Peaceful Doves & Open-billed Storks - Cambodia

Birding on the outskirts of Siem Reap, Cambodia

The vast majority of visitors to Siem Reap, Cambodia go there because of Angkor Wat. But, there is much more to see than just the incredible temples. On the city’s outskirts are some outstanding areas of high biological diversity. In fact very close to Siem Reap is the Prek Toel Bird Sanctuary which is the Core Area of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.

I wanted to visit the Prek Toel Bird Sanctuary but I wasn’t able to find anyone to join me to share the costs of travel (it is low season at the moment and also the end of the dry season which is not the ideal time to visit … and to boot it is quite expensive to get there). As an alternative I booked a morning birding excursion through the Sam Veasna Center for Wildlife Conservation an organization associated with the internationally recognized Wildlife Conservation Society.  The Sam Veasna Center is committed to responsible tourism and I was pleased to know that 20% of my fee goes to conservation projects and community development.

I crawled out of bed at 5am, jumped in a tuk tuk and joined my guide to visit some of the wetlands and agricultural lands just outside of town.

I enjoy getting out and exploring new areas to see new birds. It is also a good reminder for me that identification can be difficult when seeing species for the very first time. In the ecology class I teach at BCIT students are required to learn to identify BC’s fish, mammals and birds (including the vocalizations of about 40 species of songbird). Visiting a new place with new species puts me in their shoes for a bit ... which I think is good learning!

It also makes a huge difference when you are able to find someone who really knows their birds. The guide from the Sam Veasna Center was great and we had a very productive morning tallying about 40 species in 3 hours (many of which were brand new for me). Some of the highlights included: Peaceful Dove, Open-billed Stork, Little Green Bee-eater, Oriental Darter, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Cinnamon Bittern and the Indian Roller!

What I did not get was some good photos of these species as I could not get close to many of them. My guess is that perhaps they are hunted... so they keep a safe distance (even from my 400mm lens!).

I did though get some nice shots of the Lotus flowers (Nelumbo nucifera) that were abundant in the wetlands.

Lotus Flower (Nelumbo nucifera)