A Maroon Oriole seeks nectar on the slope of Doi Inthanon. Photo: Jon Dunn
Thailand is one of the most fascinating and ornithologically exciting countries in Asia. A wide variety of habitats and an extensive park and sanctuary system support a huge number of resident bird species and a rich array of Palearctic migrants. Our tour samples habitats from the marshy plains, mangrove coastline, and salt pans around Bangkok to the beautiful forest national park at Khao Yai and the cool mountains near the northern capital of Chiang Mai. In the Thaton Highlands, we visit mountainous regions in the country’s extreme northwest, where a number of new species await us.
The 2011 edition of this popular tour adds a day south of Bangkok, giving us more time to spend with the remarkalbe Spoon-billed Sandpipers and to take advantage of the other natural features discovered on our earlier visits.
This tour can be taken in conjunction with our tour to Peninsular Thailand and Gurney’s Pitta.
Day 1: The trip begins at 6:00 pm in Bangkok. Night in Bangkok.
Day 2: We’ll explore brackish and saltwater habitats (mudflats, sandflats, mangroves, and salt pans) in the western sectors of the Gulf of Thailand in Phetchaburi Province, searching for 40 or more shorebird species, including Red-necked and Long-toed Stints, Great Knot, Broad-billed and Marsh Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers, and, if we’re lucky, Spoon-billed Sandpiper (world population now no more than 300 pairs and likely far fewer, but there were at least six individuals here in 2010) and the threatened Nordmann’s Greenshank. We should also find Brown-headed and possibly Pallas’s (Great Black-headed) Gulls, Brahminy Kite, and Black-capped and Collared Kingfishers, among many other species. In the past several years, one or two White-faced Plovers (Charadrius dealbatus) have wintered on the sandspit at Laem Phak Bia, and we’ll search for the species and for the more numerous Malaysian Plover. We’re also likely to see Chinese and Pacific Reef Egrets and Great Crested Tern here. The White-faced Plover was actually first collected in 1861 by Swinhoe, who described it as a new species in 1870—after which it was forgotten! Night near Laem Phak Bia, at a resort on the Gulf of Thailand.
Day 3: In the early morning we’ll visit a freshwater marsh (a Royal Project) near Laem Phak Bia and search for a variety of marsh birds, such as Yellow Bittern, both Slaty-breasted Rail and Ruddy-breasted Crake, Watercock, Bronze-winged Jacana, Pintail Snipe, and a variety of warblers, including Oriental and Black-browed Reed Warblers. Later, we’ll visit some open country an hour or so away that is particularly good for raptors and a wide variety of other species. Among the many wintering Black Kites, we’ll be looking for eagles; Greater Spotted and Booted are the more regularly encountered species, but we might see Imperial and Steppe Eagles, too. Later we’ll have some time off before birding one of the wetlands near Laem Pak Bia late in the day, perhaps traveling a few miles north to Bang Khun Sai, where a marsh often supports multiple pairs of Painted Snipe. Another interesting feature of the town is its “swift apartments,” multi-storey concrete structures build by Chinese investors to house wild Edible-nest Swifts. Thousand of pairs nest in the most favored apartments, each with its own set of (human) managers and a speaker system that broadcasts swift calls at high volume in hopes of attracting additional recruits; there are reports that the nests of the Edible-nest Swift sell for upwards of $2,500 a pound in the Chinese markets. If there’s time, we’ll return to the Royal Project at dusk to watch hundreds of Black Drongos, starlings, mynahs, and Blue-tailed Bee-eaters returning to their mangrove roosts; we may also witness the departure of hundreds of Flying Foxes as they head out for a night’s foraging. Night near Laem Pak Bia.
Day 4: After a final early morning of birding around Laem Pak Bia or Phak Thale, we’ll head north. As we travel on to Ayutthaya, we’ll stop to examine concentrations of feeding Asian Openbills in marshy fields en route. We’ll have lunch at a riverside restaurant in Ayutthaya, the former capital of Old Siam, where among the ruins we’ll find a variety of chiefly garden birds including Coppersmith and Lineated Barbets, Common Iora, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, and perhaps Small Minivet. Wintering species should include both Taiga Flycatcher and Yellow-browed Warbler, and we often find our only Thick-billed Warbler of the trip here among the ancient ruins. On our way to Khao Yai we’ll visit limestone karst country to search for the very local Limestone Wren Babbler. We’ll arrive at Khao Yai by early evening. This and the next three nights will be spent in a luxury resort amid spectacular cliffs and woodland by the northern gate of Khao Yai National Park. We’ll search for Red-breasted Parakeets and other birds right on the resort grounds. Night near Khao Yai National Park.
Days 5-7: We’ll spend three full days expxloring the densely forest hills, clear rivers, and waterfalls at Khao Yai, one of the best-preserved tracts of tropical evergreen forest in all of Indochina. Khao Yai is noted for larger forest birds, among which we’ll be looking for three or four species of hornbill, including the magnificent Great Hornbill; Orange-breasted and Red-headed Trogons; Banded Kingfisher; Banded and Long-tailed Broadbills; and Sultan Tit. In addition we can expect a variety of raptors, pigeons, barbets, woodpeckers, leafbirds, bulbuls, laughingthrushes, babblers, warblers, sunbirds, and flowerpeckers. Red Junglefowl and Siberian Blue Robin haunt the undergrowth, and there is a chance of other, scarcer ground birds such as the elegant Siamese Fireback, Silver Pheasant, and the elusive Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo or Blue Pitta. At dusk we’ll look for Great Eared-Nightjars, and we’ll make a nocturnal excursion for Brown Boobook, and perhaps other nightbirds, on our hotel grounds. Khao Yai is especially rich in mammals, including Pig-tailed Macaque, monkeys, gibbons, Black Giant Squirrel, civets, Sambar and Barking Deer, and Asian Elephant. Nights near Khao Yai National Park.
Day 8: After a final morning’s birdwatching in Khao Yai, we’ll return to Bangkok in time for an afternoon flight to Chiang Mai. Night in Chiang Mai.
Day 9: The avifauna of northern Thailand differs markedly from that of the central region, and many Himalayan birds begin to appear. Our visits over the following week to a succession of habitats, from open plains to forested mountain slopes, will bring us a wealth of new species including numerous new barbets, bulbuls, and babblers, among many others. This is also one of the most exciting parts of the country for wintering Palearctic birds including Eyebrowed and other thrushes, Olive-backed Pipit, and Common Rosefinch.
By special arrangement we’ll visit the summit of Doi Pui, an area of open oak and pine forest and cypress plantations at over 5,000 feet. It is ideal for wintering and resident birds, and always seems to produce a surprise or two. We’ll focus on flycatchers, chats, thrushes, Phylloscopus warblers including both resident White-tailed and wintering Hume’s Leaf Warblers, perhaps Chestnut Bunting, and such resident species as Blue-throated Barbet, Gray-chinned and Long-tailed Minivets, and Yellow-cheeked Tit. There is also a possibility of happening across a Hume’s Pheasant or a Scaly Thrush. After a picnic lunch on the mountain, we’ll visit open scrub and grassland on the western outskirts of the city to search for Rufous-winged Buzzard, Burmese Shrike, Ashy Woodswallow, Indochinese Bushlark, and a variety of other birds. Night in Chiang Mai.
Day 10: We’ll visit the Huai Hong Khrai Royal Development Project, a fine area of low rolling hills covered with deciduous forest and containing scattered lakes. Here we’ll be looking for one of the most elusive and threatened large birds in Asia, Green Peafowl, which has recently recolonized this area after being accorded greatly approved protection. We may also visit lowland paddy habitats to look for Oriental Skylark, Pintail Snipe, Gray-headed Lapwing, Bluethroat, Siberian Rubythroat, and perhaps, if we’re very lucky, Small or Yellow-legged Buttonquail. After lunch we’ll travel on to Doi Inthanon, where we’ll spend the next three nights in a pleasant resort at the foot of the mountain. Late in the afternoon we’ll search for Blossom-headed Parakeet and Rufous Treepie, which are often present near where we’ll be staying. Night at Doi Inthanon Highland Resort.
Days 11-12: We’ll spend these days exploring the huge range of habitats on 8,400-foot Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain. Habitats range from open deciduous dipterocarp woodland on the lower slopes, upward through a succession of pine, open woodland, and deforested open country to moist, broadleaved evergreen forest.
Our first morning on the mountain will be spent around the summit, which supports an abundance of gorgeous flowering rhododendrons and orchids. A visit here is certain to reveal a multitude of brightly colored small birds, including Chestnut-tailed Minla, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Yellow-bellied Fantail, and the stunning Gould’s and Green-tailed Sunbirds. As we follow a boardwalk around a sphagnum moss bog, we’ll look for ground-skulkers such as Rufous-throated Partridge, White-browed Shortwing, Dark-sided and Gray-sided Thrushes, Red-flanked Bluetail, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, and Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush. Retiring Ashy Wood Pigeons can often located roosting on branches in the early morning, and wintering flocks of Speckled Wood Pigeons are often found just below the summit. After a picnic lunch, we’ll begin our descent, looking for additional birds as we go.
On our second day, we’ll start in the pre-dawn, looking near our accommodations for Savanna and perhaps Indian and Large-tailed Nightjars and Oriental Scops Owl. After dawn, we’ll work the dry dipterocarp forest on the lower slope looking for Collared Falconet, Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch, Black-backed Forktail, Black-hooded Oriole, and woodpeckers, perhaps including Black-headed (an Indochina endemic), Gray-capped, or White-bellied. There is also an outside chance of another Indochina endemic, White-rumped Falcon; though the birding will be slow otherwise, this will be our only opportunity to see this species, and we hope to encouter at least a few individuals. Ascending farther, we’ll have a picnic lunch and spend the remainder of the day in a quiet valley amid cultivated land and regenerating forest, looking for Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Blue-throated Flycatcher, and perhaps, if we are very lucky, Black-tailed Crake. Along the cascading streams, we’ll look for White-capped and Plumbeous Redstarts. Nights at Inthanon Highland Resort.
Day 13: We’ll spend our final day on Doi Inthanon exploring the loftiest and most species-rich forest at elevations between 5,000 and 6,000 feet. Among the many birds we’ll be seeking are Maroon Oriole, Short-billed Minivet, Brown-throated Treecreeper, White-necked Laughingthrush, Silver-eared Mesia, Spectacled Barwing, Rufous-backed Sibia, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Slaty-bellied Tesia, and Large Niltava. There is also the slim possibility of finding Green Cochoa. We’ll return to Chiang Mai in the late afternoon. Night in Chiang Mai.
Day 14: We’ll leave early for the Mae Taeng Irrigation Project, partway to Chiang Dao District. The open country, where a shingle river descends from the steep mountains to the west, should produce a fine variety of birds including Green Sandpiper, breeding Little Ringed Plover, Wire-tailed Swallow, Chestnut-capped Babbler, Chestnut-tailed Starling, and Crested Bunting. Siberian Rubythroat is often found here, and we’ll hope for views of this living jewel. We’ll also look out for Rufous-winged Buzzard and Baikal (Spotted) Bush Warbler, among other species.
We’ll have lunch en route and drive on to our accommodation at Ang Khang Nature Resort, which lies close to the prime birding areas on Doi Ang Khang at around 5,000 feet elevation. There may be some time for afternoon birding in scrub, cultivation, and plantations. Night at Ang Khang Nature Resort.
Days 15-16: We’ll spend two full days exploring Doi Ang Khang, a rugged and scenically beautiful mountain perched on the Thai-Burmese border. The mountain is home to Chinese (remnants of some of Chiang Kai-shek’s armies, who settled here following the Chinese Revolution) as well as to Shan, Lahu, and Palong tribespeople. The Thai government has established watershed protection and upland agriculture projects to help conserve the environment. Though forest cover is much reduced, a great diversity of forest birds remains. Open oak-pine forests support Long-tailed Minivet, Slender-billed Oriole, and a few Giant Nuthatches, though this last species is very hard to find.
Among the specialties we may expect to see are Brown-breasted Bulbul, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler, White-browed Laughingthrush, Red-faced Liocichla, and Spot-breasted Parrotbill. Buff-throated and Chinese Leaf Warblers are present. We’ll also be looking for Mountain Bamboo Partridge, Black-breasted and Scaly Thrushes, Gary-winged Blackbird, Crested Finchbill, and Black-browed Parrotbill, and there is a further possibility of seeing Hume’s Pheasant and perhaps Giant Nuthatch. The airspace above at times teems with Pacific Swifts that nest and roost in a cave on the mountain, and there is always the chance of seeing something unexpected—perhaps a rare thrush, bunting, or finch. The proximity of our accommodation to the prime birding areas means that we’ll be able to return to the hotel after lunch and have a relaxing midday break. Nights at Ang Khang Nature Resort.
Day 17: After a final morning birding on Doi Ang Khang, we’ll leave in the late morning for Tha Ton Riverview Resort in the extreme northern plains 25 miles to the north. Late afternoon will find us birding Mae Fang National Park Host Springs for White-capped and Plumbeous Redstarts and Slaty-backed Forktail. We’ll also have the chance to add a few more forest species, perhaps including Pin-tailed Pigeon, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Crimson Sunbird, or Spot-winged Grosbeak. Night at Tha Ton Riverview Resort.
Day 18: We’ll make a very early start for Doi Lang, where a steep blacktop road takes us to above 6,500 feet in elevation. On the way we’ll briefly stop by some paddies where in 2010 we found a pair of the rare and localized Jerdon’s Bushchats and some perched Oriental Turtle Doves. We’ll be birding mostly along the roadside forest edge, which allows for spectacular views over the steep scarp sloping away across the border into the Burmese hills. Crested Finchbills, scarce on Doi Ang Khang, usually abound on Doi Lang. Other species we’ll be looking for include Crimson-breasted Woodpecker, Black-throated Tit, Whiskered Yuhina, White-bellied Redstart, and if we’re very lucky, Red-tailed Laughingthrush, Spotted Wren Babbler, Golden Bush Robin, Fire-tailed Sunbird, and Scarlet Finch. We’ll spend the entire morning on the summit and then bird our way down after lunch, looking especially for red-flowering trees that can attract many species, including Gray Treepie, Orange-bellied Leafbird, and Slender-billed Oriole. Night at Tha Ton Riverview Resort.
Day 19: We’ll have time for early morning birding in the marshy plains around Tha Ton, where we’ll search carefully for up to four species of wintering buntings. Wintering raptors might include Pied Harrier, and we have at least a decent chance of finding Oriental Turtle Dove. We’ll then check out of our accommodations and drive three-plus hours to Chiang Mai, looking carefully for Crested Treeswift en route before catching our late-afternoon flight to Bangkok.
Day 20: The tour concludes this morning in Bangkok.
Updated: 06 July 2010
Prices
- 2011 Tour Price $6,500
- Single Occupancy Supplement $1100
Notes
Maximum group size 10 with one leader and local assistants.
Note that the itinerary for this tour has been significantly revised to mesh with our new tour Thailand: Peninsular Thailand and Gurney’s Pitta.