Next stop was
Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary then to an overnight stop at
Thala Noi where I was told all the interesting birds were on the other side of the lake requiring a boat which I didn’t bother with instead having a wander around seeing nothing of particular interest.
From there it was to be
Ao Phang Na National Park and the mangroves but on arrival we were told they wanted 300b to go through the gate and with only a short distance drive to a restaurant and about 100m of walkway before a bridge has collapsed I didn’t think it was value for money. We had trouble looking for reasonable accommodation so carried on to a friends place at Khao Lak where we stayed the night.
I had noticed a waterfall not far away so in the morning I drove there to see if there were any birds about on arrival I was met by a gent who announced “This a national park, cant go” so back to the guest house and on through heavy rain and some flooding to what was to be the next stop:
Klong Phanom National Park where on the previous trip I had seen a Great Argus display area that I had hoped to find again with the bird present this time but heavy rain persisted so we carried on to another overnight stop at Chumpon.
Then on to our last stop at
Kaeng Krachan National Park where I wont bother going into any detail as you all probably know the place better than me so just a bird list:
Birds Kaeng Krachan
Banded Broadbill
Black-Drongo
Black-backed Kingfisher
Black-naped Monarch
Blue-bearded Bee-eater
Blue-throated Barbet
Bronzed Drongo
Collared falconet
Common Iora
Coppersmith Barbet
Dusky Broadbill
Greater Flameback
Greater Yellownape
Greater-necklaced Laughingthrush
Greater-racket-tailed Drongo
Grey-breasted Spiderhunter
Heart-spotted Woodpecker
Long-tailed Broadbill
Ochraceous Bulbul
Pied Hornbill
Puff-throated Babbler
Red-wattled Lapwing
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird
Spotted Dove
Stripe-throated Bulbul
Sultan Tit
Also seen
4 Dole between the second and third stream crossing with another 2 barking at me in the forest.
Asian Forest Tortoise on the road to the first crossing.
While researching this trip I came across some national parks in the deep south with no information other than the Govt website, 2 in particular border Malaysian protected areas and are said to hold things like Tapir and Sumatran Rhino as well as the same sort of birds as Hala Bala they are
San Kala Kiri National Park and
Bang Lang National Park which is joined to the Hala sector of
Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary and another
Budo Su Ngai Pa Di National Park which sits out on its own. I am making plans for a return to that area in March-April next year and plan to include them.