One of the attractions for a birder visiting Cambodia is the chance to observe in the wild some of the rarest birds in the world. The really special bird of this trip is the near mythical Giant Ibis, which survives in good numbers in this hidden-away corner of Preah Vihear Province. But other treats like Black-headed Woodpecker, Small Buttonquail, White-shouldered Ibis and Pale-capped Pigeon are very enticing! The remarkable Tonle Sap lake supports large breeding populations of Greater Adjutant, Sarus Crane, Milky Stork and Bengal Florican – birds that are approaching extinction elsewhere in Asia.

Angkor is one of the great archaeological sites of Southeast Asia - along with Pagan, Borobodur and Ayuthaya. Although I was here primarily for the birding, it would be unthinkable not to visit this magnificent reminder of an empire that shaped the entire region. The Khmer Empire flourished for three centuries from 800 to 1100 AD., they ruled over most of Burma, Laos, central Vietnam and the Malay Peninsula. The forests surrounding Angkor were declared a national park in 1925 although I can't find any information regarding its present status. Nevertheless, the forest is wonderful with many very large trees and some great birds, including some big congregations of parakeets in particular.

28 February Spent most of the day exploring Angkor, visiting Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm. Birding around Angkor Wat was excellent with lots of activity and Lesser Adjutants flying around overhead. I have never seen so many Black Baza. Close examination of many of the friezes is interesting as there are depictions of Javan Rhinoceros, Asian Elephant and many birds, some of which are unidentifiable, but I could see Sarus Crane, adjutants, ibis and a few others.

1 March Siem Reap to Tmatboey. We picked up Hong at the WCS office in the provincial capital Tbeng Meanchey at 1700 and decided to continue on to the village. We continued on and turned off down a sandy track for another hour. The surprisingly large village of 800+ inhabitants has no electricity or amenities but our host's house is full of people and they have made a great screened off bathroom and toilet in the yard. I slept very well under a mosquito net on the bamboo floor.

2 March Next morning Ri, a local man who knows the forest intimately led the three of us (me, Hong and Li) out into the forest. We drove the first couple of kilometres in order to get into the best forest at daybreak. When Ri isn't taking birders out, he collects resin and herbal medicines in the forest to sell at the market. The forest here was a revelation - birds everywhere! At the height of the dry season, today was hot and hard work. We walked for the entire morning until it was just too hot and there was virtually no activity. We walked through open dry dipterocarp forest and bamboo-lined creekbeds from trapeang to trapeang (small permanent waterholes). Eventually I spotted a Giant Ibis in flight, which we scoped when it landed but it was partly obscured. Later we found two at a trapeang but they were seen only briefly before they flushed. I also found three Pale-capped Pigeons, which I watched at length in the scope.

In the afternoon we walked from the other end of the village through fallow rice padi and forest. We found a White-shouldered Ibis in flight and then perched, and Ri showed us a nest with two chicks. Woodpeckers are common here - fantastic Black-headed and White-bellied were highlights.

3 March We left the village a little later today in search of more Giant Ibis. As the sun rose it became apparent that it was very overcast and in fact looked like rain! On the walk in to the trapeangs Ri spotted a Small Buttonquail and I enjoyed wonderful views of this scarce bird. At the third trapeang we found two Giant Ibis which took flight and perched in nearby trees. I watched the birds as they preened and called to each other. The calling increased in frequency and pitch as the male moved closer, until the female flew off. As we departed the rain started falling and we were soaked to the skin by the time we got back to the car. Just as we arrived back into the village Li got the car stuck on a rise and we had to be dug out by about 20 of the villagers (plus onlookers), many of whom were undoubtedly muttering about the uselessness of these newfangled car things. There are no cars in the village - just a couple of motorbikes and a handful of bicycles.

That afternoon we returned to the same area as the previous day but surprisingly after the rain there was very little activity. Rufous-winged Buzzards did seem to be everywhere though. Delicious rice cakes with palm sugar specially prepared for me were a real treat on returning to the house!

4 March It was remarkably cold overnight. All the villagers were complaining in the morning! Left early this morning to visit Koh Ker, a temple dating from 1100AD, a bit to the south west of Tmatboey. The whole area around Koh Ker is peppered with the remains of temples and landmines. Straying off the road to look for birds is not an option. The temple is sensational, the centrepiece a pyramid-like structure rising 40 m out of the forest. The view from the top shows the extent of forest cover here is still impressive. From here we went back to Tbeng Meanchey to drop off Hong and drive back to Kompong Thom.

5 March This morning I met Chang Li from the WCS and we drove out to the grasslands near Kompong Thom to look for Bengal Florican. We turned off the main road and travelled a few kilometres along a dirt road to an extensive area of semi-cultivation and grassland. A few minutes of scanning soon revealed a male bird and then four or five more. I watched two superb birds walking and preening, another jumped up and parachuted down. Many were seen flying - the bright white upperwings and black underwings are notable. Drove back to Siem Reap.

6 March After a relaxing morning, I met up with David Bishop who arrived this morning and we went to Angkor again in the afternoon and spent quite a bit of time at Bayon.

7 March After speaking with a few people we decided to go back to Koh Ker as we wanted to see the direct road from Siem Reap (for the purposes of the VENT tour!) as it is apparently in very good condition - unlike the road I travelled! With a bit more time today, birding around the temple was excellent and included a distant Red-headed Vulture - the first time I have seen a vulture in Southeast Asia.

8 March I met Neung for a trip to Prek Toal on Tonle Sap this morning. The trip across the lake to the floating village of Prek Toal takes about an hour before transferring to smaller rowboats to go into the reserve. We had some brilliant views of Greater Adjutant along with lots of Lessers. Quite a few Grey-headed Fish Eagles and big congregations of three species of cormorant, Spot-billed Pelicans, Painted Storks, and so on. The whole area is amazing with a huge number of birds.

9 March Visited Ang Tropeang Thmor reserve today and after a bit of fuss trying to find a ranger, eventually found the reserve - an extensive reservoir surrounded by woodland. The reserve is only 80 km northwest of Siem Reap - about a 2 hour drive on poor roads. Soon found Sarus Cranes feeding in nearby grasslands and flying over the reservoir. This is the rare, eastern sharpii race of Sarus Crane, and this reserve hosts a large non-breeding flock during the dry season. A remarkable congregation of 500+ Comb Ducks was seen near the road, and a superb male Eld's Deer and females with young were seen in the woodlands.

A = Angkor, T = Tmatboey, KK = Koh Ker, KT = Kompong Thom, PT = Prek Toal, ATT = Ang Tropeang Thmor