We unfortunately awoke to steady rain falling which we later learned was the edge of the super-typhoon making landfall in The Philippines. We had arranged an early morning visit to the Baan Song Nok hide that is situated close to Ban Maka set up in a clearing at the edge of a forested limestone escarpment. After our staple pre-dawn breakfast of toast and honey at Ban Maka we arrived at dawn somewhat to the surprise of the owners who had anticipated that no visitors would arrive in the inclement weather. We were soon in the covered hide but clearly the steady rain was having a detrimental effect as the activity was low. After a couple of hours the rain eased but the birding from the hide hadn't improved so I decided to walk the gardens at Baan Song Nok where a couple of wintering Taiga Flycatchers proved too shy to photograph, although a Green-eared Barbet was thankfully more obliging. A drive through nearby farmland to the National Park produced very little with no sign of any hoped-for Vinous-breasted Starlings. We decided to return to Ban Maka to check the lake and grounds there for wintering migrants, and whilst doing so, the weather slowly improved and more birds started to show. We returned to Baan Song Nok mid-afternoon and after another quiet hour things weren't looking good when suddenly the appearance of a few Flycatchers heralded a change in our fortunes. A Pale-legged Leaf Warbler put in a brief appearance and soon after a juvenile Slaty-legged Crake crept from the shadows at the back of the clearing - my new bird for the day! However, better was to follow as again Siberian Blue Robins started to appear in numbers as dusk fell, before the flame of the forest floor that is Orange-headed Ground-Thrush lit up the clearing - few birds rival a Zoothera.
Scaly-breasted Partridge 2
Red Junglefowl 15
Pond Heron sp. 2
Cattle Egret 10
Crested Honey Buzzard 1
SLATY-LEGGED CRAKE 1 juvenile
White-breasted Waterhen 2
Moorhen 10
Collared Scops Owl h
Green Bee-eater 2
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater 2
Hoopoe 1
Oriental Pied Hornbill 1
Green-eared Barbet 1
Coppersmith Barbet 1
Brown Shrike 1
Black-naped Oriole 2
Hair-crested Drongo 2
Black-naped Monarch 10
Black-headed Bulbul 2
Sooty-headed Bulbul 8
Sand Martin 1
Swallow 50
Red-rumped Swallow 6
Dusky Warbler 1
Yellow-browed Warbler 6
Pale-legged Leaf Warbler 1
Common Tailorbird 1
Brown-cheeked Fulvetta 10
Abbott's Babbler 2
Puff-throated Babbler 6
Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush 1
Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush 20
Orange-headed Ground-Thrush 1
White-rumped Shama 8
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher 2
Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher 2
Siberian Blue Robin 12
Blue Whistling Thrush 1
Taiga Flycatcher 5
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker 1 male
Scaly-breasted Munia 10
Squirrel at Baan Song Nok
Spotted Dove at Baan Song Nok
Male Red Junglefowl at Baan Song Nok
Common Myna at Baan Song Nok
Green-eared Barbet at Baan Song Nok
the lake at Ban Maka
Green Bee-eater near Ban Maka
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher at Baan Song Nok
Male Black-naped Monarch at Baan Song Nok
Adult Taiga Flycatcher at Baan Song Nok
First-winter Taiga Flycatcher at Baan Song Nok
Pale-legged Leaf Warbler at Baan Song Nok
Blue Whistling Thrush at Baan Song Nok
The only individual of the large and yellow-billed form that we saw
Male White-rumped Shama at Baan Song Nok
Juvenile Slaty-legged Crake at Baan Song Nok
Male Siberian Blue Robin at Baan Song Nok
Orange-headed Ground Thrush at Baan Song Nok
