Monday 26 March 2012

Thailand Day 7: Khao Yai NP Cont'd

Our third and last day - and my last posting about Thailand! I can't believe this was a month ago!

Red-whiskered Bulbuls were one of eight species of bulbul from the trip. They can be rather difficult to distinguish. Red-whiskered Bulbul being the easiest of them all to identify:

Stripe-throated Bulbul is another relatively easy one to identify:

Pond-herons were very common in almost every habitat - from urban, to salt pans, to streams and ponds, to forest (well actually they don't really occupy forests - this one was just roosting in a tree next to a pond):

Red-headed Trogons are strikingly beautiful birds. I was happy to notice one feeding a mere few meters in front of us without taking any notice to our presence. Unfortunately, the bird was on the other side of the tree, I tried circling around the bird, but of course it noticed me and flew further into the forest.

It didn't fly too far though for me to take this record shot:

All in all, it was a great trip. I would certainly love to be able to go back again. Almost 1000 species of birds have been recorded in Thailand, occupying several different habitats. Our two weeks in Thailand was barely enough time to scratch the surface of two habitats.

On another note, I saw my 168th species in Singapore on my ~83rd day (last Sunday). Interestingly, Mira and I found 168 species during 7 days in Thailand. Of course, those 7 days involved more focused birding and in two of the best areas for birding. But we were there on our own, whereas I've done a fair amount of birding with locals here in Singapore as well as explored several different habitats. It simply goes to show that Thailand is a great birding destination! I hope to go back another time, but for now it'll have to wait several years at the least.