Grey-headed Fish Eagle

Transcription

1 ITINERARY 7-day Classic Cambodia Day 1: Prek Toal Large Waterbird Colonies We will start our day trip to Prek Toal bird sanctuary at 5.30am with our CBGA bird guide in private air-con car and travel to the port of Me-chrey. Our group will transfer to a private boat for the journey across Tonle Sap to Prek Toal. Depending on the lake water level the boat journey cuts through the flooded scrub surrounding Me-chrey and a small band of primary forest lining the edge of the lake. Spot-billed Pelican Cormorant colony The boat moors at this point for breakfast before continue to the village of Prek Toal. At Prek Toal village the group will be transferred to a local community boat (part of an initiative to help spread income from eco-tourism to the local village economy), and heads off into the core reserve for a treetop observation platform next to bird colonies (water level changed by season, when in dry season the water level is pretty shallow so we probably can t reach the observation platform, so we will just be birding along the water channels. A packed lunch can be organised allowing the group to maximise the time spent in the core reserve). After enjoying the tour inside the core reserve, we will travel back to the village and have lunch at the Saray community restaurant. The group can decide to take the paddled boat tour around the village early before lunch or later after lunch. Then by 2pm we will head back to Me-chrey and get in the air-con car back, arriving at hotel around 3.30pm

2 In Cambodia and throughout South East Asia, Prek Toal is unmatched for the number and population of endangered water birds it supports during the dry season. The sanctuary harbours seven species of global conservation significance: Spot-billed Pelican, Milky and Painted Storks, Lesser Adjutant, Greater Adjutant, Black-headed Ibis and Oriental Darter and has a globally significant population of Grey-headed Fish Eagle. Large numbers of cormorants, storks and pelicans are virtually guaranteed from December to May along with herons, egrets and terns. The reserve covers 22,000 hectares of seasonally flooded forest where only the tallest trees stand proud of the lake during the annual flood, providing habitat for cormorants, darters, pelicans, storks, and many other birds to roost and nest. The Tonle Sap is the largest natural lake in South East Asia, fed by the phenomenal annual backflow of water from the Mekong River. Situated in the North West corner of the lake, Prek Toal core bird reserve is home to the largest breeding colony of water birds in South East Asia. The village of Prek Toal, adjacent to the reserve, floats at the river mouth of the Sangke River. Every house is built on a platform of bamboo and moves according to the changing water levels. Schools, local restaurants, a church, even vegetable patches, pig-pens and crocodile farms all float. Grey-headed Fish Eagle

3 Day 2: Ang Trapaeng Thmor Sarus Crane and Eld s Deer Today our birding hotspot is going to west of Cambodia within the Tonle Sap floodplains, Ang Trapaeng Thmor where the crane first discovered by Mr, Sam Veasna in At 5.30am again your CBGA English-speaking bird guide will pick you up from your hotel, and today we will have a new type of car - a private air-con 4x4 car that we can easier access to some difficult paths of the areas. It is less than 2 hour drive from Siem Reap to Ang Trapaeng Thmor on the 110 km. Usually before we reach the site we normally make some few stops along the road when we spot some good birds. It is a big site that we often moving around by car. Birding until noon we will have lunch at ATT, then have a short nap. In the afternoon, the group can visit the silk weaving village at Phnom Srok, and or continue doing another quick birding before heading back to Siem Reap. Arrive at Siem Reap hotel around 5pm. Sarus Crane

4 Originating as an ancient Angkorian reservoir northwest of Siem Reap, ATT was rebuilt as by slave labour during the Khmer Rouge regime in 1976 and finished with assistance from the Japanese, post-war. The reservoir is now a Sarus Crane reserve administered by the Forestry Administration (FA), with over 300 of these magnificent birds congregating to feed each dry season. Over 250 species have been recorded from the site, 18 of which are globally threatened. By February the dry season will be well underway and a few pairs of Black-necked Storks frequent the site along with many of the large water birds seen at Prek Toal; Black-headed Ibis, Milky and Painted Storks, Spot-billed Pelicans, Oriental Darters, Asian Openbills and Greater and Lesser Adjutants. A few pairs of Bengal Floricans breed here during the dry months, though they are wary and a treat rather than a certainty to see. Other grassland specialists include Red Avadavat, Blue-breasted Quail, and the 3 species of lark occurring in Cambodia. 6 species of duck, including the resident Comb Duck, can be seen along with birds of prey that are rare in the much of the country such as Black Kite, Greater Spotted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Eastern Marsh & Pied Harriers. Numerous waders, rails and shore birds can be found in the marshy belts of aquatic habitats. The critically endangered Eld s Deer can often be seen in numbers, at times exceeding 20 individuals, from February to the start of the rains in May.The entrance fee is a conservation contribution that each visitor pays. It is used for local development and conservation projects such as nest protection and a rice bank which stock piles local farmers rice as insurance for this staple food for the local community in case of crop failure. Eld s Deer Spotted wood-owl

5 Day 3: Florican Grassland & Tmatboey Trip will start as early as 5.30am from Siem Reap heading east along national Road6, with approximately 2-hour drive we will arrive at the Florican Grassland where we will spend a couple hours looking for the critically endangered Bengal Florican and other grassland species. This so-called Bengal Florican Conservation Areas (BFCAs) is the great inundated grassland which is protected and managed for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use by local communities. The conservation areas mainly contain grassland dominant landscapes, which are now extremely rare in South-East Asia and which have been disappearing rapidly in Cambodia in recent years. The target species at this site are Bengal Florican, the rare wintering Manchurian Reed-warbler, Raptors including Greater Spotted Eagle and Imperial Eagle, Pied Harrier and Eastern Marsh-harrier, Siberian Ruby Throat, and Small Buttonquail. Bengal florican Blue-breasted Quail

6 After visiting the Florican grasslands the group will travel toward Tmatbeoy village passing Beng Melea and Koh Ker temples (if time allows we will break the journey with some birding at these temples). The group will have lunch en route near Koh Ker before arriving Tmatboey Eco-lodge around 3pm in time for the first afternoon birding near the lodge with a short-walk through the open forest to where the White-shouldered Ibis come to roost at sunset. Tmatboey is a remote village of 314 families situated in the Northern Plains of Cambodia, within the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary. Tmatbeoy is the most significant ground for the two critically endangered Giant and White-shouldered Ibises. The conservation project was set up by the Cambodian Government (ministry of environment), conservation NGOs and Tmatboey village. The accommodation at Tmatboey is basic. The Lodge is comprised of a central recreational building and 5 surrounding bungalows each with 2 twin en-suite rooms with solar powered electricity. The group can discuss with the CBGA guide how they wish to spend the day outside the sunrise and sunset birding. Packed lunches can be arranged if they want to spend more time in the forest and night drives / walks can spot the owls and Savannah Night Jar. The village of Tmatboey is remote and self-sufficient. CBGA organises an optional village tour, which takes in local trades as well as the school, a market garden, a still for sugar palm wine and points out the projects that the visitor s conservation contributions have assisted. White-rumped pygmy Falcon Giant Ibis

7 Day 4-5: Tmatboey for the two Ibises and many more species In the morning the group will leave the lodge very early, around 4 or 4;30 a.m., with a quick cup of tea or coffee, and packed breakfast then a drive and a walk to less disturbed areas of forest where Giant Ibis have been located. We return back to the Lodge around noon for lunch and nap before we continue for another afternoon birding. Tmatbeoy also supports other target species such as Woolly-necked Stork, Indian Spotted Eagle, Greyheaded Fish Eagle and White-rumped Falcon. The Pale-capped Pigeon is another highlight along with an amazing diversity of woodpeckers. Our local guides have made a special effort to find owls on their night roosts, allowing comfortable daytime viewing of Brown Fish Owl, Spotted Wood Owl and Brown Wood Owl. Within this 3 night birding trip at Tmatboey, you will have enough time to see all the species at Tmatboey at no rush. We will spend whole day bird watching in the Deciduous Dipterocarp forest to see other birds including the target species above. We will also stay late in the forest until dark for Nightjar (Savanna and Large-tailed) and Owl (Oriental Scopes-Owl and Barn Owl). Head light and torch are recommended to take along with you. Oriental Scope Owl Great Slaty Woodpecker

8 Day 6: Morning Tmatboey; then transfer to Kratie After our last morning s birding we will leave Tmatboey at 9am and travel toward our next destination Kratie, arriving at 1pm for a late lunch. After checking-in at the hotel and having a quick rest, we will start again at 3.30pm for the marshes and ricefield 5km north of Kratie for the Asian Golden Weaver and Streak Weaver. Asian Golden Weaver

9 Day 7: Mekong Wagtail and Cambodian Tailorbird With our last day early morning we will visit Kampi, 15km from Kratie town, for a boat excursion to see the Mekong Wagtail & Small Pratincole at the island habitats along the channel of the Mekong River. We can also enjoy the view of Irrawaddy Dolphins at their pool in the middle of the Mekong. Mekong Wagtail Luis Mario Arce Cambodian laughing Thrush Dion By 10am we will leave Kratie for our last afternoon birding for the newly discovered Cambodian Tailorbird (Orthotomus chaktomuk) near Phnom Penh (5 hours from Kratie and 1 hour to the capital city Phnom Penh). This species is only found in the floodplain wetlands where the mighty Mekong river meets the Tonle Sap and Bassac Rivers. This area is also excellent for open-country species such as Plain- backed Sparrow and we often see large waterbirds such as Oriental Darter and Painted Stork. In the scrub in which the tailorbird is found we should also see a range of winter visitors, such as Black-browed Reed-warbler, Brown Shrike and Siberian Rubythroat. The group can either finish the tour in Phnom Penh or travel back to Siem Reap (another 5 hours)