Ang Trapeang Thmor and Changkran Roy: Distant Lifers and Near Misses
Blue-winged Leafbird- my life bird #2000! My first week and a half in Cambodia I'd been birding entirely solo- partly because I was squeezing in my birding in between my busy work schedule, and partly because I wanted to see how well I could do birding on my own in a new country. I think I did fairly well for myself- seeing about 120 species across 4 or 5 proper birding outings, including a few dozen lifers and sought-after birds like Cambodian Tailorbird, White-throated Rock Thrush , and Forest Wagtail . However, for my first full weekend of birding in the country, the plan was to go out in a more organized fashion with a proper birding guide. I generally bird solo when I'm traveling (for instance, I managed to bird all of Ethiopia without a guide), although this has more to do with not having been able to afford one than any misplaced faith in my birding abilities. However, recently I've come around more to using guides when I'm in new places. In part it's bec...