Photos with this report (click to enlarge) | |||
 Asian Brown Flycatcher |
 Golden-throated Barbet |
 White-rumped Shama |
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 Rufous Treepie |
 White-capped Redstart |
 Orange-bellied Flowerpecker |
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I flew out from Heathrow to Singapore with BA and landed late in the afternoon on the following day. I stayed over for one night and had a flight to Chiang Mai at midday. I managed about 2 hours at Pasir Ris park near the airport, which turned out to be pretty productive. I saw a Coppersmith Barbet, Collared Kingfisher, several Pacific Swallows, Sunda Pigmy Woodpecker, Cattle Egrets, both Common and White-vented Mynas, Striated Heron, Olive-backed Sunbird and an obliging Chinese Sparrowhawk. Asian Koels and Black-naped Orioles were constantly calling and flitting from tree to tree. What a cracking start to my trip.
After a 2.5 hour flight I landed at Chiang Mai, picked up my hire car and was on my way. I stayed about 80km south of Chiang Mai in a town called Hot. My hotel was the Phu-anna Eco House, a small hotel, recently built using reclaimed wood and had some quirky features. There was a lake next to the property and paddyfields and trees surrounding. This place was a little gem, lovely staff, great food, comfy rooms and an abundance of wildlife. I spotted 52 species in the grounds and I didn't spend a lot of each day actually there, so probably could have done even better. The lake held large numbers of Asian Openbills, Little Egrets, the odd Yellow Bittern, White-breasted Waterhens and three Kingfishers, Stork-billed, Common and White-throated, as well as numerous Moorhens, warblers and prinias. Several bulbul species graced the trees and shrubs, Yellow-vented, Red-whiskered and Streak-eared were the most seen with the occasional Black-crested and Sooty-headed. Purple Sunbirds, Crimson-backed Flowerpeckers and Common Ioras flitted around the tree tops. A photogenic Brown Shrike usually posed for a picture most evenings. Grey, Citrine and White Wagtails joined the small gang of Scaly-breasted Munias in the small rice plots in front of the hotel. Zebra Doves basked in the sun everywhere I looked. An adjoining property that the owner kindly let me wander around had a few interesting birds, Hoopoes and Green Bee-eaters were common and Lesser Coucal were also present. Most evenings would bring large numbers of Swallows and Martins to the lake to plunder the mozzie stocks, followed later by Bats. A family of Pied Fantails would also appear next to a small stream adjoining the hotel. A few Greater Coucals usually dropped by in the dying light. Racket-tailed Treepies appeared on one occasion but again too far away.
The town of Hot borders Ob Luang National Park that doesn't boast as many species as the neighbouring Doi Inthanon but probably part due to the lack of people visiting. I popped in every day for a few hours and was rewarded with some cracking birds. A main road runs through the park and there aren't that many places to pull over but where I could I saw Golden-fronted Leafbirds, Black-crested Bulbuls, a Rufous Treepie, several Leaf Warblers, Racket-tailed Drongos, Large-billed Crows and in the river Little Ringed Plovers and Common Sandpipers. At the park headquarters there is a small restaurant, campsite and fairly unpleasant toilet block. For a small fee you can go into the park proper and walk the trails. I just entered down to the river, photographing several butterflies on route. After sitting on a rock for a few minutes, I spotted Chestnut-headed and Green Bee-eaters in the trees opposite. A Blue Rock Thrush and a pair of Grey Wagtails were arguing over a boulder. By the unsavoury toilet block was a small run-off which seemed to attract a few species, namely White-rumped Shama, Red-flanked Bluetail and what I think was an Asian Brown Flycatcher.
The other advantage of staying in Hot was it's proximity to Doi Inthanon, just a 25 minute drive to the main gates. My first attempt to drive to the summit was unfortunately thwarted by a tourist bus that ploughed into my car completely righting it off. This also gave me whiplash for the rest of my trip but I carried on regardless with my replacement car the next day.
The summit area when finally reached is very crowded at this time of year even at daybreak unfortunately. There are still good sightings to be had though with a little patience. A small Rhododendron bush by the coffee shop attracted both Green-tailed and Gould's Sunbirds, although the latter was easily disturbed by the crowds. Bar-throated Minlas and White-eyes also visited the bush. A large fruiting tree in the same area brought in Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker, Grey-sided Thrush, Flavescent Bulbul and Gold-throated Barbet. A short walk away is a boarded nature trail, this area is quite shaded and not great for photography but OK when the sun breaks through but is teeming with birds. Several Leaf Warblers ,Rufous-winged Fulvettas and Sunbirds darted about the foliage. A small group of Dark-sided Thrushes skulked in the boggy undergrowth, not easy to photograph. A more obliging Red-flanked Bluetail hopped about and Silver-eared Laughingthrushes jumped into and out of view constantly.
At the coffee shop ,the staff put out some food to attract a few birds, here there were more of the charismatic Laughingthrushes and a few Dark-backed Sibia. I didn't visit any other trails so the species list isn't extensive, I was still feeling a bit delicate.
Further down the mountain is the Royal Garden Siribhume, not much to speak of, but always worth a quick visit. I saw both Plumbeous Water Redstart and White-capped Redstart along with a Grey Wagtail at the waterfall area. Several warblers and flycatchers were about but didn't sit still long enough for a positive ID. At one of the other waterfalls I saw two Blue Whistling Thrushes.
South of Hot village about 3km is a large farming area, much less populated and easier to stop and scan. Here I got great views and shots of Plain-backed Sparrows, Asian Openbills, Green-billed Malkoha and Black Drongo. The telegraph wires held numbers of Green Bee-eaters and Ashy Woodswallows .
My time was up in Chiang Mai so I drove back to the airport with just a very brief visit to Mae Hia Agricultural College. This is a very promising area that I will investigate further if I return next year. Here I saw Stork-billed Kingfisher, Pied Bushchat, Ashy Woodswallow and a couple of Lesser Coucals, a long way off though.
The next part of my trip was more about family and less about birding. I flew to Hat Yai in the south of Thailand to stay with my brother and his family for a few days. They live on the outskirts of the city in a small village. All my sightings here were from his garden and the immediate area. This relaxing birding and photography is great, a bottle of beer, some tasty snacks, sunshine and a host of birds and butterflies. Olive-backed Sunbirds were regular visitors, slightly more red on the breast than the ones in Singapore. Scaly-breasted Munias were building a nest in one of the palms and Oriental Magpie Robins were nesting next door. Streak-eared and Red-whiskered Bulbuls were constant as were the Common Mynas. Perched on the telegraph wires were Zebra and Spotted Doves. The real treasures for me were the Orange-bellied Flowerpeckers that came within a few meters and posed for the camera briefly. Several Brahminy kites flew overhead along with another bird of prey that I sadly have not been able to ID. One evening we were even visited by a bright blue Budgerigar, obviously an escapee, but seemingly doing well.
Asian Koels and a Barbet called for most of the day and Chinese pond Herons came into roost every night, I can see why my brother has chosen this place to be home. Anyway I had to go back home to chilly UK via a very quick stop in Singapore. I had just enough time to pop out of the airport for an hour so I got the train one stop to Expo. I got a drink and sat in a small garden area in front of an large hall. Apart from a few Eurasian Tree Sparrows nothing was about and light was fading fast. One last treat though, just as I was about to leave, a very friendly Long-tailed Shrike sat and posed for a few seconds, quality.
SINGAPORE
Coppersmith Barbet
Collared Kingfisher
Chinese Sparrowhawk
Common Myna
White-vented Myna
Pacific Swallow
Olive-backed Sunbird
Sunda Pigmy Woodpecker
Cattle Egret
Asian Koel
Black-naped Oriole
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Striated Heron.
Long-tailed Shrike
PHU-ANNA ECO HOUSE ,HOT
Streak-eared Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Black-crested Bulbul
Sooty-headed Bulbul
Greater Coucal
Lesser Coucal
Common Kingfisher
Stork-billed Kingfisher
White-throated Kingfisher
White-breasted Waterhen
Common Moorhen
Yellow Bittern
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Chinese Pond Heron
Little Grebe
Asian Openbill
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Purple Sunbird
Crimson-backed Flowerpecker
Common Iora
Scaly-breasted Munia
Pied Fantail
Zebra Dove
Spotted Dove
Oriental Magpie Robin
Citrine Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail.
Racket-tailed Treepie
Plain Prinia
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Grey-breasted Prinia
Dusky Warbler
Oriental Reed Warbler
Common Tailorbird
Dark-necked Tailorbird
Green Bee-eater
Hoopoe
Barn Swallow
Pacific Swallow
Asian House Martin
Ashy Woodswallow
Eurasian Jay
Brown Shrike
Great Myna
Common Myna
Large-billed Crow
Indian Roller
A Barbet and Warbler not a good enough view for positive ID.
OB LUANG NATIONAL PARK.
Rufous Treepie
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
Green Bee-eater
Golden-fronted Leafbird
White-rumped Shama
Davison's Leaf-warbler
Dusky Warbler
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Red-flanked Bluetail
Blue Rock Thrush
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
Little Ringed Plover
Common Sandpiper
Black-crested Bulbul
Some of the other commoner species mentioned from other sites.
HOT VILLAGE AND FARMLAND
Black Drongo
Green-billed Malkoha
Green Bee-eater
Ashy Woodswallow
Asian Openbill
Plain-backed Sparrow
Indian Roller
DOI INTHANON
Green-tailed Sunbird
Mrs Gould's Sunbird
Golden-throated Barbet
Dark-sided Thrush
Grey-sided Thrush
Blue Whistling Thrush
Bar-throated Minla
Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker
Rufous-winged Fulvetta
Oriental White-eye
Dark-backed Sibia
Silver-eared Laughingthrush
Plumbeous Water Redstart
White-capped Redstart
Grey Wagtail
Red-flanked Bluetail
Flavescent Bulbul
Asian Brown Flycather /Taiga Flycatcher ?
Various Leaf Warblers
CHIANG MAI
Pied Bushchat
Stork-billed Kingfisher
Lesser Coucal
Ashy Woodswallow.
HAT YAI
Streak-eared Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Common Myna
Oriental Magpie Robin
Zebra Dove
Spotted Dove
Scaly-breasted Munia
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
Asian Koel
Brahminy Kite
Chinese Pond Heron
Budgerigar - escapee
Abundant butterfly species - too many to list.