Introduction
Taco and Rik contacted me with the information that they had
a week to visit Thailand for birding and would like to concentrate
on one area to see as many species as possible. The North
of Thailand always offers the chance to see a lot of colourful
birds as well as a number of rare species and combined with
the close proximity of many sites we settled on a seven day
tour of the northern region.
Vehicle
We used a new 4-door Toyota Revo pickup
with a covered rear section. The cab was sufficient in size
for the three of us and our fragile luggage including telescopes,
laptops, cameras etc. whereas our larger bags full of clothes
were stowed in the back. This vehicle is very stable on the
roads and handles well, is fast and fuel efficient
and does not cost a lot to hire; it was perfect for taking
along dirt tracks and the badly rutted road ascending Doi
Lang East. This is a vehicle I use a lot and it is hard to
beat, certainly a much better option for a birding trip than
any saloon car, saving us time on the longer journeys and
allowing us to access areas that would be off-limits to most
other vehicles.
Mueng Sam Ma Lotus Swamp: Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler,
Lesser Coucal, Yellow Bittern, Black-browed Reed Warbler Doi Lang West (Doi San Ju): Ultramarine Flycatcher,
Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler, Crested Bunting, Crested Finchbill,
Mrs Hume's Pheasant, Mountain Bamboo Partridge, Himalayan
Cutia, Spot-breasted Parrotbill, Grey-headed Parrotbill, Giant
Nuthatch, Slender-billed Oriole, Black-throated Bushtit, White-gorgetted
Flycatcher, Siberian Rubythroat Doi Lang East: Scarlet-faced Liocichla, Large Niltava,
Collared Babbler, White-tailed Robin, Black-eared Shrike-babbler,
Himalayan Bluetail, Clicking Shrike-babbler, Rufous-gorgetted
Flycatcher, Whiskered Yuhina Thatorn/Mae Ai Rice Fields & Riverside: Syke's
Short-toed Lark, Oriental Skylark, Pied Harrier, Small Pratincole,
Oriental Pratincole, Citrine Wagtail, Eurasian Wryneck, Wire-tailed
Swallow Doi Tung (Mae Fa Luang Arboretum): Chestnut Thrush,
Black-breastd Thrush, Hodgson's Frogmouth, Scaly Thrush, Grey-winged
Blackbird, Grey-sided Thrush, Eyebrowed Thrush Nong Luang, Chiang Rai: Baer's Pochard, Red-crested
Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Pheasant-tailed
Jacana, Bronze-winged Jacana, Falcated Duck Doi Inthanon: Pygmy Cupwing, Dark-sided Thrush, White-crowned
Forktail, Long-tailed Broadbill, Black-headed Woodpecker,
Green-tailed Sunbird, Slaty-backed Forktail, White-capped
Water Redstart, Rufous-throated Partridge, Slaty-bellied Tesia,
Blossom-headed Parakeet Doi Lo Rice Fields: Oriental Pratincole, Greater Painted
Snipe Mae Hia Agricultural College: Banded Bay Cuckoo, Golden-fronted
Leafbird
Birding Details
Mueng Sam Ma Swamp
After meeting Taco and Rik for breakfast at Amora
Tapae Hotel in Chiang Mai city we made the short 25 minute
drive to this area of lotus swamp and scrubby wetlands. Like
almost all wetland areas in Thailand this site is under pressure
with another small part of the swamp having been recently
filled in. However, for now most of the site still persists
and with it a wide range of wetland and open country birds;
a really good introduction to birding in Thailand.
On arrival we immediately came across common species such
as Great (White-vented) Myna, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Olive-backed
Sunbird, Chinese Pond Heron and several others. Dusky Warbler
is extremely common at this site so it did not take long for
us to connect with this little brown job. Standing at the
edge of the lotus swamp gave us views of Pheasant-tailed Jacana,
White-throated Kingfisher, Purple Heron, Common Moorhen and
a Common Coot, not so common around here! This is a good location
to see some of the more skulking species associated with wetlands
including Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler which required a lot
of patience before one finally emerged out into the open.
Oriental Reed Warbler was much easier and after a short walk
out into the wetter areas we caught up with Black-browed Reed
Warbler too. When you add Baya Weaver, Plaintive Cuckoo, Racket-tailed
Treepie, Lesser Whistling Duck, Chestnut-tailed Starling and
many others this added up to a good couple of hours of birding
before we moved on.
Doi Lang West Doi Lang West (also known as Doi San Ju) is one of Thailand's
best birding sites and as such we made several visits to this
location. Our first visit was for the afternoon when we spent
most of our time checking out the regular stakeouts. In this
way we had a really good few hours getting excellent views
of male Siberian Rubythroat, White-gorgetted Flycatcher, Rust-cheeked
Scimitar Babbler, Rufous-gorgetted Flycatcher as well as the
adult male Ultramarine Flycatcher that has visited the same
spot, after migrating from eastern Siberia, for at least 6
years in a row.
One of the stars of the afternoon was Spot-breasted Parrotbill
which came extremely close to us when checking us out but
by birding along the queit road we also found some lovely
little Black-throated Bushtits, a Hume's Treecreeper and a
pair of Spectacled Barwings. A tree with bright red flowers
was a magnet for many species and on this we saw a pair of
Grey-headed Parrotbills, Striated Bulbul, Grey Treepie, Stripe-breasted
Woodpecker and commoner species such as Dark-backed Sibia
and Flavescent Bulbul.
Other birders had seen Hodgson's Frogmouth here in recent
weeks but the bird did not seem to be in the location that
it had previously been found in. A few bursts of call playback
and we got a response at around 4pm in the afternoon. Despite
much effort and several further responses we could not find
this much-wanted bird; very frustrating indeed.
We paid a few more visits to Doi Lang West over the next few
days. We put in a lot of hours here, birding a variety of
spots along the road at times experiencing very quiet periods
but at other times some really excellent birding. Even during
the quiet periods we found good birds such as Slender-billed
Oriole, Chestnut-capped Babbler and Giant Nuthatch. During
one of the quiet periods a distant Collared Owlet began calling
and my mimicking the call it eventually came in close to us
as it was being mobbed by smaller birds that included Rufous-backed
Sibia, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Streaked Spiderhunter that
actually pulled the tail feathers of the owlet.
Lots of red flower trees provided some of our best sightings
incuding an incredibly bright male Crested Bunting in full
breeding plumage alongside a female; Brown-breasted Bulbuls
also joined the party to add to our growing list of bulbuls.
However one of our moments of biggest excitement was reserved
for when, after hearing the call, we located a foraging Himalayan
Cutia. This is one of the most beautiful of all the birds
in Northern Thailand and after some moments we could all see
a pair of these birds creeping along the leafy branches. Wonderful!
Of course we arrived early one morning to wait at the well-known
stakeout for Mrs Hume's Pheasant. While waiting we enjoyed
watching a garrulous group of White-browed Laughingthrushes,
several Japanese Tits, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, a different
male Ultramarine Flycatcher, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler
and a group of Olive-backed Pipits that were being harrassed
by a Grey-backed Shrike. The pheasants kept us waiting but
a group of Mountain Bamboo Partridge provided some suitable
entertainment as they pecked at food scattered around on the
road but the pheasants never came out. Luckily for us we came
across a pair of Mrs Hume's Pheasant which froze by the side
of the road as we were leaving one evening. Still, considering
the hours we put in I think it is safe to say we made our
own luck.
Doi Lang East
This side of the mountain contains some quite different habitat
from that on Doi Lang West and with it a number of different
and exciting birds. The road up the mountain is very rutted
and the border police will not allow saloon cars through the
gate at the start of the road. With the entry time being 8am
we arrived at 7 and birded for an hour close to the gate.
This was quite good with Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Grey-eyed
Bulbul, Blue Rockthrush, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta and Crested
Treeswift to keep us interested.
Further up the road we stopped at several places being rewarded
with some nice birds including both Speckled and White-browed
Piculets as well as a nice male White-tailed Robin, Clicking
Shrike Babbler and a couple of Collared Babblers. However,
the real purpose of our visit here was to enjoy the birding
at the top checkpoint. Arriving a little later than we had
hoped there were still lots of good birds around including
one of our main targets: Scarlet-faced Liocihla. This beauty
was feeding on some bananas put out for them alongside Silver-eared
Laughingthrush and Dark-backed Sibia. Over the next few hours
we never walked any great distance, instead just mooching
up and down the road a bit, following feeding flocks of birds.
Lots of Yunnan Fulvettas were frequently in the company of
Rufous-winged Fulvettas as well as small numbers of Golden
Babbler. Various leaf warblers joined these flocks including
Buff-barred Warbler, Davison's (White-tailed) Leaf Warbler,
Hume's Warbler, Pallas's Warbler and a few Claudia's Leaf
Warbler.
Grey-chinned Minivets, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Himalayan
Bluetail and Large Niltava all provided colourful diversions
but perhaps the most exciting of these colourful birds was
Black-eared Shrike-babbler, a scarce bird in Thailand. Although
the birding around here was good we had located all of the
birds we were hoping to see and decided to head down to the
rice fields after we ate our packed lunch.
Thatorn Rice Fields, Mae Ai Paddies & Thatorn
Riverside We reached the rice fields at a very
hot time of the day so the plan was to drive around and take
in some of the commoner birds before things cooled down. We
had a few things planned but then Rik asked me if Small Pratincole
was possible. I said that it was but we would need to see
some of our other targets very quickly in order to have the
time to go to the right place. Amazingly as I said this an
adult male Pied Harrier appeared, one of our most-wanted birds.
We were able to watch this amazing bird at close quarters
which was then joined by a second one. We enjoyed these birds
until they cruised off across the rice fields into the distance
and then we moved on to another area, at Mae Ai Paddies, where
a field of pipits and larks awaited us.
Over the previous few weeks a burnt field had been hosting
Thailand's first Lapland Bunting as well as several Syke's
Short-toed Larks, also Thai rarities. We parked the vehicle
and walked out to the appropriate field spotting several Citrine
Wagtails, a Green Sandpiper, Bluethroats and plenty of Red-throated
Pipits. Scanning the burnt area we quickly found at least
two Syke's Short-taoed Larks as well as a couple of Oriental
Skylarks and a Eurasian Wryneck. With Lapland Bunting being
a bird that Taco and Rik had seen elsewhere, and I had seen
the one here a few weeks beforehand, we decided to head straight
for the Kok river where we hoped to see our Small Pratincoles.
Having driven through lots of farmland we walked a short distance
through some very thorny vegetation, taking us to the riverside.
The habitat here is extremely degraded compared to even just
afew years ago and the numbers of birds much depleted. However,
with the extreme dry weather the water level was very low
creating plenty of habitat for Small Pratincoles which we
saw immdediately. Over the course of the next hour we just
sat and waited as the Pratincoles flew in close to us in the
glow of the late afternoon light. We also saw several Bluethroats,
Little Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpiper, Red-wattled Lapwing
as well as both Common and Pintail Snipes. In the fields we
added Paddyfield and Richard's Pipits to our list before heading
back to our accommodation and dinner.
Mae Fa Luang Arboretum, Doi Tung
An unscheduled day saw us visit two sites in search of some
really top quality birds that were known to be present. The
first of these was Mae Fa Luang Arboretum at Doi Tung where
we spent a short morning birding around the gardens. This
spot had proven excellent for migratory thrushes over the
previous few months and it did not let us down with a handsome
Chestnut Thrush waiting for us on arrival. Fruiting trees
provided us with good views of lots of Eyebrowed Thrushes,
a number of Grey-sided Thrushes and a couple of very smart
Grey-winged Blackbirds. Both dark-billed (caeruleus) and yellow-billed
(eugenei) Blue Whistlingthrushes were easy to see and we found
a fairly drab female Blue-fronted Redstart too. It took some
searching to catch up with a single Black-breasted Thrush
but arguably the star of the show was a fantastic male Hodgson's
Frogmouth. After the trouble we had been given by the calling
bird on Doi Lang West it was very satisfying to be able to
appreciate this one out in the open on its nest. We spent
some more time looking around the gardens locating a few Slaty-backed
Flycatchers and a nice Scaly Thrush to add to our collection
as well as gaining good views of Blue-winged Minlas. However,
with our next target on our mind and some distance to cover
we decided to move on to our next site.
Nong Luang, Chiang Rai
After having lunch along the way we reached Nong Luang at
a hot time of the day. Not worrying about that we started
scanning the lake finding a large flock of Lesser Whistling
Ducks, some Garganey alongside a pair of Northern Pintail
while there were plenty of Grey-headed Swamphens and Pheasant-tailed
Jacanas strutting around on the floating vegetation. A distant
white-looking duck prompted us to move to another viewing
spot where we able to confirm a small number of Cotton Pygmy
Geese. The smart males are really handsome and a very under-rated
bird. Species such as Purple Heron, Yellow Bittern and Common
Kingfisher were pleasant but with time limited we moved to
another spot in search of our main target. This next spot
gave us excellent light and a good view across a calm piece
of water where we immediately noticed a Great Cormorant and
two Oriental Darters drying their wings from a perch above
the water. On the water itself a pair of Falcated Duck were
an excellent find with the male lighting up in the sunshine;
this species is extremely scarce in Thailand so very unexpected.
Scanning the water revealed a large flock of diving ducks
that clearly contained a smart male Red-crested Pochard, another
Thai rarity, and a female Common Pochard as well as a number
of Ferruginous Duck. Moving again, to get slightly better
light on this flock, we got much closer to these birds and
putting them under more scrutiny revealed what we were searching
for; a male Baer's Pochard.
Baer's Pochard is a critically endangered bird with an estimated
world population between 150-700 mature individuals (IUCN
Red List, March 2020) and declining rapidly so it is a species
that most birders want to try and see any time there is a
chance to. This bird had been present at this site for several
weeks but not recorded for around ten days so we were very
pleased that it was still hanging around. In the good light
that we had the bottle-green head and chestnut breast was
very bright as it preened itself although it should be said
that this is a species that is highly elevated in interest
due to its rarity. If Baer's Pochard was common it is highly
likely that on plumage alone it would not excite birders as
much as it does.
We spent a little time further along the lake but due to the
drought much of the habitat was completely dry. We did see
some Oriental Pratincoles, a couple of Bee-eaters and a pair
of very showy Striated Swallows although a calling Black-faced
Bunting did not show itself more than just a brief flight
view. With a long journey ahead of us we decided it was time
to leave, happy that we had had a very successful day.
Our three night stay at Inthanon Highland Resort, at the
base of Doi Inthanon, put us in a good place to find a lot
of birds both on the mountain and nearby. The grounds of our
accommodation were good for a few species of owl. It did not
take more than a few moments to call in a pair of Brown Boobooks
that put on a spectacular display, catching bats to eat. It
took only minutes more to locate Spotted Owlets but we did
have to try a second time for Asian Barred Owlet which gave
itself up very easily on our second night.
The summit of the
mountain always provides some great birding and we were able
to enjoy the roving flocks of feeding birds in the late afternoon
and early morning with species such as Chestnut-tailed Minla,
Blyth's Leaf Warbler, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Ashy-throated
Warbler and Yellow-browed Tit at very close range. Superb
displays were put on by Green-tailed Sunbird and Mrs Gould's
Sunbird feeding on flowering trees at head height allowing
us to enjoy photographing them. Silver-eared Laughingthrushes
were busy scratching around on the forest floor but perhaps
the most exciting sightings were a very obliging Pygmy Cupwing,
that sat singing in the shadows just a few feet away, and
a superb pair of White-crowned Forktails foraging in the boggy
areas.
Another dweller of the forest floor, at the summit, is Rufous-throated
Partridge. We had a great experience with a pair of these
beautiful birds as they scratched around looking for food
in the late afternoon before viewing a small group of Ashy
Woodpigeons resting in the mossy trees. Watching a male White-browed
Shortwing flare its eyebrows at it delivered its song was
also memorable sighting at the summit. Close to the summit
we waited for the regular flock of Speckled Woodpigeons but
they never showed up; perhaps they had moved north as they
seem to be migratory. However, nearby we got lovely views
of both male and female Blue-fronted Redstarts.
Spending time at around 1800 metres turned up a lot of good
birds and although at times things were quiet our persitence
paid off with Long-tailed Broadbill, Small Niltava, many flocks
of Silver-eared Mesias, a brief sighting of Grey-cheeked (Black-throated)
Parrotbill, Clicking Shrike Babbler, Rufous-backed Sibia and
a wonderful Slaty-bellied Tesia in the undergrowth.
Further down the mountain we enjoyed a great morning at Khun
Yee's hide where we had ridiculously close views of some birds
that are normally really shy. A pair of Slaty-backed Forktails
danced around in the stream right in front of us while Plumbeous
Redstart, Hill Blue Flycatcher, Siberian Blue Robin, Rufous-bellied
Niltava and Taiga Flycatcher provided a supporting cast. One
of the stars of the show was Dark-sided Thrush a very cryptic
and skulking bird under normal circumstances but this one
was very confiding. Usually this would have been the highlight
of the session in the hide but a Pygmy Cupwing stole the show
by actually entering the hide and calling persistently from
just a few feet away; a wonderful bird!
Although it is often very quiet we also spent some time in
the dry woodland at the bottom of the mountain. At this time
of year it was extraordinarily dry and desolate-looking and
looked like it was incapable of supporting life. However,
where there was water there was a concentration of birds and
in this habitat we found a flock of noisy White-crested Laughingthrushes,
Rufous-winged Buzzard, a flock of stunning Black-headed Woodpeckers,
several White-faced (Eurasian) Jays, Shikra, Crested Goshawk,
Common Flameback and a pair of Collared Falconets. This area
was quite good for raptors but we also came across some migrating
raptors further up the mountain including some really nice
Black Bazas, always stunning birds. We also saw a number of
Oriental Honey-buzzards, a few Grey-faced Buzzards and Eastern
Buzzards, all nice additions particularly as we had seen few
raptors elsewhere.
The waterfalls at Doi Inthanon are always nice places to visit
and White-capped Water Redstart is the bird that Rik and Taco
were keenest to see; we did not have to wait too long at Watcharitan
Waterfall to be able to appreciate this beauty. Just outside
the bounds of the national park we spent an hour or so at
the parakeet pre-roost site where we saw some lovely Blossom-headed
Parakeets but had some other good sightings to. On arrival
we spotted a Freckle-breasted Woodpecker and we also added
a nice male Plain-backed Sparrow, a very showy Indochinese
Bushlark singing from a post and a flock of Chestnut-tailed
Starlings. While studying the starlings we noticed that there
was something different among them; a pair of White-shouldered
Starlings, unexpected at this site!
Bird
Watching Trips in Northern Thailand:
Birding in the north of Thailand in the dry season is very rewarding and usually provides exceptional views of a high number of key species. With a variety of high altitude forests and wetlands in the lowlands a high number of species can be seen in a short period of time.
Contact me to arrange a birding trip and/or to discuss
the best bird watching options for you: nickupton@thaibirding.com
Doi Lo Rice Fields
After leaving Doi Inthanon and having lunch along the way
we arrived at Doi Lo rice fields in the early afternoon, in
the heat of the day. We arrived early because we wanted to
check the state of the habitat to see if it was worth spending
time there or better to move on somewhere else. We started
by the river, at a small lake, where we had hoped for some
ducks but the only species present was Lesser Whistling Duck.
There were several Grey-headed Lapwings loafing around in
the heat and a couple of Grey-breasted Prinias in nearby,
dry vegetation were new for the trip. There was not anything
particularly exceptional to hang around for so we moved into
the fields to find that they all had rice growing of around
the same height; a real monoculture. Although there are still
birds to be found the fact that there was low diversity of habitat meant that the range of species would be limited. We did get great views of Oriental Pratincole here as well as a flight view of a male Greater Painted Snipe as well as adding Zitting Cisticola and Black-eared Kite to our list.
We headed out of the rice fields slowly driving along the
dirt tracks, stopping now and then to look at Oriental Reed
Warbler, Pied Harrier, Brown Shrike, Pied Bushchat and photograph
some very close Asian Openbills. Although on other days this
is an excellent site, the lack of habitat diversity made us
decide to visit another location, closer to Chiang Mai.
Mae Hia Agricultural College
We had a few hours at the end of the day at our final site
of the trip. The exceptionally dry and hot weather meant that
it was quieter than usual and for the first hour we struggled
to see much at all. Eventually we found a nice Thick-billed
Warbler in the undergrowth showing well for a short time as
well as a colourful Golden-fronted Leafbird. A Green-billed
Malkoha swooped in towards us and a Banded Bay Cuckoo came
in close to call playback. It always amazes me that Thailand
produces so many birds that we can keep adding new birds to
our list right up to the end of the trip. Well, there was
at least one more in the form of Himalayan Swiftlet joining
a group of House Swifts cruising around over a pool, coming
down to drink on the wing. As the day was drawing to a close
we had just about exhausted all the possibilities to close
a really good seven days of birding.
Finally I took Taco and Rik the short distance to their hotel
near Chiang Mai airport to conclude this very enjoyable short
trip around northern Thailand.
If you are interested in arranging a bird
watching tour you can see some suggested itineraries here
- Birdwatching
Trips - and you can contact me at the above email address
to discuss the best options.
Download
a full 
