Malaysia and Thailand: Fraser’s Hill, Phuket, Krabi, and Chiang Mai
Province
(12/07/2017 – 12/26/2017) – Birding Report
Participants: Corey Callaghan and Diane Callaghan
Email: [email protected]
Overview: Given the expensive nature of holiday travel between the US and Australia, Diane
and I decided we would take a trip somewhere to Asia for the Christmas period. The goal was to
combine birding (for me) with diving (for her). We decided to choose Thailand as the
predominant destination because it had some well-reviewed dive sites – also famous for its birds!
Plus, the infrastructure, affordability, and proximity to Australia made it a convincing choice. In
addition, since we flew AirAsia, and all the flights went through their hub which is in Kuala
Lumpur, I convinced Diane that we should certainly explore Malaysia briefly as well…
Our trip had three legs. 1.) a quick 3 nights in Malaysia one in K.L. and two at Fraser’s Hill, 2.) 6
nights in the sourthern part of Thailand (Phuket to Koh Lanta and back), and 3.) 8 nights in
Chiang Mai province – visiting each of the top three mountain peaks (Doi Inthanon, Doi Lang,
and Chiang Dao).
We had a total of 336 species, of which 299 I had never seen before.
There are heaps of trip reports on Thailand, so I won’t bother with any of the details of the trip.
But, I will say that the country was very affordable, and the food was amazing.
For planning, I used a variety of different trip reports to help chart a route, and I used the brand-
new Collin’s Field Guide to Southeast Asia as my predominant reference material. Overall, it
had great illustrations and worked well, but as many people have experienced, it was annoying
having a book with such a wide array of birds in it.
The purpose of this trip report is to summarize our general route and findings for anyone who
may want to do a trip to Thailand without hiring guides or staying at high-end resorts. We
covered a lot of ground as a small distance traveled can mean a large change in the bird
community. With more time and planning, a similar route could easily yield 400 species at the
same time of year. I’m certain we missed a lot of species due to our inability to recognize many
calls/songs. Read below for day-by-day highlights, selected photos, and various birding
locations. Any hyperlinks should take you to either the associated location or accommodation
being referenced, or an associated eBird checklist which would provide precise coordinates of
that locale. In some instances, the eBird checklists have more precise instructions or directions
for birding a particular site.
Day 1 (December 7th, 2017): Flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur
We had a direct flight from Sydney and arrived at Kuala Lumpur at about 7:00 PM local time. It
was getting dark, but I did manage your typical airport checklist which included a new bird for
me – Pacific Swallow! Because of the evening arrival, we stayed right near the airport at KLIA2
Tune Hotel. We caught up with one of Diane’s friends from grad school in the city for dinner,
and then prepared for the following day.
Day 2 (December 8th, 2016): Kuala Lumpur to Fraser’s Hill
We couldn’t pick the rental car up until 7:30 AM, so a quick morning checklist at the airport
hotel yielded a few birds, beforehand. We used Hertz here which was smooth and very easy.
We headed to Kuala Selangor first, but before we got there we had a couple of incidental birds,
including a Purple Heron which we wouldn’t see again. Kuala Selangor was good, and we
quickly started listing some Malaysian birds. Olive-backed Sunbird and Asian Glossy Starling
were had in the parking lot. We walked out on the trails and had a Black-capped Kingfisher
along with the more common White-throated Kingfisher and Collared Kingfisher. A highlight
here was a Spotted Redshank – one of only a few eBird records for Malaysia. Other birds
included Ashy Tailorbird, Indian Cuckoo, Korean Flycatcher, Black Baza, Common
Flameback, and Gray Heron. For all but the cuckoo, these were the only records for the entire
trip.
Gray Heron
From Kuala Selangor, we headed up to Fraser’s Hill – our main destination. We arrived at
Stephen’s Place, a very nice B&B who only accepts naturalists to stay at his place. The food was
amazing here, and I had the best piece of smoked chicken in my life. We arrived in some fog,
and that was foreshadowing of our time spent on Fraser’s Hill. Despite the constant foggy
conditions, I was itching to go for a walk and so we walked around the Telekom Loop. On the
four kilometer walk we had 21 species. The birding was heavily characterized by moments of
intense birding with enormous feeding flocks moving through all strata of the forest. Streaked
Spiderhunters were abundant throughout our time at Fraser’s Hill. Some highlights of this walk
included White-throated Fantail, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Golden Babbler, Mountain
Fulvetta, and the common Long-tailed Sibia. The most unusual bird was probably Rufous-
browed Flycatcher – our only record for the trip.
Day 3 (December 9th, 2017): Fraser’s Hill area
When we woke up, we were greeted by more heavy fog. We decided to head down the hill a bit
to try and get out of it, but first stopped at the entrance to Fraser’s Hill, where a forktail was
reported the day prior. No forktail, but we did get lucky with Malayan Laughingthrush. We
then headed down the New Road, stopping at various spots and listening and hoping for some
flocks. We had a couple of fantastic flocks and some good birds! Personal favorites were Red-
billed Malkoha and White-rumped
Shama. Other birds included Dark-
throated Oriole, Red-headed
Trogon, Black-browed Barbet, and
at the bottom of the hill we had a
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo,
differing with the Lesser Racket-
tailed Drongo at the top of the hill.
We then did a little bit of exploring at
the bottom of the hill, but didn’t find
much. I did conduct a 12-minute
stationary count with only one bird
identified! It was the only Purple-
naped Spiderhunter of the trip. We
tried “The Gap” next, but it proved
fruitless, but a Long-billed
Spiderhunter was a nice addition.
The afternoon was spent walking and driving around Telekom Loop in hopes of different birds,
and we weren’t disappointed. Each trip around yielded at least one new bird. The first trip around
saw us add Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle, Large Cuckooshrike, Blyth’s Shrike-Babbler, and Black-
eared Shrike-Babbler; while the second trip yielded Red-headed Trogon, Black
Laughingthrush, and Sultan Tit; and finally, on the last trip around – right before dinner – we
caught up with some Great Hornbills! It was amazing watching these enormous birds gliding
among the treetops.
Purple-naped Spiderhunter
Day 4 (December 10th, 2017): Fraser’s Hill, Malaysia to Phuket, Thailand
After we had an early breakfast, (Note: Stephen will make breakfast for you at whatever time
you want!!) we were packing up and had a Gray Nightjar flying around the garden. We then
started slowly making our way back towards the airport, and birded New Road again, on the way
down. We had some great birds further down than the previous day, near KM marker 3
specifically. Many species were the same as the day before, but we did add a number of new
ones. Highlights included Wreathed
Hornbill, Rufous Piculet, Silver-
breasted Broadbill, Everett’s White-
eye, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, and
Rufous-winged Fulvetta. We then
stopped at a large reservoir and added a
few new birds including White-rumped
Munia, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker,
and Plain-throated Sunbird. Another
highlight of the day was seeing 2
Painted Stork on top of a very large
lamppost while driving 100 km/hr down
the highway!
That concluded our time in Malaysia, and in 2.5 days we racked up 104 species. We then caught
our flight (which was majorly delayed) to Phuket.
Day 5 (December 11th, 2017): Phuket Island
Diane went diving this day, and so I was birding all by myself. It was time for some ‘serious’
birding where I could go at whatever pace was appropriate... I wasn’t really sure where to start
the morning, but after some research, I decided that Saphan Hin Park was suitable. So, I started
there at about 7:30 AM and
had 46 species in about 3 and
a half hours. One of the best
lists of the trip, even though
it was the epitome of urban-
birding. Highlights are tough
as I saw a ton of new birds.
But, some of the highlights
included Common
Kingfisher, Chinese Pond-
Heron, Indian Roller,
Coppersmith Barbet,
Golden-bellied Gerygone,
Red-rumped Swallow, and
Ashy Minivet.
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
Coppersmith Barbet
I kept the urban-birding going and visited another smallish urban greenspace (Phuket Provincial
Commemoration Park) where I got many of the same species. It was getting towards the middle
of the day, which meant it was getting hot. I ended up driving up to Laguna Phuket, which is
essentially a large golf course/condo style location. It was well represented in eBird so I figured
it might be decent. The birding wasn’t terrible, but unfortunately finding a spot to park was
miserable, which made most of the wetlands and associated birds tough to view. I reckon visiting
here early in the morning would be a better plan. Regardless, I did end up with some decent
species, many of which I wouldn’t see again on the trip. Lesser Whistling-Duck, Cotton
Pygmy-Goose, Little Grebe, and Yellow Bittern were all good waterbirds to see. I saw Gray-
headed Swamphen, which
is a species I did my
Masters on in Florida, so it
was nice to see them in part
of their native range! I also
turned up one Black-
browed Reed Warbler,
which would be the only
one of the trip. See the full
list and some photos here.
The rest of the afternoon
was spent back at the hotel
relaxing in A/C and then
dinner with Diane.
Day 6 (December 12th, 2017): Phuket Island to Koh Lanta
Today was a travel day to Koh Lanta, where Diane would be diving the next two days. I didn’t
have many birding stops planned, but tried a couple of different ones, and unfortunately they
mostly were very poor. We first went to Sa Nang Manora Waterfall, and despite the beauty of
the falls, the birding was horrendous with only
2 species identified in 30 minutes! We then
stopped at the Krabi Mangrove Boardwalk,
where our highlight was a Chestnut-bellied
Malkoha. We tried finding a meditation
garden mentioned here, but couldn’t find
anything that resembled good birding at Wat
Tham Sua. However, Chestnut-headed Bee-
eaters and Asian Palm-Swift were fine
consolation prizes. After crossing the ferry to
Koh Lanta, we did have a flock of shorebird
which were mostly Lesser Sand-Plover and 2
Terek Sandpiper.
Little Grebe
Chestnut-bellied Malkoha
Day 7 (December 13th, 2017): Khao Nor Chu Chi, Krabi Province
Today was another “birding at my pace” type day without the restraints of the missus. So, I left
early and headed to Bang Khram Wildlife Sanctuary, or also known as Khao Nor Chu Chi. A
well-birded site known especially for Gurney’s Pitta. Unfortunately, I dipped on Gurney’s Pitta,
but still had a fantastic morning. The morning started with obnoxious Black Magpies calling,
and only a quick glimpse was had of this elusive bird. Thick-billed Pigeons were among some
treetops. A busy flock held Amur Paradise-Flycatcher, Crow-billed Drongo, Gray-headed
Canary-Flycatcher, and Green-backed Flycatcher. On my walk back to the car before moving
to another part of the reserve I had a Whiskered Treeswift perched – one of my favorite birds of
the entire trip. I then walked past the Emerald Pool to an extremely large fruiting tree that was
attended by Black-headed Bulbul, Asian Fairy-bluebird, a single Eyebrowed Thrush, Red-
eyed Bulbul, and Greater Green Leafbird among others. I did particularly well with
Flowerpeckers here, as I had Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker, Thick-billed Flowerpecker,
Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, and Scarlet-backed
Flowerpecker. It eventually got scorching hot and the bird activity was almost nill, so I decided
to leave and head back to Koh Lanta. My list with a few crummy photos is here.
Day 8 (December 14th, 2017): Koh Lanta to Krabi
Diane had another day of diving off of Koh Lanta, so I headed down to Mu Koh Lanta National
Park, but unfortunately I got there well before they opened the gates so I ended up just birding
along the road, outside of the park itself. The birding was decent with Japanese Sparrowhawk,
Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Common Hill Myna, and Great Iora. The full list is here. After a nap at
the hotel I went to a random spot to try and track down a few more birds before I picked Diane
up at the pier following her dive. I wasn’t disappointed and ended up finding a flooded field with
a mix of agricultural birds and waterbirds. Highlights were a Cinnamon Bittern which flushed
up from the field. Common Snipe flew by a couple of times, Red-wattled Lapwing were
visible. Greater Coucal, White-throated Kingfisher, and Black Drongo were all evident in the
flooded field as well. I then walked along the nearby beach and had a Common Tern, Lesser
Sand-Plovers, and Malaysian Plovers. I ended up with over 20 species here, a couple of which
I wouldn’t see again.
Day 9 (December 15th, 2017): Kabi Canals and Mudlfats
Diane had booked diving today, and I made arrangements with Diao Krubpom, the late Mr.
Doi’s son to take me out on his longtail boat in search of some tough-to-find birds in the canals. I
simply messaged Diao on facebook and he was very helpful and knew the birds reasonably well.
He speaks little English, but good enough to get by. We first spent about 2 hours in the mangrove
canals where we dipped on Mangrove Pitta and Ruddy Kingfisher. But, we did have some great
birds including Green-billed Malkoha, Indian Cuckoo, Olive-winged Bulbul, Common
Flameback, and Rufous-bellied Swallow. The highlight was probably the five kingfisher
species: Common, Brown-winged, Black-capped, Collared, and White-throated Kingfishers.
We had 27 species from his boat in the mangroves. Next, we went out to the river mouth where
the shorebirds roost and I wasn’t disappointed! This trip really increased the total trip list as we
had a lot of shorebirds that weren’t seen again elsewhere. Highlights included Nordmann’s
Greenshank, Kentish Plover, and Chinese Egret. The full list with some photos is here.
Ultimately, I would recommend Diao as a boatman to explore Krabi mangroves and mudflats
with.
Day 10 (December 16th, 2017): Kabi to Phuket
Today was our last full day in the southern part of Thailand and we started heading back towards
Phuket for one last night. On the way, we stopped at Ao Phang-nga NP headquarters and then
walked down “Mangrove Rd.”, but had very little and missed Mangrove Pitta once again. The
main highlights were Blue Rock-Thrush, Brown-winged Kingfisher, and Ruby-cheeked
Sunbird. It was very hot by the time we got to the northern section of Sirinat National Park. We
parked at an abandoned headquarters and walked up a road which did produce a couple of new
birds which we wouldn’t see again – Eurasian Hoopoe and Forest Wagtail. We also had Scaly-
breasted Munia, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Common Iora, Malaysian Pied-Fantail and
Racket-tailed Treepie here. That was the end of southern Thailand birding, aside from one final
list outside of our hotel which added Paddyfield Pipit.
Day 11 (December 17th, 2017): Phuket to Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai
Province
The diving portion of the trip was over and today we flew up to Chiang Mai province in order to
start some serious birding (ignoring the fact we already had over 150 species seen for the trip)!
Our first stop was at Mae Hia Agricultural College, which was on the way to Doi Inthanon. New
birds were evident as we had traveled quite far and the dry fields was a new habitat for us to
visit. We added Gray-breasted Prinia, Taiga Flycatcher, Pied Bushchat, Richard’s Pipit,
Oriental Reed Warbler and Green Bee-eater. A personal favorite, however, were the Ashy
Woodswallows. It was also nice to see Red-whiskered Bulbuls in the native range.
We then continued on to Doi Inthanon National Park where we stayed at Mr. Deang’s bird
center. It is simple but fantastic accommodation and we ate most our meals there for incredibly
cheap.
Common Sandpiper Brown-winged Kingfisher
After checking in, we
decided to head up to the
summit where we got some
of the common birds there
including Black-backed
Sibia, Green-tailed
Sunbird, Gould’s
Sunbird, Chestnut-tailed
Minla, and Rufous-winged
Fulvetta. The highlight
though, and another one of
my favorite birds of the trip,
was probably the Yellow-
bellied Fairy-Fantail. See
the checklist for a few
photos.
Day 12 (December 18th, 2017): Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai Province
Today was about quality, not quantity. We started at the Summit at 6:30 AM where it was
incredibly cold and mind-blowingly packed with tourists! Yet, we went around the boardwalk
and did have Rufous-throated Partridge and Diane spotted a White-browed Shortwing.
Despite the couple of good birds, we decided to bail on the summit and work other parts of the
park. We had little luck all morning, mainly due to the rainy/misty weather. We stopped at the
Jeep Track briefly, then at Vachirathan Waterfall where we had Slaty-backed Forktail and
Plumbeous Redstart. We did have our first Blue-bearded Bee-eater here. We did a quick walk
around Mr. Deang’s when we got back for lunch, adding some common birds such as Mountain
Bulbul, Bronzed Cuckoo, Black-faced Monarch, and Verditer Flycatcher among others.
After lunch, we headed to the KM 34.5 trail, which was our best of the day, and we had a decent
flock of birds at one point. Added a couple of new birds here, such as Chestnut-flanked White-
eye, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Rufous-backed Sibia, and Large Niltava. After that, we made a
decision to try the summit again as the sun was out and thought we might have better luck.
Another loop around the boardwalk yielded a couple goodies which included Dark-sided
Thrush and Yellow-browed Tit. Other highlights included both yellow and black-billed races of
Blue Whistling-Thrush, cooperative Silver-eared Laughingthrushes, Ashy-throated
Warbler, and Gould’s Sunbird. See the checklist for more photos. As we were heading back to
Black-backed Sibia
Mr. Deang’s for dinner we had some Speckled Wood-Pigeon flyover so I stopped and snapped a
couple of crappy photos.
Day 13 (December 19th, 2017): Doi Inthanon National Park and Surrounds, Chiang Mai
Province
This was one of the best days of the trip, and after much debate the night before of what the plan
should be, we ended up trying the Blossom-headed Parakeet roost outside of the park proper at
first light. We arrived at 6:30 AM and the first Blossom-headed Parakeet flew by at 6:39 AM.
The eBird pin for this list is very near the tower that was constructed by a local birdwatcher and
birders are welcome to visit the tower. The tower is at about here: 18.4931171, 98.6792743. He
was very kind and welcoming. We ended up standing in the tower for about an hour. Aside from
the parakeets, other highlights included Red-billed Blue-Magpie, Hair-crested Drongo, Long-
tailed Minivet, and Rosy Minivet. The best bird, however, was an Ashy-headed Green-Pigeon
– one of very few records in eBird for Chiang Mai province. And the first for the homeowner
who kept a serious ‘tower list’. Photos of the pigeon, along with others, are on this list. We then
walked around a little bit and added quite a few more birds, which included Banded Bay
Cuckoo, Asian Barred Owlet, Racket-tailed Treepie, and a collection of bulbuls.
Silver-eared Laughingthrush
We then went back into Doi Inthanon and walked a random trail where we found White-crested
Laughingthrush – another top 5 favorite bird of the trip! We went to the Orchid Garden to
check it out, thinking there might be some cool stuff for Diane to see as well. The birding wasn’t
great, but I did have a Burmese Shrike and Orential Turtle-Doves which were new birds and
the only time they were both seen. On the way back, we had an incidental Gray Bushchat.
After a break at Mr. Deang’s we decided to go back to the summit again, where again we added
a few new birds along the boardwalk. The highlights were White-crowned Forktail and Snowy-
browed Flycatcher. A Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush right next to a Blue Rock-Thrush near
the weather station was interesting as well. On the way back down the mountain we stopped at
KM 37.5 jeep track again and went for a bit of a walk. We couldn’t identify much (so much so
that I did a crappy incomplete eBird list….) and it was getting dark, but we did add a couple of
good birds: Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Slaty-bellied Tesia, and Hume’s
Treecreeper included. The latter two weren’t seen again.
White-crested Laughingthrush
Day 14 (December 20th, 2017): Doi Inthanon National Park to Chiang Dao
The morning saw us back at the trail at KM 34.5, where we had a great walk. Before we got out
of the car, there was a Slaty-backed Forktail on the jeep trail. We ended up with 30 species on
the walk, but the highlight was a fantastic flock on our way back to the car that actually stayed
with us. Clicking Shrike-Babbler, White-bellied Erpornis, Little Pied Flycatcher, and
Snowy-browed Flycatcher were all highlights from this flock. Then, as we were nearing the
car, we picked up some spectacular Spectacled Barwings!
Right after leaving the park towards Chiang Dao we stopped for breakfast and we picked up a
Rufous Treepie as we were eating – right along the main road. A bird we missed yesterday at
the parakeet location, so was happy to pick this one up incidentally. Of course, Diane claimed
credit for it given she had chosen the breakfast locale.
Spectacled Barwing
We pretty much drove straight to Malee’s Nature Bungalows for the next three nights of
accommodation. We got there in the afternoon and after a brief snooze, we walked up to the
temple from Malee’s. Not a ton around, but a handful of Mountain Imperial-Pigeon, Black-
crested Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, and Red-whiskered Bulbul were all prevalent. A
White-rumped Shama was nice, and they were a given at this location the next couple days.
One Blue-throated Barbet was also a first for us.
Day 15 (December 21st, 2017): Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary – Den Ya Khat
We had arranged through Malee for transportation up to the Den Ya Khat substation, where we
had hopes of finding Giant Nuthatch and Hume’s Pheasant. Neither were had. We did have
Gray-capped Woodpecker, Stripe-breasted Woodpecker, and Lesser Yellownape. Blyth’s
Shrike-Babbler were common, and Japanese Tit, Eurasian Jay, and Slender-billed Oriole
were new birds for us. Ultimately, we ended up with 28 species up here, and the ride up was
intense and a 4WD is definitely necessary. If I did the trip again, I’d probably skip it, because we
didn’t have a ton up there and the birding wasn’t particularly fantastic. I did a quick list at
Malee’s once we got back, but then we ended up going back up to the temple, where we had
some really great birds! Highlights were Eyebrowed Wren-Babbler, Siberian Blue Robin, and
Black-throated Laughingthrush. The latter was certainly one of the top 5 birds of the trip for
me.
Day 16 (December 22nd, 2017): Chiang Dao area
I started the morning with a quick list around Malee’s getting a lot of the common birds, but then
after Diane was up and ready we headed back up to the temple, excited to check out some of
those skulking birds in better light. Diane ended up heading
back early due to ‘being cold’, but I racked up 49 species in
about 3 hours. One of my best lists and most exciting birding
of the trip. As I climbed the steps there were literally dozens
of birds along the trail. Asian Fairy-bluebird (a spectacular
bird) quickly became commonplace. White-rumped
Shama, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, and a heap of bulbuls
were all abundant and evident. Puff-throated Babbler, and
Buff-breasted Babbler were two good skulkers to pick up. I
also photographed (poorly) a Streaked Wren-Babbler. The
morning walk was capped off with a cooperative Hill Blue
Flycatcher.
Hill Blue Flycatcher
After an afternoon R&R,
we hit up the paddies,
before we went for dinner.
Diane typically hates
birding in agricultural
settings, and this was no
different. However, she
still spotted 4/5 lifers that
we had here. Those being
Lineated Barbet, Asian
Openbill, Eurasian
Kestrel, and Black-
collared Starling. It was
the only time we saw the
first three. The other new
bird here was Chestnut-
tailed Starling. The
change in habitat was
welcomed and certainly
produced as we had 28
species in a short walk.
Day 17 (December 23rd, 2017): Chiang Dao area to Tha Ton Paddies to Doi Lang
Diane had a sleep-in and I went back to the temple, but didn’t quite have the energy to commit to
climbing the steps. So, I just birded around the bottom, and had most of the birds we had seen the
previous couple days. The exceptions were Greater Yellownape foraging out in the open, and a
couple of Pin-tailed Pigeon flyovers. Before leaving, I found an Asian Barred Owlet showing
well, from Malee’s parking lot.
We then had a pretty uneventful drive to the Tha Ton Paddies, with the only highlight being
some Crested Treeswift sitting on the telephone wires about here. I had really high expectations
for Tha Ton Paddies, as I miss agricultural birding from back in Florida, and fully appreciate the
diversity that can be quickly racked up in a short time span. The paddies didn’t disappoint. We
arrived just as the fog was clearing, and ended up with 54 species in a couple hours. By the time
we left, it was quite hot. Highlights are plentiful, but included Pied Harrier, Rufous-winged
Buzzard, Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Pin-tailed Snipe, Green Sandpiper,
Eurasian Wryneck, Wire-tailed Swallow, Yellow-bellied Prinia, and Bluethroat. See the
eBird list for full details and photos.
After the paddies, we tried to find the Thaton River, talked about in these instructions. But, the
site is radically different and probably not worth a visit – especially if your spouse isn’t fond of
agricultural birding to begin with! Regardless, I did add a few birds here, which included
Ruddy-breasted Crake and Red-throated Pipit.
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
We went to our accommodation,
which was Monmai Resort, in Fang
– quite a nice place with fantastic
little cabins and great service. I
highly recommend this
accomodation, especially if you have
a rental car. About an hour’s drive
from Doi Lang, but near plenty of
restaurants. On our way back, we
did have an incidental Black-
shouldered Kite.
Day 18 (December 24th, 2017): Doi Pha Hom Pok and Doi Lang – western slope
We actually made a big mistake today, and ended up going to an unintended location. Instead of
going up the western slope of Doi Lang, we ended up going to the Doi Angkhang Royal
Agricultural Station instead. This place was completely overrun with tourists and it was difficult
to find birds anywhere. That being said, I did have our only Daurian Redstart of the trip here.
But, after exploring the area and having trouble figuring out where we were, we finally realized
we weren’t in the intended destination. We eventually found some excellent directions on how to
actually get to Doi Lang from here. Sure enough, we went that way and eventually made it there.
The road up was pretty tough on the 2WD vehicle, but it made it, and once you make it up the
windy road, it is fine.
We ended up finding the various photography blinds and even some other photographers were
around. Highlights included
Chestnut-bellied Rock-
Thrush, Rufous-gorgeted
Flycatcher, Siberian
Rubythroat, Vivid Niltava
and Rufous-bellied Niltava,
Spot-breasted Parrotbill, and
Hill Prinia. The best bird was
ultimately Himalayan Cutia
though, a difficult bird to catch
up with! We ended up with a
decent list for the afternoon,
despite our mishaps from the
morning.
Striated Swallow
Siberian Rubythroat
Day 19 (December 25th, 2017): Doi Lang – western slope and Tha Ton Paddies
Today was our last full day in Thailand, and after much debate, I figured we should get up early
and drive the hour back to Doi Lang in hopes of something special... We found the
photographers at about 6:30 AM and they were nice enough to lend us a blind to use. After
waiting about half-hour, a Hume’s Pheasant came out and absolutely put on a show. We
watched it until we were fully content and then walked back down the road and had a Giant
Nuthatch.
Two of the
best birds to
get here – in
one morning.
Merry
Christmas. We
ended up
birding some
of the same
spots as
yesterday on
the top of the
mountain, but
didn’t end up
having much
different aside
from Black-
throated Tits.
It turns out that the top part of Doi Lang is now more heavily restricted, and many of the best
spots (such as the upper army camp and the San Ju Viewpoint) are inaccessible to birders. I
understand some of the birds can still be seen on the eastern slope, but it is worth noting that
birders can no longer reach the highest points noted here. We certainly missed a few birds
because of this, but it was still worth the visit with the birds we did have up there.
After we came off of Doi Lang, we decided to stop by the Tha Ton Paddies one more time in
case we found anything different. We mostly stayed in the car, and just did a presence/absence
list as it was hot and nothing different was seen.
We spent the afternoon hanging out at the Monmai Resort and I did my last official list of the
trip, which was just a walk around the surrounding area.
Day 20 (December 26th, 2017): Doi Lang – Sydney
The trip was officially over! A non-eventful flight back to Sydney where we were greeted by
Vader at the airport.
Hume’s Pheasant