Hala Bala 2010

On 9th May 2010 Games (Punjapa) Phetsri, ian Dugdale and Dave Sargeant visited the Bala section of the Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary in the far South of Thailand. A total of eight days was spent walking the various trails and roads in the area.

In all 159 bird species were seen and a further 8 were heard. This includes an afternoon visit to the nearby peat swamp forest at Pa Pru.

We stayed in the excellent rooms at the research centre and were well looked after by the head Ranger Siriphon and her very helpful staff - lam, Chin and Lo, who showed us the best birding locations in the area and found some great birds for us including the owls and frogmouths.

Following is a selection of some of the more special birds:

Crimson-winged Woodpecker
Orange-backed Woodpecker
Yellow-crowned Barbet
Rhinoceros Hornbill
Wrinkled Hornbill
Helmeted Hornbill
Blue-banded Kingfisher
Rufous-collared Kingfisher
Rusty-breasted Cuckoo
Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
White-fronted Scops Owl
Reddish Scops Owl
Gould's Frogmouth
Malaysian Eared Nightjar
Silver-breasted Broadbill
Crested Jay
Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike
Spotted Fantail
Grey-chested Jungle-flycatcher
Pale Blue Flycatcher
Malaysian Blue Flycatcher
Finsch's Bulbul
Cinereous Bulbul
Horsfield's Babbler
Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babbler
White-chested Babbler
Fluffy-backed Tit-babbler
Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker
Red-throated Sunbird
Temminck's Sunbird
Long-billed Spiderhunter