We spent 6 days birding and (to a lesser extent) visiting temples in the general vicinity of Siem Reap, Cambodia on a private trip organised through the Sam Veasna Centre (SVC).. We were accompanied by a guide, Mardy Sean, from the SVC and a driver, Mr Da, in a well presented 4X4.
We left the hotel in Siem Reap at 3:45 and drove to a small harbour on the edge of the Tonle Sap, a very large lake with a most unusual ecology due to annual inundation through inflow of water from the Mekong River in the wet season. A quite large launch transferred us through a narrow channel between dense reed beds and then across the Tonle Sap to the floating village of Prek Toal. Here we transferred to a much smaller boat and ventured with a ranger, our guide Mardy and a boatman into the Core Prek Toal Area of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve. The area was completely under water with bushy vegetation poking out of the water between the well-spaced large trees. There are a number of platforms built in trees around the core area where rangers stay for a week at a time to protect the wildlife. This protection seems to be taken seriously judging by the sub-machine gun propped up in the corner of one of the platforms we visited! The Tonle Sap and the Core Area were both alive with birds. Thousands of Darters, Egrets and Cormorants; swirling clouds of Whiskered Terns; and many Grey-headed…
To read the full trip report, please click here.