dandsblair
David and Sarah
I thought that starting to post my trip report here would motivate me to finish it and process the photos
Thai Birding trip Nov 19th – Dec 10th 2024
Background
We have been to Thailand before but had only birded areas around Bangkok and while we have been to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Burma we hadn’t done full on birding, just days at various sites so there were plenty of life birds to target.
The timing wasn’t ideal, Jan/Feb would be better but with trips booked for next year, this was the best we could do, so we asked Nick Upton from Thaibirding.com to arrange the best possible trip for North and Central Thailand for late November to mid-December.
After some toing and froing with plans to avoid going to national parks at week-end or bank holidays, we arrived at an itinerary that saw us arrive in Chiang Mai on 20th November. Nick would guide us in the North of the country, picking us up and dropping us off in Chiang Mai. He would then take a large Spanish group out in the North a few days later, so that worked well for us all.
We would then fly to Bangkok staying, in Bangkok overnight and then take a cab to Khok Kham early the next morning; where we would meet up Games who is the co-owner of Baan Maka Nature Lodge. She would guide us in Kaeng Krachan, around Petchabari and the coast.
The final itinerary was
Fly Heathrow to Bangkok 19th November – onward flight to Chiang Mai early 20/11
Meet Nick at Hotel 6am on 21st Nov – birding Mae Taeng Irrigation Area and then on to our hotel in Fang (4 nights) afternoon birding at Doi Lang West
22nd Nov – Doi Ang Kang
23rd Nov – Doi Lang West
24th Nov – Doi Ang Kang and Rice fields Mai Ai
25th Nov – Fang Hot Springs then drive to accommodation at Doi Inthanon (Touch Star Resort),
birding late afternoon near accommodation
26th Nov – Doi Inthanon
27th Nov – Doi Inthanon
28th Nov – Doi Inthanon am – Lamphun rice fields pm
29th Nov – Mae Ping
30th Nov – Mae Ping – fly to Bangkok PM (leave Nick at Chiang Mai airport)
1st Dec taxi from Don Muang airport hotel to Khok Kham (Meet Games 6.30am) – PM Kaeng Krachan
2nd Dec – Kaeng Krachan
3rd Dec – Kaeng Krachan
4th Dec – Kaeng Krachan - Petchaburi
5th Dec – Pak Thale/Laem Pak Bia
6th Dec – Petchaburi Rice Fields – Hua Hin
7th – 10th no real birding but we did pick up an Indian Nightjar in the trees near the rooftop bar in the hotel.
Day 1 - birding Mae Taeng Irrigation Area and then onto Fang / Doi Lang
After a slight confusion, there was another bird guide waiting at reception when we checked out at 5.50, we met up with Nick a few minutes later. Loaded the van quickly (loads of space as Nick had the large Toyota van for his next tour as well). Agreed that we would get to the first birding spot and have a bit of breakfast on the go. The spot was Mae Taeng Irrigation area, Nick hadn’t been here this season so we didn’t have a set target list but we soon added some great birds. With Wryneck, Siberian Rubythroat, Lineated Barbet and Wire-tailed Swallow all seen before our first lifer a Chestnut-capped Babbler but I managed to get a record shot off but probably my best ever Rubythroat views. Black-collared Starling, Dusky warbler, Oriental Magpie Robin and Paddyfield Pipit were easily seen but only I saw a Small Pratincole before it flew off from the waters edge as the others were watching a Lesser Coucal and Long-tailed Shrike. We tried to get down to the gravel near the water edge but some building work was ongoing and we couldn’t get close, so we didn’t see the expected Pratincol here, adding only Green, Common and Wood Sandpiper and Swinhoe’s Snipe.
After breakfast we had a couple of hours drive to Fang our base for the next few days. We stayed in the Tangerine Hotel, (I was unaware how big a Tangerine producer Thailand is, a huge area is farmed in the NW), we had an early lunch and checked in to the hotel before heading up to Doi Lang West for some much looked forward to birding at 2pm.
We stopped at a spot Nick described as the Mrs Hume Pheasant feeding area, the bird had not yet started to come to worms as the soil in the area was still very damp with lots of natural food still available and photographers had only just started laying out worms every day to try to attract them. We had low expectation for the Pheasant unless we were lucky and saw one cross the various roads. As we were about to get out the van I shouted Giant Nuthatch, the bird played hide and seek for a few minutes before Sarah got good views and I managed to photograph it, our attention was being drawn to Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch and Pied Bushchat which flitted around in the same trees. A good start – further up the road Nick heard a mixed flock and we had Orange-bellied Leafbird, Dark-backed Sibia, Asian Great Tit and the common but difficult to see well Blue-winged Minla. This was proving to be a good spot and we also saw Spectacled Barwing, Rufous-bellied Niltava and Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher in the area. There were quite a few photographers here waiting for Cutia but despite some people waiting 5 hours at a fruiting tree, they hadn’t showed. Nick reckoned he could hear the birds a little distantly and so we went after a calling Collared Owlet which he managed to whistle into a tree and which we and some other birders got to see being mobbed by Humes and Chinese Leaf Warbler, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Streaked Spiderhunter and Mrs Gould’s Sunbird. That was nearly it for the afternoon as we heard and didn’t see the Cutia (4 seen by another group of UK birders) but we did add Sapphire Flycatcher and another Giant Nuthtach and then in bamboo lower down an Aberrant Bush warbler.
A pretty good first day – finished off with good food and inexpensive Chang beers.
Day 2
Nick had warned us that up the mountain birding was pretty dependent on weather as birds only seemed to show well when there was some sunshine/warmth and then in shade later as the day heated up. The weather wasn’t promising as we headed up Doi Ang Krang, with lots of mist and low cloud, we were aiming to find some areas where the sun was breaking through the cloud and making the forest edges productive for birds and insects. Hover today even after 9am it was still misty and even when we found a clearish spot not a lot of activity. So we had a slight change of plan, heading to a roadside village that used to contain a B and B that Nick used, followed by the Kings Project (open gardens and forest edge and then the area around the army camp on the Burmese border.
At the village we had a group of White-browed Laughing Thrush, then Mountain Bulbul, Ashy Bulbul a nice Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Green-billed Malkoha, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon and three Crested Finchbill, so even if birding wasn’t superfast we were seeing some quality birds.
Next up we stopped the Kings Project a huge area with lots of workers on the project, a visitors centre, gardens and a few areas where some tricky birds have been found in the past. Today there were loads of Mrs Gould’s Sunbirds, a Black-throated Sunbird, Short-billed and Scarlet Minivets, Common Rosefinch a Slaty-backed Flycatcher and a Grey Treepie but no sign of Thrushes or Babblers which had been seen by others; still we did enjoy a coffee here and added a Blue-throated Barbet.
Last stops before lunch were the army camp at the border, almost a tourist attraction with a small market outside and the forest just below. In the camp we saw Daurian Redstart, Burmese Shrike, Slender-billed Oriole, Black-crested Bulbul, Black Bulbul and Grey Bushchat before finally nailing a Davison’s Leaf Warbler. Nick knew a spot for Rock Thrush just before our chosen restaurant and sure enough we soon had a pair of beautiful Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush as well as Yellow-cheeked Tit, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Hill Prinia.
Over lunch we said we were pleased with our morning even if Nick thought we had left a few birds out there because of the weather.
First stop after lunch was down a very narrow steep trail where we manged to call in but didn’t get a decent photo of the Chestnut-headed Tesia, in the same area we also added Yellow-streaked warbler and Dark-backed Sibia. We then revisited most of the spots from this morning and quickly added Yunnan Fulvetta and Blue-winged Minla in a mixed flock with a few unidentifiable Leaf warblers.
Next we headed to the area known as the Chinese cemetery. Here we had a huge flock of bulbuls with Black Bulbul, Ashy Bulbul, Flavescent Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul and White-headed Bulbul all showing pretty well. Just up from here we could hear a Great Barbet and eventually got great flight views from a couple of fly overs but managed only a distant record shot of a perched bird.
We finished with a nice mixed flock with lots of birds we had seen earlier but with 3 Fire-capped Tits, not particularly spectacular but a pretty rare bird in the area we were told.
Day 3
We headed up Doi Lang West as weather looked pretty good from Fang. However, it was not particularly great up-top with lots of pockets of cloud, but in the sunny patches in between we did pretty well. First up we checked with the people putting out worms for the Pheasant stake-out (still no sign although Nick did hear a male bird later) but we did soon see Giant Nuthtach, Grey-crowned Warbler was new and better views of Dark-backed Sibia was nice, some photographers were trying to attract Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babblers to a log in the forest but the birds were calling from behind them, sods law for them as soon as they left to get some breakfast 3 Red-eyed Scimitar Babblers put in an appearance. Nick hurried us along as he heard a target bird up the hill, we arrived along with a local birder to see a Spot-breasted Parrotbill fly across the road, with a little playback the bird came back to the roadside and I managed a record shot before it moved into the thicket. Interestingly a Canadian group with a local guide then appeared but they wouldn’t let their guide use playback (they didn’t get that bird and missed quite a few other target birds the guide reported to us when we saw her a week or so later).
We went to the road end point where the Army guy checked papers and took a note of the registration of the van before we were allowed to leave the van (very unusual said Nick). We had a nice flock of Silver-eared Mesia but the only close birds were right by the soldiers and I thought it best not to point the camera at the young very keen guard. So only a distant record shot but there then came a good mixed flock with Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Black-crested Bulbul, Asian Great Tit, around a dozen Black-throated Tits, Plain Flowerpecker and Yellow-browed Warbler, we then drove back to the main area where the Cutia had been seen, no sign at the moment just lots of people at the top of a hill watching a fruiting tree and waiting, some more patiently than others. We decided to go look for some other target birds and quickly added Hume’s Treecreeper, we also saw Rufous-bellied Niltava and Maroon Oriole. Nick decided to go move the van further down the hill while we scanned the area, Sarah then spotted 2 Golden-throated Barbet on a fruiting tree and these were joined by another flock of Bushtits and a group of Fulvetta and Warblers. We were joined at this point by three other UK birders and managed to sort out and photograph Marten’s Warbler and on Nick’s arrival the rare White-spectacled Warbler (only 1 or 2 each year in Thailand). We were having a pretty successful morning despite conditions and it got better as a Thai guy came running down to let his group and us know that some Cutia had shown up. There weren’t on the tree everyone was watching but roosting in a small fruiting tree nearer the road. The birds were huddled together and not wholly visible but we were able to get scope views and then work our way around to get closer near unobscured views, no one wanted to scare off the birds and in the end I think all but one of the 20 birders (an older guy not prepared to climb the track and then move off the path to see the birds) saw one of the key targets for Doi Lang West Himalayan Cutia very well.
One of the guides did manage to get a scope view from the track but the birds moved before he got on it. It was at this point Nick mentioned that he and the Thai guide had heard the Mrs Hume Pheasant deep in the forest, but he thought we had zero chance getting through the very wet area and finding the bird – we would go back to the van for lunch and decide what do to with the afternoon having nailed all the main targets.
In the end we decided to go to Mae Ai Ricefields. This area on the way back to Fang gave us some new trip birds and the chance of some rarities. On arrival Nick noted there had been severe flooding, so some areas were not easily accessible and other were just raked mud. Still thing started promisingly with a few Yellow-breasted Buntings, Citrine Wagtail, Amur Stonechat, Swinhoe’s Snipe, Pacific golden Plover and Hoopoe. Then we had a few Pied Harriers and a Peregrine Falcon. We did try for Jerdon’s Bushchat but saw only Grey Bushchat and Oriental Skylark in this area.
Thai Birding trip Nov 19th – Dec 10th 2024
Background
We have been to Thailand before but had only birded areas around Bangkok and while we have been to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Burma we hadn’t done full on birding, just days at various sites so there were plenty of life birds to target.
The timing wasn’t ideal, Jan/Feb would be better but with trips booked for next year, this was the best we could do, so we asked Nick Upton from Thaibirding.com to arrange the best possible trip for North and Central Thailand for late November to mid-December.
After some toing and froing with plans to avoid going to national parks at week-end or bank holidays, we arrived at an itinerary that saw us arrive in Chiang Mai on 20th November. Nick would guide us in the North of the country, picking us up and dropping us off in Chiang Mai. He would then take a large Spanish group out in the North a few days later, so that worked well for us all.
We would then fly to Bangkok staying, in Bangkok overnight and then take a cab to Khok Kham early the next morning; where we would meet up Games who is the co-owner of Baan Maka Nature Lodge. She would guide us in Kaeng Krachan, around Petchabari and the coast.
The final itinerary was
Fly Heathrow to Bangkok 19th November – onward flight to Chiang Mai early 20/11
Meet Nick at Hotel 6am on 21st Nov – birding Mae Taeng Irrigation Area and then on to our hotel in Fang (4 nights) afternoon birding at Doi Lang West
22nd Nov – Doi Ang Kang
23rd Nov – Doi Lang West
24th Nov – Doi Ang Kang and Rice fields Mai Ai
25th Nov – Fang Hot Springs then drive to accommodation at Doi Inthanon (Touch Star Resort),
birding late afternoon near accommodation
26th Nov – Doi Inthanon
27th Nov – Doi Inthanon
28th Nov – Doi Inthanon am – Lamphun rice fields pm
29th Nov – Mae Ping
30th Nov – Mae Ping – fly to Bangkok PM (leave Nick at Chiang Mai airport)
1st Dec taxi from Don Muang airport hotel to Khok Kham (Meet Games 6.30am) – PM Kaeng Krachan
2nd Dec – Kaeng Krachan
3rd Dec – Kaeng Krachan
4th Dec – Kaeng Krachan - Petchaburi
5th Dec – Pak Thale/Laem Pak Bia
6th Dec – Petchaburi Rice Fields – Hua Hin
7th – 10th no real birding but we did pick up an Indian Nightjar in the trees near the rooftop bar in the hotel.
Day 1 - birding Mae Taeng Irrigation Area and then onto Fang / Doi Lang
After a slight confusion, there was another bird guide waiting at reception when we checked out at 5.50, we met up with Nick a few minutes later. Loaded the van quickly (loads of space as Nick had the large Toyota van for his next tour as well). Agreed that we would get to the first birding spot and have a bit of breakfast on the go. The spot was Mae Taeng Irrigation area, Nick hadn’t been here this season so we didn’t have a set target list but we soon added some great birds. With Wryneck, Siberian Rubythroat, Lineated Barbet and Wire-tailed Swallow all seen before our first lifer a Chestnut-capped Babbler but I managed to get a record shot off but probably my best ever Rubythroat views. Black-collared Starling, Dusky warbler, Oriental Magpie Robin and Paddyfield Pipit were easily seen but only I saw a Small Pratincole before it flew off from the waters edge as the others were watching a Lesser Coucal and Long-tailed Shrike. We tried to get down to the gravel near the water edge but some building work was ongoing and we couldn’t get close, so we didn’t see the expected Pratincol here, adding only Green, Common and Wood Sandpiper and Swinhoe’s Snipe.
After breakfast we had a couple of hours drive to Fang our base for the next few days. We stayed in the Tangerine Hotel, (I was unaware how big a Tangerine producer Thailand is, a huge area is farmed in the NW), we had an early lunch and checked in to the hotel before heading up to Doi Lang West for some much looked forward to birding at 2pm.
We stopped at a spot Nick described as the Mrs Hume Pheasant feeding area, the bird had not yet started to come to worms as the soil in the area was still very damp with lots of natural food still available and photographers had only just started laying out worms every day to try to attract them. We had low expectation for the Pheasant unless we were lucky and saw one cross the various roads. As we were about to get out the van I shouted Giant Nuthatch, the bird played hide and seek for a few minutes before Sarah got good views and I managed to photograph it, our attention was being drawn to Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch and Pied Bushchat which flitted around in the same trees. A good start – further up the road Nick heard a mixed flock and we had Orange-bellied Leafbird, Dark-backed Sibia, Asian Great Tit and the common but difficult to see well Blue-winged Minla. This was proving to be a good spot and we also saw Spectacled Barwing, Rufous-bellied Niltava and Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher in the area. There were quite a few photographers here waiting for Cutia but despite some people waiting 5 hours at a fruiting tree, they hadn’t showed. Nick reckoned he could hear the birds a little distantly and so we went after a calling Collared Owlet which he managed to whistle into a tree and which we and some other birders got to see being mobbed by Humes and Chinese Leaf Warbler, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Streaked Spiderhunter and Mrs Gould’s Sunbird. That was nearly it for the afternoon as we heard and didn’t see the Cutia (4 seen by another group of UK birders) but we did add Sapphire Flycatcher and another Giant Nuthtach and then in bamboo lower down an Aberrant Bush warbler.
A pretty good first day – finished off with good food and inexpensive Chang beers.
Day 2
Nick had warned us that up the mountain birding was pretty dependent on weather as birds only seemed to show well when there was some sunshine/warmth and then in shade later as the day heated up. The weather wasn’t promising as we headed up Doi Ang Krang, with lots of mist and low cloud, we were aiming to find some areas where the sun was breaking through the cloud and making the forest edges productive for birds and insects. Hover today even after 9am it was still misty and even when we found a clearish spot not a lot of activity. So we had a slight change of plan, heading to a roadside village that used to contain a B and B that Nick used, followed by the Kings Project (open gardens and forest edge and then the area around the army camp on the Burmese border.
At the village we had a group of White-browed Laughing Thrush, then Mountain Bulbul, Ashy Bulbul a nice Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Green-billed Malkoha, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon and three Crested Finchbill, so even if birding wasn’t superfast we were seeing some quality birds.
Next up we stopped the Kings Project a huge area with lots of workers on the project, a visitors centre, gardens and a few areas where some tricky birds have been found in the past. Today there were loads of Mrs Gould’s Sunbirds, a Black-throated Sunbird, Short-billed and Scarlet Minivets, Common Rosefinch a Slaty-backed Flycatcher and a Grey Treepie but no sign of Thrushes or Babblers which had been seen by others; still we did enjoy a coffee here and added a Blue-throated Barbet.
Last stops before lunch were the army camp at the border, almost a tourist attraction with a small market outside and the forest just below. In the camp we saw Daurian Redstart, Burmese Shrike, Slender-billed Oriole, Black-crested Bulbul, Black Bulbul and Grey Bushchat before finally nailing a Davison’s Leaf Warbler. Nick knew a spot for Rock Thrush just before our chosen restaurant and sure enough we soon had a pair of beautiful Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush as well as Yellow-cheeked Tit, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Hill Prinia.
Over lunch we said we were pleased with our morning even if Nick thought we had left a few birds out there because of the weather.
First stop after lunch was down a very narrow steep trail where we manged to call in but didn’t get a decent photo of the Chestnut-headed Tesia, in the same area we also added Yellow-streaked warbler and Dark-backed Sibia. We then revisited most of the spots from this morning and quickly added Yunnan Fulvetta and Blue-winged Minla in a mixed flock with a few unidentifiable Leaf warblers.
Next we headed to the area known as the Chinese cemetery. Here we had a huge flock of bulbuls with Black Bulbul, Ashy Bulbul, Flavescent Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul and White-headed Bulbul all showing pretty well. Just up from here we could hear a Great Barbet and eventually got great flight views from a couple of fly overs but managed only a distant record shot of a perched bird.
We finished with a nice mixed flock with lots of birds we had seen earlier but with 3 Fire-capped Tits, not particularly spectacular but a pretty rare bird in the area we were told.
Day 3
We headed up Doi Lang West as weather looked pretty good from Fang. However, it was not particularly great up-top with lots of pockets of cloud, but in the sunny patches in between we did pretty well. First up we checked with the people putting out worms for the Pheasant stake-out (still no sign although Nick did hear a male bird later) but we did soon see Giant Nuthtach, Grey-crowned Warbler was new and better views of Dark-backed Sibia was nice, some photographers were trying to attract Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babblers to a log in the forest but the birds were calling from behind them, sods law for them as soon as they left to get some breakfast 3 Red-eyed Scimitar Babblers put in an appearance. Nick hurried us along as he heard a target bird up the hill, we arrived along with a local birder to see a Spot-breasted Parrotbill fly across the road, with a little playback the bird came back to the roadside and I managed a record shot before it moved into the thicket. Interestingly a Canadian group with a local guide then appeared but they wouldn’t let their guide use playback (they didn’t get that bird and missed quite a few other target birds the guide reported to us when we saw her a week or so later).
We went to the road end point where the Army guy checked papers and took a note of the registration of the van before we were allowed to leave the van (very unusual said Nick). We had a nice flock of Silver-eared Mesia but the only close birds were right by the soldiers and I thought it best not to point the camera at the young very keen guard. So only a distant record shot but there then came a good mixed flock with Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Black-crested Bulbul, Asian Great Tit, around a dozen Black-throated Tits, Plain Flowerpecker and Yellow-browed Warbler, we then drove back to the main area where the Cutia had been seen, no sign at the moment just lots of people at the top of a hill watching a fruiting tree and waiting, some more patiently than others. We decided to go look for some other target birds and quickly added Hume’s Treecreeper, we also saw Rufous-bellied Niltava and Maroon Oriole. Nick decided to go move the van further down the hill while we scanned the area, Sarah then spotted 2 Golden-throated Barbet on a fruiting tree and these were joined by another flock of Bushtits and a group of Fulvetta and Warblers. We were joined at this point by three other UK birders and managed to sort out and photograph Marten’s Warbler and on Nick’s arrival the rare White-spectacled Warbler (only 1 or 2 each year in Thailand). We were having a pretty successful morning despite conditions and it got better as a Thai guy came running down to let his group and us know that some Cutia had shown up. There weren’t on the tree everyone was watching but roosting in a small fruiting tree nearer the road. The birds were huddled together and not wholly visible but we were able to get scope views and then work our way around to get closer near unobscured views, no one wanted to scare off the birds and in the end I think all but one of the 20 birders (an older guy not prepared to climb the track and then move off the path to see the birds) saw one of the key targets for Doi Lang West Himalayan Cutia very well.
One of the guides did manage to get a scope view from the track but the birds moved before he got on it. It was at this point Nick mentioned that he and the Thai guide had heard the Mrs Hume Pheasant deep in the forest, but he thought we had zero chance getting through the very wet area and finding the bird – we would go back to the van for lunch and decide what do to with the afternoon having nailed all the main targets.
In the end we decided to go to Mae Ai Ricefields. This area on the way back to Fang gave us some new trip birds and the chance of some rarities. On arrival Nick noted there had been severe flooding, so some areas were not easily accessible and other were just raked mud. Still thing started promisingly with a few Yellow-breasted Buntings, Citrine Wagtail, Amur Stonechat, Swinhoe’s Snipe, Pacific golden Plover and Hoopoe. Then we had a few Pied Harriers and a Peregrine Falcon. We did try for Jerdon’s Bushchat but saw only Grey Bushchat and Oriental Skylark in this area.