The high season for birdwatching in Cambodia starts from November to April (Peak: Jan-Feb-Mar), when water levels are low, Sarus Cranes return to Ang Trapeang Thmor, and Bengal Florican displays are visible. That’s the best time slot for birding and bird photography in Cambodia. I would like to recommend tours starting from mid-February to the end of May. This plan combines Cambodia’s most important birding sites with conservation-based tourism, maximizing your chances of seeing all your target species.
Date: March 2026: : Pale-capped Pigeon, Coral-billed ground cuckoo, Bar-bellied pitta, Yellow-breasted bunting, Asian golden weaver, Great slaty woodpecker, Giant Ibis, White-shouldered Ibis, Greater Adjutant, Black-headed Woodpecker, Milky Stork, Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, Mekong Wagtail, Cambodian Tailorbird, Spot-billed Pelican, Red-headed Vulture, White-rumped vulture, Slender-billed vulture, Indochinese bush lark, Manchurian reed warbler, Javan pond heron, Grey-headed fish eagle, Eastern marsh harrier, Pied harrier, Greater spotted eagle, Rufous-winged buzzard, Alexandrine parakeet, Blossom-headed parakeet, Bengal Florican, Chinese Grassbird, Sarus Crane, White-rumped Falcon, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Spotted wood owl, Brown wood owl, Brown fish owl, Asian barred owlet, Spotted owlet, Brown boobook, Oriental scops owl, Collared scops owl, Oriental bay owl.
Site: Angkor Wat, Prek Toal, Ang Trapaeng Thmor, Changkran Roey, Bangle Florican, Tmatboey, Vulture Restaurant, Kratie, Cambodian Tailorbird, Pursat Grassland.
Day 1: Arrival in Siem Reap and Birding Near Siem Reap
Day 2: Full Day Birding At Angkor Complex
Day 3: full day birding at Prek Toal Waterbird Sanctuary (overnight at Siem Reap)
Day 4: full day birding at Ang Trapeang Thmor Sarus Crane (overnight at Siem Reap)
Day 5: Full Birding at Chang Kran Roy, night in Changkran Roey Camp
Day 6: Full day bird at Chang Kran Roey, night in Siem Reap
Day 7: AM birding at Florican Grassland, PM birding and overnight at Be Treed Adventure
Day 8 Full Bird at Be Treed Adventure
Day 9: AM birding at Be Treed, PM Birding and overnight at Tmatboey
Day 10: full day birding at Tmatboey (overnight at Tmatboey lodge)
Day 11: AM birding at Tmatboey, PM birding and overnight at Vulture Restaurant,
Day 12: AM birding at Vulture restaurant, PM birding and overnight at Kratie
Day 13: AM birding at Kratie, PM birding and overnight at Pursat- Grassbird
Day 14: AM birding at Pursat Grassbird, PM birding at Cambodian Tailorbird, and overnight at Phnom Penh
Day 15: transfer to Phnom Penh airport
CAMBODIA RARE BIRDING
By travelling through some of Southeast Asia’s richest wetlands, the largest remaining tracts of lowland dry dipterocarp forests, and the region’s last surviving seasonally flooded grasslands, this birding adventure unfolds across habitats found almost nowhere else. Two boat excursions bring you closer to rare waterbird colonies, while explorations of the ancient temples of Angkor weave cultural heritage into the natural spectacle. Beyond offering opportunities to encounter some of the region’s most threatened and iconic birds, this trip directly supports pioneering eco-tourism initiatives in Cambodia, ensuring that your experience contributes to the protection of both wildlife and local communities.
The wetlands will provide a wide array of species, including some real giants, while woodlands, often surrounding Khmer ruins, contain one of the world’s most endangered species and an impressive array of woodpeckers.
Positioned in the heart of mainland Southeast Asia, Cambodia is the modern successor to the ancient Khmer Empire, bordered by Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. Once off-limits to travelers, it has now emerged as a premier destination for birders, offering the last strongholds in the region for several remarkable and threatened species. Thanks to a growing network of community-based eco-tourism projects, visitors are guided directly into critical habitats at precisely the right time of year, ensuring unforgettable encounters while supporting conservation and local livelihoods. The wetlands will provide a wide array of species, including some real giants, while woodlands, often surrounding Khmer ruins, contain one of the world’s most endangered species and an impressive array of woodpeckers.
For birders eager to add rare and highly localized species to their life lists, Cambodia offers exceptional opportunities. Highlights include the Mekong Wagtail, Giant Ibis, White-shouldered Ibis, Milky Stork, Bengal Florican, Cambodian Tailorbird, Cambodian Laughingthrush, Sarus Crane, and the impressive Greater Adjutant. At the same time, this journey also delivers an abundance of sought-after Southeast Asian specialties, from the dazzling Bar-bellied Pitta and Black-headed Woodpecker to the Asian Golden Weaver, Collared Falconet, White-rumped Falcon, Indochinese Cuckooshrike, Spot-billed Pelican, and the graceful Oriental Darter. While these encounters promise plenty of variety and excitement, our central focus remains on the iconic and globally important species that make a Cambodia birding tour truly unique.
Tour Cost: per person
Single Supplement: $ (Note: single accommodation is available at Siem Reap, Kratie, and Phnom Penh. However, it will probably not be available at Tmatboey,
Included in the tour cost: All transport including airport transfers, road tolls, national park and all reserve entry fees, all accommodation in Cambodia, including on the final night of the tour, all meals from dinner on the first night to breakfast on the day of departure, bottled drinking water, boat trips, services of English-speaking birding guide and Temple Tours guide.
Not included in the tour cost: International flights, travel insurance, entry visa, alcoholic and soft drinks, tips, laundry, hotel mini bar, phone calls, and any other items of a personal nature.
Accommodation: In Siem Reap, we stay in a very comfortable hotel with air-conditioning, private bathroom/shower, and wifi. At several sites, our stay at Thmat Boey will be in a local eco lodge that has simple private shower/toilet facilities with fans in the rooms. At Kratei, we stay in comfortable, air-conditioned local hotels where wifi is available. Finally, we stay in a hotel in the city of Phnom Penh, where all facilities are available.
Physical effort: This trip does not require any great physical effort in terms of long uphill hikes, but does require that participants are fit enough to walk, sometimes for 3-4 kilometres in hot conditions. The walking is mostly on a flat landscape, but some walking on even ground is needed to search for some key species. The physical effort required is well within the capabilities of most healthy people with the ability to deal with tropical climates.
Weather: Hot and dry weather is expected throughout this tour. There is always the possibility of a shower or two, given the world’s changing climate, but it is likely to be dry most, if not all, of the time. Midday temperatures are likely to be very hot, but most of the woodland sites we visit have low humidity. Wetland sites, however, can be fairly humid by their very nature. The tour has been paced so that we have plenty of time and are not forced to be birding throughout the heat of the day to see most of the birds.
Food: Khmer cuisine is similar to most Southeast Asian cooking, but rather less spicy. The traditional cuisine of the country is recovering after much of the knowledge being lost through the years of war here, but staff at the lodges we visit cook a wide variety of good local food. The former French influence manifests itself in the fact that good bread is available in many areas, and for those who like beer, there is a surprisingly wide range of local brews to try.
Note: Other things to bring: hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellent, and binoculars.
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