Thailand: the coast to the highlands Friday 5 February to Thursday 25 February 2010 with Jon Dunn and Wichyanan 'Jay' Limparungpatthanakij as leaders. Cost: TBA Single room supplement £tba Please click here for details and an explanation of the price breakdown 14 with 2 leaders for the main tour. 2 leaders will join regardless of group size.
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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 extensively revised tour samples habitats from the marshy plain and mangrove coastline around Bangkok, to the wonderful forest national park at Khao Yai and the cool mountains near the northern capital of Chiang Mai. This tour can be taken in conjunction with Thailand: the Peninsular and Gurney's Pitta, Malaysia and Borneo or Cambodia. Day 1: The tour begins in London with an overnight flight to Bangkok. Day 2: On arrival in Bangkok we'll transfer to a hotel for the night. Night in Bangkok. Day 3: We’ll begin by exploring brackish and saltwater habitats (mudflats, sandflats, mangroves, and salt pans) in the western part of the Gulf of Thailand in Phetchaburi Province, searching for a variety of shorebirds including Red-necked and Long-toed Stints, Great Knot, Broad-billed and Marsh Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers, and, if we’re lucky, the rare Spoon-billed Sandpiper and 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. If time allows, we’ll explore some freshwater marshland and parkland before returning to our hotel in the late afternoon. In the past several years, one or two White-faced Plovers have wintered on the sandspit at Laem Phak Bia, and if the species is present this year, we’ll take a boat to try to find it. This species was actually first collected in 1861 by Swinhoe, who described it as a new species in 1870—after which it was forgotten! We have a good chance of seeing both Chinese Egret and Malaysian Plover on the sandspit, too. Night in Bangkok. Day 4: In the early morning we’ll visit a freshwater marsh on the outskirts of the city to look for a variety of marsh birds and wintering passerines including Yellow Bittern, Ruddy-breasted, White-browed, and Baillon’s Crakes, Long-tailed and Bronze-winged Jacanas, Oriental and Black-browed Reed Warblers, Asian Golden Weaver, and perhaps Siberian Rubythroat. As we journey 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 further 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 in the late afternoon. This and the next three nights will be spent in a luxury resort amid spectacular cliff and wooded scenery 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 exploring the densely forested hills, clear rivers, and waterfalls at Khao Yai, one of the loveliest and 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 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, in 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, Grey-chinned and Long-tailed Minivets, and Yellow-cheeked Tit. There is also a possibility of bumping into 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 beautiful 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, Grey-headed Lapwing, Bluethroat, Siberian Rubythroat, and perhaps if we’re 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 by working the dry dipterocarp forest on the lower slope looking for Collared Falconet, Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch, Black-hooded Oriole, and woodpeckers, perhaps including Black-headed (an Indochina endemic), Grey-capped, or White-bellied Woodpeckers. There is also an outside chance of another Indochina endemic, White-rumped Falcon. Ascending further, 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. 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 of roughly 5,000-6,000 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. 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 many 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 while Buff-throated and Chinese Leaf Warblers are present. We’ll also be looking for Mountain Bamboo Partridge, Black-breasted and Scaly Thrushes, Grey-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 metalled road takes us to above 6,500 feet in elevation. 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 work our way down after lunch, looking especially for red-flowering trees that can attract many species, including Grey 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, arriving in time to connect with an overnight flight back to London where the tour ends on Day 20.
The ground arrangements for this tour are organised by our American associates WINGS.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated April 2009. |
along with other waders such as Great Knot.
and Chestnut Bunting.
And there are, of course, a wealth of exotic resident species such as this rarely seen Green Cochoa...
and cute Ashy Wood Swallows. |
Thailand is a great place for wintering migrants such as this Siberian Blue Robin...
