We were up early for another session with Mr Piak, but this time only for the morning as we needed to get back down to the coast. In an ideal world we probably would have stayed near the Park but Baan Maka had been fully booked for this evening at the point we were planning so we had decided, albeit somewhat forced, to mix it up a bit. Once again we were up early. And so was Mr Piak, right on time. By now Mick and I had worked out the strategy - what did we really want to see, and then to show this short list to Mr Piak to see what he could do. A lot, it turned out.
We were inside the Park just after six and proceeded straight to the 9km pin, exactly where we had stopped the previous day. However this time we had asked Mr Piak if he could concentrate on finding a number of particular birds. The first of these was Great Slaty Woodpecker, the largest Woodpecker on the planet that looks vaguely prehistoric. Mr Piak knew exactly where these were, and in under five minutes had pulled five out of the bag, a family group in some large trees. They took flight together, a flock of Pterodactyls, and flew over us, up the road, and over the hill never to be seen again. Next on our wishlist were Broadbills - these are a kind of made-up bird, a bird that if you gave a kid some crayons and said "draw a bird" might be the outcome, birds so outrageous that they cannot possibly exist and yet they do. I reckon it took Mr Piak about fifteen minutes to find one. We had walked up the road a little after the Woodpeckers, a vain hope, but shortly Mr Piak heard the first Broadbill back where we had been initially standing. It took a while to locate, but we ended up with excellent scope views of two Banded Broadbill. What a crazy bird! Purple-maroon in colour, with bright daubs of yellow paint on the back and a bill that even now with the photograph in front of me I find difficult to describe, a kind of pale eggshell greeny blue – quite unreal and very cool. We spent well over an hour birding on this small stretch of road, and in addition to the monster Great Slaty Woodpecker found a few smaller cousins, Greater and Common Flameback, and Greater Yellownape. A pair of Black-naped Oriole flew across the road, a Dollarbird was high up in a distant tree, and a Green-billed Malkoha showed briefly in a fruiting tree. A Hill Myna was new for the trip, and both Puff-throated and Abbot's Babbler popped up. In a flowering tree around the bend we found a Crimson Sunbird and a Thick-billed Flowerpecker. A very decent stop indeed.
 |
| Banded Broadbill |
Banded Broadbill is not the only Broadbill however, and flush with success we asked Mr Piak if knew where the others hung out. Turns out he did. After stopping at the fruiting tree for a bit (which still contained the family of Great Hornbills) we stopped at a seeminly random spot on the road. Mr Piak plunged down a small path and lo and behold a pair of Black-and-Red Broadbill were perched in a small tree on the far side of a small pond. Once again it was a quite extraordinary bird, with a bill that if anything was more vibrantly weird than the last one, and also very cool. As was the rest of it. Also at this spot were Hill Blue Flycatcher, three species of Bulbul, three species of Barbet, and a Taiga Flycatcher.
 |
| Black-and-Red Broadbill |
There was a third species of Broadbill on the cards and Mr
Piak knew where that lived too. We drove up through to the campsite again and
this time turned left off the main track, crossing a little stream before
parking the car and continuing on foot. Like all guides worth their salt Mr
Piak was armed with a speaker and a variety of sound files. He now played the
Black-and-Yellow Broadbill as we waited expectantly. Up in the trees it responded. But where was it?
Broadbills are seemingly very good at sitting very still and doing nothing. We
could hear it very clearly but it was impossible to see. Mr Piak tried various
angles but it was no good. Eventually he plunged into the forest but I was reticent
to follow – think of all the leaches! Meanwhile a couple of other people had
turned up, a birder and his hugely uninterested other half, poor woman. Mick
and this guy were with Mr Piak, I had remained on the path with this bored
lady. And then the exclamation that they had it! In I went, leaches licking
their lips (jaws? drills?), and of course just as I reached them it flew. Gah!
Back to the path we went, back to square one. Mr Piak kicked off the tape again
and the Broadbill, enjoying this game, replied immediately. But this time the
other birder found it, and by standing in a particular spot and looking
straight through several gaps there it was. I even got a photo – not a good one
– but this was yet another extraordinary bird, a jet black head with a yellow
eyering, that curious coloured bill again, a broad black collar and a pinky
-yellow body. I had woken up that morning never having seen a Broadbill and
now, not even lunchtime, I had seen three. This new strategy with Mr Piak was
clearly a winner.
 |
| Black-and-Yellow Broadbill |
By now it was about ten in the morning and we felt we had done very well. We continued past the stream crossings a little, but this was as far as we would go as today we had only booked a half day with Mr Piak as we needed to be on the coast in the evening. Orange-breasted Trogon showed well, as did Rufous-fronted Babbler and Dark-necked Tailorbird. Near the Ban Krang Weir we found Bay-banded Cuckoo, Crested Goshawk, Ochraceous Bulbul, Scarlet Minivet and a pair of Greater Green Leafbird.
 |
| Orange-breasted Trogon |
 |
| Dark-necked Tailorbird |
 |
| Thick-billed Green-Pigeon |
Mr Piak dropped us off at Baan Maka at around lunch time, he
had worked hard and we gave him a nice tip. Now Mick and I had to get back down
to the coast for our single night away from Kaeng Krachan. Over lunch we got in
touch with Joakim, still living his best life down at Pak Thale, and discussed
doing the boat trip with Mr Daeng out to Laem Phak Bia sandspit the following day, the most
reliable place to see Malaysian and White-faced Plover. None of the tides were
ideal, but around midday seemed best, Joakim generously said he would drop in
at Mr Daeng’s to make the arrangements, and later that afternoon he confirmed
to say that we were all good. Meanwhile Mick and I finished lunch and started birding again.
We did a quick tour of Baan Maka, seeing quite a few birds, but the
mosquito activity was intense to say the least. This area by the way is outside
of the malarial zone, as confirmed by Ian at Baan Maka. Looking at a map you
might conclude otherwise, and taking antimalarials in miserable – they make me
a bit sick, Less sick than Malaria, but not very nice – I tend to vomit. Both Greater Coucal and Asian Koel were calling, and in an obvious bare tree on the other side of the road three Chestnut-headed Bee-eater were swooping after insects. The lake had White-throated, Black-capped and Common Kingfishers, and two Moorhen! In some rank vegetation near the entrance were Scaly-breasted Munia and a Common Tailorbird.
After checking out we birded slowly down the hill, stopping wherever it seemed birdy. There are quite a few bits of water on the right hand side, and when we found we could stop we had a quick look. In this way we continued adding to the list, with Mick pulling out Little Grebe and Indian Thick-knee out of the bag at one of the stops near a lake. Red-wattled Lapwing were common, and we also pulled out Yellow Bittern and Purple Heron at some point.
Mid afternoon and we needed a plan – once eBird provided the answer, the Bang Chakpaddies at Nong Pla Lai had seemed what was a splendid list of birds seen recently, including a good number of targets. It was a little out of our way, further north than we had planned on going, but it seemed like our best bet.
What a decision it turned out to be! Even though we arrived late, at 5pm, in the short time we had it was magnificent,
simply wonderful habitat. In the final hour before sunset we racked up an
impressive list of species. Top prize went to the large yet very hard to see
flock of Cotton Pygmy-Goose, they just vanish in the low water vegetation. Ther
were also plenty of Grey-headed Swamphen clambering about, a good number of
Lesser Whistling-Duck, a White-breasted Waterhen, both Bronze-winged and
Pheasant-tailed Jacana, this latter a trip tick. We flushed Yellow Bittern from
the side of the random track we picked near the bridge, one of nine species of
Heron here. Surprise bird of the day went to a Wryneck in a bush. And we had
barely even gone any distance into the area – we decided that this would be the
place to start tomorrow and send the coordinates to Joakim in case he wanted to
join us.
We drove the forty minutes back to our accommodation which
was far more convenient for the coastal mudflats, but sometimes you don’t find
these things out until you get there. We picked up a bit of street food at a
roadside food but without really knowing what it was. And I still don’t know,
but half of it wasn’t especially nice and so we picked up some chicken instead
a short while later. And some beer. We know how to live.
Even though it might sound a pain having to transfer from
the hills to the coast and back, looking back it was actually very enjoyable to
have that frequent habitat change, with the birding feeling fresh and exciting each time, so don't discount it!
