Peter James Fullagar

Extensions
Our dossier gave the following information: “Thailand has so much to offer the visiting birdwatcher that you should consider extending your holiday by a few days to investigate some other areas, or perhaps to just look around Bangkok. As so much of the tour takes place in forest areas it may be worth considering visits to some of the wetland sites easily accessible from the capital.

Perhaps the most famous of these is Khok Kham in Sammut Sakhon district where salt pans, tidal mudflats and mangroves attract a tempting selection of migrant waders. A day spent here could produce a wide variety of birds including Pond and Little Green Herons, Brown-headed Gull, Whiskered Tern, Pacific Golden, Greater Sand and Lesser Sand Plovers, Wood Sandpiper, Temminck's, Red-necked and Long-toed Stints, White-breasted, White- collared and Black-capped Kingfishers, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Flyeater, Pied Fantail Flycatcher, Black-browed Reed
and Great Reed Warblers, Crested and Pied Mynas, Chinese Starling, Brown-throated and Yellow-bellied Sunbirds. As the tide recedes dozens of fascinating Mudskipper fish temporarily become terrestrial creatures, grazing on the exposed vegetation as brightly coloured crabs scuttle over the mud.

Many rare visitors have been recorded, including Asiatic Dowitcher and Spoon-billed Sandpiper, the latter being a regular wintering species in recent years.

Khok Kham can be visited on day excursions from Bangkok, although it should be mentioned that traffic congestion in the city can cause frustrating delays during busy periods.”

DAY 4 Tuesday: We go north to Chiang Mai

The dossier says: “We leave Khao Yai after an early breakfast and drive back to Bangkok International Airport to catch a mid-morning domestic flight to the northern city of Chiang Mai. On arrival at this capital of the hill country we transfer to Doi Inthenon Resort Hotel where we will stay for four nights but before doing so we shall investigate some of the birding sites close to the city.

The hills of northern Thailand, which also extend across the national border into Burma, are rich in birdlife, many of the species spending the winter here from further north in Asia, augmenting the resident avifauna which has many affinities with the Himalayan region.

An excursion into the paddy fields and scattered bushes just outside Chiang Mai could provide a diverse selection of birds including Chinese Pond Heron, Black-winged Kite, Little Green Bee-eater, Palm Swift, Rufous-winged Bush-Lark, Wire-tailed Swallow, Richard's Pipit, Brown Shrike, Blandford's Bulbul, Pied Bushchat and Pegu Sparrow. Wintering Dusky Warblers are common in this habitat, often revealing their presence in roadside scrub by insistent sharp call notes.


DAY 4 - north
Our bird list was: Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Lineated Barbet, Eurasian Hoopoe, Indian Roller, Little Green Bee-eater, Asian Koel, Himalayan Swiftlet, Asian Palm-Swift, Fork-tailed Swift, House Swift, Crested Treeswift, Rock Pigeon, Spotted Turtle-Dove, Common Moorhen, Common Sandpiper, Chinese Goshawk, Common Buzzard, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Yellow Bittern, Burmese Shrike, Ashy Woodswallow, Black Drongo, Common Iora, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Siberian Rubythroat, Common Stonechat, Pied Bushchat, Black-collared Starling, Common Myna, White-vented Myna, Barn Swallow, Wire-tailed Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Streak-eared Bulbul, Grey-breasted Prinia, Plain Prinia, Inornate Warbler, Indochinese Bushlark, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Richard's Pipit, Olive-backed Pipit, Red Avadavat, White-rumped Munia, Scaly-breasted Munia.

51 species for the second (northern) part of today including 20 new species added during our first half day in the north - giving a grand total of 175 species so far.

DAYS 5 – 8 Wednesday-Friday: Doi Inthenon

The dossier tells us: “Doi Inthenon is the highest mountain in Thailand and rises to over 2,500 metres. We will stay at the nearby Highland Resort for four nights and fully utilise our time to explore the dry dipterocarp forests of the lower slopes and the evergreen tracts nearer the summit. Inthenon has a remarkable reputation as one of the best birdwatching locations in northern Thailand and a small patch of swamp near the radar station which crowns the summit, has produced many rare birds for visiting birdwatchers. Like Khao Yai, a surfaced road winds from the base of the mountain to the summit permitting easy access to the various levels of vegetation. Any tour member with experience of the Himalayas will find some familiar birds at the higher elevations of Doi Inthenon, species such as Ash-throated Leaf-Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Laughing-Thrush, Silver-eared Mesia, Chestnut-tailed Minla and Black-headed Sibia. Here too, we should find flocks of Eye-browed Thrushes foraging for berries, and perhaps other scarcer visitors from northern Asia such as Siberian Thrush or Red-flanked Bluetail. A peevish churring call may draw our attention to a curious little Slaty-bellied Tesia bouncing from branch to branch like an animated golf-ball, another bird also found in Himalayan evergreen forests. Green-tailed Sunbirds are common at this altitude, the male a stunningly beautiful bird with maroon mantle, crimson breast and iridescent blue-green head and tail.

As we explore the forested slopes of the mountain we will again be looking for mixed species feeding flocks which are likely to have different components to the bird waves encountered at the slightly lower elevations of Khao Yai. Striped Tit-Babbler, Striated Yuhina, White-bellied Yuhina and Grey-headed Flycatcher are four typical members of these flocks, whilst associated species may include Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Grey-cheeked Nun-Babbler, Rufous-fronted Tree-Babbler, Red-billed Scimitar-Babbler and Chestnut-fronted Shrike-Babbler. Elsewhere in the forest there are many other interesting birds with life styles which do not include habitually joining the feeding flocks, although all birds are opportunist feeders and some individuals may attach themselves to such a flock as it passes by. Some of the other forest residents include Greater Green-billed Malkoha, Red-headed Trogon, Blue-throated Barbet, Rosy Minivet, Scarlet Minivet, Blue-winged Leafbird, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike, Blue-winged Siva, Black-crested Bulbul, Black-capped Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, Ashy Drongo,
Maroon Oriole, Grey Tree-Pie, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Golden-spectacled Warbler, Grey Bushchat, Little Pied Flycatcher, White-throated Fantail Flycatcher and Black-naped Monarch.

Wherever there are suitable clearings in the forest we are likely to find Olive-backed Pipits quietly searching for insects below the trees. These are spending the winter months in Thailand from northern breeding areas, as are the Yellow-browed Warblers which constantly call from the canopy, and the shy White's Thrushes which merge so readily into the background of dead leaves with their marvellously cryptic plumage. As at Khao Yai, Phylloscopus warblers abound in the forest and with over a dozen species possible, enthusiasts will find plenty of wingbars and supercillaries to sort through on frustratingly active little birds. Separating White-tailed from Blyth's Crowned is not the easiest of tasks and is made even harder by the hyper-active behaviour of these canopy dwellers!

Descending from the summit at 3,500 metres to the lower slopes of the mountain, we pass through forests inhabited by six or more species of bulbul, woodpeckers, barbets, warblers and a selection of flycatchers including Verditer, Yellow-bellied Fantail and Large Niltava. Other surprises might include a shrike-sized Collared Falconet, Brown-throated Tree-Creeper or perhaps a Chinese Francolin uttering his monotonous 'song' from a concealed perch. Slaty-backed Forktails add their grace and beauty to little streams bubbling through the trees and Black Eagles occasionally soar on broad wings over the canopy. Two other water-lovers that we should find along the tumbling streams are the Himalayan duo of White-capped and Plumbeous Redstarts.

The abundant birdlife of Doi Inthenon will keep us fully occupied during our stay and we will attempt to see as much as we can in the time available. As always in forest habitats, some birds can be frustratingly elusive whilst other unexpected species may suddenly appear but with so much to look for we are unlikely to be disappointed. Apart from the birds mentioned above other possibilities include Common Hawk-Cuckoo, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Rusty-cheeked and Yellow-billed Scimitar-Babblers, Spectacled Barwing, Chestnut-backed Sibia, Black- headed Shrike, Chestnut-flanked White-Eye, and Common Rosefinch. We are unlikely to find many mammals apart from squirrels but lovers of butterflies will find another profusion of insects to supplement the earlier observations at Khao Yai.”

DAY 5 Wednesday

DAY 6 Thursday
Our bird list was: Rufous-throated Partridge, Mountain Bamboo-Partridge, Great Barbet, Golden-throated Barbet, Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Asian Koel, Greater Coucal, Ashy Wood-Pigeon, White-breasted Waterhen, Eurasian Woodcock, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Collared Falconet, Chinese Pond-Heron, Grey-chinned Minivet, Yellow-bellied Fantail, White-throated Fantail, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Blue Whistling-Thrush, Chestnut Thrush, Grey-sided Thrush, Eyebrowed Thrush, Slaty-backed Flycatcher, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Little Pied Flycatcher, Verditer Flycatcher, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Daurian Redstart, White-capped Water-Redstart, Plumbeous Water-Redstart, Grey Bushchat, Yellow-browed Tit, Striated Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Flavescent Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, White-headed Bulbul, Hill Prinia, Grey-breasted Prinia, Mountain Tailorbird, Buff-barred Warbler, Ashy-throated Warbler, White-tailed Leaf-Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Pygmy Wren-Babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Black-headed Sibia, Gould's Sunbird, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit, Common Rosefinch


58 species today with 16 new giving a total trip list of 243.

DAY 7 Friday
Our bird list today was: Rufous-throated Partridge, Greater Flameback, Great Barbet, Lineated Barbet, Golden-throated Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Asian Emerald Cuckoo, Asian Koel, Grey-headed Parakeet, Himalayan Swiftlet, Mountain Imperial-Pigeon, Oriental Honey-buzzard, Collared Falconet, Chinese Pond-Heron, Silver-breasted Broadbill, Long-tailed Broadbill, Eurasian Jay, Rufous Treepie, Large-billed Crow, Maroon Oriole, Long-tailed Minivet, White-throated Fantail, Ashy Drongo, Bronzed Drongo, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Asian Paradise-Flycatcher, Blue Whistling-Thrush, Eyebrowed Thrush, White-gorgeted Flycatcher, Verditer Flycatcher, Large Niltava, Vivid Niltava, Oriental Magpie-Robin, White-rumped Shama, White-tailed Robin, Common Myna, Brown-throated Tree-Creeper, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Black-crested Bulbul, Flavescent Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, Slaty-bellied Tesia, Mountain Tailorbird, Common Tailorbird, Blyth's Leaf-Warbler, White-tailed Leaf-Warbler, White-necked Laughingthrush, Rufous-fronted Babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Silver-eared Mesia, White-browed Shrike-Babbler, Chestnut-fronted Shrike-Babbler, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Rufous-backed Sibia, Black-headed Sibia, White-bellied Yuhina, Black-throated Parrotbill, Purple Sunbird, Black-throated Sunbird, Grey Wagtail.

64 species today; 15 new bringing the trip total to 258.

DAY 8 Saturday

The dossier says: “We spend one final morning at Doi Inthenon, returning to the hotel for lunch after which we drive back to Chiang Mai. Depending on the time available there may be time for a little shopping or sightseeing before catching an early evening flight to Bangkok…”

Our bird list for today was as follows: Great Barbet, Golden-throated Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, Red-headed Trogon, Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Asian Emerald Cuckoo, Asian Koel, Brown-backed Needletail, Red Collared-Dove, Zebra Dove, Maroon Oriole, Short-billed Minivet, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, White-throated Fantail, Ashy Drongo, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Blue Whistling-Thrush, Little Pied Flycatcher, Verditer Flycatcher, Large Niltava, Small Niltava, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Brown-throated Tree-Creeper, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Striated Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Flavescent Bulbul, Hill Prinia, Blyth's Leaf-Warbler, Grey-crowned Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Golden Babbler, Chestnut-fronted Shrike-Babbler, Spectacled Barwing, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Rufous-backed Sibia, Black-headed Sibia, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Black-throated Sunbird, Streaked Spiderhunter.

46 species today with 4 new and trip total now at 262.