Lat Krabang (LK) rice paddies consists of an area of open country that includes rice fields, reed beds, and fish ponds found not too far from Bangkok’s Suwarnabhumi International Airport. In the past, reed beds represented a large portion of the western part of this area, but in late-2019/early-2020, a lot of these reed beds were burnt to the ground to make way for more fish ponds. And while this meant a drastic reduction in a certain habitat type, initially this hasn’t seen a reduction in the number of species present; it has, however, pushed the more skulking species further into the scrubby margins of the area.
Even before the destruction of the western reed beds, this entire area was seasonably variable, with the slash and burn harvest of rice being followed by flooding of the same fields. This in turn leads to a regular variation in the number and type of species that can be found at LK – and that’s before winter migration is even considered. Once winter migration was in full swing, the potential for a very high daily species count is possible, with my personal record being 103 species on January 30th, 2021 – my first and only 100+ species list (quite an amazing number for a single site so close to the centre of Bangkok). And while the variability of the site means many species can be found anywhere depending on the state of certain fields, there are some locations at LK that are better for certain species than others, and the following is a small rundown of these locations.
As of December 2021, my personal list at Lat Krabang stands at 153 species, but the site list is closer to 200.
As well as birds, snake sightings at Lat Krabang are relatively frequent, too, and I’ve recorded both Indochinese and Oriental Ratsnake, and Monocled Cobra in the fields.
Yellow Pin – here are the coordinates for the entrance to the site (13.74141, 100.81315). Despite being only a little over 30 km from downtown Bangkok, this site is not accessible via public transport, and even if one were to take a taxi here, the site is quite large and virtually devoid of shade. In other words, private transportation to the area is probably the only way to go.
A – not far into the site, on the left-hand side, were several small reed beds, that were good for crakes, weavers, and warblers, as well as other waterfowl. White-browed and Ruddy Crakes were almost always found there, along with Eurasian Moorhen and Bronze-winged Jacana, while during winter, the likes of Pallas’s Grashopper, and Baikal Bush Warblers could sometimes be found here along the more common Black-browed and Oriental Reed Warblers. However, in late March 2020, the area was being drained to be turned into more fishponds, so the productivity of this location is sure to suffer.
B – I’ve never really walked into the field on the right-hand side of the access road, but over these fields is where I’ve seen Pied Harrier on several occasions, and scanning the open sky here can be productive for waterbirds in flight, including ibis, Painted Storks and Spot-billed Pelicans.
C – This area of fields seems very variable, and when muddy, very close views of small waders can be had directly from the car window, with Wood Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, Black-winged Stilt, and Pin-tailed Snipe being common, but Temminck’s Stint is sometimes present in small numbers. When the fields are dry and with longer stubble, Paddyfield and Red-necked Pipits, and Yellow Wagtails are common, while Bluethroats can be abundant, and Zitting Cisticola can also be found.
D – The above satellite image was taken before the western reed beds were razed, and almost everything green to the left of the C is now either barren fields or fish ponds. That said, there are still some scrubby areas that harbour different species more frequently including this permanent, yet relatively shallow pond. Most species of egrets can be found here, along with Little Grebe, and Pheasant-tailed Jacana, while during the early months of 2020, a flock of Garganey could usually be seen here. Additionally, just before getting to this pond, there is a scrubby hollow that can hold Pin-tailed Snipe, Bluethroat, and various other smaller birds, and I’ve even had Long-tailed Shrike here.
E – At the northeast corner of pond ‘D’ – and the whole northern margin of the site – , is an area of scrub and reeds that haven’t yet been cut down, and it is at this corner that I frequently encounter small numbers of Yellow-breasted Buntings during the winter. This location actually seems to be one of the more productive locations for me, with Bluethroat and Siberian Rubythroat being regulars, and Pallas’s Grasshopper, Black-browed Reed, and Thick-billed Warbler all showing up here, along with both Baya and Asian Golden Weavers and Red Avadavat. This is also the location that I’ve twice seen Eurasian Wryneck, but this species seems especially skittish here. Stork-billed Kingfisher can sometimes be seen – but more likely heard – further towards the housing estate at the back of this scrub.
F – Here is a large shallow pond that when wet and muddy is a good place for waders, and it’s here I’ve had all three of Long-toed, Temmick’s and Red-necked Stints, as well as Common Greenshank, but when the area is dry, not much seems to stick around. The scrubby ditch between to two ponds, however, typical holds lots of smaller birds including Bluethroat and Streaked Weaver, while snipe and both Grey-headed and Red-wattled Lapwing can also be found here.
G – This is a large, permanent deepwater pond with some scrubby margins, and while the pond itself doesn’t usually hold much, the northern margin, including a large tree found here can sometimes hold certain birds, including once to my surprise a Collared Kingfisher. The scrubby ditches here also seem to be good places to look for Greater Painted-Snipe, and this also the only place at LK I’ve had Cinnamon Bittern.
H – Since the reeds here were cleared, this large area has shifted between being dry and barren to waterlogged, and when waterlogged, there have been small numbers of numerous waders present, usually Wood and Marsh Sandpipers, Black-winged Stilts and Long-toed Stints, but occasionally other species are found here, too, including Temminck’s Stint, Kentish Plover, and Lesser Sand-plover. In March 2020, this field was also home to a very rare migrant to Thailand, an Oriental Plover, which I originally found in the field on the other side of the access road, and turned at to be a provincial first for this species.
I – An area I’ve never really explored, there is a large, shallow pond here, usually covered partly with vegetation. This pond seems popular with both species of jacana as well as Little Grebe, while it also often hold large numbers of both Little and Indian Cormorant and Lesser Whistling-duck, and I’ve also seen Garganey here.
2021
With covid still around, and parks and other locations closed, I visited LK six times in January alone, in particular at a new site at the area. This site was a few kilometres from the main site, and consisted of reed beds around a few small ponds, and this area was teeming with waterbirds, some waders, and warblers and other passerines in the shrubby margins. And while this location was amazing, it was short-lived, as a few months later, the reeds had been cleared, and the whole area had been converted to fishponds. This January period brought quite a few new birds for the site for me, including Red-necked Stint and Spotted Redshank, Eastern Marsh Harrier, Black-naped Oriole, White Wagtail, and the much awaited Slaty-breasted Rail. While the rest of the year I didn’t visit anywhere near as frequently as in January, I still went to LK on eight other occasions, visiting 14 times in all for 2021.
Ebird Checklists for 2021
January 4th – January 6th – January 8th – January 16th – January 24th – January 30th – March 6th – April 8th – May 3rd – May 5th – July 16th – August 8th – August 29th – October 10th
2020
I started going to Lat Krabang far more frequently in 2020 for numerous reasons, one being how quickly I could get there compared to Bang Pu. Also, at history will show, early-to-mid 2020 saw the CoVID-19 virus drastically affect the world, and when the pandemic first started to cause problems, I still went out birding a little, but tried to adhere to social distancing, and LK is by far the best site around Bangkok to go birding and still be a long way from anyone else. This initially saw me going to LK whenever I had time, with six visits alone in March 2020 – this also coincided with me finding the Oriental Plover mentioned above on March 21st. It was also over this time that a flock of up to 50 Garganey spent some time at the site, though the clearing and conversion of the pools these birds liked meant they were forced out. Other highlights of the year included Yellow-legged Buttonquail and Striated Grassbird in April, Baillon’s Crake and both Lanceoated and Baikal Bush Warbler in May, and a pair of Northern Shovelers in November.
Ebird Checklists for 2020
March 1st – March 8th – March 21st – March 22nd – March 27th – March 29th – April 4th – April 9th – April 11th – May 4th – October 24th – November 8th – December 5th – December 10th
2019
In mid-April, my wife and I finally bought our own car, and with this, I found my way out to Lat Krabang more often – with two visits in April 2019 itself. In all, I made six visits to this site throughout 2019, with highlights being a Baillon’s Crake in April, Cotton Pygmy-geese in June, an Oriental Darter in August, Lesser Coucal and Yellow-breasted Bunting for the first time in November, and Pied Harrier and Red-throated Pipit in December. Along with my overall species list at LK growing, my familiarity of the site also meant that I was increasingly seeing more species each trip.
Ebird Checklists for 2019
April 21st – April 27th – June 8th – August 18th – November 3rd – December 7th
2018
Not having my own car meant that I had never really thought about trying to get out to Lat Krabang, but at the end of 2018, we borrowed one of my brother-in-law’s cars for a few months, and it was during this time that I first explored LK. Having never been to the site before, I mostly just wandered around the first several fields during my first few visits, and actually turned up a solitary Glossy Ibis my first time here. On my only other visit to LK in 2018, I also saw my first African Sacred Ibis, a feral bird found in growing numbers in central Thailand.
Ebird Checklists for 2018:
BIRD LIST (153 species)
- Lesser Whistling-Duck – Oct 6th, 2018
- Cotton Pygmy-Goose – Jun 8th, 2019
- Garganey – Mar 8th, 2020
- Northern Shoveler – Nov 8th, 2020
- Little Grebe – Oct 6th, 2018
- Feral (Rock) Pigeon – Oct 6th, 2018
- Red Collared-Dove – Oct 6th, 2018
- Spotted Dove – Oct 6th, 2018
- Zebra Dove – Oct 6th, 2018
- Pink-necked Green Pigeon – Nov 18th, 2018
- Greater Coucal – Apr 21st, 2019
- Lesser Coucal – Apr 21st, 2019
- Green-billed Malkhoha – Dec 5th, 2020
- Chestnut-winged Cuckoo – Nov 3rd, 2019
- Asian Koel – Oct 6th, 2018
- Plaintive Cuckoo – Oct 6th, 2018
- Indian Nightjar – Apr 11th, 2020
- Germain’s Swiftlet – Apr 27th, 2019
- House Swift – Mar 21st, 2020
- Asian Palm-Swift – Oct 6th, 2018
- Slaty-breasted Rail – Jan 30th, 2021
- Eurasian Moorhen – Apr 21st, 2019
- Grey-headed Swamphen – Apr 27th, 2019
- Watercock – Oct 6th, 2018
- White-breasted Waterhen – Oct 6th, 2018
- White-browed Crake – Apr 21st, 2019
- Ruddy-breasted Crake – Apr 21st, 2019
- Baillon’s Crake – Apr 21st, 2019
- Black-winged Stilt – Oct 6th, 2018
- Pacific Golden Plover – Apr 21st, 2019
- Grey-headed Lapwing – Oct 6th, 2018
- Red-wattled Lapwing – Oct 6th, 2018
- Lesser Sand-plover – Mar 22nd, 2020
- Kentish Plover – Mar 27th, 2020
- Little Ringed Plover – Oct 6th, 2018
- Oriental Plover – Mar 21st, 2020
- Greater Painted-Snipe – Apr 21st, 2019
- Pheasant-tailed Jacana – Apr 21st, 2019
- Bronze-winged Jacana – Oct 6th, 2018
- Black-tailed Godwit – Oct 6th, 2018
- Temminck’s Stint – Mar 1st, 2020
- Long-toed Stint – Oct 6th, 2018
- Red-necked Stint – Jan 16th, 2021
- Little Stint – Mar 8th, 2020
- Common Snipe – Oct 6th, 2018
- Pin-tailed Snipe – Oct 6th, 2018
- Common Sandpiper – Oct 6th, 2018
- Spotted Redshank – Jan 16th, 2021
- Common Greenshank – Mar 8th, 2020
- Marsh Sandpiper – Mar 1st, 2020
- Wood Sandpiper – Oct 6th, 2018
- Yellow-legged Buttonquail – Apr 4th, 2020
- Oriental Pratincole – Oct 6th, 2018
- White-winged Tern – Apr 21st, 2019
- Whiskered Tern – Oct 6th, 2018
- Asian Openbill – Oct 6th, 2018
- Painted Stork – Nov 18th, 2018
- Oriental Darter – Aug 18th, 2019
- Little Cormorant – Oct 6th, 2018
- Indian Cormorant – Apr 27th, 2019
- Spot-billed Pelican – Nov 18th, 2019
- Yellow Bittern – Nov 18th, 2019
- Cinnamon Bittern – Mar 21st 2020
- Black Bittern – Apr 21st, 2019
- Grey Heron – Nov 18th, 2018
- Purple Heron – Oct 6th, 2018
- Great Egret – Oct 6th, 2018
- Intermediate Egret – Jun 8th, 2019
- Little Egret – Oct 6th, 2018
- Cattle Egret – Oct 6th, 2018
- Chinese Pond-heron – Apr 21st, 2019
- Javan Pond-heron – Apr 21st, 2019
- Striated Heron – Dec 5th, 2020
- Black-crowned Night-heron – Apr 21st, 2019
- Glossy Ibis – Oct 6th, 2018
- African Sacred Ibis – Nov 18th, 2018
- Black-necked Ibis – Nov 18th, 2018
- Black-winged Kite – Mar 1st, 2020
- Eastern Marsh Harrier – Jan 4th, 2021
- Pied Harrier – Dec 7th, 2019
- Shikra – Jan 16th, 2021
- Brahminy Kite – Nov 8th, 2020
- Spotted Owlet
- Common Kingfisher – Oct 6th, 2018
- Stork-billed Kingfisher – Mar 22nd, 2020
- White-throated Kingfisher – Nov 18th, 2018
- Black-capped Kingfisher – Oct 6th, 2018
- Collared Kingfisher – Mar 8th, 2020
- Blue-tailed Bee-eater – Oct 6th, 2018
- Indochinese Roller – Apr 21st, 2019
- Coppersmith Barbet – Aug 18th, 2019
- Eurasian Wryneck – Mar 1st, 2020
- Freckle-breasted Woodpecker – May 5th, 2021
- Eurasian Kestrel – Dec 5th, 2020
- Ring-necked Parakeet – May 3rd, 2021
- Black-naped Oriole – Jan 16th, 2021
- Ashy Woodswallow – Mar 22nd, 2020
- Common Iora – Mar 1st, 2020
- Malaysian Pied-Fantail – Oct 6th, 2018
- Black Drongo – Oct 6th, 2018
- Brown Shrike – Oct 6th, 2018
- Long-tailed Shrike – Mar 8th, 2020
- Racket-tailed Treepie – Aug 29th, 2021
- Large-billed Crow – Jun 8th, 2019
- Common Tailorbird – Mar 21st, 2020
- Yellow-bellied Prinia – Nov 18th, 2018
- Plain Prinia – Oct 6th, 2018
- Zitting Cisticola – Apr 21st, 2019
- Thick-billed Warbler – Mar 1st, 2020
- Black-browed Reed Warbler – Nov 18th, 2018
- Oriental Reed Warbler – Oct 6th, 2018
- Striated Grassbird – Apr 11th, 2020
- Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler – Dec 7th, 2019
- Lanceolated Warbler – May 4th, 2020
- Baikal Bush Warbler – Mar 1st, 2020
- Bank Swallow – Apr 21st, 2019
- Barn Swallow – Oct 6th, 2018
- Red-rumped Swallow – Apr 27th, 2019
- Red-whiskered Bulbul – Mar 29th, 2020
- Yellow-vented Bulbul – Oct 6th, 2018
- Streaked-eared Bulbul – Oct 6th, 2018
- Arctic Warbler – May 3rd, 2021
- Yellow-browed Warbler – Mar 8th, 2020
- Dusky Warbler – Nov 18th, 2018
- Asian Pied Starling – Oct 6th, 2018
- White-shouldered Starling – Nov 3rd, 2019
- Chestnut-tailed Starling – Apr 4th, 2020
- Common Myna – Oct 6th, 2018
- Great Myna – Oct 6th, 2018
- Oriental Magpie-Robin – Oct 6th, 2018
- Bluethroat – Mar 1st, 2020
- Siberian Rubythroat – Mar 1st, 2020
- Taiga Flycatcher – Mar 1st, 2020
- Siberian Stonechat – Nov 18th, 2018
- Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker – Dec 5th, 2020
- Brown-throated Sunbird – Mar 21, 2020
- Olive-backed Sunbird – Jun 8th, 2019
- Streaked Weaver – Apr 21st, 2019
- Baya Weaver – Oct 6th, 2018
- Asian Golden Weaver – Oct 6th, 2018
- Red Avadavat – Apr 27th, 2019
- White-rumped Munia – Oct 6th, 2018
- Scaly-breasted Munia – Oct 6th, 2018
- Chestnut Munia – Apr 21st, 2019
- House Sparrow – Oct 6th, 2018
- Plain-backed Sparrow – Mar 29th, 2020
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow – Apr 21st, 2019
- Eastern Yellow Wagtail – Nov 3rd, 2019
- White Wagtail – Jan 24th, 2021
- Richard’s Pipit – Jan 4th, 2021
- Paddyfield Pipit – Apr 21st, 2019
- Red-throated Pipit – Dec 7th, 2019
- Yellow-breasted Bunting – Nov 3rd, 2019
Thailand Birding Adventures 