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 »
Gull Feeding Frenzy at Samut Sakhon | Birding in Thailand
A beautiful sunrise, thousands of birds, the sound of the sea; all the ingredients for one of the world’s birding hotspots, but in reality this is the atmosphere I was able to enjoy on a short morning excursion from Bangkok when visiting the “Red Bridge” coastal boardwalk in neighbouring Samut Sakhon province. Rather than being [...]
Birds in a Park in Bukhara | Birding in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is one of those countries that is great for birding and at the same time extremely interesting in touristic terms too; an ideal place to travel with a non-birding partner and then to find time to go birding in locations near the tourist spots and to visit some really spectacular scenery. In late April [...]
Top 5 Birds of Vietnam Birding Tour 2025 | Birding in Vietnam
Vietnam is the country in mainland Southeast Asia with the highest number of endemic species and the best place to see a number of regional endemics too as well as a fantastic supporting cast of more widespread birds. Leading the Calidris Birding Tours trip to Southern and Central Vietnam in March/April 2025 gave all participants [...]
A Day Birding in Qatar | Birding in Qatar
My annual migration between Thailand and UK has not only seen the cost of direct flights rise dramatically but I have grown very tired of sitting on a plane for twelve hours, if only I was able to make the journey under self-powered flight like a Bar-tailed Godwit! Indirect flights are, of course, a solution [...]
Parakeets & Peafowl | Birding in Thailand
One thing I have learned over the years that I have been bird watching is that there are many different ways for people to enjoy birds. I started birding by going on long country walks in England with birds being perhaps the most accessible category of wildlife to enjoy along the way. Friends of mine [...]
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
A Trip to Titchwell Bird Reserve | British Birding
August 8th, 2019 Nick When I visit Norfolk one of my favourite places is RSPB Titchwell. Now I know not all birdwatchers will agree with me on this as Titchwell can get very busy with day-trippers and beginner birdwatchers that annoy some hard-core birders but what I like about this location is that there are always large numbers of birds to see and by spending time in the hides one can get really close to a number of species. These species include Pied Avocet which for birders of my age remains an exciting bird due to the fact that it was almost mythical when I started bird watching as a kid. Besides, I actually enjoy being able to pass on my experience to more novice bird watchers when scanning through the birds seen from the hides; one couple, for example, got really excited when I helped them identify a Ruff in eclipse plumage that was feeding in front of us. Spending time in the Island Hide a few weeks ago I was able to get the following photos of a variety of birds. Read more »
