Having dropped my wife off in Bang Na, on the morning of 20th April, I had most of the day to kill so I took a trip to Soi 119 (about 4 km beyond Bang Poo) which I had scouted out a few weeks earlier: Soi 119.

Last time I didn’t go beyond the entrance road to a large university (can’t remember its name) and I started there quickly seeing Cotton Pygmy Goose, Bronze-winged Jacanas, Moorhen, Egrets, Mynas and the very noisy Striated Grassbird. My real aim, though, was to see what the rest of the area had to offer.

It has to be said that I was a bit disappointed. The site has most of the same species as at nearby Muang Boran Fishponds but in nowhere near the same abundance. I spent quite some time driving around and covered a large distance to find birds.  Only in a few places did I see groups of egrets although Asian Openbill Stork was present in large numbers. Eventually I found 2 Pheasant-tailed Jacanas in splendid breeding plumage and I found a small colony of Baya Weavers, watching them busy at their nests. One pool had a few lingering waders including 1 Common Snipe, 5 Long-toed Stints, 4 Black-winged Stilts and a Wood Sandpiper but with the heat and the lack of good places to stop I decided to cut my visit short.

I guess I will still be going to Muang Boran Fishponds for my waterbirds!

birds, birding, thailand