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Neil Lawton has been sending some good records in from some rice paddies near Chiang Dao. Apparently Wire-tailed Swallow, Oriental Skylark, Grey-headed Lapwing and Yellow-legged Buttonquail are all regular. Here are the directions he sent me.

Leave Malee's heading back into Chiang Dao town, continuing across the new by-pass, at the junction with the main Chaing Mai/Fang road, take a right towards CM and into Chiang Dao, c1km along this road in CD you will see the 7/11 on your right, about 50 before this on the left is a single flashing traffic light with a left hand turn, take this turn, continuing along the road for about 2km crossing the river and eventually reaching the rice fields, there is usually somewhere just before the start of the paddies to park a car. Ahead you will see the paddies with small hills on the other side, you should have parked just before a cross roads. with a dirt track to the left and a small road to the right, the area around this junction and the buildings just off the dirt track to the left are the best place to see Wire-tailed Swallows, clearly they nest somewhere here. Then it is just a matter of exploring dirt tracks and working your way across the paddies using the bunds, staying out of any fields which contain crops. The area looks like is could be good for buntings though i have never seen any here, the two bush larks are also a possiblity.

Below is a list of some of the birds I and other have seen here

Japanese Quail male in 2005 which stayed faithfull to a small dry paddie for several weeks often showing well
barred and yellow-legged buttonquail
watercock
Grey-headed lapwing - up to 50 present oct-march at least, best looked for in bare fields.
Painted Snipe - three birds seen once
Pintail and Common Snipe - common
Pied harrier
Kestrel
Black-shouldered Kite
Rufous-winged Buzzard - in scrub at paddies edge
Siberian Rubythroat
Bluethroat
lanceolated warbler
pallas's grasshopper warbler
thick-billed and dusky warbler
Long-tailed shrike
Richard's, Paddy-field and red-throated Pipits
oriental Skylark

Plus usual open country birdsand common passage waders
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