Thailand Birding: Eared Pitta Photograph

Sometimes when you are birdwatching, you just get lucky.

One morning in March I was birding at Khao Yai National Park with Merl & Marty Arnot and it seemed that our luck was out with light but persistent rain and poor visibility. After watching a number of common birds like Black-naped Oriole, Green-eared Barbet, Asian Fairy Bluebird and Scarlet Minivet, I suggested a walk on the loop trail near the old HQ where I had seen Eared Pittas before.

Excellent Views of Male and Female Eared Pittas
We had walked only about 400 metres along the trail when a brownish bird flew from the ground along the trail in front of us and luckily landed within view. All three of us managed to get an excellent view of a female Eared Pitta, foraging around in the undergrowth. After some time I heard more rustling around a short distance away and saw the male. We watched both birds at a distance of about 10 metres for roughly 10 minutes before Merl asked if he could get closer for a photo. Given the light and the fact that he would have to be very close I didn't think there was much chance but the Pittas didn't seem concerned by us so I told him to go ahead.

The Photo
Merl sneaked forward a step at a time and unbelievably got to within about 5 metres of the male Eared Pitta. Even so, with the poor light conditions, the fact that Merl was not using flash and that the Pitta was constantly moving its head as it foraged I thought the chance of a decent shot was very slim indeed. Then, as if on cue, the Pitta froze, totally motionless, allowing Merl to get a photo even in very low light conditions - amazing.

Thailand Birding: Khao Yai in the Wet

Khao Yai national park is one of the busiest national parks in Thailand and at certain times (typically public holidays in the dry season) it can get uncomfortably busy. However, it was lovely to visit the park in mid May this year (16th-18th) and to see the park with very few other people around.

Now, very few birders make the trip to Thailand in the wet season and it is certainly true that a dry season visit will produce many more species, but I actually find the wet season very good for birding in the forest and this trip lived up to that.

In fact it wasn't really wet at all with only about 1 hour's birding being lost to rain.

Birds such as Red-headed and Orange-breasted Trogon were easy to find and broadbills were very vocal so it didn't take much effort to see Banded, Silver-breasted and Long-tailed Broadbills in one morning. Lots of other resident species were abundant and easily seen, species like Thick-billed Pigeon, Moustached Barbet, Green-eared Barbet, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Green Magpie etc were all nice. One of the highlights, as ever, were fantastic views of Great Hornbills. I have seen this species 100s of times but it is still always a highlight of any trip for me.

Another couple of nice birds which I wouldn't really expect to see outside the rainy season were a Stork-billed Kingfisher at Pa Gluai Mai campsite and 3 Hooded Pittas in a territorial dispute.

Other Wildlife

White-banded Hedge Blue by Nick Upton

Apart from an abundance of birds, this trip also turned up a lot of other wildlife, including this  White-banded Hedge Blue butterfly above which was feeding on rotting fruit.

The wet season is the best time to see elephants at Khao Yai and sure enough there was one sub adult at a salt lick by the side of the road one evening. The commonest mammals at Khao Yai are Variable Squirrel, Pig-tailed Macaque, Sambar, Muntjac and Cambodian Striped Squirrel and these were frequently seen. Other mammals that I saw included Yellow-throated Marten, Common Palm Civet, Golden Jackal, Grey-bellied Squirrel and a fantastic White-handed Gibbon laying back on branch taking an afternoon nap.

For the real wildlife enthusiast there were a whole range of lizards all around, including some water monitors and a wonderful python on the road one night.

All in all you shouldn't let the rainy season put you off of visiting Thailand for birdwatching, although the leeches were quite voracious!

Birding Tips

I recently created a page on Squidoo.com which lists a number of tips on how to become a better birdwatcher/ornithologist: How to be a good birdwatcher.

I do not claim to be the perfect birder but having been watching birds since I was 7 years old (almost 30 years ago) and leading birding trips for more than 2 years, I hope that I have a few things to say which will help others become better at their chosen hobby/obsession.

Please take a look at the page and add any tips of your own in the guestbook.

Thailand Birding: Hornbill at Ban Maka

Those birders visiting Kaeng Krachan and wishing to stay in comfort rather than camping in the national park, have a choice of a number of places close to the forest. I usually use Ban Maka which is a pleasant place to stay with air conditioned rooms, private bathrooms and excellent food as well as having helpful staff.

One of the features at Ban Maka is their tame Oriental Pied Hornbill which was given to the owner after a local had become tired of it. The hornbill goes by the name of Gak Gak ( the Thai name for this species is Nok Gak) and can be somewhat overfriendly. A bit of finger drumming on the table usually sees Gak Gak come swooping down looking for a tickle or some food.

"Gak" looking for food at Ban Maka

Photograph by Nick Upton

The trouble is that he doesn't seem to know when enough is enough and he often takes to stealing food from your plate or pulling your shoe laces and after the first night his company wears a bit thin.

If you are going to feed the bird then he seems to like rice and chicken and sometimes fruit.

It is worth noting that there are a couple of wild Oriental Pied Hornbills that visit the garden of Ban Maka but Gak Gak doesn't seem to be interested and never flies away with them; in fact, judging by his behaviour, he was taken from a nest when a small chick and has spent his whole life around humans.

If you go to Ban Maka you will meet him soon enough and he may be a highlight of your stay, or perhaps the biggest irritation.

Update: For those hoping to meet Gak there is disappointment as he flew off to be with the wild Hornbills in late 2010.