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: callaghan.corey.t@gmail.com

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