Birding Highlights
Nam Nao seems to be seldom visited by bird watchers these days but it is a great place to see many species which are tricky to get good views of elsewhere. This is an excellent place to see Woodpeckers, with Lesser and Greater Yellownapes being particularly common. Common and Greater Flamebacks are also easily seen as are Grey Capped Woodpeckers. Many other species of woodpecker are present, and I usually see about eight species of Woodpecker in a three day visit. White-hooded Babbler is a bird which seems unusually abundant here as are Red-headed Trogon and Green Magpie. Other notable birds that I often see in this park are Blue Pitta, Collared Falconet, Silver Pheasant, Bar-backed Partridge and Blossom-headed Parakeet.
Birds apart, there are still good populations of large mammals here and vegetation which has been flattened by Asian Elephants is widespread. If you get out onto the trails where this occurs in the very early morning you are quite likely to hear or even see the elephants themselves; be careful, on one occasion I was watching small birds in the grass when a male elephant walked out onto the trail only a few metres away! Other large mammals I have seen here are Leopard and Yellow-throated Marten.