At the end of January I visited Yangon, Myanmar, for a few days. Although it was not exactly a birding trip, I managed to fit in a fair bit of birding around the city in between conducting the business I was there for. On my first morning I visited People’s Park which is probably the most accessible site for birding within the city and it also provides spectacular views of the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda. People’s Park is quite large but much of it is quite manicured, containing quite a few buildings. However, there are enough scruffy corners and lots of mature trees that seem to attract a decent variety of bird, certainly enough for a morning of birding and I even found one species that is a rarity in Myanmar. Read more »
City Park Bird Abundance | Birding in Thailand
For those of us lucky enough to travel internationally to see birds it quickly becomes apparent that in some countries birds are abundant while in others birders have to work harder to see a wide range of species. This was brought home to me most recently spending a morning at Sri Nakorn Kuean Khan Park [...]
Touristing & Birding at Petra | Birding in Jordan
For those of us who travel with non-birding partners it can sometimes be tricky to balance enjoying time together somewhere interesting and the craving to maximise the opportunity to see new birds in new places. Personally, having a good holiday with my wife is the most important thing when planning trips together but doing some [...]
Rainy Season Birding at Pathum Thani Rice Research Centre | Birding in Thailand
There can be times of the year when bird watching hits a trough because a lack of activity, unhelpful weather or overfamiliarity with a smaller selection of species than at other times. In Thailand these factors are all true in the rainy season with a large number of species absent, on their breeding grounds further [...]
Mountain Birding from Chimgan | Birding in Uzbekistan
I have always loved immersing myself in mountain landscapes but over recent years my opportunity to do so has been limited with much of my time spent in tropical forests and wetlands in Thailand so when the opportunity presented itself to spend some time birding in mountain habitats in Uzbekistan I took it without having [...]
Jakarta Boat Trip Birding | Birding Indonesia
Where can you see Christmas Island Frigatebird, Sunda Teal, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Milky Stork, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Cerulean Kingfisher, Clamorous Reed Warbler and a wide range of other species in an urban setting? On a boat trip from Jakarta, Indonesia! The island of Java is one of the most densely populated areas of the world [...]
National Races Village, Yangon – Birding in Myanmar
January 31st, 2020 
Nick A little research on eBird showed me that a few interesting sightings had been made at the National Races Village in the eastern suburbs of Yangon. With some time to kill in the city I decided to take a taxi out there and see what I could find. Although the name of the location sounds like some sort of race course this spot is actually some sort of open-air cultural museum. In actuality the place is very run down with large parts of it overgrown; a sort of scruffy wooded park. On the day I visited the park was quite well-used by locals coming for a picnic but the overgrown edges of the park proved to be very birdy indeed. The good numbers of birds were probably a result of the general scruffy and dirtiness of the site. I enjoyed a very nice few hours of the morning here with the most interesting birds, for me, being Alexandrine Parakeet, Forest Wagtail, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, White-throated Fantail and Black-capped Kingfisher. Read more »
Hlawga National Park, Yangon | Birding in Myanmar
January 29th, 2020 Nick As part of a short trip of a few days to Yangon, Myanmar, I have been doing some birding in and around the city. Having visited a few parks within the city itself, over the last few days, this morning I took a taxi ride an hour north to Hlawga National Park. This location is not quite as grand as it sounds, being a fragment of dry, scrubby woodland surrounding a large lake, being completely surrounded by farmland, roads and gradual development. However, it still plays host to a wide range of birds and is a good place for a morning of birding from Yangon before the day becomes too hot. I spent about 3.5 hours birding there and saw over 70 species including some interesting ones such as Pale-eyed (Davison’s) Bulbul, Tickell’s Leaf Warbler, Alexandrine Parakeet and Orange-breasted Green Pigeon. Read more »
An Afternoon at Nui Hide – Thailand Birding
January 21st, 2020 Nick Over the last few years I have visited a number of hides that are dotted around Kaeng Krachan National Park in Western Thailand, all of which are great to visit if you want to get close up views of birds. These hides always provide birders with superb views of lots of common forest birds but also some species that are really hard to observe in the forest. On a recent visit to the area I was told that a new hide had been set up and was regularly attracting a Blue Pitta to feed close to the hide. I contacted Khun Nui and arranged for him to take us to his hide where we spent the afternoon and saw a stunning Blue Pitta as well as many other birds. Read more »
One Hundred Species at Lat Krabang Rice Fields | Thailand Birding
December 23rd, 2019 Nick Although I have lived in “Bangkok” for many years I hardly ever do any birding within the province of Bangkok itself. The main reason for this is that I have always lived close to, or just into the next province of Samut Prakan. Today I found myself with some time and decided to visit a wetland site within the bounds of Bangkok that lots of other people have been birding at recently: Lat Krabang rice Paddies. This is an area of rice fields, fish ponds and overgrown areas, surrounded by the ever-expanding city and living on borrowed time. For now though there are a lot of good birds to be seen there and I ended up having an unexpectedly good morning seeing over 100 species and picking up a couple of rare birds in the form of Yellow-breasted Bunting and Eastern Water Rail. Read more »
Oare Marshes Watch Point | British Birding
October 6th, 2019 Nick When I am in UK one of my favourite places to go birding is Kent Wildlife Trust‘s Oare Marshes reserve. It is one of those places that is always pleasant to go birding because it is a nice place to be and has the benefit of seemingly always having large numbers of birds of a wide variety to see no matter what time of year one visits. There is a nice loop to walk around much of the reserve but on recent visits I have found that just by standing at the main watchpoint on the access road a lot of good birds can be seen and as well as a lot of photographing opportunities presenting themselves.
I am not much into twitching but in going to Oare to look for an American Golden Plover, that had been seen over the preceding week, I knew that if I did not see it I would see a lot of interesting birds besides. Spending several hours at the watch point meant that I not only saw the Anerican Golden Plover but also a group of Eurasian Spoonbills and many other interesting bird. The following is a series of photos taken over the course of around 4 hours at Oare Marshes. Read more »
Gunung Kerinci Birds | Birding Indonesia
October 1st, 2019 Nick As the second highest mountain in Indonesia, Gunung Kerinci is well-known and a popular hiking destination but it is also one of the most accessible sites for a host of bird species that are endemic to the island of Sumatra. I recently returned from another visit to the forests on the slopes of this volcano which was one of the last sites on our West Java/Sumatra birding tour that I led from 5-25th September. Birding on Kerinci is not easy, involving walking up and down parts of the mountain in order to find the key species but patience is usually rewarded with some superb birds, particularly with the help of locals who know exactly where to go for some exciting species; thanks Dwi Wahyudi for your help.
We were not only able to see a lot of good birds on Gunung Kerinci but we were also presented with a lot of great photo opportunities so read on for photographs of Schneider’s Pitta, Rajah Scops Owl, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Sunda Bush Warbler, Shiny Whistlingthrush, Sumatran Trogon and Sumatran Frogmouth.
Join me on my next Sumatra, Java & Bali Birding Tour
