Thailand Birding: Doi Inthanon Summit

Chestnut-tailed Minla at summit of Doi Inthanon

(Photo by Nick Upton)

The summit of Doi Inthanon is one of my favourite birding spots in the world. There are a number of species which are specialities of the summit and most of them are fairly easy to see and can even be found in the worst of weather conditions - they are vitually guaranteed. The above photo was taken next to the coffee/hot chocolate hut next to the summit toilets. The people at the coffee stand put out bananas and the birds come to eat them, only a few feet away from where people are standing.

I was on the summit of Doi Inthanon in mid July with Robert King and the weather was terrible; strong winds, rain and cold. However, in two visits (both in the same conditions) we managed to see the following species:

Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush
Chestnut-tailed Minla
Yellow-bellied Fantail
Ashy Woodpigeon
Ashy-throated Warbler
Davison’s Leaf Warbler
Green-tailed Sunbird
Snowy-browed Flycatcher
Pygmy Wren Babbler
White-browed Shortwing
Dark-backed Sibia
Flavescent Bulbul
Blue Whistling Thrush
Rufous-winged Fulvetta
Yellow-cheeked Tit

We ended up at the summit of the mountain when the weather further down was too poor for birding - at the top it was just a little better and as it is higher up there is more chance of a break or the sun buring the cloud off for a while. Certainly on our second visit we had about 10 minutes where the sun almost broke through and we had time to see the Ashy Woodpigeons and Green-tailed Sunbirds were encouraged enough to come out and feed on flowers in the garden at the top.

One thing about being at the summit of Doi Inthanon in the rain is that the elfin forest looks amazingly lush and the plants are wonderful covered in raindrops.

A full report of the 14 day trip around Thailand in July 2009 can be read here: Rainy Season Birding Tour of Thailand, 1st-14th July 2009.

Thailand Birding: A Day in Petchaburi Province

Yesterday I met David Scott in Cha-am and we went on a tour of various habitats in Petchaburi province.

Dry Dipterocarp Forest at Khao Look Chang
Our first stop of the day was a patch of dry dipterocarp forest at a location called Khao Look Chang, it is right next to the Wildlife Friends of Thailand’s Wildlife Rescue Centre and is protected by Look Chang Temple. Our first birds were a pair of Rufous Woodpeckers which were amazingly confiding and gave us an excellent start. I then went back to the car to get something I had forgotten and on the way back saw 2 Blue-winged Pittas. I alerted David to this and after a little searching we both got a good view.

I was surprised to see this habitat so close to Bangkok (a little over 2 hours away) and we managed to find some nice birds that I usually have to go further afield to see or struggle to get a glimpse of elsewhere. These included a group of at least 6 Red-breasted Parakeets, many Lineated Barbets heard and a few seen, lots of groups of fairly confiding Greater Necklaced Laughingthrushes, Rufous Treepie and best of all was a group of 4 Black-headed Woodpeckers.

female Black-headed Woodpecker

Photo by Peter Ericsson

Other birds we saw were Puff-throated Babbler, Black-headed Bulbul, White-rumped Shama, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Racket-tailed Treepie, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Spangled Drongo and Striped Tit Babbler.

The Surrounding Open-country
Khao Look Chang is surrounded by scrubby regenerating forest and abandoned farmland. In these habitats we found many of the typical inhabitants including Hoopoe, Indochinese Bushlark, Black-collared Starling, Red-wattled Lapwing, Green Bee-eater, Indian Roller, Sooty-headed Bulbul and mynas.

Pool near Khao Look Chang

(Photo by Nick Upton)

The area was very dry but at one pool we found a number of birds which included White-throated Kingfisher, Streak-eared Bulbul, Yellow-vented Bulbul and Golden-fronted Leafbird. Also at the pool was a sub-adult Booted Eagle! What it was doing there at this time of year I don’t know, it seems way too early.

Tung Bang Jak
After lunch David and I spent a few hours at Tung Bang Jak, just about 1 kilometre north of Petchaburi town. Here we found large numbers of Baya Weavers nesting in trees, Streaked Weavers nesting in Typha and smaller numbers of Asian Golden Weavers also in the Typha.

The wetlands here also served us up a number of Bronze-winged Jacanas, a few Lesser Whistling Ducks, including one female with 6 ducklings, a Black Bittern, several Yellow Bitterns and countless Asian Openbills. Lots of other common open-country birds were present as always, perhaps the most interesting being a Plaintive Cuckoo.

A short drive away at Wat Khao Takrao we found some migrant shorebirds which included more than 100 Black-tailed Godwits and smaller numbers of Greenshank, Lesser Sand Plover, Wood Sandpiper and Common Redshank but the stars of the show were 4 Spot-billed Pelicans and 12 Painted Storks.

Tung Faek
Our final stop was some forest on hill slopes at Tung Faek, close to Cha-am. Unfortunately the rain washed out this part of the day and apart  from some Greater Necklaced Laughingthrushes and a brief glimpse of a Greater Yellownape we saw nothing.

Rain is always likely at this time of year but it is much easier to take when you have already had a good day’s birding.