[Page updated 4 February 2025]
Birdwatching in Krabi for a variety of species’ is not too hard – it just takes time and effort. When you’re on vacation in Krabi Town and wondering what to do – go birding! There are many species that can be found in parks and near the water. For specialized tours where you can focus on finding 20+ species like Kingfishers, Eagles, Buzzards, Pittas, Herons, and other notable finds – book a boat tour through the mangroves (link below).
Krabi has many acres of wild rainforest and mangroves where you can find a couple of hundred species if you’re diligent and know where to look. Below we’ve collected some of the best places we recommend to look for birds on your own while staying in Krabi. Note, that we don’t have blinds or hides set up in the area, but we do have many spots to choose from!
Check Out these Boat and Walking BIRD TRIPS.
Get photos and See New Birds! >
Or, ask questions with text chat (no voice calls) on WhatsApp.
Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort
Located at the end of the Phanom mountain chain on the opposite side of the big peak as the National Park and Huay Toh Waterfall is this wilderness resort in an area full of rainforest, palm, and rubber trees with many bird possibilities.
Conservationists argue that palm plantations are all bad and have no benefit. It’s true that they displace wildlife that would normally be there, and that the range of wildlife is greater without palm trees, but we’ve noticed so many bird species in the palm trees around our home. Dozens of amazing species including hornbills, kingfishers, pittas, honey buzzards, eagles, malkohas, and a range of other species – some hard to find.
Pittas, birds of prey, and all kinds of smaller birds can be found in this area near the Phanom Bencha bungalows where you can stay for around 1,000 THB per night.
The Rattanaburee family that manages this nature resort will make your stay something to remember as their passion for treating visitors like family is overwhelming! You’ll feel right at home in this wilderness resort and you’ll probably meet other visitors who are also interested in finding birds, reptiles, amphibians, spiders, and/or insects of all kinds. It has become a meeting place for naturists over the last 20 years.
Son, the manager of the resort can help you find a guide to show you around for night tours. Or, check out these jungle treks.
Ngorn Nak Mountain (Dragon Crest) in Tub Kaak near Ao Nang
On the opposite end of Krabi over past Ao Nang Beach and almost at Thalen Bay is a tiny area on the water called Tub Kaak. This subdistrict borders a massive rainforest called Ngorn Nak to locals and “Dragon Crest” for visitors.
This is a 3.7 km (2.5 miles) wilderness trail of dirt, sand, rocks, and roots, climbing up the mountain to the peak at 500 meters high (1,700+ feet).
There is a stunning number of birds here under the tree canopy and a variety of habitats you can spend time in to find the birds you’re targeting.
There are no bungalows here, but you can bring a tent and camp at the top if you like. Make sure to tell the rangers at the bottom so they know you’re not lost when you don’t come back down the hill the same day to check out on their sheet.
We have seen eagles, kites, malkohas, buzzards, and many hard-to-identify birds in the thick jungle canopy. At night there are many owls and night jars you can find here. The problem is that now the rangers are there full-time and you cannot enter the national park at night.
Krabi Town Mangroves
This is one spot that is easily accessible to anyone who is staying in Krabi Town. It is found on the Krabi River and very close to the Krabi Hospital.
The mangroves are full of small mudskippers that some birds feed on. These are small fish that can breathe air for a long time as they stay up on the mud and can hide in the water from predators when attacked.
Also at the Mangrove Walkway, you can see a number of other animals like gliding lizards (Draco), forest crested lizards (C. emma), mangrove pit vipers (T. purpureomaculatus), other water snakes, and more. Kingfishers and raptors can be found in and above the mangrove area as well.
Join Us on the best Birding Tour in Krabi – by BOAT >
Krabi River
A walk along the Krabi River down around Thara Park will allow you to see brilliantly colored blue kingfishers and other birds common over the water. We can set you up with a small longtail boat that can take you looking for birds, just ask.
Noppharat Thara Park
Just past Ao Nang Beach and heading north, you’ll find a lovely beach connected to it called Noppharat Thara. This is one of the Krabi mainland’s nicest beaches to sit under towering casuarina pine trees in the shade and relax to the soothing sound of the small waves coming in.
Bird watching in this area can be especially good in the morning before the heat has consumed the day. Bring a blanket for afterward and relax and eat a picnic with your birding friends!
This is a small area, and unless you’re staying in Ao Nang already, it probably isn’t worth a drive there from some other place.
Huay Toh Waterfall and National Park
This is one of the best, if not the best place to go birding in Krabi. You can rent a bungalow for very reasonable rates and they are usually open and available. You can go out all day and spy birds around the waterfall and streams in the area, or take a hike up the nature trails. Some of them are steep. DO bring mosquito lotion.
This is a stunningly landscaped area adjacent to the Krabi primary forest. You can also go out at night to see wildlife of all kinds like civets, slow lorises, snakes, insects, bats, and other mammals in the forest.
Port Takola Yacht Marina and Boatyard Krabi
This is a small yacht, catamaran, and other boat marina is located in Isara Estuary and is ideal for people looking to keep their boats long-term as they stay in Krabi on extended stay.
Port Takola is also a decent place to find birds if you can stand the stray and sometimes aggressive dogs that are territorial and don’t enjoy peole walking around the bay and forest.
On a recent eco-excursion, they found the following birds.
- Bhramini eagle
- black kyte
- Black Drongo, Ash Drongo
- Bulbul
- Indian Roller
- Great coucal
- Chinese aigret (orange beak)
- Great heron (black beak)
- Indian Cormorant
- Brown Shrike
- Wagtail
- Coppersmith Barbet
- Lineated Barbet
- Green Billed Malhoka
- Oriental open Bill
- Water hen
- Asian palm swift
- Pacific swallow
- Pintail snipe
- Green leaf bird
- Javan pond heron
- Common tailor bird
- Dark necked tailor bird
List of Birds Found in Krabi (all of Thailand)
The Krabi National Parks service has a list of birds that can be found in Thailand here.
Rare and Endangered or Threatened Birds Found in Krabi?
- Gray-cheeked Bulbul
- Common Hill Myna
- Helmeted Hornbill
- Greater Green Leafbird
- Mangrove Pitta
- Green-winged Pitta
- Hooded Pitta
- Gurney’s Pitta – one of the few places in the world to find this amazing bird.
- Chestnut-capped Thrush
- Oriental Honey Buzzard (see photo top of page)
- Red-whiskered Bulbul
- Sun Parakeet
Recent Field Trip from Our Boat (2 hour Field Trip) 17 Species Found
- Eurasian Curlew
- Common Sandpiper
- Mangrove Pitta
- Common Redshank
- Pacific Reef Heron
- Little Egret
- Striated Heron
- Chinese Pond Heron
- Great White Egret
- Brahminy Kite
- White-Bellied Sea Eagle
- Common Kingfisher
- Brown-Winged Kingfisher
- Black-Capped Kingfisher
- Collared Kingfisher
- Large-Billed Crow
- Asian Glassy Starling
Bird Field Trips
There are a couple of guided tours you can do to find birds on a tour in Krabi. See that link!
Looking for Pittas in Krabi? >
Krabi Bird Hides (blinds)
We are considering making a bird hide (blind) here in Krabi in one of the public areas where we see a lot of interesting birds. We haven’t done it yet because, to be honest, we just started adding bird information to this Krabi site and we don’t have enough interest yet.
If you are a Thailand birder and you’d like to have a bird hide/blind in Krabi where you could observe birds and take photos and videos, do let us know. If we have strong enough support, we’ll do it!
Note – for non-birders, a bird blind or hide is simply a camouflaged area in the forest where people interested in seeing birds can observe from behind a tarp or other curtain. There should be a quiet way to get in there, and a bench or something to sit on. To attract birds to this area, fill up some ground pools with rainwater so birds have a place to drink, bathe, and cool off in the heat.
Mr. Dai Birdwatching Expert
Sorry to announce, we heard that Mr. Dai, longtime local Krabi birding expert has passed away. Mr. Ann is also not giving tours if his old Facebook page is any indication. We have another birding expert who knows where the birds are, but his English is not perfect. Still, we have had many successful field trips into the Krabi mangroves and rainforest to find birds with Mr. Dai’s replacement.
Check Out these Boat and Walking BIRD TRIPS.
Get photos and See New Birds! >
If you’d like to sign up for a FIELD TRIP at night to see all kinds of animals and bugs, go here!
Or, ask questions with text chat (no voice calls) on WhatsApp.
