I've mentioned highlights of my trips to Doi Inthanon in the North, and Krabi Province in the South, but I thought as proper detailed report might be of use to birders visiting these areas.
As I had two weeks off work for the Easter Holidays, I took the chance to do some birding further from the Bangkok area. April is arguably the best time to go birding in Thailand, it is towards the end of the dry season, so rain is still a distant possibility for ruining a days birding, and many birds are still finding mates, and are at there most visible and vocal. Lifers in the report are highlighted
Doi Inthanon
Getting here was a fairly simple afair. I decided to fly up to Chiang Mai from Bangkok's Survarnabhumi ai.rport with Thai Airways. I cannot remember the exact cost, but 2 return flights to Chiang Mai and Krabi, booked 1 month in advance cost a little over 11,000 Thai Baht (~₤220 or $340). This was by far the most expensive part of the trip, but well worth it, as it gave me more time for birding.
From Chiang Mai I got the local bus to the town of Chom Thong and from there, a Songtaew up to the National Park's HQ. Here I hired camping equipment which did not cost very much (again I forget the actual cost).
Overview
As mentioned earlier I was lucky with the weather, all days were sunny with patchy cloud. The summit was cool even at midday, and positively chilly at dawn. Further down the mountain it was much hotter. Insects were an annoyance, easily removed by the liberal application of repellent. I did manage to pick up ticks however in areas with livestock so beware in these areas! Camping was uncomfortable to say the least. Being close to the Hmong Village meant that is was noisy with vehicles and dogs and Cockerels which carried on barking/crowing right through the night. However it was much cheaper than staying in the bungalows! Travelling between sites was achieved by Hitch-hiking mostly. Birding was very good, rarely did I go for long stretches without anything.
5th April
I arrived mid afternoon, and didn't get that much time for birding. However I did get Great Tit whilst setting up the tent. I decided to stroll up the road to Mr. Daeng's birding centre. Red-whiskered Bulbul and Blue Whistling-thrush became the first lifers of the trip. In the field's behind Mr. Daeng's centre I managed to get Dollarbird, Pied Bushchat, Hill Prinia, Olive-backed Pipit, Hair-crested (Spangled) Drongos, Black-throated Sunbird and Oriental White-eye. From the HQ Resturant Barn Swallows, House Swifts, Striated Swallows and Asian Martins hawked overhead, and a Taiga Flycatcher flitted in the trees across the road. Back in the tent, a Mountain Scops-owl joined the chorus from the Hill Tribe, village, however I never saw it at all on the trip.
6th April
I had been lucky enough to bump into a couple of Thai birders at the restaurant the night before, and they had a car! Which meant I didn't need to walk/hitch-hike between sites. We set off early and headed up the mountain, briefly stopping at Checkpoint 2 where we waited for a truck to take us to the summit. Here I got lifers in the form of a Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush foraging around the buildings, a flock of Grey-cheeked Fulvettas, 1 Mountain Bulbul and 1 Dark-backed Sibia. At the summit, it was rather chilly, but luckily free from mist! The boardwalk areas provided me with most of the summit specialities which were all very obliging. White-browed Shortwing were abundant, as were Green-tailed Sunbird, Rufous-wnged Fulvetta, Chestnut-tailed Minla, Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Blyth's, White-tailed and Ashy-throated Leaf Warblers, Dark-backed Sibia and Flavescent Bulbul. A Male Snowy-browed Flycatcher and a Yellow-bellied Fantails were other highlights, however the best birds came in the form of a Yellow-browed Tit in a Warbler flock and a single Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker.
Satisfied with our summit sightings, even though we had dipped a few key species such as Rufous-throated Partridge and Pygmy Wren-babbler, we headed down the mountain to the Mae Pan campsite where we hoped to get some river specialities. Birds were sparse as it was getting on for midday, however we eventually found our main target species, the White-Capped Water-redstart! A Grey-backed Shrike was a welcome addition to the trip list, seen from the car as we headed back to HQ. My Thai friends decided to head back to Chaing Mai, and I spent the afternoon exploring the orchards behind the HQ campsite. Here I managed to find a few more birds for the trip list including Grey Bushchat and Plaintive Cuckoo. I returned again to Mr Daeng's for an afternoon snack, and found a female Rufous-bellied Niltava behind his house. A spot of birding back at the campsite got a trio of lifers in the form of Blue-throated Barbet, Green Magpie and Asian Barred Owlet.
7th April
I hitched a lift up to Checkpoint 2 in the early morning to explore the famous Km 37.5 “Jeep Track” seeing a flock of Silver-eared Mesia on the way. This is excellent primary forest and is one of the best places to see birds such as Cochoas. I hit a bird wave at around 200m which contained goodies such as Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Golden Babbler, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher and Yellow-cheeked Tit. A little further along a Bronzed Drongo and a family flock of Eyebrowed Wren-babblers kept me entertained. I could hear the “Doh Ray Me” calls of Large Niltavas throughout the forest, but it wasn't until after the 800m mark that I eventually found an obliging male, a Golden-throated Barbet was another notch on the life list. Then out of nowhere, a Purple Cochoa flew through and I watched it for about 30 seconds before it disappeared again into the forest! WOW! The return journey to the road got me Rufous-backed Sibia, a pair of Long-tailed Broadbills and Rufous-faced Warbler. Back at Mr Daeng's, the Rufous-bellied Niltava was joined by a female Siberian Blue Robin and a Dark Sided Thrush. A Grey-breasted Prinia was the only lifer to be seen in the Orchard.
8th April
The 8th saw me head out to another good trail, the Km 34.5 Jeep Track. This trail can actually take vehicles, and the odd one did pass me on the trail. This was by far my favourite place to go birding on the mountain, the birds didn't stop coming, not even at midday. Verditer, Little Pied and White-gorgeted Flycatcher were all sighted, as were White-browed Shrike-babbler, Speckled and White-browed Piculets, Spectacled Barwing, Greater Yellownape, Grey Chinned Minivet, Brown-throated Treecreeper, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Chestnut-crowned and Grey-crowned Warblers, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, White-tailed Robin, White-throated Fantail, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike and Streaked Spiderhunter . But the undoubted highlight was a female Silver Pheasant.
9th April
A second Asian Barred Owlet was seen on the road to HQ from the campsite, Km 37.5 jeep track was slower today but a Slaty-bellied Tesia at the 200m mark was very obliging, giving me great views down to 5 feet! However, apart from more Long-tailed Broadbills and a Pale-blue Flycatcher at the Checkpoint, that was it. The summit was a bit more later in the morning, and due to loud Thai tourists, the birds were thinner on the ground. The usual specialities were all seen however, and no lifers were forthcoming. Even Km 34.5 was a little slow on birds, but Grey-capped Woodpecker and White-bellied Yuhina joined the ranks of the ever growing life list. I headed back to the campsite to have a go at finding the elusive Black-tailed Crake, which is known to inhabit the marshy pond there. As I had no taped to lure it out, and as the pond is very overgrown, I wasn't very hopeful, but at 6.30, a crake briefly wandered out onto the short grass, before dashing back into the reeds.
10th April
My last day on the mountain, I decided to explore the lower trails, before catching my flight back to Bangkok. I got to Vachirathan waterfall early so there would be no tourists scaring off the birds. The bamboo forest on the track to the waterfall held a few good birds such as Emerald Dove, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Scarlet Minivet, Grey-eyed Bulbul, Chestnut Bunting and White-rumped Munia. The waterfall however only gave up a Slaty-backed Forktail. It was getting a bit hot when I reached the dry open forests at Km 13. there where fewer birds than hoped for, Racket-tailed Treepie, Black Baza, Hainan Blue-flycatcher and a Besra were the only lifers, other good birds were Purple Sunbird, Grey-capped Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Hill Myna and Fork-tailed Swift. None of the really good birds of this trail were found though such as White-rumped Falcon and Balck-headed Woodpecker, and I needed to head back to Chiang Mai to catch my flight.
Second installment coming soon!
So nice to read about Doi Inthanon. Way to go with the P. Cochoa! I dipped on both on that track- yes it is beautiful primary forest there. I am looking forward to the second installment.
Doi Inthanon - great place! I had Purple and Green Cochoas along good old 37.5 too, brilliant birds! Then the following day as we drove towards the summit in the rain, a male Green was perched on the roadside crash barrier looking very bedraggled! This was in May 06, and we too had great views of the BT Crake, after being told it wasn't being seen there anymore. Ah, memories....