Thailand Birding Trip 2017

Thailand Birding Trip 2017

In less than 36 hours from now, I will be boarding a plane - destination - Thailand!

I have never birded internationally before except for time spent in the Middle East where all my birding was done through a Canon SX50 PowerShot camera. This is the first trip for me outside the United States where the only purpose is to bird. So here we go...

Backstories are always needed to set up the tale. My good friend Rick Heil is a well traveled birder. He has been just about everywhere and is one of the most amazing birders I have met. He has traveled to Thailand and had the unbelievable good fortune of meeting his wife Nok there. He has been back several times to bird and be with family. This is one of the trips. We tried to do this several years ago but life got in the way. This time, well, it is really going to happen. Our mutual good friend and amazing birder Bob Stymeist is also part of this adventure. The three of us will be birding 2 solid weeks, 12+ hours a day.

 When someone in the birding community hears you are going to Thailand, their first thought is wow, you are going to try for Spoon-billed Sandpiper! The answer is absolutely! The Spoon-billed Sandpiper has been a bird I have always wanted to see. It is safe to say it is on my bucket list. This species is in peril. Various articles I have read indicate that there are probably no more than 250 pairs left in the world with their numbers declining at a staggering rate. So this is one of my only chances in my life to see a bird that has the potential to become extinct within the next 5-20 years.

So the sandpiper is what comes to mind first. I can tell you, having studied the birds of Thailand, there is a lot more to be had. Said a different way, seeing (hopefully) a Spoon-billed Sandpiper will be a life moment. This blog will be not just dedicated to a "quest" for a bird, I hope to be able to share with you my pre trip, trip, and post trip experiences. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Rick. He has graciously invited me to go to Thailand and share with me and Bob his knowledge of the region as well as birds. Without him, this once-in-a-lifetime trip would never happen. Period. Thanks Rick!