Christmas Birding in Thailand

We have just returned from a fantastic 11 day birding holiday in Thailand with 318 species seen, of which 148 were lifers for me and 141 for Liz.

The first birding day was spent at the salt pans of Laem Pak Bia in the Petchaburi province, south of Bangkok.

Lots of waders, including our main targets, Spoon-billed Sandpipers and Nordmann's Greenshanks.

Lots of good waterbirds at the Environmental Research Project ponds, including this Common Kingfisher. We also got Grey-headed Lapwings and Painted Storks nearby.

Heading out to the Laem Pak Bia sand spit.

Liz and our guide Peter looking for our main target, the White-faced Plover, but alas no luck. We did get excellent views of good numbers of Malaysian Plovers

We returned to the salt pans in the afternoon for another look at Spoon-billed Sandpipers, as these guys may become extinct in the coming years.

Back to the ponds in the evening to see Ruddy-breasted Crakes and Indian Nightjars. Good views of both!

So ends a wonderful first day.