About 70-odd kilometres southeast of downtown Bangkok – about 1 hour on the raised expressway – in the province of Chonburi, there is a site filled with fishponds and salt pans that despite its proximity to the capital, doesn’t seem to be on too many birder’s radars, especially international birders. Despite the ‘unpopular’ status of the area, Khlong Tamru salt pans (KT) seems to consistently turn up some great birds – in early 2018 Thailand’s first ever Booted Warbler was recorded here, and only a few months before that KT played host to an incredibly rare bird in Thailand, a River Tern – unfortunate, I never went down to this site for either bird. On top of this, KT is annually home to most of the more common species of waders that winter in or migrate through Thailand, but also to much rarer species such as River Lapwing, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pied Avocet, Little Stint and even Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. In fact in late 2019, at an adjacent site that houses more heavily-worked salt pans, the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper was even record.
As of April 2020, my current species list for the site is 85 species, but the site itself has seen closer to 200 species recorded.
As of April 2020, I’ve only visited the site three times, one of which was a quick, midday stop on the way back to Bangkok from Koh Si Chang, so I don’t have great knowledge of where is best to look for which species. Regardless, like lots of these types of sites, the bird numbers and variety can be highly variable, with numbers being far lower when the tide is low and the nearby mudflats are exposed. That said, just wondering around the trails that connect the different areas and scrutinizing the different ponds has the potential to turn up many birds over a couple of hours in the morning or afternoon. And like many of these sites, the waders are often joined by other waterbirds of interest such as storks, egrets, and ibis, while open country birds can also be found. Khlong Tamru saltpans is definitely a site I plan on exploring more in the future.
Ebird Checklists: Sept 29 – 2019 – Mar 15 – 2020 – Apr 13 – 2020
BIRD LIST (85 species)
- Lesser Whistling-Duck – Apr 13th, 2020
- Feral (Rock) Pigeon – Sep 29th, 2019
- Red Collared-Dove – Sep 29th, 2019
- Spotted Dove – Mar 15th, 2020
- Zebra Dove – Sep 29th, 2019
- Pink-necked Green Pigeon – Apr 13th, 2020
- Greater Coucal – Apr 13th, 2020
- Asian Koel – Sep 29th, 2019
- Plaintive Cuckoo – Apr 13th, 2020
- Indian Nightjar – Mar 15th, 2020
- Germain’s Swiftlet – Mar 15th, 2020
- House Swift – Mar 15th, 2020
- Slaty-breasted Rail – Apr 13th, 2020
- White-breasted Waterhen – Apr 13th, 2020
- Ruddy-breasted Crake – Mar 15th, 2020
- Black-winged Stilt – Sep 29th, 2019
- Pied Avocet – Mar 15th, 2020
- Black-bellied Plover – Mar 15th, 2020
- Pacific Golden-Plover – Sep 29th, 2019
- Red-wattled Lapwing – Sep 29th, 2019
- Lesser Sand-Plover – Sep 29th, 2019
- Greater Sand-Plover – Apr 13th, 2020
- Kentish Plover – Mar 15th, 2020
- Whimbrel – Mar 15th, 2020
- Eurasian Curlew – Apr 13th, 2020
- Black-tailed Godwit – Sep 29th, 2019
- Ruff – Sep 29th, 2019
- Broad-billed Sandpiper – Apr 13th, 2020
- Curlew Sandpiper – Sep 29th, 2019
- Long-toed Stint – Sep 29th, 2019
- Red-necked Stint – Sep 29th, 2019
- Little Stint – Apr 13th, 2020
- Terek Sandpiper – Apr 13th, 2020
- Common Sandpiper – Mar 15th, 2020
- Common Greenshank – Mar 15th, 2020
- Marsh Sandpiper – Sep 29th, 2020
- Wood Sandpiper – Sep 29th, 2020
- Common Redshank – Sep 29th, 2020
- Little Tern – Mar 15th, 2020
- Gull-billed Tern – Mar 15th, 2020
- Whiskered Tern – Sep 29th, 2019
- Asian Openbill – Sep 29th, 2019
- Painted Stork – Sep 29th, 2019
- Little Cormorant – Sep 29th, 2019
- Indian Cormorant – Mar 15th, 2020
- Spot-billed Pelican – Apr 13th, 2020
- Grey Heron – Mar 15th, 2020
- Purple Heron – Mar 15th, 2020
- Great Egret – Sep 29th, 2019
- Intermediate Egret – Mar 15th, 2020
- Little Egret – Sep 29th, 2019
- Cattle Egret – Mar 15th, 2020
- Chinese Pond-heron – Apr 13th, 2020
- Javan Pond-heron – Mar 15th, 2020
- Striated Heron – Mar 15th, 2020
- Black-crowned Night-heron – Mar 15th, 2020
- Black-headed Ibis – Sep 29th, 2019
- Osprey – Mar 15th, 2020
- Brahminy Kite – Sep 29th, 2019
- Common Kingfisher -Mar 15th, 2020
- Black-capped Kingfisher – Apr 13th, 2020
- Collared Kingfisher – Mar 15th, 2020
- Green Bee-eater – Sep 29th, 2019
- Blue-tailed Bee-eater – Mar 15th, 2020
- Golden-bellied Gerygone – Mar 15th, 2020
- Common Iora – Apr 13th, 2020
- Malaysian Pied-Fantail – Sep 29th, 2019
- Black Drongo – Sep 29th, 2019
- Brown Shrike – Sep 29th, 2019
- Common Tailorbird – Sep 29th, 2019
- Plain Prinia – Mar 15th, 2020
- Zitting Cisticola – Apr 13th, 2020
- Black-browed Reed Warbler – Mar 15th, 2020
- Barn Swallow – Sep 29th, 2019
- Streak-eared Bulbul – Apr 13th, 2020
- Dusky Warbler – Mar 15th, 2020
- Swinhoe’s White-eye – Sep 29th, 2019
- Asian Pied Starling – Sep 29th, 2019
- Common Myna – Sep 29th, 2019
- Oriental Magpie-Robin – Sep 29th, 2019
- Olive-backed Sunbird – Apr 13th, 2020
- Scaly-breasted Munia – Sep 29th, 2019
- Chestnut Munia – Mar 15th, 2020
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow – Sep 29th, 2019
- Eastern Yellow Wagtail – Sep 29th, 2019
Thailand Birding Adventures 