Birding Tour Thailand: Central Thailand – Shorebird Spectacle and Jungle Birding

Central Thailand Birding Tour: Shorebird Spectacle and Jungle Birding
January 2026/ February 2027/2028

This short, small-group tour forms a circuit around central Thailand, starting and ending in Bangkok. After arrival in Bangkok, we head south to the shores of the Bay of Bangkok and the vast areas of saltpans that form the vital overwintering habitat for hundreds of thousands of shorebirds, where one of the most highly sought birds on the planet, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, can be found during the non-breeding season. We will be putting all of our efforts into finding this sought-after bird, along with many other species. In fact, over 40 species of shorebirds can be found here in a couple of days birdwatching!

Spoon-billed Sandpiper, one of the most sought-after birds on earth.

It really is quite staggering witnessing the huge numbers of birds and the species diversity. Other key birds on our radar here include Great Knot, Nordmann’s Greenshank, Asian Dowitcher, Far Eastern Curlew, Malaysian Plover, and White-faced Plover. There are of course many other potential highlights to search for during our time here, and Chinese Egret will be high on that list.

We will search for Chinese Egret along the coast near Laem Pak Bia.

After our time at the coast we will venture into farmland (including some rice paddies), where we will look for impressive raptors, such as Greater Spotted and Eastern Imperial Eagles, and with luck we will find the spectacular Pied Harrier, possibly one of the best-looking harriers on the planet. There will also be a long list of typical farmland birds of the region, such as weavers, shrikes, and a wide range of interesting passerines.

We will then dive into about a week of forest birding across two phenomenal reserves, Kaeng Krachan National Park and Khao Yai National Park. The potential list of species of birds and other wildlife across these two locations is massive (see the detailed itinerary below for extra details). Some of the most interesting and exciting birds we might find here could include Blue and Eared Pittas, Great, Wreathed, Tickell’s Brown, Austen’s Brown, and Oriental Pied Hornbills, Black-and-red, Banded, Black-and-yellow, Dusky, Silver-breasted, and Long-tailed Broadbills, Banded Kingfisher, Kalij and Silver Pheasants, Red Junglefowl, Siamese Fireback, White-fronted Scops Owl, Oriental Bay Owl, Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, Red-bearded and Blue-bearded Bee-eaters, Common Green Magpie, Ratchet-tailed Treepie, Red-headed and Orange-breasted Trogons, Orange-headed Thrush, and Bamboo, Heart-spotted, and Great Slaty Woodpeckers. Non-avian highlights could include Lar (White-handed) and Pileated Gibbons, Asian Elephant, the Indochinese subspecies of Leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri), which may include the melanistic form known as “Black Panther”, Sloth Bear, and Siamese Crocodile.

We will bird the forests of Kaeng Krachan National Park for Silver-breasted Broadbill and many other broadbill species.

This tour visits some stunning forest, and we will also sample some of Thailand’s famed, delicious food during our journey. Some of the temples that we will drive past while birding are absolutely spectacular and worth spending time to appreciate them in their own right. Several sites visited also offer very good photographic opportunities for those with an interest.

This central Thailand birding tour can also easily be combined with our two other Thai birdwatching tours, making for a comprehensive month-long, once-in-a-lifetime bird tour of Thailand, one of the best birding destinations in Southeast Asia. Our Northern Thailand Birding Tour: Spectacular Resident and Migrant Birds features exciting species like Rusty-naped Pitta, Siberian Rubythroat, Spot-breasted Parrotbill, Mrs. Hume’s Pheasant, Baer’s Pochard, and an amazing Pied Harrier roost. In addition, our Southern Thailand Birding Tour: Jewels of the South also features many great birds, like Malayan Banded Pitta, Mangrove Pitta, Scarlet-rumped Trogon, White-crowned Hornbill, and Helmeted Hornbill,  etc.

The gorgeous Blue Pitta will be searched for during our forest birding.

Detailed Itinerary (10 days/9 nights)

Day 1. Arrival in Bangkok

After your afternoon arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok you will take the short transfer to our nearby hotel for the night, with the rest of the day at leisure. We will have a group evening meal together.

Overnight: Bangkok Airport area

Day 2. Birding Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia

After breakfast we will depart our hotel, drive straight to the coast, and start a few days of birding along the edge of the Bay of Bangkok, one of the most important overwintering areas for shorebirds in the whole of Southeast Asia. We will spend the late morning and, after checking in to our nearby hotel and having lunch, the remainder of the afternoon birding in this incredible area. We will be searching through thousands of shorebirds made up of flocks of Great Knot, Common Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Marsh Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Black-winged Stilt, and Red-necked Stint, but among them we will also try to find one of the most unique and Critically Endangered (BirdLife International) shorebirds of them all, the incredible Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Other high-value targets will include Nordmann’s Greenshank, Far Eastern Curlew, and Asian Dowitcher.

Overnight: Chao Samran Beach

Nordmann’s Greenshank is another globally rare wader that we will search for during this Thai birding tour.

Day 3. Birding Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia

We will spend the full day birding within a few different areas of salt pans and coastal environments around the Pak Thale and Laem Pak Bia areas, where we hope to find Spoon-billed Sandpiper, along with the range of shorebirds listed above, but there will also be other birds possible while visiting different habitats. The number of birds here can be mesmerizing, and these may include Malaysian Plover, White-faced Plover, Kentish Plover, Long-toed Stint, Grey-headed Lapwing, Terek Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Pied Avocet, Pin-tailed Snipe, Greater Painted-snipe, and many more.

There will be plenty of other birds to look at while we are in this area, including a wide range of herons, egrets (including Chinese Egret), cormorants, storks (including the gorgeous Painted Stork), gulls, and terns. There are also plenty of raptors in this area (there is lots of food for hungry Peregrine Falcons), and other highlights could include Mangrove Whistler, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Common, Pied, Collared, and Black-capped Kingfishers, Eurasian Wryneck, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Oriental Skylark, White-shouldered Starling, Black-browed Reed Warbler, and Plain-backed Sparrow.

Overnight: Chao Samran Beach

Black-capped Kingfisher is a striking bird.

Day 4. Birding Nong Pla Lai Rice Paddies to travel to Kaeng Krachan National Park

We will leave the coast after breakfast and will check out a few sites around the Nong Pla Lai area, where we will spend the majority of the morning birding, before continuing on to the Kaeng Krachan National Park area, our base for the next few nights. We will be looking for Greater Spotted Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Eastern Marsh and Pied Harriers, Grey-headed Lapwing, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Green-billed Malkoha, Coppersmith Barbet, Asian Green Bee-eater, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Streaked Weaver, Baya Weaver, Asian Golden Weaver, and Bluethroat.

After checking into our accommodation near Kaeng Krachan National Park, we will spend the late afternoon birding from a bird blind (bird hide) in the forest, where we might find a range of babblers and bulbuls visiting, as well as, potentially, Bar-backed and Green-legged Partridges, Large Scimitar Babbler, Common Green Magpie, Indochinese Blue Flycatcher, Siberian Blue Robin, or, with extreme luck, Eared Pitta coming in to drink/bath at a small forest pool.

Overnight: Near Kaeng Krachan National Park

Days 5 – 6. Birding Kaeng Krachan National Park

We will spend two days birding within and around this exciting park. Our time will be spent at a range of elevations to connect with the associated species of these areas. At the higher elevations of the park we are restricted to birding along a few roads that cut through the park, but this still gives us some fantastic opportunities for some range-restricted species, such as Ratchet-tailed Treepie, Collared, Spot-necked, Grey-throated, Golden, and Rufous-fronted Babblers, and Black-throated Laughingthrush. Other species on offer here include Red-headed Trogon, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Ferruginous Partridge, Kalij Pheasant, Grey Peacock-Pheasant, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Silver-breasted and Long-tailed Broadbills, Great Hornbill, Banded Kingfisher, Great Barbet, and Bamboo Woodpecker, along with lots of bulbuls, babblers, and warblers.

Red-bearded Bee-eater is another beautiful target while in Kaeng Krachan National Park.

The middle- and lower-elevation areas of the national park and adjacent farmland and scrub habitats give us the chance for further exploration of this wonderful area. The long national park entrance road provides great opportunities for stopping and checking out vantage points to look at patches of forest (often with the sound of Lar (White-handed) Gibbons echoing throughout), and there are several trails and roads we can walk to get closer to the birds. Some of the most exciting birds we could find here may include Blue and Eared Pittas, White-fronted Scops Owl, Oriental Bay Owl, Brown Hawk-Owl, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Heart-spotted and Great Slaty Woodpeckers, Tickell’s Brown, Wreathed, and Oriental Pied Hornbills, Black-thighed Falconet, Banded, Black-and-red, Black-and-yellow, and Dusky Broadbills, Orange-breasted Trogon, Common Green Magpie, Sultan Tit, Scarlet Minivet, Golden-crested and Common Hill Mynas, and Asian Fairy-bluebird, along with a wide range of bulbuls, leafbirds, woodpeckers, babblers, and barbets.

During the early morning and late-evening drives into and out of the national park we may get lucky and spot shy mammals, such as Asian Elephant, Leopard (maybe even including the rare and elusive “Black Panther”), or even a Sloth Bear!

Overnight (two nights): Near Kaeng Krachan National Park

Black-and-yellow Broadbill is always a popular target bird.

Day 7. Morning birding Kaeng Krachan area and transfer to Khao Yai area

We will spend the early morning in a bird blind (bird hide) in the forest near Kaeng Krachan National Park, where we hope to get good views of Kalij Pheasant, Red Junglefowl, Bar-backed Partridge, Black-naped Monarch, Puff-throated Babbler, Racket-tailed Treepie, Common Green Magpie, White-browed Scimitar Babbler, Greater Necklaced and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrushes, White-rumped Shama, and an assorted range of other interesting passerines.

The colors on the gorgeous Common Green Magpie need to be seen to be believed.

In the late morning we will commence our journey from the Kaeng Krachan area back around Bangkok and to the northeast of the Thai capital city. We will stop for lunch along the way and will visit a small temple to look for Rufous Limestone Babbler along the way. We will check into our comfortable hotel late in the afternoon for the next three nights.

Overnight: Khao Yai

Days 8 – 9. Birding Khao Yai National Park

Another two exciting, bird-filled days await, this time in the famous Khao Yai National Park. This is a very popular national park with locals and foreigners alike, due to its proximity to the capital of Bangkok, but the birds seem to be used to the visitors, and due to the good road network through and around the park, it is usually possible to find quiet areas where we can enjoy the birds to ourselves.

We will head up to the higher parts of the national park first, where we will look for Silver Pheasant, Red-headed Trogon, Collared Owlet, Black-throated Laughingthrush, White-browed Scimitar Babbler, Moustached Barbet, Grey-backed Shrike, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Barred Cuckoo-Dove, Ashy Bulbul, and Blue Rock Thrush. After enjoying some time in the slightly cooler part of the forest we will drop down to lower elevations in search of some different birds.

Silver Pheasant is a spectacular target bird during our time in Khao Yai National Park.

The forests along the way to the higher elevations can support some spectacular birds, and a few strategic stops may yield Long-tailed Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Siamese Fireback, Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, Blue Pitta, Eared Pitta, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Orange-breasted Trogon, Common Hill Myna, and Sultan Tit.

The central plateau area of the national park offers some more great birding, and hornbills also feature in this part of the park. We will look for Wreathed Hornbill, Great Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, and Austen’s Brown Hornbill, along with Banded Kingfisher, Red Junglefowl, Scarlet Minivet, Green-eared Barbet, Laced Woodpecker, Streak-breasted Woodpecker, Greater Flameback, Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Buffy Fish Owl, Common Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Brown-backed Needletail, and White-throated Rock Thrush.

Forest trails, a bit lower down below the central plateau area, are not only good for the aforementioned hornbills, but also for other species too, such as Eared Pitta, White-crested Laughingthrush, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush, Siamese Fireback, Orange-breasted Trogon, Banded Kingfisher, Banded Broadbill, Long-tailed Broadbill, Siberian Blue Robin, and Orange-headed Thrush.

This park also gives us a chance for observing Asian Elephant, and we might also find Pileated Gibbon, Sambar, Southern Red Muntjac, Black Giant Squirrel, and other interesting animals, perhaps even the rare Siamese Crocodile.

Overnight (two nights): Khao Yai

Wreathed Hornbill occurs in Khao Yai National Park, and we will listen out for its heavy wingbeats to try and locate this beautiful, huge bird.

Day 10. Birding Khao Yai area and transfer to Bangkok, where the tour concludes

We will have a final morning’s birding around the Khao Yai area, outside of the national park. Red-breasted Parakeets are often around our hotel, as are a range of barbets and starlings/mynas, maybe Pied Bush Chat or Eurasian Hoopoe too, so we will keep a lookout for these before we drive back to Bangkok for your international departure from Thailand or further travel on another of our exciting Thai birdwatching tours.

Overnight: Not included

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides and other factors. In addition, we sometimes have to use a different international guide from the one advertised due to tour scheduling.

 CENTRAL THAILAND: SHOREBIRD SPECTACLE AND JUNGLE BIRDING

 TOUR-SPECIFIC INFORMATION

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THAILAND CAN BE READ HERE

TOUR OUTLINE

This seriously exciting bird tour of central Thailand starts and ends in the capital city, Bangkok. We visit the Bay of Bangkok for a bonanza of shorebirds including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann’s Greenshank, Asian Dowitcher, White-faced Plover, and many more. We will then spend time forest birding where we will look for a range of pheasants, pittas, broadbills, trogons, kingfishers, laughingthrushes, and hornbills (such as Silver Pheasant, Blue Pitta, Silver-breasted Broadbill, Red-headed Trogon, Banded Kingfisher, White-crested Laughingthrush, and Great Hornbill). Several of the sites we visit offer very good photo opportunities, and a wide range of animals are possible on the tour too, such as Lar Gibbon, Asian Elephant, and Siamese Crocodile.

DAILY ACTIVITIES, PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS, AND TOUR PACE

This Thai birdwatching tour runs at a fairly fast pace with some long days. Depending on the exact area we will be birding, mealtimes and birdwatching times may vary a little from day to day.

On most days we will have early morning birding sessions and then rest between late morning and early afternoon, followed by a late afternoon birding session and, at a few locations, some evening owling. We will usually have breakfast at 05:30–06:30 before we leave to go birding, have lunch around midday, and dinner around 18:30–19:30, though these times are not fixed. The areas we bird during this tour are often very hot and bird activity drops during the middle of the day. During the rest periods there will be opportunities for personal birding around the hotel grounds or relaxing (e.g. some of the hotels we stay in have swimming pools). Some mornings, especially at the coast, we might have a later breakfast after an early morning birding session. We may also take picnic breakfasts and/or picnic lunches on some days.

At the coast we will be birding in saltpans, mangroves, rice paddies, and along the beach/seashore. There will be very little shade when birding in these areas which is why we try and cover them in the early morning or late afternoon, due to the heat, however as our birding time here will need to consider tide times, we may end up having to do some birding during the hotter parts of the day. We stay at a comfortable hotel while at the coast which is excellent for relaxing during the heat of the day. Most of our birding in these areas will be carried out from or near vehicles, with walks probably of less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) at a time, at a very relaxed place. We will also take a small-boat boat trip through the mangroves to the famed Laem Pak Bia Sandspit, this often entails a wet-feet landing on the beach.

Our forest birding in Kaeng Krachan National Park and Khao Yai National Park will include time walking/driving through suitable wooded habitat (these national parks have roads that pass through them providing excellent access to birding areas – though we might need to use a 4×4 pickup truck to access some areas) and we will also spend time birding from forest blinds/bird hides, waiting patiently for rare and secretive birds to show. On some days, during our forest birding, we will spend the whole day within the forest, resting up there rather than returning to our accommodations. Several of the birding areas within the national parks can be covered close to vehicles with limited walking, rather just standing and scanning, but some of the areas require a walk of up to 2–3 miles (3–5 kilometers) on undulating/inclined forest trails. We will always take these slowly so that most people will be able to manage them without problems. The national parks do occasionally change or restrict access to certain roads and trails within the parks, with rules changing unexpectedly, and so our exact birding within the parks will be dictated by where we are allowed to go. The majority of birding activities are totally optional so if you’d prefer to sit one out and relax around the accommodation, that will be perfectly fine.

We will be birding at sea-level at the coastal sites but at Kaeng Krachan and Khao Yai National Parks we will be covering a range of elevations from sea-level up to a maximum of 4,000 feet/1,200 meters.

Driving times will vary each day depending on where we will be heading. The birding at the coast and at Kaeng Krachan are very close to where we will be staying, but there could be a drive of an hour through the national park depending on where we will be birding there. These drives will be interspersed with lengthy stops for birdwatching. There will be a drive of approximately one hour from our accommodation to the birding zone at Khao Yai and then we will drive around the park visiting different sessions, with birding stops throughout the day. There will be one long driving day as we move between Kaeng Krachan and Khao Yai (this can be anywhere between 4–6 hours, depending on traffic). The drives from Bangkok to the coast take approximately two hours, with the drive from Khao Yai to Bangkok usually taking a little longer, say three hours. The roads to/in the national parks are windy, particularly at Khao Yai and if you are susceptible to travel sickness, medication is advised (noting the details in the “Transportation and Seat Rotation” section of the Thailand General Information document).

SAFETY

Trips and falls while on the trails at Khao Yai National Park are possible. Despite this being the most visited (and most expensive) national park in Thailand, visitor facilities in terms of trails. and maintenance of them. is very poor. Care should be taken when walking away from paved roads. If you are not steady on your feet a walking stick/hiking pole is recommended to help on these trails.

WEATHER/CLIMATE   

While birding in the lowlands (e.g. around Bangkok, the coast, rice paddies, and around our accommodation at Kaeng Krachan and Khao Yai) we can expect daytime temperatures of around 86–95 °F (30–35 °C) and nighttime temperatures around 59–72 °F (15–22 °C). When birding in Khao Yai National Park and Kaeng Krachan National Park we will spend time at higher elevations and the temperature can be expected to be a bit cooler, particularly in the early morning when we are driving to our birding spots. While it is usually dry at this time of year, rain can occur in the form of afternoon thunderstorms. The sun is strong at this time of year and care should be taken to remain hydrated and use sun protection.

ACCOMMODATION

We will stay at a range of accommodation on the tour. We spend the first night of this central Thailand bird tour in a high-standard hotel near the airport in Bangkok, such as the Best Western or equivalent, this offers good facilities and a mix of western, Asian, and Thai food, and is very convenient as it is close to the airport, but away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Note the airport is a c. 30-minute drive from downtown Bangkok, if you do want to do some city sightseeing. We will stay in wildlife lodges, hotels, and spas throughout the tour. These places have been chosen for their location near to birding sites, as well as for their quality and we have been using them for many years. These locations have good grounds to relax and birdwatch/photograph during the middle of the day. All accommodation will have air-conditioning and Wi-Fi (though at some places the Wi-Fi may only be in communal areas).

MEALS

The hotel we stay at in Bangkok offer a mix of western and Asian food including at breakfast time. At the other locations we visit food will be more typical Thai-style. On some occasions we will take a picnic-style/boxed breakfast or lunch (often a fried-rice or fried-noodle style dish), depending on the specifics of the day’s plan, such as on the days we bird in the national parks.

WHAT TO BRING: CLOTHING AND OTHER ITEMS

Nothing specific is required for this tour, please see the Thailand General Information for recommended clothing. A hiking pole/walking stick will be useful if you are not steady on your feet for a couple of the trails we will bird within the national parks. If you have a telescope it will be extremely useful while looking for shorebirds at the coast and is likely to increase your enjoyment of the spectacle.

Download Central Thailand Tour-specific Information

Download General Thailand Information

‘We just returned from our trip to Thailand. It was wonderful. Thank you very much for arranging our tour with Andy Walker. He was the best guide we ever had. He is knowledgeable, easy going, hard working, and has all the qualities that people expect from a guide. We really enjoyed birding with him. We would be happy to go birding with him any time and would highly recommend him as a guide to any of our friends.

Thanks again for giving us the opportunity to have him as our guide.’

Ahmad and Sue

‘We spent three weeks with Andy in Thailand and enjoyed the trip thoroughly. Andy worked so hard to find the birds, and get us on them. He was very patient and took the time we needed. He knew all the best places to go, knew what birds would be expected, identified them in an instant and still managed to find some pretty good rarities along with the “known birds”, Himalayan Cutia anyone? And we spent literally hours getting great looks at Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Andy got us very close without disturbing the birds or any other birders. It was a highlight of the trip. We are hoping to see Andy in York later this year for a days birding on his home patch!’

Bob and Terrie