Khok Kham+Pak Thale+Kaeng Krachan Bird Photography Tour 5 Days

Included/Exclude

English-speaking Bird Leader.
Accommodation (twin share) with private bathroom & A/C
Meals, Fruit, Coffee and Tea
Transfers as itinerary
Park entrance fees
Refreshment
Insurance

Personal expenses
Any other service not mentioned in the programs
All alcoholic.

Preparation

Light walking boots or Sports Shoes
Camera+Lens
Long trousers and Long-sleeved Shirt for walking in the Forest
Mosquito Repellent, Sun hat and Sun Cream.

Tour Plan

Day 1: Bangkok-Khok Kham-Pak Thale Salt Pans

-We usually leave at 5am. to get to Khok Kham by a little after 7am. Here you can see the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. It is not always so easy to photograph though but your guide has probably photographed it more often than anyone else so you have a decent chance.

Around mid-morning start driving towards Pak Thale, there are huge numbers of shorebirds, terns, egrets and suchlike here. Heat haze can be a problem but you can usually get close to many of the commoner species. Nordmann’s Greenshank, Asian Dowitcher, Terek Sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Red-necked Stint, Black-winged Stilt, Little Tern, Great Knot, Caspian Tern, Whiskered Tern, Painted Stork and many others are around it is just a case of using the time as you feel like it.

We also do a short boat trip here to a sand spit where Malaysian Plovers occur. Chinese Egret, White-faced Plover, Great Crested Tern, Brown-headed Gull, Pacific Reef Egret, Collared Kingfisher all occur here and a decent number of them can usually be photographed.

Often in this open area some of the best photos are flight shots. Good to have the right lens for this here.

12:00

Lunch.

14:00

Boat trip to Laem Pak Bia Sand Spit.

16:00

Return back the pier/Drive to Kaeng Krachan/Check into Baan Maka Nature Lodge.

19:00

Dinner.

Meals: B/L/D
Overnight at: Baan Maka Nature Lodge
Expert Bird Leader:

Day 2-5: Kaeng Krachan NP.

06:00

Breakfast/We’ll spend 4 full days in Kaeng Krachan NP

-Kaeng Krachan National Park is huge and the number of birds here is impressive. Photography in the forest takes some patience but there are usually some good opportunities with patience. Visiting the right spots at the right time will often reveal Oriental Pied Hornbill, Hill Myna, Common Flameback, Greater Flameback, Sultan Tit, Great Hornbill, Orange-breasted Trogon, various bulbuls, sunbirds and hopefully a few broadbills. This type of photography while birding can be good at times but requires patience. The best is if you find a fruiting tree.

However, your guide will plan these sessions around the best photography set ups which will be at the several hides around the national park. You will visit at least 2 hides, probably 3 where you have a good chance of photographing, at close range many of the following; Kalij Pheasant, Bar-backed Partridge, White-browed Scimitar Babbler, Indochinese Blue Flycatcher, Scaly-breasted Partridge, Large Scimitar Babbler, Blue Pitta (we hope), Pin-striped Tit Babbler, Racket-tailed Treepie, Black-crested Bulbul, Black-naped Monarch, Abbott’s Babbler, Common Green Magpie, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Puff-throated babbler, Ferruginous Partridge, Greater Yellownape, Stripethroated Bulbul, Red Junglefowl, Grey peacock Pheasant.

The gardens of Baan Maka are a nice place to relax and there are birds to photograph here too. The owners sometimes have a few feeding stations. To be honest, another day here is probably something you would enjoy depending on how you like to do your photography and birding.

12:00

Lunch.

17:00

Return back our Resort.

19:00

Dinner.