This morning I received a text message from Sukanya Thanombuddha telling me that she had found a male Narcissus Flycatcher at Sri Nakorn Kuen Khan park. over the last few weeks I have seen some interesting migrants at the same location including a female Narcissus Flycatcher, a male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Himalayan Cuckoo and Chestnut-winged Cuckoo. Dave Gandy has also been reporting some interesting migrants on his blog – Bangkok City Birding – from Suan Rot Fai and nearby. With migration now in full swing it is time for birders in Bangkok to visit their nearest park and see what they can find.

Suan Rot Fai, Sri Nakorn Kuen Khan and Phuttamonthon have all regularly played host to some interesting and rare migrant birds over the last few years, and as the city continues to swallow up patches of greenery, these oases of habitat will become ever-increasingly important to passage migrants, making it even more likely that rare migrants can be found. Any park or garden can provide a stopover point for migrating birds and I have seen Forest Wagtail, Black-naped Oriole, Asian Brown Flycatcher and even Mugimaki Flycatcher in the unlikeliest of spots.

Himalayan Cuckoo at Sri Nakorn Kuen Khan park

You do not have to be in Bangkok to find a migration hotspot either, Laem Pak Bia continues to be a great place for finding uncommon migrants as I found a few days ago with a flock of around 50 Purple-backed Starlings calling in at the King’s project with a male Chestnut-cheeked Starling for company!

I have also had news from Phil Round about the migrants currently being found on Ko Mun Nai, Rayong province. Phil’s information led to me finding a Sakhalin Leaf Warbler at Sri Nakorn Kuen Khan last week, securing its identification on song with the interesting comparison of a singing Pale-legged Leaf Warbler (from which Sakhalin has been split) just around the corner.

I hope this will encourage a few people to go out looking for migrants over the next week and if you find anything rare let me know and the twitcher in me may come out. Don’t forget to report your sightings of uncommon migrants to the BCST too; information on migrants can be very valuable in bird conservation.