CAMBODIA MARCH 6–21, 2020 Black-headed Woodpeckers near Tmatboey LEADERS: NARA DUONG & DION HOBCROFT LIST COMPILED BY: DION HOBCROFT VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM By Dion Hobcroft The Coronavirus pandemic escalated exponentially as our tour progressed, and anxiety levels rose as the uncertainty grew across the planet. I would really like to thank all the participants who “kept calm and carried on,” albeit with increased hygiene measures. This was my tenth tour of this relatively small southeast Asian nation, and as usual, it did not disappoint. Cambodia is the go-to destination for a number of globally threatened birds that survive nowhere else or are becoming increasingly difficult to see elsewhere. It is great for woodpeckers and owls and hosts a great cross-section of Asian glamour birds including a recently discovered endemic. It is, of course, most famous for Angkor Wat, and this was to be our first destination. Giant faces loom out of the sandstone at the Bayon Temple in Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat this year was superb, greatly enhanced by the near lack of tourists. It is also a lovely birding site and, as ever on this tour, we were up early to get in the best of the cool morning and the peak hour bird activity. Wandering through teak woodlands of trees of enormous stature, we managed good looks at a fine Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, our only Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 Cambodia, 2020 Alexandrine Parakeet, male White-throated Rock-Thrush, male Hainan Blue-Flycatcher, and a confiding Forest Wagtail. The ancient moats held a few Cotton Pygmy-Geese and attracted the stunning Black-capped Kingfisher. In fact, we racked up 50 species here and took in the best of the temple complexes of Angkor, Bayon, and Tah Prohm. In the heat of the day we relaxed in our fabulous hotel after a delicious lunch. It was all pretty good! The rare Milky Stork was seen twice at Prek Toal, but this individual was definitely the crowd pleaser. Close to Siem Reap is the giant freshwater lake of Tonle Sap, part of the greater Mekong River system. In the middle of this lake is an island of swamp forest and grasslands that is protected as amongst the most important waterbird breeding refuges in all of Asia, called Prek Toal. Crossing the lake first in a larger boat, it was like being on a glassy-calm pelagic where we watched swiftlets, swallows, martins, Whiskered Terns, and the odd Brown-headed Gull. Transferring to smaller boats, we navigated increasingly narrow channels to travel into the core of the reserve, and the abundance and biomass of birdlife here is extraordinary. Spot-billed Pelicans, Asian Openbills, Painted Storks, and ten species of bitterns, herons, and egrets were present in good numbers. Greater Adjutant, Lesser Adjutant, Gray-headed Fish-Eagle, Knob- billed Duck, Watercock, and Stork-billed Kingfisher were all seen well, but the undoubted highlight was a Milky Stork seen foraging along the edge of a channel. This is a very rare bird in Cambodia. We had a very brief encounter with some shy Indochinese Silver Langurs and much better views of two Small Asian Mongooses. Once back at port, we detoured to check out a small colony of Asian Golden Weavers and enjoyed good scope views of this scarce species. For the next three nights we traveled north and east of Siem Reap to remote Preah Vihear province close to the border of Laos and Thailand. Here it is dominated by dry tropical woodlands that are amazingly bird-rich. At our first stop we scoped a female White-rumped Pygmy-Falcon at a nest hollow. A pair of stunning Black-headed Woodpeckers flew in to check us out, their scarlet rump tufts elevated. We traveled on to Tmatboey, where in the first Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 Cambodia, 2020 afternoon we had a fantastic encounter with a pair of Giant Ibis foraging at a remote marsh with a trio of White-shouldered Ibis. It was the first time I have had the Giant Ibis feeding unconcernedly in the open, an indication that after nearly two decades of protection they are gradually losing their innate wariness. We could enjoy watching them for as long as we wished. There was a supporting cast of many species including Chinese Francolin, Crested Treeswift, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Rufous-winged Buzzard, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Small Minivet, Burmese Shrike, Black-hooded Oriole, White-browed Fantail, Burmese Nuthatch, Brown Prinia, Golden-fronted Leafbird, and Olive-backed Pipit amongst the species recorded. The Red-billed Blue Magpie is one of the most striking corvids in the world. The following day and a half around Tmatboey saw us exploring different sections of the woodlands here. The local ladies did a terrific job of keeping us well-fed with tasty local dishes, and inquiries were made by some about the recipe for their local pepper sauce. During the heat of the day, a water pond at a blind kept us entertained as a steady procession of thirsty birds took advantage. We enjoyed fantastic looks at Green-billed Malkoha, Greater Coucal, Black Baza, Red-billed Blue Magpie, White-crested Laughingthrush, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Radde’s Warbler, Hair-crested and Greater Racket-tailed drongos, Black-naped Monarch, Taiga Flycatcher, White-rumped Shama, and Golden-fronted Leafbird. Both Northern Treeshrew and a Small Asian Mongoose showed up. This is a location rich in woodpecker diversity, and we Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 Cambodia, 2020 tracked down Streak-throated, Gray-capped, Yellow-crowned, Rufous-bellied, Freckle-breasted, and Heart-spotted woodpeckers, plus Greater Flameback and Lesser Yellownape. We also enjoyed our first owls including good sightings of Oriental Scops-Owl, Brown Wood-Owl, Brown Fish-Owl, and Asian Barred Owlet. Other good birds that came our way included Red Junglefowl, Orange-breasted and Yellow-footed green-pigeons, Indian Cuckoo, Large-tailed Nightjar, Woolly-necked Stork, Oriental Pied-Hornbill, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Dollarbird, Black-crested and Black-headed bulbuls, Pale-legged Leaf-Warbler, Arctic Warbler, Dark-necked Tailorbird, and Van Hasselt’s Sunbird. Red-headed Vultures are the most striking of the three regular species attracted to Boeng Toal. We moved along from Tmatboey to Boeng Toal where we camped for one night. The woodlands here were positively jumping with birds. A major highlight was a series of superb encounters with a party of Great Slaty Woodpeckers, including watching them enter tree hollows on dusk to sleep in. The main reason for our visit was to witness the vultures coming to feed on a cow carcass. The vulture show was the best for me yet, with 4 Red-headed Vultures, 17 White-rumped Vultures, and a whopping 11 Slender-billed Vultures. All three species are critically endangered. We also enjoyed views of Banded Bay Cuckoo, Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Flameback, Vernal Hanging-Parrot, Banded Broadbill, Great Iora, Swinhoe’s Minivet, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 5 Cambodia, 2020 Scarlet Minivet, Indochinese Cuckooshrike, Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Gray-eyed Bulbul, Rufescent Prinia, Eastern Crowned Warbler, and Vinous-breasted Starling. Repeat encounters with both White-rumped Pygmy-Falcon and Brown Wood-Owls were also good fun. After three nights in the woods, there was some anticipation of creature comforts, so we returned to the lovely hotel in Siem Reap and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon swimming, resting, and having a good shower. A very attractive still downy Spotted Wood-Owl fledgling was a popular sighting at ATT. The following full day was dedicated to birding Ang Trapeang Thmor, or ATT as it is popularly known—a giant reservoir an hour and a bit west of Siem Reap. It is often a reliable site to see concentrations of Sarus Cranes in the peak of the dry season, though this was not the case today, as the cranes were missing in action. Despite this, birding was good, however, as we connected with stunning Spotted Wood-Owls, Spotted Owlet, and several Barn Owls. Dry fields were quartered by Pied Harriers and Greater Spotted Eagles while Red-throated Pipits in Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 6 Cambodia, 2020 breeding plumage foraged in the paddocks of rice stubble. We discovered the shed skin of a Russell’s Viper, an interesting find. At the wetlands we found a solitary, distant Black-necked Stork, now extremely rare in southeast Asia. Other good discoveries included Long-toed Stint, Spotted Redshank, Pin-tailed Snipe, Little Ringed Plover, Pacific Golden Plover, numerous Oriental Pratincoles, hundreds of Lesser Whistling-Ducks, a few Indian Spotbills, Eurasian Coot, Black-backed Swamphen, Pheasant-tailed and Bronze-winged jacanas, Pied Kingfisher, Oriental Reed-Warbler, Malaysian Pied-Fantail, and the attractive but poorly-named Plain-backed Sparrow. A belt of trees held a few migrants of which by far the biggest surprise was a lone Sulphur-breasted Warbler, a true Cambodian rarity that showed very well. Back in Siem Reap we visited the resident Lyle’s Flying Fox colony where Nara and Michelle discovered at least two Large Flying Foxes mixed in. It was great to get such good views of the rare Manchurian Reed-Warbler at Prolay. Departing Siem Reap and saying farewell to the lovely Angkor Village Resort, this day was dedicated to birding the protected grasslands of Prahoot and Prolay. Here the key focus is on the Bengal Florican, a beautiful and highly threatened species of bustard now found only in a Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 7 Cambodia, 2020 couple of protected grasslands in Cambodia and India. We had success seeing the Florican in both locations with several black, snowy-winged males seen well and a great scope view of the rarely encountered cryptic female.