Chiang Dao

Chiang Mai

Wat Chedi Luang

The sleeper north was pretty comfortable and arrived an hour late and in the couple of hours before managed to see a few birds from the train including a Burmese Shrike and many Green Bee-eaters. On arrival at Chiang Mai everyone had temperature taken and was given hand sanitiser. Checked into a great value hostel close to the Tha Phae Gate for a couple of nights while we got visa extensions sorted out. That proved to be very easy giving us time to explore a bit and see a couple of sights we missed on our last trip through here.

Nong Buak Haad Public Park

Spent one morning at Nong Buak Haad Park, a small area of lakes, fountains and flower gardens. Among the usual suspects it was interesting to watch a pair of Wire-tailed Swallows visiting a probable nest site under an island pagoda and the huge hawk moth, Meganoton nyctiphanes (with the dubious English name Dull Double-bristled Hawkmoth), was an impressive beast.

There was also a Wire-tailed Swallow on the moat near the hotel and a huge roost of White Wagtails there in the evening.

Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus

Dull Double-bristled Hawkmoth Meganoton nyctiphanes

As planned we set off for Pai but on getting to the bus station found that the public bus no longer runs and minivans were now the only option. Memories of hideous van journeys through the Laotian mountains and the knowledge that the road to Pai is a notoriously windy one made us give up the idea and take a local bus to Chiang Dao instead. We'd visited here two years ago but only stayed four days and I was very keen to explore more. See here for that account.

Chaing Dao

Who knows what the journey to Pai would have been like but this one was ok until Karen sprained her ankle badly getting off the bus in the town. Managed to get a songthaew to the Chiang Dao Hut resort but once in our little cabin that's where she stayed for a week until she could limp across to the restaurant for meals. It took nearly three weeks before she was properly mobile again, and even then only with care.

While she was laid up I got to know the local guide ("Suntan") who worked here and spent much of the time either at his hide by an artificial pond in the dry river bed or walking the route past the temple steps along the gully further upstream. I also hitched up with a great guy from the US, and Scott & I had some excellent birding together, often with others in the company of Suntan. Evenings in The Cave Bar were pretty good too. The only down side was the extreme air pollution from extensive, illegal burning activity. Off the scale levels of particulates, often the worst in the world, caused me breathing difficulties and very poor visibility at times.

Suntan is a top local guide with vast knowledge of the area. Check out his birding and hiking offers here.

By 16th March things were coming to a head with the global pandemic. Our return flight, scheduled for 30th March, was cancelled with no suggestion as to any alternative and borders with neighbouring countries were closing. Miraculously I managed to find an alternative return flight leaving in a couple of days and so on the 18th Suntan gave us a lift to the bus station in Chiang Dao and we began the journey back to the UK. I don't think I've ever been so sad to leave a place and we had no idea if we would make it back.

The main birding areas are outlined below but we did also make trips to nearby Wat Tham Pakpiang, the main cave complex at Wat Tham Chiang Dao and the Hot Springs. At the latter we saw a fairly large snake but couldn't identify it. Fortunately no one else noticed it and it was allowed to go on its way undisturbed. Streaked Wren-babbler and Hill Blue Flycatcher were at Wat Tham Pakpiang but otherwise only common species noted. The only Mountain Hawk-eagle I saw was over Wat Tham Chiang Dao.

Chaing Dao Hut

Almost straight away I picked up a bird I must have overlooked on our previous visit here. Blue-throated Barbets were singing much of the time and showing well at times. Other birds common in the gardens were Spotted Dove, Coppersmith & Lineated Barbet, Common Iora, Common & Dark-necked Tailorbirds, Red-whiskered, Sooty-headed & Streak-eared Bulbuls, Yellow-browed Warbler, Oriental Magpie-robin, Taiga Flycatcher and Olive-backed, Brown-throated, Purple & Crimson Sunbirds. Brown Boobook, Asian Barred Owlet and Large-tailed Nightjar called in the evening and at night.

Blue-throated Barbet Megalaima asiatica

At the hide the regulars were Olive-backed Pipit (<=4), Buff-breasted (<=2) & Puff-throated Babblers (<=2), Pin-striped Tit-babbler (<=5), Black-naped Monarch (male and female), White-rumped Shama (<=3), Little Spiderhunter (<=2) and Black-headed (<=2), Streak-eared (<=2), Sooty-headed (<=6) & Red-whiskered Bulbuls (<=5) and White-rumped Munia(<=8). Common but less frequent were Grey-crowned Warbler, Indian White-eye, Black-crested and Stripe-throated Bulbuls.

Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni

Buff-breasted Babbler Pellorneum tickelli

Puff-throated Babbler Pellorneum ruficeps

Pin-striped Tit-babbler Macronus gularis

Black-naped Monarch Hypothymis azurea

White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus

Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra

Streak-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus conradi

Sooty-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus aurigaster

Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus

Stripe-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus finlaysoni

Indian White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus

Grey-crowned Warbler Phylloscopus tephrocephalus

One individual that was ever present was a first winter male Siberian Blue Robin, only sexed by the two blue greater coverts on its left wing. During our three weeks here it gradually attained more blue adult feathering but only on the body. No further wing feathers or coverts were replaced either then or for the next month after our departure. It went on to virtually complete the body moult before it migrated around the third week in April.

Siberian Blue Robin Luscinia cyane
Last two photos by Suntan on 18 April just before it migrated

Scarcer visitors to the garden and hide included Bronzed & Greater Racket-tailed Drongos, Asian Emerald & Zebra Dove, Asian Palm Swift, Eurasian Hoopoe, Indochinese Roller, Scarlet Minivet, Black-hooded Oriole, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Great Iora, Striated Swallow, Radde's & Two-barred Warbler, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Great Myna, Hill Blue & Indochinese Blue Flycatcher, Thick-billed, Yellow-vented & Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Crimson Sunbird, Streaked Spiderhunter, Blue-winged & Golden-fronted Leafbird and a splendid male Violet Cuckoo. Overhead there were occasional Crested Goshawks and Shikra and a single Black Baza. Banded Bay Cuckoo was also heard almost daily but only seen once in flight on the final day.

Asian Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica

Great Iora Aegithina lafresnayei

Hill Blue Flycatcher Cyornis banyumas

Streaked Spiderhunter Arachnothera magna

Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis cochinchinensis

Golden-fronted Leafbird Chloropsis aurifrons

Violet Cuckoo Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus

Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes

One of the most remarkable sightings was while we were having breakfast one morning. Watched a female Asian Emerald Cuckoo visit a Purple Sunbird nest hanging from the edge of the restaurant and take a single egg. Despite it coming back several times we did not see it lay its own egg.

Asian Emerald Cuckoo Chrysococcyx maculatus
(photo by Suntan)

Wat Tham Pha Plong (วัดถ้ำผาปล่อง)

This fabulous temple complex is a half hour walk up the valley up many steps, passing not only many Buddhist mantras but also some excellent birding habitat. Just before the temple itself a path heads further up the dry river bed through varied forest habitat and over the three weeks continued to deliver new species right to the end.

Concentrating on the highlights. Up to 3 Scaly-breasted/Green-legged Partridge showed on three visits always in roughly the same area (and the same as my previous visit here in 2018), an Asian Emerald Dove on one occasion. A flock of up to 10 Pin-tailed Green-pigeon regularly feeding at a tree near the foot of the steps had a Thick-billed Green-pigeon with them on one day. Mountain Imperial Pigeon showed on a couple of occasions, as usual flying over high A female and an immature male Violet Cuckoo made it three individuals including the full adult male at Chiang Dao Hut.

Thick-billed Green-pigeon Treron curvirostra
with Pin-tailed Green-pigeon T. apicauda

Violet Cuckoo Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus

Silver-breasted Broadbill Serilophus lunatus

3 Black Baza flew north on 9th March and single sightings of Oriental Hobby and Crested Goshawk. An Orange-breasted Trogon showed briefly along the gully on one morning and one heard only on another. One Oriental Pied Hornbill flying over at dusk was the only hornbill I've seen here.

A fabulous male Banded Kingfisher showed in the gully on 7th March. Up to 2 Great Barbet heard on several occasions but not seen. Single Speckled Piculet seen once along the steps and once in the gully. A Silver-breasted Broadbill also along the gully once. Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike also only seen once. Blyth's Paradise-flycatcher showed rather well. Grey-backed Shrike seen twice and a Eurasian Jay heard just once. Thick-billed Warbler also on two days, one Radde's Warbler, 2 Yellow-bellied Warbler, 2 Grey-throated Babbler. White-throated Fantail seen around the carpark a couple of times. Black Bulbul often feeding along by the steps and one sighting of Mountain Bulbul.

White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis

Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush Pterorhinus pectoralis

Streaked Wren-babbler once again showed well along the tighter, darker parts of the gully on several days and not far from there detected an Eyebrowed Wren-babbler moving quietly around dense leaf cover among damp fallen trunks. This went on to show again a few days later. Incredibly hard to see and felt like a real find.

A single Black-throated Laughingthrush and, on four visits, up to 6 Greater Necklaced Laughingthrushes. The latter definitely a lifer and the former maybe as well since only previous encounter was in Luang Prabang and I strongly suspected captive origin.

Single Black-throated Sunbird on two days near the temple and a Purple-naped Spiderhunter was my first for some years.

Black-throated Sunbird Aethopyga saturata

Best find though was a Brown-breasted Flycatcher, which showed on 10th & 11th March in a wider part of the river bed where both the the Broadbill and the Trogon had showed. Probably pretty scarce in Thailand.

Brown-breasted Flycatcher Muscicapa muttui

Pha Tang Road

Although my main focus was on the garden hide and temple areas I also made the walk up to the checkpoint at Pha Tang twice, which yielded a few species not seen elsewhere.

Radde's Warbler Phylloscopus schwarzi

A pair of Bay Woodpeckers moving noisily and low through bamboo thickets were hard to get good view of but a welcome lifer. 2 Eurasian Jays heard along here were the only ones of the trip. On on of the last days we picked up a Baikal Bush Warbler in a small grassy area - as with most Locustella warblers, also incredibly hard to see well. Also single sightings of Grey-backed Shrike, Grey-breasted Prinia, Thick-billed, Radde's and Dusky Warblers. A pair of skittish Black-backed Forktail proved very difficult to relocate and only gave brief views.

Chill Chiang Dao

Siberian Rubythroat Luscinia calliope

Towards the end of the dry season water becomes very scarce in the foothills so Suntan makes regular trips with bowsers to collect water from the low lying farmland. Chill Chiang Dao is a small coffee place with some excellent accommodation and we visited 3 times. As well as expected species for wetter, farmland habitats we picked up some other good birds. An immature male Siberian Rubythroat was a lifer for me and a Wryneck found by Scott was my first in Thailand. Other birds included a Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Long-tailed Shrike and 10 Chestnut-tailed Starlings. A Black Baza flew north as part of the small passage noted late on in the trip.

Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach

Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla

Chiang Dao Hut 2 Hiking Area

Rufescent Prinia Prinia rufescens

Our host also arranged two short trips to their hiking area in the mountains to the south. This was mainly secondary forest with a lot more open land and some river valleys. Birds included an Asian Emerald Dove, Crested Honey Buzzard, Black Baza, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Shikra, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Great Barbet (still only heard), Grey-backed Shrike, Rufescent Prinia, Yellow-bellied Warbler, Rufous-fronted Babbler and a flock of 12 Pacific/Cook's Swifts. It was good to see a new area and help out a bit with littler clearance along the trails. The huge tree containing masses of enormous bee nests harvested by hand via intrepid climbers was very impressive.

Crested Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus

Mueang Khong

On 13th March we arranged a day trip with Suntan and, accompanied by another photographer, we made a pre-dawn start to drive across the mountain to the village of Mueang Khong. The main purpose of the trip was to photograph the pair of Crested Kingfishers nesting along the Mae Taeng river. These large Megaceryle kingfishers are certainly spectacular but other than these we saw mainly common lowland birds. A flock of c100 swiftlets dropped in though and I could see no reason why these weren't Himalayan Swiftlet, although if Germain's occur here it would be difficult to be absolutely certain.  Among them was a single Cook's Swift.

Crested Kingfisher Megaceryle lugubris

Eating overlooking the Mae Khong river added Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper, Rufescent Prinia and Wire-tailed Swallow were notable and the hospitality, food and drink here were second to none. Otherwise birding interest centred around a stop along the forested road climbing back into the mountains.

Orange-breasted Trogon Harpactes oreskios

The early start meant that it was mid-late morning as we headed back and there was still a lot of bird activity here. Highlights included exceptionally good views of a cuckoo and, despite the difficulties of identifying Cuculus species in this region in the winter I felt confident enough to recorded it as Himalayan Cuckoo. 4 Orange-breasted Trogons were very vocal and one showed very well. Banded Kingfisher is always a welcome sight but the Great & Green-eared Barbets and Dusky Broadbill remained heard only. A party of 4 Silver-breasted Broadbill however did show. 2 Rosy Minivets were my first since Sukhothai in 2018. 3 White-crested and 14 Greater Necklaced Laughingthrushes were nice and 2 Black-backed Forktails worked their way along the dry valley floor. 1 Blue Whistling Thrush, 2 Asian Emerald Doves and a Pale-legged/Sakhalin Leaf Warbler were the only other additions here. Further up this road at one of the higher points we found a Greater Yellownape and had Hill Blue Flycatcher and a Cook's Swift.

Himalayan Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus

Other Wildlife

Northern Treeshrew Tupaia belangeri

Grey-bellied Squirrel Callosciurus caniceps

Many-striped Skink Eutropis multifasciata

Argiope versicolor (Multi-coloured St Andrew's Cross Spider)

Chocolate Pansy Junonia iphita

Common Archduke Lexias pardalis

Common Earl Tanaecia julii

Common Hedge Blue Acytolepis puspa

Common Jay Graphium doson

Common Map Cyrestis thyodamas

Circe Hestina nama

Tinolius eburneigutta

Stick Insect

Full list (165 species)

Scaly-breasted Partridge

Rock Dove

Spotted Dove

Asian Emerald Dove

Zebra Dove

Thick-billed Green-Pigeon

Pin-tailed Green-Pigeon

Mountain Imperial-Pigeon

Greater Coucal

Green-billed Malkoha

Asian Koel

Asian Emerald Cuckoo

Violet Cuckoo

Banded Bay Cuckoo

Plaintive Cuckoo

Himalayan Cuckoo

Large-tailed Nightjar

Brown-backed Needletail

Himalayan Swiftlet

Cook's Swift

House Swift

Asian Palm Swift

White-breasted Waterhen

Red-wattled Lapwing

Little Ringed Plover

Common Snipe

Common Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Asian Openbill

Intermediate Egret

Little Egret

Cattle Egret

Chinese Pond Heron

Crested Honey-buzzard

Black Baza

Crested Serpent-Eagle

Mountain Hawk-Eagle

Crested Goshawk

Shikra

Brown Boobook

Orange-breasted Trogon

Eurasian Hoopoe

Oriental Pied-Hornbill

Common Kingfisher

Banded Kingfisher

White-throated Kingfisher

Crested Kingfisher

Blue-bearded Bee-eater

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Indochinese Roller

Coppersmith Barbet

Great Barbet

Green-eared Barbet

Lineated Barbet

Blue-throated Barbet

Eurasian Wryneck

Speckled Piculet

Bay Woodpecker

Greater Yellownape

Oriental Hobby

Dusky Broadbill

Silver-breasted Broadbill

Scarlet Minivet

Rosy Minivet

White-bellied Erpornis

Black-hooded Oriole

Ashy Woodswallow

Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike

Common Iora

Great Iora

White-throated Fantail

Black Drongo

Ashy Drongo

Bronzed Drongo

Hair-crested Drongo

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Black-naped Monarch

Blyth's Paradise-Flycatcher

Brown Shrike

Long-tailed Shrike

Grey-backed Shrike

Eurasian Jay

Large-billed Crow

Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher

Common Tailorbird

Dark-necked Tailorbird

Rufescent Prinia

Grey-breasted Prinia

Yellow-bellied Prinia

Thick-billed Warbler

Baikal Bush Warbler

Barn Swallow

Wire-tailed Swallow

Striated Swallow

Black-headed Bulbul

Black-crested Bulbul

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Sooty-headed Bulbul

Stripe-throated Bulbul

Streak-eared Bulbul

Puff-throated Bulbul

Grey-eyed Bulbul

Black Bulbul

Mountain Bulbul

Yellow-browed Warbler

Radde's Warbler

Dusky Warbler

Grey-crowned Warbler

Two-barred Warbler

Yellow-bellied Warbler

Indian White-eye

Pin-striped Tit-Babbler

Rufous-fronted Babbler

Grey-throated Babbler

Puff-throated Babbler

Buff-breasted Babbler

Streaked Wren-Babbler

Eyebrowed Wren-Babbler

Brown-cheeked Fulvetta

White-crested Laughingthrush

Black-throated Laughingthrush

Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

Black-collared Starling

Chestnut-tailed Starling

Common Myna

Great Myna

Brown-breasted Flycatcher

Oriental Magpie-Robin

White-rumped Shama

Hill Blue Flycatcher

Indochinese Blue Flycatcher

Verditer Flycatcher

Siberian Blue Robin

Blue Whistling-Thrush

Black-backed Forktail

Siberian Rubythroat

Taiga Flycatcher

Amur Stonechat

Pied Bushchat

Thick-billed Flowerpecker

Yellow-vented Flowerpecker

Plain Flowerpecker

Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker

Ruby-cheeked Sunbird

Brown-throated Sunbird

Purple Sunbird

Olive-backed Sunbird

Black-throated Sunbird

Crimson Sunbird

Purple-naped Spiderhunter

Little Spiderhunter

Streaked Spiderhunter

Asian Fairy-bluebird

Blue-winged Leafbird

Golden-fronted Leafbird

Scaly-breasted Munia

White-rumped Munia

Plain-backed Sparrow

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Grey Wagtail

Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail

Paddyfield Pipit

Olive-backed Pipit