Day 0. Arrival in Siem Riep. Optional Prek Toal Ramsar Site and Mechrey Floating Village tour.

Optional: Cultural tour and birding introduction. 
If you arrive one day early, you can make a short pre-tour. Price to be announced.

With a 5 AM start from the hotel, we shall take a boat from the floating Mechrey village across the Tonle Lake to Prek Toal, where we shall bird the reserve from a boat and custom-built treetop observation deck. The key species in the seasonally flooded forest and scrub, the open waters of the lake, and the muddy lakeshore include Greater Adjutant, Lesser Adjutant, Painted Stork, Milky Stork, Black-headed Ibis, Grey-headed Fish-Eagle, and Spot-billed Pelican. Mid-morning, as the heat sets in, return to the village for lunch. After lunch, there is a tour of the fascinating floating village. 

In the afternoon, we travel back to Siem Reap with a stop for the Asian Golden Weaver before we return to the hotel. 
Price for the pre-tour TBA.

Let us know your flight details so we can arrange transport from the airport and an extra night in Siem Reap. Let us know if you want an upgrade from our mid-range hotel.

Day 1. Birding Angkor Wat. Travel to Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo hide.

Angkor Wat, the main attraction of the Angkor Archaeological Park, is surrounded by mature dry forest and undergrowth, offering habitat for common species and the odd rarity: Oriental Darter in the moat, Hainan Blue, Taiga and Asian Brown Flycatchers, White-throated Rock-Thrush, Black Baza, Blue Rock Thrush, Forest Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Asian Barred Owlet, Coppersmith and Lineated Barbet, Ashy Minivet, Yellow-browed and Pale-legged Leaf-Warbler, raucous Red-breasted and Alexandrine Parakeets, and White-crested Laughingthrush.

Mammals include the Variable Squirrel and the Pileated Gibbon. Your local guide, a qualified temple guide, brings together the wonders of Angkor with birding in the surrounding forest, a short distance from Siem Reap. 

We shall be visiting the Bas reliefs, Taphrom Temple, Tanei Temple, Bayon, Terrace of the Elephant, and Southern Gate of Angkor Thom City.

Lunch will follow, and then we’ll head straight into the forest at the Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo site for approximately three hours at the first hide.

Staying overnight is rewarding. Species like the Oriental Bay Owl, Blyth’s Frogmouth, and Collared Scops Owl are known to occur in the area, so nighttime birding should be quite productive.

Day 2. Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo and Bar-bellied Pitta

Recently, the Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo has been coming to a hide. Although it is far from guaranteed, we feel that with two morning visits, we have a good chance.

We’ll leave the hotel at 4:00 AM and head straight to the hide. Based on previous experiences last year, our ground agent saw one individual at around 7:30 AM, so early arrival is key.

There are two separate hides at the site—one for the Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo, and another for the Bar-bellied Pitta. The Pitta sometimes calls nearby but doesn’t always come into view.

We’ll spend the morning at the CBGC site, and then in the afternoon, we’ll move to the Pitta hide.

Many good species can be seen this time of year:

White-rumped Shama, Siamese Fireback (occasional sightings), Red Junglefowl, Blyth’s Paradise Flycatcher, White-crested Laughingthrush, Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Siberian Blue Robin, Abbot’s Babbler, Puff-throated Babbler, Puff-throated Bulbul, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Black-headed Bulbul, and Black-naped Monarch. Sometimes, Asian Stubtail and Scaly-breasted Partridge can be seen.

Day 3. Bengal Florican Conservation Area and Tmatbeoy Eco Lodge.

We will leave early to search for the Bengal Florican Conservation Area, the seasonally flooded grasslands of Kompong Thom and Siem Reap Provinces, which contain the largest known population of Bengal Florican – over 50% of the world’s population.

There are several sites we visit that comprise important non-breeding grounds for many large water birds, such as Painted Stork, and Sarus Crane. Also found in this area are Pied and Eastern Marsh Harrier, Small Buttonquail, Blue-breasted Quail, Bluethroat, and Red Avadavat, and it is potentially the largest single concentration of over-wintering Manchurian Reed Warblers. 

After lunch, we drive to the Tmatboey Ecolodge with some roadside birdwatching for White-rumped Pygmy-Falcon and Collared Falconet.

Tmatboey is an isolated village located in Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary in the Northern Plains. 

Tmatboey supports globally important breeding populations of two critically endangered Ibis species: the Giant Ibis – a near-mythical species for all bird-watchers, naturalists, and conservationists – and the White-shouldered Ibis.

The area is a rich ecosystem of open woodlands, seasonally inundated grasslands, deciduous dipterocarp forest, and scattered wetlands. This landscape supports an unparalleled assemblage of threatened bird and mammal species and perhaps the richest remaining example of the characteristic deciduous dipterocarp forest.

The success of the project is evident in the population increase in White-shouldered Ibis from a single breeding pair in 2002 to eleven pairs in 2016. At the roost sites, a steadily increasing number of individual adults are monitored annually. In September 2016, 38 individuals were counted, a number that could only be dreamt of when the project began over ten years ago.

The ecotourist project at Tmatboey has been recognized by Wild Asia and received the ‘Responsible Tourism Award 2007.’ In 2008 it was a joint winner of the Equator Prize for poverty reduction through sustainable use of biodiversity. We shall spend the rest of the afternoon with the help of local guides, trying to locate the rare ibises. Owling at night could reward us with Oriental Scops Owl. 

Overnight in Tmatboey Ecolodge.

Day 4: Tmatboey full day. Giant Ibis and White-shouldered Ibis.

The birding is excellent, and our guide, with the help of the SVC-trained local guides, has made a special effort to locate the day roosts of nocturnal species such as Spotted Wood Owl and Brown Fish Owl. 

Tmat Boey also supports an incredible 16 species of woodpeckers, including the fantastic Black-headed Woodpecker, the huge Great Slaty Woodpecker, and the scarce Rufous-bellied Woodpecker. Our local guides know where to find these and all of the dry forest specialties such as Indian Spotted Eagle, White-rumped Pygmy Falcon, Collared Falconet, Rufous-winged Buzzard, Indochinese Bushlark, Brown Prinia, Neglected Nuthatch, and White-browed Fantail at this or nearby sites. Today and the following morning are very flexible as we rely on trained local guides to give us up-to-date information on key species. Prepared breakfast and lunch will be provided at the birding sites. Hot dinner at the eco-lodge in the evening.

Day 5: Tmatboey and Vulture Restaurant. 

We continue birding near Tmatboey in the morning and then travel to Boeng Toal Vulture Restaurant.

We will spend one hour in T’beng town to resupply our trip. It will take 3 hours overall to get to the Boeng Toal Vulture Restaurant.

Our local guides will have already set up large safari-style tents for us to sleep in. We will coordinate with our local guide, so before we reach the vulture hide, we still have time to do some bird watching activities on the way there. Some species may be easier to see than at Tmat Boey. 

We have the option to do some owling before bed with the hope of seeing Oriental Scops Owl and Large-tailed Nightjar. This will take 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rest before an early start the next day

Day 6. Boeng Toal Vulture Restaurant to Kratie.

As vulture populations have crashed across Asia, Cambodia has held onto populations of the three species currently considered Critically Endangered. However, owing to a decline in wild cattle populations, Cambodia’s vultures are now reliant on supplementary feeding. Joining this tour offsets the cost of running the ‘vulture restaurant’ and includes the local community in the efforts to save these impressive, macabre birds. A cow will be provided to the vultures, and from dawn, we will be able to watch the spectacle of up to fifty White-rumped, Slender-billed, and Red-headed Vultures feeding on the carcass. A prepared breakfast will be provided at the Boeng Toal Vulture Restaurant site.

The journey to Kratie will take us around 4 hours to get to the Mekong Wagtail area and Irrawaddy Dolphin. We will stop and have our lunch just before we reach the Mekong Wagtail area. (Small lunch).

This late afternoon, we will spend a couple of hours looking for some target species, Asian Golden Weaver, Indochinese Blue Flycatcher, and Chestnut-capped Babbler. 

Night in Kratie.

Day. 7. Kratie Mekong Wagtail to Phnom Penh via Cambodian Tailorbird

We’ll do a special boat ride. Normally, they allow us to stay only one hour to observe the Irrawaddy Dolphin, but we will pay extra due to the Mekong Wagtail. Sometimes, we need to spend more than an hour looking for them. Departure from Kratie Town after lunch. This journey will take us a couple of hours, but we will stop a few times on the way for a restroom break. Arriving at the Cambodian Tailorbird site, looking for this endemic species, we then head straight to the airport or the hotel in Phnom Penh.

Key Species:

Mekong River: Mekong Wagtail, Small Pratincole, Grey-throated Martin, Osprey, Blue-tailed Bee-eater. 

Phnom Penh: Cambodian Tailorbird, Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, Tow-barred Warbler, Hainan Blue Flycatcher.  

Habitat: 

Mekong River: Fast-flowing braided river channels, rocky outcrops, gravel shoals, and sandbars, and bushes adapted to seasonal flooding. 

Phnom Penh:  Dense shrubland and scrub within the seasonally inundated floodplain. 

The hotel in Phnom Penh is not included in the main tour, but is included in the price of the extension. 

End of Service.