Thailand Trip Report Part 1
4th – 13th December 2010
Contact me if you want any more gen on ilyabirding@hotmail.co.uk
A full species list with dates and locations is here
A few photos etc are here
Introduction
This trip to Thailand was my first to Asia and was designed to give me a relaxed introduction to SE Asian birding rather than seeing as many species as possible. It was also a much-needed holiday and an opportunity to catch up with friends and as such, I spent quite a few days enjoying Thailand’s non-birding highlights. I was also unfamiliar with the majority of calls prior to going out, which I’m sure resulted in me missing many easy species. That said, I was keen to catch up with a few of the specialties and to familiarise myself with some of the ‘Sibes’ that turn-up in the UK as vagrants.
Preparation
I used Craig Robson’s Birds of Thailand and downloaded quite a few calls from the Xeno Canto website. I also got Tony Ball’s Birds of Thailand CDs from the shop at the summit of Doi Inthanon. I also made considerable use of Nick Upton’s Thai Birding website for site information and maps. Good work fella.
Travel
I booked flights from Stansted to Kaula Lampur, KL to Bangkok and domestic flights from Air Asia. This is likely to be the cheapest airline, but the disadvantage is that the airline reserve the right to reschedule flights at short notice (typically just over two weeks) if the scheduled flight is not full, as they did with one of mine. As they are “point-to-point” they are not bound to ensure that you meet your connecting flight even if this is also an Air Asia flight. Also, one can’t check luggage straight through if boarding two flights. My advice would be, if going with this airline, to book the long-haul flight early but book the short-haul stages last minute as there are many and prices don’t change.
I rented a car in Chiang Mai from Pop Car Rent (086-911218, 053-276660) for Doi Inthanon at the recommendation of a Thai friend. The company may be a little more expensive than some at 1200 Baht a day, but doesn’t screw you around and your car is insured fully comp. The rest of the time I travelled by taxi or public transport. Most taxis are metered in Thailand, but when arranging to use them for a day trip you will need to negotiate. Getting around Bangkok is easy using the Metro (MRT) which is quicker than a taxi and the machines vend tickets in English. The metro doesn’t allow luggage to be taken, so with luggage, e.g. to/from the airport, you’re best off using the Skytrain (BST).
If I was going again (and I plan to at some point), I'd hire a car for longer and bring a satnav. I reckon there's loads of good birding to be had at random locations off the usual trail. Driving yourself can be a bit tricky if you're not used to being on the road in a developing country, but it's nowhere near as hard as Africa. The main problem (if like me you can't speak/read Thai), is that most of the road signs are in Thai script.
Bangkok area (4th-7th December)
Tips:Khok Kham is quite tricky to find. If you get lost, Mr Tee should be able to provide directions. His phone number is 08100 58974. Bring an old mobile to Thailand and get a Thai SIM card. New phones lock against other SIM cards. Don’t get into a tuk-tuk and drunkenly challenge the driver to a race with his mate. Are you listening Chesney!
Itinerary:
I arrived at Bangkok airport and headed for the Khao San Road as a friend had insisted I read Alex Garland’s The Beach on the way over, claiming it (rightly) to be less cheesy than the film. The route to the airport by Skytrain got me a few species I didn’t see elsewhere, such as Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Painted Stork and Black-headed Ibis. The rest of the day, most of the night and the next were spent mostly taking in the sites of Bangkok, with little birding. Pied Fantails feeding in a tree opposite a bar near Khao San and umpteen calling Yellow-browed Warblers were probably the highlights.
Serious birding started on the 6th when I headed to Khok Kham. I pre-arranged a taxi for the day (1600 Baht) with an English speaking taxi driver I encountered previously and left early in order to maximise my time there. The wetlands on the way back to Bangkok also offered some good birding. The highlight was undoubtedly one SPOON-BILLED SANDPIPER, which I eventually managed to pick out after several hours of sifting through the Red-necked Stints and other common waders. It was in with the big flock of Lesser and Greater Sandplover. Less expected, but almost as pleasing was a NORDMANN’S GREENSHANK. Other good birds included three Terek’s Sandpipers, several Great Knot and a single Black-tailed Gull. Taking the back roads back to Bangkok past the numerous fish ponds and other wetlands also offers some good birding. I caught up with several tern species, Heuglin’s Gull and a few Pond Herons (Chinese and Javan are virtually indistinguishable and both occur). I also saw my only Common, Black-capped and Pied Kingfishers of the trip here. It may well be worth allocating more time to these ponds than I did. On the 7th I had time for a quick look around Lumphini Park in central Bangkok before boarding a flight to Chiang Mai. The area around the pond proved surprisingly productive. With Brown Shrike, Asian Brown Flycatcher, and Two-barred Warbler giving me a feel for Sibes in their winter quarters.
Chiang Mai and Doi Inthanon (7th-13th December)
Tips: Mr Daeng’s is a nice quiet place to camp. The mattresses in the rooms are allegedly rock hard though. The summit of Doi Inthanon is bloody cold, especially early in the morning. Brush up on your Connect Four skills before hitting the bars in Chiang Mai. The “bar girls” love this game and the usual forfeit for losing is an expensive drink!
I arrived in Chiang Mai in the evening and that night and the following day were spent catching up with a friend who lives there and enjoying the nightlife. I have rather bad memories of being smothered in lipstick by a not particularly effeminate kateoy in front of the crowds at a Thai all-you-can eat buffet and rather better memories of a pretty Thai uni student who took a shine to me and kindly gave me a lift back to my friends apartment on the back of her moped at 4am. Thanks Katy. The birding was minimal, but I did manage Asian Barred Owlet, Oriental Turtle Dove and Himalayan Swiftlet from the balcony of my mate’s apartment. Spurning several offers of camping company from the bar girls, by late afternoon I felt sufficiently human to head to Doi Inthanon and checked into the campsite, not realising that Mr Daeng also offered camping. I headed to Mr Daeng’s for food after seeing an Asian Fairy Bluebird and bumped into Ralph Parks & Nit and Chris ‘Chesney’ Langsdon, birders from my neck of the woods.
I arranged to team up with Chris over the next few days and to stay at Mr Daeng’s for the remainder of my stay. While we were eating and drinking, a Mountain Scops Owl called from nearby. We hit the summit early (10th Dec) in very misty conditions with little bird activity. Despite that, we managed a few good birds, but dipped on Pygmy Wren Babbler despite hearing a few. Nevertheless, we got good views of Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Chestnut-tailed Minlas, Sulphur-breasted Warbler and Ashy-throated and White-tailed Leaf Warblers along the boardwalk and a few Dark-backed Sibias near the summit itself. We then headed downward birding along the road near the second checkpoint, catching up with species such as Blue-winged Leafbird, Grey-backed Shrike and Scarlet Minivet. We finished-up by birding the trail near checkpoint two that leads down to a couple of waterfalls. At the first waterfall, near the bridge, we scored great views of Plumbeous and White-capped Water Redstart and Slaty-backed Forktail and in the forest between the waterfalls I saw Snowy-browed Flycatcher and Maroon Oriole.
Early on the 11th we hit the summit again, which got us more of the same, plus several Yellow-bellied Fantails and Mrs Gould’s and Green-tailed Sunbirds. From there we descended to the 34.5 trail, where we encountered a good mixed feeding flock, which held Grey-chinned and Long-tailed Minivets, Golden Babbler and Slaty-backed Flycatcher. Looking for Black-tailed Crakes around the campsite proved fruitless, but we did hear a Hume’s Warbler (Mandell’s Leaf Warbler) and lunch at Mr Daeng’s turned up Dark-sided Thrush, Blue Whistling Thrush, Hill Blue Flycatcher and White-rumped Sharma around the feeder. From there we birded a few areas around the road, turning up Large and Small Niltavas near the second checkpoint and headed down to the Parakeet pre-roost. The roads has been re-routed since the gen on thaibirding went online and we got there rather late and failed to see Parakeets. Perhaps the pre-roost site has moved.
We hit the summit again briefly on the 12th, getting brief views of a stunning Orange-flanked Bush Robin (Red-flanked Bluetail) before descending to warmer altitudes and birding Vatcharitan Falls. The track down to there produced Mountain Tailorbird plus lots of swallows and swifts over and the river below the falls hosted more Plumbeous and White-capped Water Redstarts and Slaty-backed Forktails as well as Black-backed Forktail. From there we birded the trail around Km 18, but didn’t see much of note. The next morning also produced few additional birds of note with Mountain Imperial Pigeon near the summit, Speckled Wood Pigeon near checkpoint two and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch in Mr Daeng’s garden being the highlights.
Nice report, pleased for you in your success on seeing some great birds. Hope to make my way there in the near future so may well be in touch with you for info.