Khao Yai National Park
12 October 2005

Bangkok - hmmm…

Apologies in advance to any Thai reading this, but I remember the first time I went to Bangkok - in early 1990 and just six months into my new airline job - sitting on the crew coach from the airport to the crew hotel and being incredibly disappointed that it wasn’t the exotic place I’d naively imagined but a gridlocked, polluted, noisy city much like cities anywhere.

And it was, I discovered, just like anywhere else, except that - unlike most of the cities I’d ever been to - there were notorious areas where young girls were on offer to any passer-by who wanted them, and it seemed perfectly acceptable to go to a bar and watch couples having sex on a bare stage while you drank your beer and got chatted up by a “lady-boy”. God knows what the average, polite and friendly Thai thought about the situation, and God knows what they thought of the shameful and predatory tourists that drove the trade…

And as for the birding - the sun was blinding, the humidity was awful, the roads impossible and dangerous, the air was brown and thick, and the directions I was given to sites seemed to be in some sort of impenetrable code - and all the sites were at least two days journey from the hotel anyway…

And that seems to have been the impression that stuck with me. Despite vast improvements to the infra-structure and a determined effort in recent years by the authorities to “clean-up” the worst aspects of the sex industry (which - let’s be honest here - existed principally because of the demand from tourists anyway) the more I went to Bangkok, the more I became convinced that I would never leave the hotel again. I would write-off Bangkok as a birding destination, mentally condemn it as a place I had to go to so that I could get to Australia, and if Paul Thompson in Dhaka hadn’t said to me disbelievingly, “What? You’ve never been to Khao Yai…” I’d probably still be thinking that way today…

Khao Yai, it turns out, is a National Park that the whole of Bangkok knows about. It’s their “green lung”. A huge area of forest and mountains just a two hour drive from the city centre. It’s rumoured that there are still Tigers prowling the Park. Every overseas birder who ever goes to Thailand goes to Khao Yai. There have been over 350 bird species recorded there (according to every website I can find - but how many of those are simply copying information from each other I don’t know).

What I do know is that I’m completely mystified that I had no idea Khao Yai even existed. It should have been a potential oasis on every Bangkok trip I’d ever made, instead it took me 15 years to find out about it.

It just shows how much there is to learn…

Still, no-one knows everything, and it was almost Fate when - just a week after the conversation with Paul in Dhaka - I was rostered a Bangkok trip, and was given my first chance to plan a trip to Khao Yai…

According to information on the internet - “In June the rainy season starts and normally lasts until the end of September. From middle June up to the end of of July also many wild orchids are blooming. At this time also many different beautiful butterflies can be seen fluttering through fragrant jungle air. During this season it rains 2-3 hours during the daytime and Khao Yai often changes into a “forest in the mist”, that many holiday makers find extremely charming….”(www.amazing-thailand.com/Khaoyai.html…

Now, I don’t normally argue in print with statements I’ve not thoroughly tested, BUT a) this year the “rainy season” was undoubtedly still in full force until at least mid-October, and b) what is “extremely charming” about not being able to see across the road because of the mist and drizzle, or the fact that when it rains billions of leeches seem to think “Yay, it’s party-time! Now, where are those birders”…? Not so much actually. I’m here to tell you that despite the promise of some good birds, the forests at Khao Yai turn into the kind of slippery, parasite-ridden place that you really need a VERY good reason to go into when it rains…

BUT once the sun comes out - WOW, what a stunning place: massive trees, miles of relatively unspoilt forest, views across deep vallies, a comprehensive network of trails, and an excellent visitor centre with some very helpful and friendly staff. Once the sun comes out, that is…

Imperial Mountain Pigeons and johnsoni Black-crested Bulbul: both are common at Khao Yai

So what did I see? Well, there’s a list at the bottom of the page, and apparently I didn’t do too badly considering the rain and the pesky leeches. Most of the birds were seen in the few hours of “proper” light in the afternoon - when for example the Great Hornbills began to move around. I spent most of the time I had close to the Radar Station and the area around the look-out at Pha Deaw Dai - there simply wasn’t enough time left to wander around looking for somewhere else. This is pretty much “altitude” birding at Khao Yai and there was a low density of individual birds, but - like tropical forest birding anywhere - when you pick up a feeding-flock it invariably contains a good number of species.

I struggled (of course) with the phylloscopus (and phylloscopus-like) warblers - they are plentiful, very fast moving, and seem to know just how to position themselves between an observer and a leaf/twig/branch/tree - of which there are many. Fortunately they do call a fair bit which will separate many of them, but the confusion of sound as a flock comes into sight is quite bewildering, so I’m certain I missed far more than I identified. In fact I spent most of the time wandering around thinking: “I’ve heard 200 species, seen 100 species, and identified about 20″. It’s not a ratio I’m proud of, but conditions were tough (and I spent a lot of time looking down and protecting my shins from the onslaught of leeches!).

(The calls in the forest are remarkable though: one I kept hearing that took me a while to ID was a short almost cat-like mewing - it turned out to be Grey-eyed Bulbul Hypsipetes propinquus if that helps.)

Oh, one other thing - if the birds aren’t showing well, there are always some stunning butterflies and moths to look at. I have no idea what the following are, but they brightened up a somewhat frustrating day.

Ironically, the only bird I did get good photos of turned out to be surprisingly difficult to identify: a Grey-backed Shrike Lanius tephronotus (the id confirmed by Phil Round who kindly emailed saying, “Your bird is a Grey-backed Shrike. Not enough of an eyebrow and white on the forecrown for Brown Shrike. Although in moult, the tail is proportionately too short for Brown.”

Grey-backed Shrike Lanius tephronotus

So, not the most in-depth study of the avifauna at Khao Yai, but perhaps this write-up might encourage a few more birders on short trips to Bangkok to try the place out.

I would probably have done a lot better with a bird-guide. While I was at Khao Yai I bumped into a guide called End who was showing another birder around, and I spent an excellent day’s birding with her a few days later. If you’d like to contact End, her email is bigbirdclub@hotmail.com

Like some directions to Khao Yai?
Every reference I found stated that getting to Khao Yai from Bangkok was remarkably easy, without giving much in the way of details. Well, getting there is actually remarkably easy - with one proviso. Don’t start the journey in the centre of Bangkok - it’s still a difficult place for overseas visitors to navigate through (I’ve driven rental cars in Brazil and Venezuala, the US, Kenya, Oman, South Korea, Malaysia, Tobago etc etc - and I wouldn’t dream of thinking I could handle driving around Bangkok!). My personal recommendation is to hire a car from the international airport and start any journey north from there. (Getting a taxi out of or back into Bangkok is easy, and there are numerous cheap buses instead if you’ve the time and energy.)

From the airport simply follow the eight-lane Highway No. 1 (the airport is on Highway 1) north towards Saraburi (overhead signs make this very easy to do), then turn right onto route No. 2 which follows signs to Muak Lek and to Pak Chong. When you see signs for Khao Yai (about 100km from Bangkok) take highway No 2090 (straight off highway 2) follow it for about 20 kilometres past a messy plethora of restaurants, mini-marts, guesthouses, resorts, lodges and golf courses and you’ll (finally) reach the entrance. The driving on the highway isn’t too bad, and most people seem to be sticking to the rules - though watch out for impatient SUV drivers “under-taking” the slow lorries/trucks and suddenly appearing alongside you…

(If you plan to return to the airport you’ll save hassle and time if you take the elevated toll expressway near to Bangkok - this has an exit to the airport, which is surprisingly hard to find otherwise when you’re tired.)

Before I finish this note, a couple of questions:

1. Do leeches prey on mainly terrestrial birds like some pittas or chats? If they do, how much blood do they take, and how does that effect the bird? A leech can take an awful lot of blood - on a previous trip to Thailand I once found a black balloon attached to my leg that was in fact a fully-fed leech - and there are millions/billions of leeches on the forest floor…
2. Do birds eat leeches? If they were to swallow a leech alive (which is how they eat some small prey items) would the leech attach to the bird’s mouth or throat and start feeding?

Anyone out there in bird blog land know the answers? I’d love to know…

Khao Yai NP from the Pha Deaw Dai look-out

Trip List:
English and scientific names mainly from “Birds of South Asia, The Ripley Guide”, Rasmussen P. and J. Anderton, Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions, 2005:

Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus 1,
Siamese Fireback Lophura diardi 1,
Common Flameback Dinopium javanense 3-4,
Green-eared Barbet Megalaima faiostricta 4-5,
Blue-throated Barbet Megalaima asiatica 1,
Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis 5,
Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis 2,
Blue-bearded Bee-eater Nyctyornis athertoni 2,
Green-billed Malkoha Phaenicophaeus tristis 3,
Red-breasted Parakeet Psitticula alexandri 2 (just outside Park),
Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis 4-5,
Barred Cuckoo-dove Macropygia unchall c)10,
Zebra Dove Geopelia striata 1 (en route),
Mountain Imperial Pigeon Ducula badia 20+,
Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus 1,
Chinese Pond Heron Ardeola bacchus 5,
Asian Fairy Bluebird Irena puella 10+,
Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis cochinchinensis 3-4,
Shrike sp Lanius sp 1,
Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus 6,
Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis 4-5,
Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike Coracina melaschista 2-3,
Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus 5-6,
Great Iora Aegithina lafresnayi 2,
Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius 2,
Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassina 1,
Hill Blue Flycatcher Cyornis banyumas 3-4,
Siberian Blue Robin Luscinia cyane 1,
Hill Myna Gracula religiosa 2,
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica c)15,
Black-crested Bulbul Pyconotus melanicterus 10+,
Stripe-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus finlaysoni 1,
Puff-throated Bulbul Criniger pallidus 2,
Ochraceous Bulbul Criniger ochraceus 5-6,
Grey-eyed Bulbul Hypsipetes propinquus 1+,
Ashy Bulbul Hypsipetes flavala 3-4,
Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus 3-4,
Arctic Warbler Phylloscopus borealis 2+,
Two-barred (Greenish) Warbler Phylloscopus plumbeitarsus 1,
Sulphur-breasted Warbler Phylloscopus ricketti 2-3,
Eastern-crowned Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus 3-4,
Plain-tailed Warbler Seicercus soror 1,
Striped Tit-babbler Macronous gularis 4-5
White-bellied Yuhina Yuhina zantholeuca 1

How safe is this jewel in the Thai hills? Not very…Depressingly in May 2006 I found this article online describing the unutterably stupid decision to allow the widening of a road right through the heart of the Reserve
(http://bangkokpost.com/News/03May2006_news15.php)