Northern Thailand 18-21st of May, 2023
Peter Ericsson and Timothy Gotsick
Sunday 14th of May.
Many birders do dedicated trips to foreign fields in search of new
birds and thrills. To Thailand most such tours happen during Nov-March
period.
Other people are blessed with work to foreign countries and are then able to do a little birding besides work.
Timothy Gotsick had a business trip to Thailand and contacted me for
some birding. We had a day in the field a few years back and that
resulted in some good birds.
I picked up Tim at 6:30 (he arrived at his hotel after midnight
coming in from the US). And we basically thought it would be best to get
acquainted with some park birds for starters so as to not have to
travel too far.
It took less then 10 minutes and there we were at Benjakitti Park in
the middle of Bangkok. Migration is over so only resident birds about.
Near the parking spot I know a reliable place for Spotted Owlets. These
cute little inquisitive birds are quick to respond and so the first
target bird was seen almost immediately . Then an Asian Barred Owlet
started singing. This rascal is often very hard to see in this park. And
inspite of us trying for half an hour we couldn’t get our eyes on it.
Ha! So we moved on and saw things like Black-collared Starlings,
Indochinese Roller, Great Myna, Large-billed Crow, Magpie Robin,
Streak-eared Bulbuls, Pied Fantail, Brown-throated Sunbird,
Scaly-breasted Munias etc.
In the new section of the park a Black Bittern decided to fly around the wetlands. Great views of this rather shy bird.
So back for another try with the owl. This time we manage to find it and even got some pictures.
We then changed to Rot Fai park which was very slow but did yield a Stork-billed Kingfisher.
Then I recalled that someone had posted a sighting at a small area
of secondary growth across the river so I called the man that runs the
permanent hide set up there. He said he was upcountry but we were
welcome to visit on our own.
So, this incredible little spot (about 10m wide and 100m long) in
the middle of a congested city once again produced the magic. Not only
did we see a Blue-winged Pitta in full view but ALSO a Hooded Pitta!
Since when do two species of pittas show together? Both these species
are passage migrants arriving in Thailand to breed during the wet
season. Most visiting birds do not see them as the birds are absent
during winter (dry season).
It had been a great day!
Thursday the 18th.
Tim was done with his work and we flew up to Chiang Mai where we
arrived midday. Today was not an official birding day but we went
straight to Doi Suthep and Doi Pui looking for birds, butterflies and
odonatas.
Evening in a modern hotel with views of the mountain as well as authentic Northern food in a stylish restaurant nearby.
Friday 19th.
An easy drive to Doi Inthanon where we drove straight to the top.
The temperature was surprisingly low at 12C. And NO tourists! That meant
we had the bog to ourselves. The bog is a swamp with a walkway where
wild rhododendrons blossom, birds sing and light nestles its way through
the leaves and moss laden tree branches revealing the stunning birds
found in this unique environment at 2565m above sea level.
Again, no migratory birds around but enough to keep us busy.
Ashy-throated, Blyth’s and Davision’s Leaf Warblers are resident here
and all showed very well. Mrs Green Sunbirds were abundant, The ever so
cute Bar-throated Minlas were roaming around in their usual fashion.
Himalayan Shortwings were singing and showing themselves with ease.
Mountain Tailorbird always a delight.
Black-backed Sibias add to the feel of Himalayan birdlife as did
Rufous-winged Fulvettas. Pygmy Cupwings were singing but oh so hard to
see. Ha! This tiny little ball can be a challenge and yet at other times
so easy. We did see it though briefly.
A short drive down from the top and we had our lunch with barbecued meats, papaya salad, sticky rice and noodle soup.
After lunch a longer drive to a waterfall area for different birds did yield a few things but not much.
Everywhere we went below 2000m the forest was extremely loud with
very noisy cidadas. I have never experienced such incredible abundance
and loud insects as these. Even the jeep track was so loud I couldn’t
even hear my own playback. Ha!
We picked up some avocadoes and various nuts at the local market run
by hilltribe people that work the plantations on the mountain.
Dinner at headquarter and then we settled in very cozy and
comfortable bungalows where cold beer and views of the forest was right
in front of us. The owner greeted us with homemade yoghurt and berries. A
very tasty snack!
The dark of the night fell to the sounds of Mountain Scops Owl, Collared Scops Owl and Asian Barred Owlets.
Saturday 20th.
This morning we went strait for the track at km 34.5. Normally quite
a birdy area. But the cicadas were deafening in here and we honestly
could not hear a single bird. We kept going anyhow and did add some
things: Hume’s Treecreeper, Gold-throated and Blue-throated Barbets, a
pair of Speckled Piculets, Grey-chinned Minivets, Yellow-cheeked Tit,
Yunnan Fulvettas, Mountain Bulbuls and Mountain Imperial Pigeon.
Clearly there was no place where the cicadas were not noisy except at the top so back up we went. Ha!
It proved to be a good choice as this time we added good views of
Snowy-browed Flycatchers, Eyebrowed Tit (so cute) and Rufous-throated
Partridges.
Last hour was spent around our resort where we saw Silver-eared
Mesias, Hill and Grey-breasted Prinias, Pied Bushchat, Wire-tailed
Swallows, Striated Swallows, Orange-bellied Leafbirds, Black-throated
Sunbird and more.
Sunday 21st.
Something different. Just passed the local fresh market there is a
road going left. This leads to a sparsely populated area interspersed
with various plantations as well as a couple of royal projects.
Tim really wanted to see a Forktail and had spent an hour the night
before and then half an hour at dawn without seeing one. As we turned
into the road going left there was a stream next to the road.
After about 500m a little pull over. As I stopped the car and looked
to the left a splendid pair of White-crowned Forktails were not more
then 10m from us. Ha! One of those little magical moments!
We continued up the mountain to the royal area. But hardly a single
bird around. Not sure why to be honest except those darn cicadas were
noisy as anything. So we decided to explore further along this small
winding road. It turned out to be a fun experience as we did get to see
some new birds: Striated Bulbul, Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrikes,
Rufous-fronted Babblers, Velvet-fronted Nuthatches and Fire-breasted
Flowerpecker to name a few.
Another visit to km 34.5 in the hope of adding something. Well, we
did! A pair of White-gorgetted Flycatchers performed very well! And we
got on to Maroon Oriole!
Another phenomena during our stay was to see snowflakes falling and
flying around over the forest. Well, it turned out to be a species of
planthoppers called White Moth Bugs. There were so many.
The drive to Chiang Mai went well, we visited some fields and parted at the airport.
In spite of it being a slower time of year birding wise we had many good ones and Timothy with pleasing results.
https://ebird.org/tripreport/132949
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Blue-winged Pitta
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Hooded Pitta
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Asian Barred Owlet
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Spotted Owlet
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Himalayan Shortwing
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Green-tailed Sunbird
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Rufous-fronted Babbler
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Silver-eared Laughingthrush
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Ashy-throated Warbler
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Zygonyx iris ssp. malayanus |
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Calicnemia erythromelas |
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Timothy Gotsick
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Common Cruiser
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