Thailand 2017 - Home:

Thailand 2017 - Home:

Landed at Boston Logan last night around 2030 on 02 March 2017.  What an amazing trip.  I will go through a day by day blog of our experiences for the fourteen (14) days we birded.  I really wanted to do it real time but birding, getting the flu, and sketchy internet made it prohibitive.

I will say here at the end that it was a trip for the ages.  Having never had the chance to bird out of the US (really not much at all), this was a huge step in destination birding.  Without Rick and Na, I would have been lost.  Rick for his amazing abilities and local knowledge of the birds and for Na - the man.  He is a hard working taxi driver in Bangkok and was our driver, helper, and friend throughout the trip.  Without him, we would have been screwed.

I haven't tallied up my final species listing but will.  I'm not a huge competetive lister so that isn't as important to me.  What is important to me is having quality birding experiences with true friends.  I've learned only a fraction of the birds of Thailand but that is the allure.  I will head back, I will be better, I will be more prepared, I will contribute.  Will I go with a guide?  Probably not.  Will I need a trusted friend to drive?  YES.  Will I want to go back with Rick and Bob?  Absolutely.  Rick's style of jungle birding is hard work, learning, and patience.  It was hard for me to adjust to this in the beginning because - 

1. I don't know the birds, 
2. I had to learn to bird the second and third layers of the forest and not expect birds to prance out on the road.  
3. The birds are spread way out.  I have the patience of a rock but for Kaeng Krachan, I was sick with the flu and just couldn't stay in one spot, erect, for long periods without getting dizzy.  Next time, shots, flu shots, etc.

Right now I am down loading to my computer over 20,000 RAW photos and HD videos of the trip.  I have them separated by date and will sort by location.  I will try to recreate our trip as best as possible using the photos, my notes, my memories and the fantastic checklists put together by Rick.  I must confess that 3 days in Pak Thale and the first 3 days of Kaeng Krachan will be a blur to me.  My fever was tough and some of the trip was a blur in those areas.

Hope you have the patience to wait for me to lay this trip out from the perspective of a newb.  It should be fun and I can't wait to share my experiences with all my friends.