan Protection Unit KBR. 2 and the check-point is closed because of the Wuhan Virus. But as the name include “vicinity” I choose this hotspot for the birds we spotted along road # 3432 between the two hotspots.

Birding/ Bird watching at Kaeng Krachan NP--Khao Sam Yot Reservoir and vicinity, Thailand

eBird hotspots very close together

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.

Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex National Park 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

Day 1 - Baan Maka Nature Lodge and Lung Sin's hide

Day 2 - Baan Maka Lodge, Ban Song Nok and Huai Mae Priang rambutan orchard

Day 3 Wat Phra Phuttabat Khao Luk Chang, Open areas on Hwy. 3510 and Kaeng Krachan NP--Hin Lad

Day 4 Kaeng Krachan NP--Khao Sam Yot Reservoir and vicinity and Hin Lad and last birding at Baan Maka Nature Lodge