Thursday 9 March 2017

9th March 2017 Prey Veng and Tmatboey

Happy Birthday Mum! We spent the morning walking around forest bordering the reservoir at Prey Veng where an Asian Barred Owlet, a Radde's Warbler and a white-throated male Hainan Blue-Flycatcher were seen. Whilst we were walking our guide mentioned the presence of a nearby unexplored temple set in the forest that we decided to walk to. On our arrival it was explained that the locals had recently sold the decorative doors to a foreign museum for just a few dollars. We met a German who had arrived on a motorbike who had decided to spend 3 weeks visiting the 20 temples detailed in the temple guidebook for the area. His 3 weeks had already become 6 months as he'd found an additional 280 undescribed temples! We returned to the Prey Veng eco-lodge, packed and made our departure for Tmatboey. We had anticipated a lengthy drive so were surprised that it didn't take very long at all - the sites cannot be very far apart as the Giant Ibis flies! A far more professional set-up at Tmatboey with the local guide having located an active Giant Ibis nest the day prior to our arrival. Rather worryingly, he did explain that the juvenile of a nesting pair of White-shouldered Ibis had recently fledged and he wasn't sure if they were still in the area. More bad news concerned 3 juvenile Oriental Scops Owls having disappeared from their nest and the adults had abandoned the area. We soon set-off for a pool set in an area of dry forest where the local guide thought the White-shouldered Ibises might be feeding but there was no sign of them. Just before dusk the decision was made to have a look in the vicinity of the nest just in case the White-shouldered Ibises were still roosting there and we were soon watching two. At dusk we went Owling and were successful in seeing Spotted Wood Owls, a Brown Hawk-Owl and more-importantly an Oriental Scops Owl - at last!

Prey Veng
Chinese / Javan Pond Heron 2
Eastern Cattle Egret 20
Lesser Treeduck 200
Black Baza 2
Red Junglefowl h
Moorhen 3
Red Turtle Dove 20
Red-breasted Parakeet 10
Vernal Hanging Parrot 1
Indian Cuckoo 1 juvenile
Asian Koel 1
Asian Barred Owlet 1
Crested Treeswift 20
Kingfisher 2
Green Bee-eater 6
Hoopoe 1
Swallow 6
Red-rumped Swallow 1
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo 2
Puff-throated Babbler 1
White-crested Laughingthrush 6
White-rumped Shama 1
Stejneger's Stonechat 2
Radde's Warbler 1
Black-browed Reed Warbler 1
Asian Brown Flycatcher 3
Hainan Blue Flycatcher 1 white-throated male
Black-naped Monarch 1
Olive-backed Pipit 2

Tmatboey
Woolly-necked Stork 2
WHITE-SHOULDERED IBIS 2
Crested Serpent Eagle 2
Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon 7
Green Imperial Pigeon 2
Spotted Wood Owl 2
ORIENTAL SCOPS OWL 1
Brown Hawk-Owl 1
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater 1
Oriental Pied Hornbill 1
Ashy Drongo 1
Olive-backed Sunbird 4

the reservoir at Prey Veng

Dragonfly at Prey Veng

Lesser Treeducks at Prey Veng

White-crested Laughingthrush at Prey Veng

Black-browed Reed Warbler at Prey Veng

Juvenile Indian Cuckoo at Prey Veng













the temple at Prey Veng

farewell (in more than one way) to Prey Veng

the road to Tmatboey

Tmatboey village

Adult White-shouldered Ibis at Tmatboey



Oriental Scops Owl at Tmatboey