Pitta, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, Ashy Tailorbird and Copper-throated Sunbird. Other mangrove birds such as the Pied Fantail, Mangrove Whistler, Collared Kingfisher and Laced Woodpecker are less specialised and turn up in nearby woodlands and gardens as well.
Storks are rare in this region, but this is the place to see them. At low tide, storks and many herons and egrets flock to feed on the exposed mudflats in front of the mangroves. Almost all shorebirds (plovers and sandpipers) in this region are migratory. The diversity can be somewhat confusing for the beginner (and for the experienced birder for that matter), especially since it is difficult to get close to shore-birds feeding far out on boggy mudflats. In fact, some birdwatchers get hooked on shorebirds and find the similarities and the differences a challenge. Exposed sandy seashores and rocky coastlines are less productive, but some plovers and sandpipers prefer this habitat, as does the resident Pacific Reef-egret. The Little Heron is likely to turn up wherever there is water.
Tropical Asia has few gulls, but further north in China they become more numerous although no species Stay to breed in this area, except terns, which breed mainly on remote offshore islets. If you have a friend who owns a boat, catch a ride offshore in the South China Sea. Swim to some remote reef during April or May and there you can walk among the breeding sea birds, with terns screaming at you overhead, boobies with their young on the ground, and the majestic White-bellied Sea-eagle soaring in the distance—another of the great birding spectacles this region has to offer. Do not stay long though as the hot sun might damage exposed eggs and young.
Lowland forests are the prime habitat of all Southeast Asia. More birds can be found here than in any other environment and furthermore most are sedentary residents found here all year round, a great number of which are restricted to this region and parts of Indonesia.
Yes, birdwatching in the forest is as tough as it gets. In rainforest, the trees grow to a height of 30 metres or more, and the foliage is massive. Less than two percent of the outside light reaches the forest floor and the humidity stays near 100 percent, even in the afternoon. But then, forest birdwatching is also the most rewarding. You can walk the same forest trail twenty times, week after week, and then the twenty-first time you might see a species you have never seen before in your life, such is the diversity and the scarcity of forest residents.
Conditions are challenging, even in the somewhat lower deciduous forests further north. In addition to the poor viewing conditions the birds are shy and take off at the least disturbance. In general it is better to visit during the dry season, from December to February, and go where the forest is less dense and where many migratory warblers, thrushes and flycatchers augment the resident bird fauna.
Pheasants, hornbills, broadbills, woodpeckers, leafbirds, babblers and flowerpeckers are almost exclusively forest bird families; night-birds, bulbuls, drongos, cuckoo-shrikes and flycatchers are also well represented.
As you proceed higher, the avifauna changes. At 900 metres you enter the montane forest where you will discover a totally different set of birds. This astonishing transformation is once again a highlight of birdwatching in this region. You can drive for a couple of hours from Kuala Lumpur to Fraser's Hill in Malaysia, or from Chiang Mai to Doi Inthanon in Thailand, and so profound is the change that you might well have crossed the ocean to another faunal region. You will then have to begin familiarising yourself with 50 or 60 new species that you simply will never find in the lowlands.
Insect life is abundant at montane elevations and insectivorous bird families such as babblers, warblers and flycatchers are especially well represented, but almost all the other forest bird families such as pigeons, bulbuls, broadbills, cuckoo-shrikes, thrushes, fantails, sunbirds and flowerpeckers have one or a few representatives in the mountains.
The higher reaches of the upper montane habitat, above 2,400 metres, and the alpine habitat near and above the tree limit are not of that much interest in this region, simply because there is little of it. It only exists in the Himalayan foothills of Myanmar and Yunnan (south China), which are not very accessible to tourists, and in Sabah within the Kinabalu National Park. At Kinabalu the subcamp at 3,400 metres is where the alpine habitat starts and this is really as far as birders need to go. Pushing all the way to the summit at 4,101 metres may bring you a nice view and a bout of altitude sickness, but no significant bird sightings apart from the occasional White-bellied Swiftlet, which is better observed at sea level.
The bird year
The region covered by this book is above the Equator and is part of the northern hemisphere. Close to the Equator, from peninsular Thailand and the so-called Tenasserim part of Myanmar and south, tropical conditions prevail, with heavy rainfall all year round, and insignificant changes in the seasons. Even then, the breeding of resident birds is not evenly spread throughout the year. Surveys show that most birds breed at the beginning of the year, from February towards the end of the northeast monsoon season, which dumps more rain than usual over most of the area during the months from November to January. Breeding peaks between April and May, and lasts until June or July, with some birds such as seabirds breeding into August. It is rare to find any nests in the later part of the year.
Actually, it is not easy to find nests in the tropics. Many birds build high in remote forest areas and within dense foliage. But the breeding season is an important time for the birdwatcher, because males tend to mark their territory aggressively, so there are more calls and often the birds are somewhat bolder and easier to observe at this time. Towards the end of the breeding season juveniles appear and add to the activity. Passerines typically feed their young for some time after they fledge, and many breeding records are established by observing the feeding.
Above the 50th parallel, a change to a more seasonal climate occurs. The change is complete above the 20th parallel, where the climate is subtropical with a distinct hot and cold season. Significant local variations prevail, but in general these northern regions experience a cold season with little rainfall lasting from December to February, Over most parts of continental Thailand and Indochina, 80 percent of precipitation falls during the southwest monsoon from May to October, while the cold months are very dry. Breeding in this region is seasonal, with most forest birds breeding in the spring, which is typical for northern hemisphere birds. However, evidence suggests that waterbirds may locally prefer to nest during the end of the wet season, from July into January, but this needs further verification.
Southeast Asia lies towards the end of the East Asia migratory flyway. Migrants from temperate, subarctic and arctic parts of Asia converge on the region during the northern winter. Some pass through during peak migration from September to November and on the return flight from March to April. Many others go no further and make the region their winter quarters.
The actual movement of flying birds is difficult to observe in this region, since most species tend to change location at night, or fly high, out of sight. However, they tend to follow the coastlines, and passage migrants and winter visitors can turn up anywhere depending on habitat requirements. Coastal mudflats (for the water-dependent species) and wooded areas just behind the beach (for arboreal birds) are particularly good places to birdwatch during the winter season.
In conclusion, the beginning of the year is a good time to visit Southeast Asia. At this time the northern subtropical areas experience cool, dry weather and many migrants augment the local avifauna. Towards the end of winter into early spring, the resident birds become more active and conspicuous. In tropical areas, the heavy rainfalls of December subside about this time and the many resident forest birds become more vocal and daring. Alternatively, try to visit from September to November after the subtropical rains, when the northern migrants arrive, but before the tropical monsoons begin. In the subtropics watch for breeding waterbirds.
Places to go
Birds do not recognise political demarcations, so national boundaries are really not very useful when describing the avifauna of a region, however people do, and active birdwatchers
