THAILAND: Mystical Asia

Transcription

1 A Tropical Birding SET DEPARTURE tour THAILAND: Mystical Asia 25 th February 18 st March 2018 What more can I say, Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo. Tour Leader: Laurie Ross All photos in this report were taken by Laurie Ross / Tropical Birding. 1

2 INTRODUCTION As a guide; Thailand is one of the most exciting places to guide, from the amazing landscapes to the extremely friendly people then there is the food, oh the food. Our main tours bird list totaled an insane 472 species along with 17 mammals, we picked up an extra 67 species on the six-day extension bringing our grand total to a mind boggling 538 species. The tour started out extremely well, the first morning we had a Malayan Night-heron fly across in front of the car. Then just down the road we picked up great birds like Spot-billed Pelican and Black-faced Ibis. Continuing to Laem Phak Bia and the Pak Thale Salt Pans we ticked up a huge list of waders including the endangered Nordmann s Greenshank, Pied Avocet and the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Next spot was the wild Kaeng Krachan National Park; here we spent three very productive days in and around the National Park. We also spent time in some amazing bird hides that the locals have set up, stand out birds were Ratchet-tailed Treepie, Kalij Pheasant, Red and Blue-bearded Bee-eaters, Raffles & Chestnutbreasted Malkoha and five species of Broadbill. We also had some great mammals including Yellow-throated Martin and Dusky Langur. Next spot on the itinerary was the famous Khao Yai National Park, here we found extremely hard birds like Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo, Blue Pitta, Great-eared Nightjar and Wreathed Hornbill, we even found a pair of Orange-breasted Trogon feeding young chicks right beside the road. We also had a great encounter with a bull Asiatic Elephant. Leaving Khao Yai we headed North to Bueng Boraphet Lake, highlights here were close up views of Small Pratincole, eye-level photographs of Yellow Bittern and a vagrant Greater Flamingo. Now in Northern Thailand we visited Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand s highest mountain. In the lower elevations we found a pair of mating Collared Falconets, White-bellied and Black-headed Woodpeckers and some very noisy Eurasian Jays. At the top of the mountain we found high elevation specialties like Gould s Sunbird, Green-tailed Sunbird, Silver-eared Laughing-thrushes, Rufous-throated Partridges, a very cooperative Ashy Woodpigeon. I also have to mention the very tiny Pygmy Cupwing which we had incredible views. Next on the itinerary Doi Chiang Dao and the beautiful temple steps, highlights were Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Pin-tailed Pigeon and a very tiny Speckled Piculet. Doi Ang Khang we found Scarlet-faced Liocichla, White-browed Laughing-thrush, male Daurian Redstart, eye-level views of Spot-winged Grosbeak and also amazing views of Rusty-naped Pitta. The last major stop for the main tour was Doi Lang which is a morning everyone enjoys, highlights here were Spot-breasted Parrotbill, Hume s Pheasant, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-babbler stuffing his face and of course the juvenile Hodgson's Frogmouth sitting on his nest. The afternoon was spent at Tha Ton Paddies where we found rare birds like Rain Quail, Chestnut-eared Buntings and Bluethroat. 2

3 The last morning of the main tour started on the banks of the Mekong River, here we found some incredible birds like Black-headed & Black-faced Buntings, Red Avadavats Barred Button-quail, next was Chiang Saen Lake, here we found Indian Spot-billed Duck and Eurasian Wryneck. The first day of the Southern extension started with a mid-morning flight down to Krabi, we spent the afternoon exploring the Mangroves around Krabi with a local boat driver / bird guide. Here highlights were Chinese Egret, Brown-winged Kingfisher, Black-and-red Broadbill, Ruddy Kingfisher and Ashy Tailorbird. The following morning we had a close up encounter with Mangrove Pitta who ended up being bird of the extension. Next leg we explored Khao Nor Chuchi for two days, here we found our final two Broadbills, Black-and-yellow and Green Broadbill. We also had great views of the stunning Whiskered Treeswift and had good numbers of new Bulbuls and Spiderhunters. This is also were we ticked up our 500 th bird, Forest Wagtail. The final leg of the tour took us up to Krung Ching National Park, in this pristine lowland rainforest we found some great new birds, highlights were Blyth s Hawk-eagle, Rufous Piculet, Buffy Fish-Owl, Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Gold-whiskered Barbet, Scaly-breasted Bulbul and a beautiful male Korean Flycatcher. I have to say this tour was incredibly enjoyable, not only did we see well over 500 birds, saw beautiful sights and ate incredible food, we also met some of the friendliest people you could ever as for. I sure do love guiding here in Thailand! 3

4 ITINERARY: 25 h February Bangkok to Pak Thale 26 th February Pak Thale to Kaeng Krachan National Park 27 th February Kaeng Krachan National Park 28 th February Kaeng Krachan National Park 01 st March Kaeng Krachan to Khao Yai National Park 02 nd March Khao Yai National Park 03 rd March Khao Yai National Park 04 th March Khao Yai to Bueng Boraphet 05 th March Bueng Boraphet to Doi Inthanon National Park 06 th March Doi Inthanon National Park 07 th March Doi Inthanon National Park 08 th March Doi Inthanon to Doi Chiang Dao 09 th March Doi Chiang Dao to Doi Ang Khang 10 th March Doi Ang Khang to Fang 11 th March Doi Lang to Thaton 12 th March Chiang Saen to Chiang Rai airport flight to Bangkok 13 th March Fly to Krabi 14 th March Khao Nor Chuchi 15 th March Khao Nor Chuchi 16 th March Khao Nor Chuchi to Tha Sala 17 th March Krung Ching 18 th March Nakhon Si Thammarat to Bangkok 19 th March Departure from Bangkok 4

5 DAY ONE (25 th February): With everyone arriving a day early I thought we would take the advantage and kick off the tour a few hours early so after breakfast at 7am we had the car packed and ready to go by 7.30am. Being a Sunday we were extremely fortunate with Bangkok traffic and made great time to our first spot for the trip the Bang Khun Sai Mangrove Centre South West of Bangkok. Here there is a wonderful boardwalk through the mangroves and straight out of the car I could hear birds singing which was a great sign. First bird we came across on the boardwalk was a pair of Golden-bellied Gerygones at eye-level followed closely by a pair of Mangrove Whistlers. We were off to a great start, other birds along the boardwalk were two Javan Pond-herons in breeding plumage, Coppersmith Barbet, Red-collared Dove, Spotted Dove, Brahminy Kite, Collared Kingfisher, Common Iora, Malayian Pied-Fantail and a single Blue-tailed Bee-eater. Spoon-billed Sandpiper is always a big relief, it s usually our guests top target. 5

6 From the Mangrove center we headed south from here towards a fresh water lake that usually holds some nice birds, the drive down we had a rare Malayan Night-heron fly in front of the car! A fantastic bird for the trip! Arriving at the lake we grabbed out the scope and started our search for the local water birds and waders, we soon found Spot-billed Pelican, Black-headed Ibis, Yellow Bittern, Purple Heron, Grey Heron, Painted Stork and a couple of Caspian Terns fishing. Next stop was the famous salt flats of Pak Thale, here we found huge numbers of shorebirds including Common Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Sanderling, Red-necked Stint, Long-toed Stint, Temmick s Stint, huge numbers of Curlew Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Black-bellied Plover, Pacific-golden Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Lesser & Greater Sandplover, Little-ringed Plover, Kentish Plover and a single Ruff. Our afternoon was spent on local boats with local birding legend Mr. Daeng; he took us out to Laem Phak Bia sandspit. We had a nice low tide and were greeted by big flocks of Great Knots a single Whimbrel, two Chinese Egrets and huge numbers of resting Terns which included Whiskered, Common, Lesser & Great Crested, Little, Caspian and a single White-winged Tern. We also enjoyed great views of Malaysian Plover, Kentish Plover and a single White-faced Plover. The boat ride back got us great views of Collared and Black-capped Kingfisher and a fly away view of Stork-billed Kingfisher. The last stop for the day was the salt flats of Laem Phak Bia, here we picked up Chestnut Munia, Blackshouldered Kite, Plain Prinia a single House Swift. The final ticks of the day were two very dapper Pied Avocets, a great bird to end our first day. DAY TWO (26 th February): First light we were back out on Pak Thale saltpans to look for two major targets, Nordmann s Greenshank and of course Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Arriving on site and the salt pans were full of birds, it took about an hour and a half until we had eyes on one of the most sort after birds in the world the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and what a view it was. We had a single individual feeding in one spot for over five minutes giving everyone a chance to get incredible scope views. Along with the Sandpiper we also picked up three Red-necked Phalaropes busily feeding in a nearby pool. Our next target was the endangered Nordmann s Greenshank, after an extensive search by both groups we finally found a few mixed in with huge numbers of Great Knots and Sandplovers, there were also good numbers of Bar-tailed Godwit in the big crowds. It was now time to start heading towards our next destination and our home for the next three nights Kaeng Krachan, along the way we stopped at some dry woodland habitat to check out some recent info about a couple of Indian Thick-knees. Within 5 minutes of being there we had eyes on one, what a bird! We also had Indochinese Bush larks, Richards Pipits, Green Bee-eaters, Red-rumped Swallows and Burmese Shrike, not bad for the middle of the day. 6

7 Arriving at Baan Maka and our accommodation for the next three nights we enjoyed a delicious lunch before heading over to one of the local bird hides. Arriving at 3pm we settled in to see what would arrive first, we soon had Streak-eared & Stripe-throated Bulbuls followed by a very cooperative White-rumped Shama. A quiet spell was soon followed up by Lesser-necklaced Laughing-thrushes, Asian Emerald-dove, Siberian Blue Robin, Scaly-breasted Partridge, Black-naped Monarch and a big troop of Red Jungle-fowl. The last 30 minutes of light were the best with both Lesser & Greater-necklaced Laughing-thrushes, Puff-throated Babbler, White-browed Scimitar-babblers, Hill-blue Flycatcher and Tickell s Blue-flycatcher. While enjoying a nice dinner at Baan Maka we had Collared Scops-Owl and Large-tailed Nightjars calling and just after the meal got great views of Brown Boobook, what an awesome day. This is one of the many birds that visited us in the bird hide late our first afternoon, White-browed Scimitar-babbler. 7

8 DAY THREE (27 th February): Day three we had one of the best local guides booked to take us deep into Kaeng Krachan National Park in his 4WD, today we were targeting the high elevation so left nice and early. The drive up got us great numbers of Large-tailed Nightjars and a pair of beautiful Kalij Pheasants. Arriving at the first site we soon got on some great birds including Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Bronzed Drongo, Collared Babbler, Rufous-fronted Babbler, Red-throated Barbet, White-browed Piculet calling and both Red-headed & Orange-breasted Trogons. A little down the road we found a large flock feeding which contained one of our main targets Ratchet-tailed Treepie. We also had great views of Collared Babbler, Greater, Golden-fronted and Blue-winged Green Leafbirds, Pin-striped Tit-babbler and Everett s Whiteeye. At one spot along the way we had our first glimpse at Long-tailed Broadbill as well as amazing views of Red-headed Trogon and calling Banded Kingfisher. Next spot was the famous kilometer 27, here the guide showed us nesting Long-tailed Broadbills, which is always a candidate for bird of the trip. Just before lunch we did a trail close to the top of the road, here we were greeted by a troop of monkeys, which included Dusky Langur, White-handed Gibbon and the rare Banded Langur, one of the harder to see primates in Thailand. Not only did we see them but had them at eye-level. Along the trail we had calling Red-bearded Bee-eater, Yellow-bellied Warblers building a nest, Orangeheaded Trogon and eye-level views of a male Banded Kingfisher, bird of the day in my books. 8

9 Arriving at the highest point in the road for lunch our local guide showed us a nice roosting Grey Nightjar, other birds around the lunch spot were Black-throated Sunbird, Clicking Shrike-babbler, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Mountain Bulbul, White-browed Scimitar-babbler and amazing views of Streaked Spiderhunter coming into a banana flower. Always a great bird to get perched, Streaked Spiderhunter. The afternoon session; while slowly descending found us with a few great birds and even a nice mammal with Yellow-throated Martin walking right out onto the road in front of us. New birds were Rufous Woodpeckers perched out in the open then not 500 meters down the road Bamboo Woodpeckers flying over the road in front of us. Slightly lower down we had a Red-breaded Bee-eater flyover and brief views of Crimson-winged Woodpecker, a great bird to end the day. 9

10 While enjoying lunch we were entertained by this stunning male Black-throated Sunbird. DAY FOUR (28 th February): Day four we had another day to explore the incredible and huge Kaeng Krachan National Park with our local guide in his 4WD but today we were targeting the lower elevations, first bird for the morning was a nice male Kalij Pheasant right in the middle of the road. Not a bad way to start the day. By sunrise we were positioned to see the local Black-thighed Falconets emerge from their small tree hollow, it took a while but we eventually had two incredibly small falconets emerge and pose for some nice photos. Other birds in the area were Banded Broadbill, Bronzed Drongo, Black-naped Oriole, Asian Barred Owlet, Greeneared Barbet, Oriental Pied-hornbill, We slowly made our way deeper into the National Park checking on a few fruiting trees our local guide knew about, the fruiting trees produced amazing views of Thick-billed & Wedge-tailed Pigeons, big number of 10

11 Golden-crested and Hill Mynas, calling Black-and-red Broadbills and a couple of huge Great Hornbills. We also found a small group of Chestnut-breasted Malkoha hanging out with a single Green-billed Malkoha and a pair of graceful Crested Treeswifts. Arriving at the stream crossings we had one main family to target, the Broadbills. First species we found were a very cooperative pair of Banded Broadbills followed closely by great views of the huge Dusky Broadbill and a little down the road had Silver-breasted Broadbills building a nest! We also had Black-and-yellow calling in the background bringing our Broadbill count for the day to five. My personal favorite Thailand Kingfisher, the Banded Kingfisher. Our afternoon was spent in a local bird hide, first to join us was a Lesser Mouse-deer along with Grey-bellied Squirrel, Indochinese Ground-squirrel and Western Striped-squirrel, not a bad mammal list for sitting in one spot. Birds that visited were Scaly-breasted Partridge, Siberian Blue-robin, Puff-throated Babbler, Lesser & Greater-necklaced Laughing-thrushes, Hill Blue-flycatcher, White-rumped Shama, Spotted Dove and two new trip birds Chinese Blue-flycatcher and Blue-throated Flycatcher, not a bad afternoon at all. 11

12 Just one of four species of Broadbill we saw in Kaeng Krachan, Silver-breasted Broadbill. 12

13 DAY FIVE (01 st March): This morning after a very successful couple of days in the Rainforest we decided to concentrate on some dry habitat birds just out of the park, arriving at the site nice and early we were soon seeing good numbers of Indochinese Bushlarks, Richards Pipits, Green Bee-eaters, Eurasian Hoopoe, Thick-billed Warbler, Asian Pied Starling and a stunning couple of Vinous-breasted Starlings. Next stop was the rice paddies of Nong Pla Lai; here we were in search of grassland species like Munias, Weavers and maybe a wintering bird of prey. Not long after arriving we found out first Streaked Weavers, followed closely by busy nest building Golden Weavers then finally Baya Weaver, completing our set of Thailand s weavers in about 30 minutes. Also in the area we found nest building Scaly-breasted Munias and had had great views of Black Kite, Great-spotted Eagle and a very nice Imperial Eagle soaring just above our heads. Baya Weavers were busy hanging around building nests. 13

14 After a productive morning it was now time to start heading towards our next destination Khao Yai National Park, we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us so had a nice quick lunch and made awesome time through Bangkok to reach our hotel for the next three nights just outside the park. We had a little bit of spare time late in the afternoon so went out to try for Red-breasted Parakeet, only 10 minutes from the hotel we found good numbers congregating around some large trees. Other birds we saw were Lineated Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, Green-billed Malkoha and of course the local White-rumped Shama. DAY SIX (02 nd March): This morning I had organized a nice early breakfast at the hotel so we could get to an area in the park to set up a hide before all of the Thai photographers turned up and my plan worked perfect. We arrived at the site around 6.45am and the area was free so I grabbed out our bag of goodies and set up a homemade hide. Now all the fuss wasn t just for a normal bird, it was for one of Thailand s most wanted, the Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo. He must have been hungry as within five minutes of arriving he was parading out in the open, funny thing was it was still too dark to take photos! Lucky for us he hung around for over an hour and everyone was thrilled with their views and photos. Other birds that came in were Puff-throated Babbler, Hainan Blue-flycatcher, Whiterumped Shama and Siberian Blue-robin. 14

15 Emerging from the hide we were greeted by another iconic Asian bird the Oriental Pied-hornbill busily feeding just above eye level in a fruiting tree. Could you ask for a better start to a morning? The fruiting tree also gave us great views of Asian Fairy-bluebird, Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Plain Flowerpecker, Green-eared Barbet and our first views of Chestnut-headed Bee-eater hawking around nearby. Next, we found a nice flock of phylloscopus Warblers these included the common Yellow-browed Warbler but we also had Radde's Warbler, Two-barred Warbler and Claudia s Leaf-warbler Oriental Pied-hornbill at eye-level, what more could you want Next stop was Haew Su Wat Waterfall, here we had a nice stroll around the area and picked up great views of Blue Whistling-thrush, Thick-billed Flowerpecker, Moustached Barbet and we heard the sneaky Slatybacked Forktail. After a very productive morning is was now time to go and enjoy a delicious lunch at the local cafeteria and also visit the park headquarters. In the afternoon we started exploring the higher elevation sites in the park, firstly we came across a pair of Orange-breasted Trogons and after watching them for a while figured out they had a couple of very young chicks they were feeding. 15

16 I don t use the term cute too much for birds but these guys had to be close. At other sites we picked up Everett s and Chestnut-flanked White-eyes, Common Buzzard, Blyth s Shrike-babbler, Green-billed Malkoha and nice views of Ashy Drongo. One of the final trails for the day out to a lookout produced amazing photographs of Red-headed Trogon below eye-level and Moustached Barbet, again below eye-level. When does that happen? On the way to our last site for the day we bumped into a local bull Asiatic Elephant that is always exciting! Arriving at the TAT pond we were greeted by huge numbers of Brown-backed & Silver-backed Needle-tails and House Swifts bathing and drinking from the pond, it has to be one of the greatest thing to watch in the bird kingdom, Amazing. We spent the last bit of light enjoying the sunset with Great-eared Nightjars flying overhead and calling, what an incredible bird to finish the day on. I have to say watching Brown-backed & Silver-backed Needletails coming into drink never gets old. 16

17 DAY SEVEN (03 rd March): Our second day in Khao Yai NP started early at the beautiful viewpoint just up from the entrance gates, here we watched the sunrise and had a nice flyover Wreathed Hornbill, Verditer Flycatcher, Ashy & Brown-rumped Minivets, Vernal Hanging Parrots, Pale-legged Leaf-warbler and Black-winged Cuckoo-shrikes. Our next spot was to have another go at Pheasants along a forest trail, sadly it wasn t our morning for Pheasants but we did find Blue-winged & Golden-fronted Leafbirds, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Thick-billed Pigeon, Greater Yellow-nape, Greater Flameback, Puff-throated Bulbul, White-bellied Erpornis and finally a nicely perched Collared Owlet. Just before lunch we decided to head back up to the top of Khao Yai, the drive out gave us great views of Whitecrested Laughing-thrush and at the top while enjoying a coffee we had more amazing views of Long-tailed Broadbill, one of them even posed for some nice photos. The comical looking Long-tailed Broadbill, surely a must on everyone s bucket list. 17

18 After lunch, we headed back up to one of the campgrounds to check on a fruiting tree we found earlier. Before we got to the campground we had a feeding flock of small birds, these included Yellow-browed Warbler, Puffthroated Bulbul, Pin-striped Tit-babbler and Kloss s Leaf-warbler. Birds at the campground were Thick-billed, Yellow-vented and Fire-breasted Flowerpeckers, Oriental Piedhornbills, Ashy Minivets, Ashy Drongo and amazing views at a very handsome Blue-bearded Bee-eater. Last stop for the day was Wang Jumpee; this small forest trail lead us down to a crystal clear stream. The trail down produced Laced Woodpecker and at the bottom we found our target bird, Slaty-backed Fork-tail a great bird to finish the day on. DAY EIGHT (04 th March): After an early breakfast we packed the car and headed back into the park in search of a few extra birds, we drove around slowly too see what we could find and first bird we came across was a Blue Pitta standing on the white line on the edge of the road! After a little bit of patience the whole group got a nice view. Next, we headed up to the top viewpoint, here we grabbed a coffee from air force coffee and started birding. We had a nice birdie spell with a female Silver Pheasant feeding near the back yard, Plan-tailed Warbler, Verditer Flycatcher, Black-throated Laughing-thrush, Radde s Warbler, Pin-striped Tit-babbler, Hill Blue-flycatcher and calling Barred Cuckoo-dove and Mountain Imperial Pigeons. Heading back down the mountain we had amazing views of a male Wreathed Hornbill and also our first Rufescent Prinia. 18

19 Our last stop before heading out of the park was Haew Narok Waterfall; new birds here were Abbotts Babbler, Crimson Sunbird and a pair of Great Iora. We had one final stop before heading North to Nakhon Sawan, a beautiful temple near Saraburi. Here our main target was Rufous Limestone-babbler which on this occasion proved to be a little difficult but with a little bit of work managed to get most of the group on one. The drive to Nakhon Sawon we found two Oriental Pratincole's flying over and a huge numbers of Glossy Ibis feeding in one of the local rice paddies. It was an extremely hot afternoon so we waited until 4.30pm to head back out; our birding spot for the afternoon was a crocodile farm on the Northwest side of Bueng Boraphet Lake. Birds in the area were White-throated Kingfisher, Plain-backed Sparrows, Dusky Warbler, Malaysian Pied Fantail, Asian Pied-starling, Asian Golden-weavers, Pink-necked Pigeons, Yellow Bittern, Purple Heron and Gray Heron. We finished up the day at a lookout over the lake. We set up the scopes and started scanning, it didn t take long and I had two Small Pratincoles in the scope. While everyone was looking at the Pratincoles, I hear Ann say I think I have a Flamingo! I swung the scope around and there it was, a Greater Flamingo. What a bird to finish the day on. I think this photo sums up Bueng Boraphet nicely, Asian Openbill on sunset. 19

20 DAY NINE (05 th March): This morning we had a nice early boat trip booked on Bueng Boraphet Lake with a local guide Mr. Pnon; we arrived at the dock right on sunrise and all jumped into the boat interested in what we might see on the lake. It didn t take long to start stacking up the bird list; we had Pheasant-tailed & Bronze-winged Jacanas. Blackbrowed Reed-warbler, Oriental Reed-warbler, jumbo sized Striated Grassbirds, Grey, Great, Intermediate and Purple Herons, Eurasian Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Little Grebe, Cotton Pygmy-geese and a very close encounter with a Yellow Bittern. Making our way slowly toward the West side of the lake we found a very obliging Eastern Osprey, huge numbers of Asian Open-bills, Lesser Whistling Ducks, Oriental Darter, Green-winged Teal, a pair of Pied Kingfishers and a good number of Small Pratincoles who posed for some great photos. Last stop before heading back to dock was a lone Greater Flamingo, which was resting on a small island. We found it yesterday from land but this time on a boat so got great close views of this very rare visitor to Thailand. After a very productive morning on the lake it was now time for the long drive North to Doi Inthanon National Park and our home for the next three days. Arriving at our accommodation at 6pm we checked in and sat down to a delicious dinner and cold beverage, then an early night ready to head off nice and early the next day. 20

21 DAY TEN (06 th March): I have to say I wasn t expecting to see a Greater Flamingo on this trip. Our first day in Doi Inthanon took us right up to the sunrise lookout, as the sun hit the mountain the forest came alive with birds. Speckled & Ashy Woodpigeons were flying around and, in the forest, found Gould s and Green-tailed Sunbirds, Grey-sided Thrush, Slender-billed Oriole, Asian Emerald Cuckoo, Goldenthroated Barbet, Yellow-bellied Fairy-fantail, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Black-backed Sibia, Gray Bushchat, Chestnut-bellied Rock-thrush and a nice Steppe (Common) Buzzard perched in the morning light. Next spot for the morning was at the summit of Doi Inthanon. We enjoyed a nice walk around the summit and on the lower boardwalk, new birds here were Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Ashy-throated Warbler, White-crowned Forktail, Silver-eared Laughing-thrush, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Himalayan Bluetail, Chestnut-tailed Minla, Pygmy Cupwing and the Black-billed race of Blue-whistling Thrush. 21

22 too often you see a Common (Steppe) Buzzard perched. It s not After a productive morning at the summit we started our decent towards lunch at Mr. Daeng s but first we stopped at checkpoint two to walk a small trail. Here we found a calling Green Cochoa, Little Pied Flycatcher, Yunnan Fulvetta and a couple of Slaty-backed Tesias doing their best at keep out of the guests binoculars. After another amazing lunch at Mr. Daeng s we headed up to the Pha Thung Lookout area, new birds we found here were Silver-eared Mesia, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Black-eared Shrike-babbler, Short-billed Minivet, Long-tailed Minivet and a pair of Oriental Turtle-doves on the road. We also had calling Squaretailed Drongo-cuckoo and a pair of Mountain Bamboo-partridges running away as fast as they could. Next stop was Wachirathan Waterfall; here we had nice views of a male Plumbeous Redstart and male Whitecapped Redstart, two great birds. For the late afternoon we visited a local bird watching tower built by Mr. Te, on the way to the tower we had a Gray-headed Lapwing right beside the road and at the tower itself enjoyed views of Crested Treeswift, Purple Sunbird, Striated & Red-rumped Swallows, Racket-tailed Treepie and good numbers of Blossom-headed Parakeets. 22

23 A very rare moment, a White-crowned Forktail sitting for a photo & Pygmy Cupwing one of the LBJs around 23

24 DAY ELEVEN (07 th March): This morning we were concentrating on the lower elevation dry habitat and the great birds that live there. Arriving at the site we immediately had Black-headed Woodpeckers perch above the car then Eurasian Jay s flew in and joined the party. By this time the sun started coming up and we watch at least four Collared Falconets emerge from their roost hole to perch out in the morning sun. Next surprise were two White-bellied Woodpeckers flying by and perching briefly up the hill. We also had fly by Red-billed Blue-magpies, Rufous Treepies and perched Greater Flamebacks. A little further down the hill we had Rufous-winged Buzzard perched up high in a tree and three Black Bazas enjoying the morning sun. Next spot we visited was the Jeep Trail back up on the mountain, first bird we came across was Grey Treepie followed closely by Emerald Cuckoo. Down the trail the list grew with Sulphur-breasted Warbler, Blue-winged Minla, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Yunnan Fulvetta, Vivid Niltava, Little-pied Flycatcher, Stripe-breasted Woodpecker, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker and another pair of Long-tailed Broadbills. 24

25 It was now time to head down to Mr. Deang s for another delicious lunch before heading back up to the summit to try and find a couple of missing birds. Still missing Dark-sided Thrush we did another loop of the bottom boardwalk, first birds we found was three Rufous-throated Partridge being their normal nervous selves. Not long after we had great views of Dark-sided Thrush, finally. Another unexpected find was an Ashy Woodpigeon who flew down right in front of us to drink from the waterfall on the loop, a bird you rarely see neither alone see on the ground. Last spot for the day was a site just out of the park to see Green Peafowl, this protected area which was protected by park rangers was supposed to be a great reliable site. We arrived and got straight onto a stunning male; he decided he didn t want to see us so walked off into the forest. We didn t have to wait long when the rangers pointed out a displaying male showing off its incredible plumage to everyone, this male had five females checking him out, what an incredible show. Last stop for the day was a lake where nightjars come out on dusk, number were a little down from normal but we still managed all three species, Large-tailed, Indian and Savannah Nightjars all in the one spot which is always great. Surely a candidate for best looking bird in the world, male Green Peafowl. 25

26 DAY TWELVE (08 th March): Our final morning in Doi Inthanon had us back into the park seeing what new species we could find, first spot we tried was a camp ground which got us a nice pair Japanese Tits. A little further down the road we found a mixed feeding group of Long-tailed Broadbill, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-babbler, Gray-fronted Babbler, Buff-breasted Babbler, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Gould s Sunbird, Oriental White-eye, Yunnan Fulvetta, Silver-eared Mesia and views of Mountain Bamboo Partridge. Oriental White-eye, just hanging out. Next spot was near the second checkpoint where we found Rosy Minivets, Golden Babbler, Eyebrowed Thrush, Little Pied Flycatcher and brief views of Spectacled Barwing. Last stop before heading to Doi Chiang Dao was a last lunch at one of Thailand s best restaurants, Mr. Daeng's. While eating lunch we kept an eye out for the tiny Lesser Shortwing who is a regular below the balcony, we 26

27 had eaten here three days now with no luck. Today luck was on our side as one last look before leaving had him out in the open, awesome. After a nice easy drive, we arrived at our next destination, Doi Chiang Dao and our accommodation for the night at Malees Nature Lovers Bungalows. We headed back out about 4.30pm to check out the local rice paddies that were a little slow. We did find Whiterumped & Scaly-breasted Munias, Pied Harrier, Common Snipe, Oriental Skylark, Grey-headed Lapwing and huge numbers of White Wagtails. After an early dinner we went out again to have a look for some night birds, we had brief looks at Brown Boobook and Collared Owlet and heard Oriental Bay-owl and Hodgson's Frogmouths calling in the distance, not a bad way to end a great day. DAY THIRTEEN (9 h March): After a beautiful breakfast a Malees we walked just down the road to Wat Tham Pha Plong the local temple, this can be a very productive site and we soon started a great list. In the car park Pin-tailed Pigeon, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Square-tailed Drongo-cuckoo, Lesser Yellownape and a pair of Blue-bearded Bee-eaters greeted us. Speckled Piculet busily collecting Ant Larvae, he was completely oblivious of the 13 birders below him. 27

28 We climbed the 510 stairs then at the top we found Streaked Wren-babbler, Crimson Sunbird, Browncheeked Fulvetta, Black Bulbul and nice views of perched Mountain Imperial-pigeon. The trek down got us four nice Striated Yuhinas and a very cool Speckled Piculet. After a very successful morning it was now time to get on our way to the next destination, Doi Ang Khang. Arriving at lunchtime we headed straight over to the Royal Project for lunch, this is one of my favorite restaurants in Thailand and I think everyone in the group agreed. Birds in the area were Olive-backed Pipit, Black-breasted Thrush and a vagrant Chinese Blackbird. First birding stop was a feeder near the restaurant. It was a little slow but did manage to pick up two new birds, Rufous-bellied Niltava and White-tailed Robin. Next spot in the very thick and wet fog was out at one of the military checkpoints here our target was Daurian Redstart, this male knows birders well and with a little bit of encouragement down he came, awesome bird. Always a crowd favorite, the male Daurian Redstart. 28

29 Just down the road we decided to bird one of the campgrounds, as soon as we got out of the car I could hear one of our targets calling, Giant Nuthatch. It was a shame it was so misty but still a great bird. Next spot was just down the hill where we found a feeding flock of Laughing-thrushes, here we had White-browed Laughingthrush, Silver-eared Laughing-thrush, Scarlet-faced Liocichla and Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-babbler. It was now time to go and check into our accommodation for the night; here they also had some bird feeders. First bird we had was a very cooperative White-capped Redstart followed by Eye-browed Thrush, Brownbreasted Bulbul, Grey Wagtail and a nice pair of White-crowned Forktails. Last stop for the day was to follow up a sighting of Rusty-naped Pitta; we arrived at the site with both groups and waited patiently. About 20 minutes went by and all of a sudden there he was just standing out in the open! Everyone was expecting him to come out of the thick brush but no, just casually right out in the open. What a bird! One very awesome bird, Rusty-naped Pitta. 29

30 DAY FORTEEN (10 th March): Day fourteen we woke up to another very misty day, so bad in fact that we couldn t ID birds only meters away! But we soldiered on and visited all the regular spots, arriving at the first spot near a military checkpoint we enjoyed much better views of Spectacled Barwing and the nice outline of a Grey Treepie in the mist. Next spot was down by the Royal Project gardens, here it was a lot clearer and straight away we found a stunning male Spot-winged Grosbeak stuffing his face with cherries. Spot-winged Grosbeak enjoying nice ripe cherries. Last spot before lunch was back at the feeders at our accommodation in Ban Luang, here we finally picked up Brown-breasted Bulbul for the whole group and also had Eye-browned Thrush, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul and more great views of White-crowned Forktail. On the way to lunch we stopped on the side of the road and found Russet-bush Warbler being its usual super skulker and Wire-tailed Swallows and Cook s Swifts overhead. 30

31 After another amazing Thai lunch we made one final stop to see if we could find a warbler and revisit the Daurian Redstart, as usual the Redstart performed well and we then followed it up with great views of Yellow-streaked Warbler which in Thailand is restricted to this one site. It was now time to make our way back down the mountain and to our accommodation for the night, it had been a big couple of weeks so everyone decided they were keen to have the afternoon off and explore the local markets and food. DAY FIFTEEN (11 th March): Our earliest start yet, our plan was getting up to the top of Doi Lang at sunrise to stake out a feeding spot for Hume s Pheasant, it was another extremely misty morning and being a Sunday it was a popular spot. We drove past all the photographers and set up the scopes and waited patiently, it took a while but juts after sunrise had a nice male and female emerge. We also had Mountain Bamboo Partridges calling right beside us and half a dozen White-browed Laughing-thrushes feeding in the open. 31

32 Most of the day involved visiting a number of feeding sites along the road, spending 30 or so minutes at each seeing what turned up. New birds for the morning were Slaty-blue Flycatcher, Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Gray-backed Shrike, Pacific Swift, Gray-capped Woodpecker, Aberrant Bush Warbler, White-bellied Redstart, Siberian Rubythroat, Gray-headed Parrotbill and one very photogenic Spot-breasted Parrotbill. At the end of the road near the Myanmar border we found Crested Finchbill and a young Hodgson's Frogmouth sitting in a nest, amazing bird. The trip back down got us Oriental Turtledove, Stripe-breasted Woodpecker, Maroon Oriole and the super cool Ultramarine Flycatcher. One of the snazziest Flycatchers around, Mr. Ultramarine Flycatcher. After checking into our final resort for the main tour we all met again at 4pm to go and check out Tha Ton rice paddies, arriving at the paddies we got straight onto big numbers of Small Pratincole and Red-throated Pipits, most of them having a bath in the river. We also had two Green Sandpipers feeding nearby. The whole area was alive with birds and we soon ticked up Australasian Bushlarks, Paddy-field Pipits, Richards Pipits, Oriental Skylark, Gray-breasted Prinia, Pin-tailed & Common Snipe, Long-tailed and Burmese Shrikes. Walking along the edge of the tall grass we then managed to flush up a Quail! Rain Quail, Amazing! Next, we flushed two Chestnut-eared Buntings and a Bluethroat, what an afternoon! 32

33 One of the many amazing birds we found at Tha Ton Rice Paddies, Chestnut-eared Bunting. DAY SIXTEEN (12 th March): Our final day in the North before flying back to Bangkok, we got up early and went west. Our first destination was on the banks of the famous Mekong River, here we scanned with the scope to see what we could pick up. The place was alive with birds including Gray-throated Martin, Black-headed Bunting, Black-faced Bunting, Citrine Wagtail, Red Avadavat, Dusky Warbler, Siberian Rubythroat and Yellow-bellied Prinia. We also flushed a Barred Buttonquail, which was a huge bonus. Next spot was Chiang Saen Lake a protected waterfowl area; here we spent time birding the edges of the lake. First new bird from the car park was Indian Spot-billed Duck and while we were eating breakfast we found a nice Eurasian Wryneck. Driving slowly around the lake we added Lesser Whistling-duck, Citrine Wagtail, Garganey and better views of Banded Bay Cuckoo and Pied Kingfisher. The final spot before on the main tour was a small Nature Reserve called Nam Kham Nature Reserve; our main target here was better views of Baikal Bush Warbler, which we eventually got. We also had great views of Freckled Woodpecker, a nice bird to finish up the main tour. 33

34 DAY SEVENTEEN (13 th March): After an early breakfast at our hotel in Bangkok then we boarded the shuttle to Suvarnabhumi Airport, while drinking coffee at the airport we enjoyed out in the open views of Ruddy-breasted Crake, great airport bird! We arrived in Krabi around 11am picked up the rental car and drove to lunch, at 2pm we had a boat trip booked until sunset. Boarding the boat we enjoyed new birds like Pacific Swallow and Asian Glossy-starling. Our first spot was exploring the harbor where it was low tide. We had good number of shorebirds and even picked up a couple of new birds including Terek Sandpiper and White-bellied Sea-eagle. We also had improved views of some shorebirds seen earlier in the trip including good number coming into breeding plumage, these included Bartailed Godwits, Greater Sandplover, Javan Pond-heron, Chinese Pond-heron and good numbers of Chinese Egret a rare bird here in Thailand. Up in the mangroves we found five species of Kingfisher including Black-capped Kingfisher, Common Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher and two new ones for the trip, Brown-winged Kingfisher and very brief views of the difficult Ruddy Kingfisher. Other new birds were Ashy Tailorbird, Black-and-red Broadbill, Rufousbellied Swallow, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler and a calling Mangrove Pitta. 34

35 DAY EIGHTEEN (14 th March): This morning after breakfast at the hotel we revisited the mangroves but this time on the famous Krabi Mangrove Boardwalk, arriving nice and early our main target was Mangrove Pitta since we only heard it in the distance yesterday afternoon. To my surprise it was the first bird we came across and quite a cooperative one, at one point it sat on an exposed mangrove root for fifteen minutes! Amazing. We also had great looks at Streakbreasted Woodpecker, Sakhalin Leaf Warbler and Arctic Warbler, again only heard Ruddy Kingfisher. One of the stars on the extension, one very cooperative Mangrove Pitta, who was bird of the extension After a nice productive morning we made our way to our accommodation for the next two nights the beautiful Mokarot near Khao Nor Chuchi. Around the garden we found Olive-winged Bulbul, White-bellied Munia, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Great Iora, Thick-billed Spiderhunter, Little Spiderhunter and Grey-bellied Spiderhunter a great hotel list. After relaxing at the hotel we made our way to Khao Nor Chuchi late in the afternoon, new birds for our lists were Whiskered Treeswift, Sooty Barbet, Red-throated Barbet, Green Iora, Hairy-backed Bulbul, Red- 35

36 eyed Bulbul, Purple-naped Sunbird and our final two Broadbill s for the trip Black-and-yellow Broadbill and Green Broadbill, making it a clean sweep of the family. Another milestone for the trip was arriving back at the lodge and having a small group of Forest Wagtails flying over, I assume they were going to roost but more significantly it was our 500 th bird for the trip! Not a bad garden bird, the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker from Mokarot Resort. DAY NINETEEN (15 th March): After a delicious breakfast at Mokarot it was time for some early morning birding, first bird for the morning was a very cooperative Moustached Babber. For the next few hours we explored the roadside edges and a few nice trails, new birds for the morning were Silver-rumped Needletails, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Cream-vented Bulbul, Yellow-bellied Bulbul, Buff-vented Bulbul, Chestnut-winged Babbler, Korean Flycatcher, Yellowbreasted Flowerpecker, Van Hasselt s Sunbird, Yellow-eared Spiderhunter and great views of Purple- 36

37 naped Spiderhunter. One of the top birds for the morning went to a stunning Blyth s Paradise-flycatcher who feed right out in the open in front of us. The afternoon was spent around Khao Pra a nearby piece of forest; it was an extremely hot day so the birds were a little quiet. We did end up with amazing views of Green Broadbill, Black-and-yellow Broadbill and also Rufous-tailed Tailorbird, Scaly-crowned Babbler, Chestnut-winged Babbler and a stunning male Crimsonbreasted Flowerpecker. DAY TWENTY (16 th March): Our final morning at Khao Nor Chuchi we returned to the Khao Pra area, new birds for the list were Moustached Babber, Short-tailed Babbler, Spectacled Spiderhunter, Cream-vented Bulbul, Spectacled Bulbul and a Banded Woodpecker calling nearby. After a nice easy morning we began the drive to our final destination, Krung Ching. Along the way we pulled up at some rice paddies where we had great views of Eastern Yellow-wagtail, Oriental Pratincole and a couple of Common Snipe. The three-hour drive went nice and quick and we arrived at our accommodation for the final two nights. We left the resort around 2.30pm to reach Krung Ching just in time for a casual afternoon of birding, straight out of the car we had Golden-whisked Barbet calling, Crimson-bellied Flowerpecker, Plain Sunbird, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird and nice views of White-rumped Munia feeding nearby. We had incredible views of Banded Broadbill on our first day in Krung Ching. 37

38 We got extremely lucky with this view of a male Scarlet-breasted Trogon. Next we explored the start of the waterfall trail, we didn t get far and had Banded Broadbills calling above us. A couple of minutes later we had one come right down to just above eye-level for some great photo opportunities. On the way back down I heard a Orange-breasted Trogon calling which was soon joined by a Scarlet-rumped Trogon then a Diard s Trogon amazing! We left the Orange-breasted alone and concentrated our search on the other two; we missed seeing the Diard s but got amazing views of a male Scarlet-rumped Trogon, such a special bird. Last spot for the day was a lookout over the forest in the hope we d see a Hornbill fly over, it wasn t meant to be but we did get more great views of Banded Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Chestnutbreasted Malkoha, Blyth s Paradise-flycatcher and Greater Green Leafbirds. DAY TWENTY-ONE (17 th March): Day twenty-one saw us back in Krung Ching at the crack of dawn, here we enjoyed our packed breakfast and watched the birds fly by, we had Lesser Cuckoo-shrikes, Black-and-buff Woodpecker and a nice pair of Banded Woodpeckers singing out in the open. 38

39 Next we continued down the hill and walked the beautiful trail out to Krung Ching waterfall, this stunning but very steep walk through some amazing habitat is always a great way to spend the early morning. New birds were Black-capped Babbler, Red-throated Barbet showing extremely well, Green Broadbill, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Yellow-bellied Bulbul and a very obliging pair of Rufous Piculet. Around the campsite there were a few birds hanging around a fruiting tree, we managed good looks at Gold-whiskered Barbet and Scalybreasted Bulbul. One of the smallest Woodpeckers in the world, the incredibly cool Rufous Piculet. After a delicious lunch at a local restaurant we spent the hottest part of the afternoon at a fruiting tree were we had four species of Flowerpecker coming in including Yellow-vented, Orange-bellied, Orange-breasted and Yellow-breasted and eight species of Bulbul including Grey-cheeked Bulbul, a new bird for the trip. We also had a stunning male Korean Flycatcher and a Japanese Sparrowhawk looking for lunch. 39

40 Last spot for the day was the overlook over the rainforest; new birds we found were a nice Blyth s Hawk-eagle, Lesser Green Leafbird and much better views of Grey-and-buff Woodpecker. After dark we spotlighted around the campground and found a nice Buffy Fish-owl, what an awesome bird to finish off the trip. One of the crowd favourite s, Black-and-yellow Broadbill. DAY TWENTY-TWO (18 th March): Today was the final day of the tour and everyone decided we had such a successful trip that they wanted a final lay in and to enjoy the beach for the morning, our flight back to Bangkok was in the late afternoon so it was a great way to wind down from an incredible tour and celebrate seeing well over 500 species of birds. 40

41 Top 5 birds of the main tour; 1. Green Peafowl 2. Spoon-billed Sandpiper 3. Hodgson s Frogmouth 4. Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo 5. Long-tailed Broadbill Top 5 birds of the Southern extension; 1. Mangrove Pitta 2. Rufous Piculet 3. Whiskered Tree-swift 4. Banded Broadbill 5. Scarlet-rumped Trogon Bird List; (Using Clements, version 2017). H = Heard only Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl (Anatidae) 1. Lesser Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna javanica 2. Cotton Pygmy-Goose Nettapus coromandelianus 3. Indian Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha 4. Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata 5. Northern Pintail Anas clypeata 6. Garganey Anas querquedula 7. Green-winged Teal Anas crecca Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies (Phasianidae) 8. Rufous-throated Partridge Arborophila rufogularis 9. Scaly-breasted Partridge Arborophila chloropus 10. Green Peafowl Pava muticus 11. Rain Quail Coturnix coromandelica 12. Gray Peacock-Pheasant (H) Polyplectron bicalcaratum 13. Mountain Bamboo-Partridge Bambusicola fytchii 14. Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus 15. Hume's Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae 16. Silver Pheasant Lophura nycthemera 17. Kalij Pheasant Lophura leucomelanos 41

42 Flamingos (Phoenicoteridae) 18. Greater Flamingo Phoenicopteridae roseus Grebes (Podicipedidae) 19. Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Storks (Ciconiidae) 20. Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans 21. Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala Cormorants and Shags (Phalacrocoracidae) 22. Little Cormorant Microcarbo niger 23. Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis Anhingas (Anhingidae) 24. Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster Pelicans (Pelecanidae) 25. Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus Philippensis Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns (Ardeidae) 26. Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis 27. Black Bittern Ixobrychus flavicollis 28. Gray Heron Ardea cinerea 29. Purple Heron Ardea purpurea 30. Great Egret Ardea alba 31. Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia 32. Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes 33. Little Egret Egretta garzetta 34. Reef Egret Egretta sacra 35. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis 36. Chinese Pond-Heron Ardeola bacchus 37. Javan Pond-Heron Ardeola speciosa 38. Striated Heron Butorides striata 39. Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax 40. Malayan Night-heron Gorsachius melanolophus Ibises and Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae) 41. Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus 42. Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus 42