Interlude 3: Lumphini Park in Bangkok

12/17/2012.  6:40 AM.

Start & End:  GPS N 13, 43.807, E 100, 32.255.

Lumphini Park is a 142 acre park in the Silom district of Bangkok.  It is the oldest park in the city.  The park is easily accessible by BTS Skytrain, or by MRT Subway.  I took the BTS Skytrain from National Stadium Station near MBK Shopping Center to the Sala Daeng stop.  Follow the signs to Exit 5 as you leave.  If you take Exit 5 (to the left), you will end up across a busy street from the southwest entrance to the park. Crossing this street was a challenge. There is a pedestrian crossing signal, but it did not seem to be working when I was there.

 A safer way to get to the park would be to follow the signs that lead beyond Exit 5 to the MRT. Enter the station, then follow signs to Lumphini Park. You will exit Silom station near the park entrance (see photo at left). The other way to go is to take the MRT Subway to Silom station and follow the signs from there.

Lumphini Park was very busy despite the early hour of my arrival. Near the southwest entrance (see map), perhaps 100 people were being led in aerobic exercise to music. A little deeper into the park I saw a group doing Tai-Chi, and scattered throughout the park were individuals doing Tai-Chi on their own. There were a good number of morning joggers, and in one corner of the park, a small group was singing karaoke. This was on a Monday morning before 8 AM! All this to say that Lumphini Park is not the quietest place to go birding. But there are a some areas with fewer cement paths that were more peaceful and more conducive to birding.

I entered the park from the southwest corner and immediately turned north toward the largest body of water. The photo at left is of the first large green area I saw, near the entrance. As might be expected, the first birds that I saw are common park species.

Black Collared Starling: I saw several of these in the plaza area just before the park entrance. They have a very powerful call.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow:  Very common in the park, as elsewhere in Thailand.

Rock Pigeon:  Probably the most common bird in the park. No surprise there.

Common Myna:  GPS N 13, 43.850, E 100, 32.302. Also very common in the park.

Asian Pied Starling:  Not as many of these as I remember from Suan Rot Fai.

Large Billed Crow:  GPS N 13, 43.850, E 100, 32.302.  These were all over the park and pretty boisterous.

Great Myna:  Another really common bird in the park.

Little Egret:  GPS N 13, 43.932, E 100, 32.365. There were a number of these, but fewer wading birds overall than I expected considering the amount of water present.

Indian Roller:  GPS N 13, 44.009, E 100, 32.541. This bird is very beautiful, particularly in flight.

Javan Pond Heron:  These were seen in several places around the park.

Coppersmith Barbet:  GPS N 13, 44.022, E 100, 32.530.  Another quite colorful bird.  Saw these in two places.


Oriental Magpie Robin:  GPS N 13, 43.910, E 100, 32.613.  Seem to be less common here than at other parks I've visited.

Black Naped Oriole:  GPS N 13, 43.882, E 100, 32.652.  I saw the first of these in a grassy area to the northwest of the large lakes.  I couldn't get a good look at it then, so was unsure of its identification.  It was in an open area with many trees in the northeast quadrant of the park that I finally confirmed.  There were a number of them in the area.  A new species for my lifelist.

Possible Asian Brown Flycatcher: This looked like the Asian Brown, but there are many similar flycatcher species in my book and I would want a better look before deciding for certain.

Brown Shrike:  GPS N 13, 43.866, E 100, 32.579. Another new species for my lifelist.

Spotted Dove:  GPS N 13, 43.866, E 100, 32.579.

Zebra Dove:  GPS N 13, 43.789, E 100, 32.303.

In addition to birds, Lumpini Park is also known for its monitor lizards (see photo above). The one pictured here was about 3 feet long.  I saw a number of these, particularly around the large lakes.

This trip netted 16 species in about 2 hours and 20 minutes. I had seen most of these before at Suan Rot Fai.  I was disappointed not to see any sunbirds or bee-eaters here. There may well be some in the park, but I missed them this trip. Overall, I think Suan Rot Fai is a better birding choice. It is quieter, seems to have more habitat variety, and feels much larger. However, if you are a birder who is new to Thailand or Southeast Asia, this park seems like a good place to get to know some of the more common species in the Bangkok area. If you want to keep up with birds in the city, consider following the Bangkok City Birding blog.