Thailand Birding: Summit of Doi Inthanon

Recently I had the pleasure of a very relaxing day spent at the summit of Doi Inthanon. I was accompanying Pieter Verheij and Roger Marchant who are both very keen bird photographers and wanted to take high quality photos of birds that they could get close to - well, Doi Inthanon with its semi-tame species was perfect for that.

We spent almost the entire day at the summit and over the course of the day excellent photos of the following species were obtained; Grey-sided Thrush, Bar-throated Minla, Silver-eared Laughingthrush, Buff-barred Leaf Warbler, Green-tailed Sunbird, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Blue Whistlingthrush, Dark-backed Sibia and Yellow-bellied Fantail.

I managed to get a few nice photos too, particularly of the tame Minlas which I almost stepped upon at one point.

Female Green-tailed Sunbird

Bar-throated Minla

Silver-eared Laughingthrush with nest material

Other birds which we managed to photograph but not obtain high quality images of were Blyth's Leaf Warbler, Ashy-throated Leaf Warbler, Pygmy Wren Babbler and Rufous-winged Fulvetta.

A few other birds seen but not photographed were White-browed Shortwing, Flavescent Bulbul, Golden-throated Barbet and Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker.

It was a very nice day, taken at a slow pace which gave me time to look at species in detail and see things in their plumage and behaviour which I had never before noticed.

Thailand Birding: Doi Inthanon Summit

The summit of Doi Inthanon is always a lovely place, with its mossy, fern-covered trees and fantastic birds. On 24th and 25th January I made a couple of visits to the summit where it was really quite cold in the early morning and late afternoon.

On both visits the regular species were seen quite easily; Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Bar-throated (Chestnut-tailed) Minla, Silver-eared (Chestnut-crowned) Laughingthrush, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Dark-backed Sibia, Flavescent Bulbul, Ashy-throated Warbler, Yellow-browed Tit, Mrs Gould's Sunbird and Green-tailed Sunbird. However, over the course of the two visits, quite a few less common and harder to find species were also seen, including this very confiding Eurasian Woodcock.

A flock of about 20 Common Rosefinches were seen at the car park in the early morning, including some beautiful males, but I was most excited about a male Brambling that we saw on the boardwalk as it was a bird that I had not previously seen in Thailand.

Other highlights on our two visits were 2 Dark-sided Thrushes foraging amongst the leaf litter, 2 male White-browed Shortwings, 2 Ashy-headed Woodpigeons to add to the Speckled Woodpigeons we saw on the way up, superb views of a singing Pygmy Wren Babbler, 2 Rufous-throated Partridges that we called in behind the toilets, a Northern White-crowned Forktail, a male Snowy-browed Flycatcher and a male Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker.

All in all, a very successful two trips to the summit of Doi Inthanon.

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.