Bangban, Ayuthaya Province:

The open field of rice paddies and aquaculture ponds where is the most popular for Pied Kingfisher photograph. Simply settle down yourself behind the local restaurant, Krua Manao, you can get the best shots of different actions of Pied Kingfisher up close.

Suan Rot Fai Park, Bangkok:

>One of the most popular spots for bird photographers in the middle of Bangkok. It is quite an easy and likable place for taking a bird in flight in a very busy Thailand metropolitan. Iconic species here include Spotted Owlet and Asian Barred Owlet.

Khao Yai National Park:

The country first national park and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the most popular and most visited park in Thailand as it located not far from Bangkok. The park holds variety of spectacular habitats and tourist attractions worth visiting. It is easy to access and explore with neat paved roads go through many interesting spots all over the park. Tourist facilities in the park are excellent too.

Some of birds photography hot spots in the park such as a viewpoint at KM.30, when a fig tree’s fruits are ripening, it attracts several species of frugivorous birds to this spot. The highlight species at this viewpoint are Great Hornbill and Wreathed Hornbill, which many photographers have been expecting for perfect flight shots of them passing through the valley.

Other excellent birds spots in Khao Yai include Khao Khiew viewpoint, Pha Diew Dai viewpoint, Lam Taklong Campground, Pha Kluai Mai Campground, and the main canteen near the visitor center. Highlight species around the park include Austen’s Brown Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Buffy Fish Owl, Long-tailed Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill, Orange-breasted Trogon, Red-headed Trogon, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Banded Kingfisher, Common Green Magpie, Black Eagle, Black-throated Laughingthrush, Orange-headed Thrush, Cambodian Flowerpecker, and several more.

However, the most sough-after and iconic species from Khao Yai include a national Thai bird Siamese Fireback, a gorgeous Silver Pheasant, and an elusive Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo.

Kaeng Krachan National Park:

The country largest national park and also one of the most diverse wildlife area. It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021. The park well-known as the capital of birdwatching in Thailand and it is one of the most favorite place for bird photographers too. The park location is like a bridge that connect biodiversity from North-west of Thailand, Central, South together and additionally adjacent to Myanmar forests.

Two major different terrains occur in the park, a lowland part with a very good paved road and a high-altitude part where it is very steep and rough road heading to the top peak. For a lowland part, photograph birds along the road side is simply excellent. We can stop and wait for birds as many time as we wanted, but the best spot on this road is between km.9 and the first campground at km.15 (Baankrang Camp). The species that normally found around this area include Greater Flameback, Greater Yellownape, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Crested Serpent Eagle, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Great Hornbill, Sultan Tit, Black-thighed Falconet, Asian Barred Owlet, Orange-breasted Trogon, Golden-crested Myna, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Great Iora, Verditer Flycatcher, Crimson Sunbird, Ruby-cheecked Sunbird, and so on. The special bonus from this lowland area is a collection of broadbills including Black-and-Red Broadbill, Black-and-Yellow Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Silver-breasted Broadbill and Dusky Broadbill, especially in breeding season during late February to May.

The high-altitude, due to very narrow and steep dirt road, we can pull over only at some specific spots that the park allowed. There are so many interesting species especially at the higher elevation around km.27 to the second campground (Panoenthung Camp) and the top peak viewpoint at km.30. When visiting this park, you should not be missed this area. Great species often show up around here such as Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Tickell’s Brown Hornbill, Banded Kingfisher, Bamboo Woodpecker, Long-tailed Broadbill, Collared Babbler, White-browed Schimitar-Babbler, Red-headed Trogon, White-browed Shrike-Babbler, and the real highlight is Ratchet-tailed Treepie. This bird is locally endemic to this particular elevation of the park which cannot find anywhere else in Thailand.

The must-do activities at Kaeng Krachan NP is to visit bird hides. There are several bird hideouts around the park which neatly set up by local people. Different bird hide contains different set of birds show up. Only half day in the bird hide can be very productive for Green-legged Partridge, Bar-backed Partridge, Ferruginous Partridge, Blue Pitta, Kalij Pheasant, Grey Peacock-Pheasant, Black-naped Monarch, Great Necklaced Laughingthrush, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush, White-crowned Laughingthrush, Racquet-tailed Treepie, Common Green Magpie, Siberain Blue Robin, Black-headed Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Blyth’s Paradise Flycatcher, Emerald Dove, and several species of flycatchers and Babblers.

Krabi waste water treatment pond:

The place becoming more well known recently by both Thai and foreign bird photographers. It known as the best spot for capturing Osprey in flight up close. During October to April, there are the number of Ospreys wintering around Khao Khanab Nam area at Krabi mangrove forest. They are hunt for fish in the waste water treatment pond at early morning everyday.

*Note that; We can arrange 3 days trip around this area, first day morning photograph Ospreys and afternoon boating in the mangrove for kingfishers. Then, connect with other 2 days at Cheow Lan Lake where the highlight is Helmeted Hornbill, a critically endangered species that just up-listed recently to become a new Thailand preserved animal.

Krabi mangrove forest:

The pristine mangroves known for one of good sites for birds photograph in southern Thailand. The highlight species is Brown-winged Kingfisher, which actively foraging both during high tide and low tide. When they are foraging on fish, crab and prawn, it is a perfect time for photograph flight action. Other kingfisher that we will come across in this mangrove such as Black-capped Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Ruddy Kingfisher, and Common Kingfisher. Other birds such as Mangrove Pitta and Mangrove Blue-flycatcher can be seen here too.

Tha Pom - Klong Song Nam:

A brackish swamp area nearby Krabi mangroves. The area called “Klong Song Nam” which means a canal of 2 types of water, because it formed by a freshwater canal that run to join with a seawater canal. There are many species of beautiful birds wait for us to photo in this area such as Black-and-Red Broadbill, Ruddy Kingfisher, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Mangrove Pitta, Copper-throated Sunbird, White-chested Babbler and several more.

Ao Phang-Nga National Park:

The park encompasses several kinds of habitats including pristine mangroves, limestone karst islands, small islands, white sandy beaches, and caves. The park landscape consists of gigantic limestone karst islands emerge from the turquoise water and surrounded by vast expanding area of pristine mangroves. This amazing geographical feature attract hundred thousand visitors from all over the world as well as a number of birders and bird photographers. There are many good spots for birds photograph around the park. Mangroves around the headquarter and in the wooden boardwalk trail can be very productive for Mangrove Pitta, Ruddy Kingfisher, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Black-capped Kingfisher, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, and several more.

Sri Phang-Nga National Park

The park stretches along a hill range parallel to the Andaman sea coast in Phang-Nga Province. Most of the area is the low altitude moist evergreen forest. The park is also an outer part of a much larger forest complex, so it holds rich diversity of birds and other wildlife. There is a track starts from the park headquarter, it is a streamside track leading to waterfalls in the forest. Taking slow paces along this access track and also a short forest trail can be very productive for Green Broadbill, Black-and-Yellow Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Great Hornbill, Wallace's Hawk Eagle, Gold-whiskered Barbet, Red-throated Barbet, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker, Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker, Plain Sunbird, Little Spiderhunter, Grey-breasted Spiderhunter, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Rufous Piculet, Banded Woodpecker, Bamboo Woodpecker, Raffle's Malkoha, Abbott's Babbler, Rufous-fronted Babbler, Chestnut-winged Babbler and many more. Several species of Bulbul also can be observed along this track such as Spectacled, Cream-vented, Red-eyed and Black-crested, Grey-bellied and Scaly-breasted Bulbuls. The open sky here is a good place to look for Swifts such as Silver-rumped Needletail, Brown-backed Needletail, Pale-rumped (Germain') Swiftlet, Pacific Swift and Whiskered Treeswift.

The highlight species that many birders and photographers highly anticipate when they are visiting the park include Chestnut-naped Forktail, Malay Banded Pitta, Helmeted Hornbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Bushy-crested Hornbill, Great Argus, Gould’s Frogmouth, Indochinese Frogmouth, Banded Kingfisher, Blue-banded Kingfisher, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Black-backed Kingfisher, Large Blue Flycatcher, Oriental Bay-owl, Brown Wood-owl, Buffy Fish-owl and Barred Eagle-owl.

*The park is located in a close proximity to Khao Sok National Park (Cheow Lan Lake). Thus, it is a good idea to also visit Cheow Lan Lake after you spent few days at Sri Phang-Nga NP.

Cheow Lan Lake (Rajjaprabha Dam):

It is a picturesque dam reservoir encircled by a mountainous landscape of pristine primary tropical forests. The lake is enormous, it looks like extends without end. The forest around the lake is also home to big mammals such as elephants, guars, Asiatic black bears, tapirs, gibbons and other smaller wild animals. Besides the breathtaking scenery, birds around this lake are also extraordinary, lots of rare and sough-after species recorded here. The highlight species include Helmeted Hornbill (a critically endangered species), White-crowned Hornbill, Bushy-crested Hornbill, Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Lesser Fish Eagle, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Wallace’s Hawk Eagle and many more interesting birds.

*This lake can assure you that it it one of the country best place for photograph flight shots.

Krung Ching Waterfall at Khao Laung National Park:

This place holds a high diversity of southern birds. The highlight species including Malaysian Rail Babbler, Black Hornbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Plain-pouched Hornbill, and many more. A good spot for photograph starts from the park checkpoint to the parking area in front of the park headquarter. Strolling along this area can be productive for Green Broadbill, Black-and-Yellow Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Banded Kingfisher, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Dark-throated Oriole, Sooty Barbet, Malaysian Banded Pitta, Maroon Woodpecker, Buff-rumped Woodpecker, Grey-and-Buff Woodpecker, Banded Woodpecker, and so on. Babblers are a group of birds well-represented here too.

Thale Ban National Park:

This park is adjacent to Malaysian border. Its name derived from the name of a huge inland freshwater swamp inside the park. Around this swamp surrounded by a very pristine tropical forest, complex limestone mountains, waterfalls and caves. The highlight birds such as Dusky Eagle Owl, which was disappeared from Thailand for over 90 years and rediscovered recently. Other highlights such as Grey-and-Buff Woodpecker, Checker-throated Woodpecker, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot, Black-and-Red Broadbill, Green Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Brown Boobook and others.

San Kala Khiri National Park:

Recently established national park that features Malay-type true evergreen forest. These days it becoming well known by Thai and foreign birders and birds photographers. Because of there are several uncommon and rare resident species recorded here such as Large Green Pigeon, Malay Black Magpie, Malay Hawk-cuckoo, Blue-crown Hang Parrot, Ferruginous Babbler, Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker, Pin-tailed Parrotfinch, and Temminck’s Sunbird. Moreover, it is arguably the best spot to see sizeable flocks of Plain-pouched Hornbill migrating at close range during June - July every year.

Sirindhorn Peat Swamp Forest Research Station and Education Center (Phru Toh Daeng):

It is the last most pristine primary peat swamp forest in Thailand and it was declared as RAMSAR Site in 2001. It located in the southernmost part of Thailand. There is a well maintain boardwalk starts from the back of the station headquarter go through a peat swamp forest in a circle, and also a birdwatching tower in this trail. The highlight birds that we might come across in the trail such as Black Hornbill, Red-crowned Barbet, Malaysian Blue Flycatcher, Olive-backed Woodpecker, Buff-necked Woodpecker, Fluffy-backed Tit Babbler and others.

Hala - Bala Wildlife Sanctuary

Hala - Bala Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on the border between Thailand and Malaysia. The place comprising two forestlands: Hala Forest in Betong district in Yala province and Chanae district in Narathiwat province, and Bala Forest in Waeng and Sukhirin districts in Narathiwat province. It considered to be one of the country richest forest. There are many big mammals and endangered wild animals inhabit these forests such as elephants, gaurs, wild boars, southern serow, Malayan tapir, Sumatran rhinoceros, and Siamang (the world biggest gibbon) etc. Hala-Bala forests well-known as “the kingdom of Hornbills”, which is home to 10 out of 13 species of hornbills in Thailand. The 10 species include Rhinoceros Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Plain-pouched Hornbill, Helmeted Hornbill, Bushy-crested Hornbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Black Hornbill, Great Hornbill and Oriental Pied Hornbill.

It also holds a high diversity of other birds, many of them are rare and sought-after species. The highlights including Malaysian Rail Babbler, Red-naped Trogon, Cinnamon-rumped Trogon, Chestnut-naped Forktail, Malay Banded Pitta, Garnet Pitta, Giant Pitta, Large Wren Babbler, Reddish Scops-owl, Barred Eagle Owl, Brown Wood Owl, Javan Frogmouth, Black-thighed Falconet, Bat Hawk, Whiskered Treeswift, Long-billed Spiderhunter, Chestnut-backed Scimitar-Babbler, Yellow-crowned Barbet, Brown Barbet, Gold-whiskered Barbet, Rufous-tailed Shama and a great divers of woodpeckers, bulbuls, and babblers. Easy strolling along the road and nature trail can be very productive, because of the sanctuary is still has very low number of visitors and forest is well preserved.

The section that open for tourists and birders is only in Bala forest in Waeng and Sukhirin districts in Narathiwat province. There is no accommodation and other tourist facilities in the sanctuary. There is only one local resort outside the sanctuary which must reserve the room several months in advance. If you want to explore this extraordinary forest, the tour must be booked at least few months ahead. Anyway, if we cannot get the room at this resort, there is an alternative to stay at resorts or hotels in Waeng district town. This choice might increases commute time between hotel and the sanctuary, but it’s not a big problem.