BIRD ROUTES Prey Veng


Giant Ibis Prey Veng © Eleanor Briggs

Prey Veng is a seductive attraction for eco-tourism trips regularly yielding 150 species including 3 key birds Giant Ibis, Greater Adjutant and White-winged Duck. The ancient baray about 2km long by 1km wide is surrounded by thick forest giving cover for the birds during the day and providing a feeding site at dawn and dusk when the White-winged Duck roosts on trees within the baray. A riparian corridor of mixed deciduous forest lines the Steung Sen River that flows a few kilometers away from the site, which together with the DDF, forest paddys and the baray marshland gives a range of habitat types to support a diversity of bird and animal life.





Prey Veng Temple © Eleanor briggs

The different habitat types means there are many tracks to explore and we would recommend a 3 night stay to maximise the chance of seeing White-shouldered Ibis, Green Peafowl, Greater-spotted Eagle, Black-necked Stork, Sarus Crane and Masked Finfoot have been spotted along the river though we do not yet know enough about their movements to ensure more than an occaisional sighting.

An exciting diversion from birding is an Angkorian Temple a few hundred metres from the camp site on a scale and significance with Beng Melea, unknown to tourists due to the remote location of Prey Veng.

                                                                                                           



Prey Veng Tent © Eleanor Briggs

The village is reached via a 20km forest track usually on motorbikes in case of the river crossing being flooded or in the drier months January to April by 4WD. Safari style tents are set up by the village eco-tourist committee prior to a groups arrival on the shores of the baray shaded by clumps of bamboo.


Cooks have been trained by SVC to provide simple Khmer meals on a table set up on the banks of the ancient reservoir and there is a shower and toilet tent.

Prey Veng was first visited by bird watchers only last year so the project is still in it's infancy which means that the service provision is not always up to the standard of some of the other SVC sites however it is a remote and beautiful location with an abundance of bird life and the bonus of a hidden temple.