B2A Northern Thailand 2011 7 - 14 November Participants; Tijs van den Berg and Lyle Babberl  Doi Inthanon, Doi Lang, Chiang Saen area, Doi Pha Hom Pok, Doi Ang Khan, Chiang Dao, Huay Hong Krai, Huay Tung Tao     & Central Thailand extensions 4 – 6 + 15 - 19 Nov. Participants; Jans en Trudi Sikkens, Tijs van den Berg and Lyle Babberl  Khao Yai NP, Khok Kam, Pak Thale, Laem Pak Bia, Khao Look Chang, Kaeng Krachan NP, Bahn Songnok hide, Muang Boran fishponds.    Part 1; The North

I may have written this in other trip reports. B2A does like a good start to a trip. But what if the first bird seen turns out to be the best one? Regard anything else a bonus? That would be hard with sightings of Red Avadavat, Spot-breasted Parrotbill, Spectacled Barwing, Jerdon’s Bushchat, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler, White-gorgeted Flycatcher, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Slaty-bellied Tesia, Silver-eared Mesia, White-browed Shortwing, White-headed Bulbul, Rosy Pipit, Speckled Piculet, Eurasian Wryneck (Tijs), Grey-headed Parakeet, Collared Falconet, male Pied Harrier, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Great Barbet, Grey-headed Lapwing, Black-tailed Crake…

White-rumped Falcon male and female, km 13 dipterocarp forest on Doi Inthanon

But before all of those mentioned above we saw this pair of White-rumped Falcons on our first walk of the trip at Doi Inthanon. The birding on the walk in the dry dipterocarp forest at km 13 started rather slow and we had a glimpse of 3 Black-headed Woodpeckers before our first good sighting turned up. The White-rumped Falcon. This bird may be a regular target on specialized trips to Cambodia, however it remains rare and hard to find, and it was real good to find these birds again in Thailand and pick them along again on a regular visit to this spot on DI after my first sighting about 15 years ago. Never after that on all the many (brief) visits did it produce any sightings. They had been reported gone from the site for a while…, although in recent years they seem to have turned up for birders to enjoy a couple times a year. Still, if you know how many birdwatchers visit DI and km 13 yearly…

Chestnut-tailed Minla [Bar-throated Minla], DI                        Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler, Doi Lang

Anyway(1), this was the first visit to Thailand for both Tijs and Lyle and I believe all the birds were enjoyed immensely. We found Collared Falconet shortly after the White-rumped Falcons, then on the track at km 34 a Red-headed Trogon, Silver-eared Mesias, 4 Black Bazas on migration still and a first good mixed species feeding flock were the highlights. The summit area on Doi Inthanon is not to be missed and we did well picking up the regular goodies of this spot; White-browed Shortwing, Pygmy Wren Babbler, Chestnut-tailed Minla, Green-tailed and Ms Gould’s Sunbirds, Silver-eared Laughingthrush, many Ashy-throated Warblers… Flowering trees, -next to our table complete with hot chocolate and cappuccino- allowed for some close-up picture taking of the Sunbirds, Dark-backed Sibia and Chestnut-tailed Minla.

Dark-backed Sibia, Doi Ang Khan                                   Black-tailed Crake, Doi Inthanon

Later on our way birding down the mountain we picked up some surprisingly good midday activity. Plain Flowerpecker, Spectacled Barwing, Golden-throated Barbet, Stripe-breasted Woodpecker, Black-eared Shrike-Babbler, Blue-winged Minla… and a fly-by  Grey-headed Parakeet at km 37 indeed was a good bonus....................... (after the Falcons hehe)

Other spots visited on DI included Sribiphum waterfall with Slaty-backed Forktail, the campground marsh with Black-tailed Crake and we picked up some good bird activity on the road to Khun Wang where also a couple Streaked Spiderhunters showed so well.

Doi Ang Khan                                                                 Doi Lang

If I’m to list all the highlights in this report…well, myself, I won’t easily visit the north without having lunch at my favourite spot in Chiang Mai. It’s good not to talk just birds but the whole experience of a visit to Thailand and en-route from Doi Inthanon to Thaton the ‘food factor’ comes in. Please ask me any location or stake-out of birds, you’re most welcome. The food in Chiang Mai however must remain a business secret! Cheers! Additionally they had the ‘Loy Kratong’ festival going on everywhere and although we didn’t spent any time on it, this resulted in nice sights as we drove past incl. some impressive floats on the moat around the old city. The scenery in the mountains of the north is not to be missed and especially in November when the air is still crisp so shortly after the rainy season one is able to enjoy incredibly clear views. Forested ridge after ridge, fine valley views and good looks into Burma…!!! On a few occasions, we did spent a few seconds to photograph a temple but once we enjoyed such building for a couple hours, complete with “please take off your shoes” indeed. ‘The count from Chiang Dao canopy tower!!’ Although this time may be regarded as a more regular visit with ‘some’ nice birds seen…-talk ‘seen’-, it was the first time ever I did see those Oriental Pied Hornbills heard on previous occasions. And any Hornbill seen in Thailand north of Chiang Mai must be good!

The localized Brown-breasted Bulbul, Doi ang Khan   A male Common Archduke (Lexias pardalis jadeitina), CM

Anyway(2), we continue from Thaton where we left the garden resort after an early breakfast for a full day up in the forests on Doi Lang. I remember the guests had been told such day may be good for in between 70 – 80 species but we ended up with 97! Pretty good for birding just on the mountain. If only the last hour of daylight would be spend in the lowlands near Thaton this must be a day that would never fail to produce over a 100 species in a day. Need quality rather than numbers? Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Rufous-throated Partridge, Pin-tailed Pigeon, Himalayan Cuckoo perched, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Stripe-breasted Woodpecker, Lesser Yellownape, Rosy Pipit, White-headed Bulbul, Buff-throated Warbler, White-gorgeted Flycatcher, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler, Black-eared Shrike-Babbler, Fire-tailed Sunbird and Black-headed Greenfinch.

Yellow-cheeked Tit, Doi Inthanon                              Blue-throated Barbet, Doi Pha Hom Pok

The next day, in contrast, was spent entirely in the lowlands. The scenic surroundings of Chiang Saen lake and the Mekong river were explored and we ended the day with the rare Jerdon’s Bushchat at the stake-out near Thaton. Ninety-three species. Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Burmese Shrike, male Pied Harrier, Small Pratincole, Red Avadavat, Chestnut-tailed Starling, Purple Sunbird, Pheasant-tailed and Bronze-winged Jacanas, Citrine Wagtails, Grey-headed Lapwing…

View of the temples and forest on the higher parts of Doi Inthanon.

I thought it would be interesting to do a count of the combined days Doi Lang and Chiang Saen. So I just gave the checklist to my wife to count and she’s came back now with 179. Seen in 2 normal days of birding. No rush or trying day records. How about those trip reports from Thailand were people have equally visited a variety of habitats and seem to have managed this number of species in 5 days…a week…

View on the Doi Lang mountain range from the Jerdon's Bushchat stake-out and the high ridge on Doi Lang.

Anyway(3), the journey went on and new areas awaited. Doi Pha Hom Pok national park next. The road up the mountain appeared to have deteriorated a lot and it was tricky business getting up with the car. It prevented us from getting quick to the trail up on the higher parts so instead we managed some good birding in the excellent mid-altitude forest. After the higher altitude Doi Lang and lowland Chiang Saen this must be the ultimate variation in just 3 days… 86 seen on the third day and a combined total of 207 species seen in just 3 days!

Mountain Hawk Eagle, Doi Lang                                   Olive-backed Pipit, Doi Ang Khan

A morning at Doi Ang Khan combined with an afternoon visit to the temple area in Chiang Dao is yet another recipe for success. (102 species for the day) On Doi Ang Khan a Daurian Redstart at the King’s Project was nice but birding along the ridge from the trekking route trail was the highlight as it produced 5 good species not otherwise seen during the entire trip. Spot-breasted Parrotbill at exactly the same spot we recorded it 2 years ago, there was a male Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush around and a single Spot-winged Grosbeak showed briefly. Further on, in a mixed flock we found both Striated Yuhina and Chestnut-vented Nuthatch.

Sooty-headed Bulbul                        White-headed Bulbul                                Yellow Bittern

Anyway(4), let us leave the numbers behind now and get the highlights of the last day in the north sorted. First went for a quick twitch and found 3 male Green Peafowls. Then onto Huay Tung Tao near Chiang Mai. Always good. Superb males Red Avadavat, Wire-tailed Swallow, Chestnut-capped Babbler, Rufous Treepie, White-crested Laughingthrush, White-rumped Shama, Indochinese Bushlark, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher and a Black-backed Forktail was flushed from a stream on our little walk up into the adjacent forest. Time for a late lunch in Chiang Mai… then it went on to the airport for a short flight back to Bangkok, which got the guests ready for the start of our extension trip in central Thailand.

Yellow-bellied FanMail, Chiang Mai airport                        Yellow-bellied FanTail, Doi Inthanon

Part 2 ; Central Thailand extension

Petchaburi Province

After birding in Northern Thailand a fresh start in central Thailand… Spoon-billed Sandpiper first off! Anything else a bonus then? Milky Stork, Black-headed Ibis, Nordmann’s Greenshanks, Malayan Night Heron, Red-legged Crake, Rusty-cheeked Hornbill, Black-headed and Bamboo Woodpecker, White-browed Piculet, Ratchet-tailed Treepie…

Red-legged Crake                                            Kaeng Krachan                                 Grey-headed Woodpecker

15th ; Central Thailand incl. areas near Bangkok had seen the worst flooding for decades this autumn and thankfully so the road out of Bangkok we needed wasn’t flooded in spite of daily warnings. Actually, my worries proved unfounded on the way back as well as the road never got inundated. We made it to Pak Thale for the famous Spoon-billed Sandpipers. It didn’t take long before all eyes were on 3 birds feeding in a salt pan. Such great little birds!    Shortly after that we spent time with a flock of beautifully ornate Painted Storks. With them there were 2 Milky Storks which are very rare birds for Thailand and globally threatened. Then soon after, 4 Black-headed Ibises, classified as ‘Near Threatened’ by Birdlife, added to our list of larger water birds.    A boat trip to the sand spit gave us 20 Malaysian Plovers but no White-faced. I find the WFP hard to find during high tide out on the spit in the early months of the season. Once in Feb/Mar the bird seem to have established itself on the spit and is more predictable.    This was a very birdy day which ended with great views of Indian Nightjar at the King’s Project, Laem Pak Bia.

White-browed Piculet                                                              Emerald Dove

16th; Next morning we went to watch the many thousands of birds on the move in the early morning hours. Huge amounts of White-vented Mynas and Black Drongos roost in the mangroves.    After having seen 17 Nordmann’s Greenshanks in good light we went for a 2nd look at the Spoon-billed Sandpipers.    The afternoon we opted to spend at Bahn Songnok, near KaengKrachanNational Park. Here the owner, Ba Aek, has a permanent hide available for a fee. Over 20 species came to drink and bathe during our time here and cracking views were seen of 3 Siberian Blue Robins, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Red-legged Crake and many more.

Rusty-cheeked Hornbills                    Dark-sided Flycatcher                           Flavescent Bulbul

17th; Since Kalij Pheasent and Scaly-breasted Partridges hadn’t been coming to the hide for some time we opted to do some roadside birding on lower grounds inside Kaeng Krachan. The whole day was spent listening, viewing and appreciating the many natural wonders of this place full of birds, butterflies, mammals…    Highlights for today included 20 Rusty-cheeked Hornbills, 6 Wreathed Hornbills, 2 Great Hornbills, Orange-breasted Trogon, Blue-bearded Bee-eater and a stunning male Malay Night Heron on the road in the early morning.   18th; All day was spent on higher ground in Kaeng Krachan NP between km 27.5 – 36. The scenery up here is simply ‘out of this world’ in the early morning. On a clear day the ‘sea of clouds’ filling and covering the mountains valleys while White-handed Gibbons sing aloud is something that simply has to be experienced.    The avifauna changes a bit up here and some of our most enjoyed birds were: White-browed Piculet, White-browed Shrike-Babbler and Ratchet-tailed Treepie.

Common Kingfisher                                           White-browed Scimitar-Babbler

19th; The morning was spent at Khao Look Chang, a dry deciduous dipterocarp forest that must be a remnant of former glory as there is no such forest anywhere near. Main target was Black-headed Woodpeckers. We did see 3 of them though it took us quite some time. The forest here has an open understory and the trees are rather short, some of them having ‘cork like’ bark. It is a beautiful forest that sometimes yield some unusual birds. Purple Sunbird, Red-breasted Parakeet and Rufous Treepie being the better ones.    On our way to Bangkok we dropped by Khok Kham for some more wader watching. It was high tide and we managed to get close to the birds for good views. A single Terek Sandpiper was a thrilling lifer for both Tijs and Lyle.    Our last stop was Muang Boran Fish Ponds in Samut Prakan. A very birdy area that gave us White-browed Crake and Striated Grassbird.    Birding in Thailand can be very rewarding in November. However, it is not only about finding the rare and most special birds as Tijs and Lyle simply enjoyed whatever came their way throughout. An enjoyable trip it was.

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