After overnighting just outside the park at the rather expensive Touch Star Resort, we started the day earlier as we had to drive up to the summit marsh. Hats and gloves were in order as this site regularly has frost, however the wind kept that away today. Birding was difficult around the boardwalk, despite the first bird being a Snowy-browed Flycatcher on the steps. We maybe did three laps over a three hour period, but frustratingly in this time we failed to find a Dark-sided Thrush, however only one has wintered this year. A Pygmy Wren-Babbler was good to see but highlights were few and far between.
After being tourists for a little time at the highest point in Thailand, we descended back to KM 37.5 and again birded the Jeep trail. As soon as we entered we encountered a bird wave, and in an hour we must have walked only 50 metres. As good as this sounds, seeing everything was impossible and nothing stayed still for long. A Clicking Shrike-Babbler was by far the highlight here. A Tesia would’ve been the highlight if one had shown instead of being out of sight constantly. After nearly three hours here we descended to KM 13, but in theory we should’ve stayed around the summit to clear up on what we’d missed this morning.
From mid afternoon to dusk the area around KM 13 was quiet, but eventually a few nice bits were encountered, with the highlight for me being a trio of Woodpeckers in one tree, these being Black-headed Woodpevker, Greater Yellownape & Common Flameback, the latter being a new bird.
Unfortunately we leave this NP tomorrow but in theory bigger and better things await. Another day in Doi Inthanon would’ve been brilliant, but there never is enough time. Also tomorrow Jake sadly leaves us as he flies back down to Bangkok.
Highlights for today are as follows:
Rufous-throated Partridge (L) - 2
Collared Falconet - 1
Himalayan Swiftlet - 2
White-browed Piculet - 1
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker - 1
Greater Yellownape - 2
Black-headed Woodpecker - 3
Common Flameback (L) - 1
Red-billed Blue Magpie - 2
Yellow-bellied Fantail - 2
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (L) - 1
Blue Rock Thrush - 1
White-tailed Robin - 1
Himalayan Bluetail (L) - 1
Snowy-browed Flycatcher - 3
Chestnut-tailed Starling - 20
Hume’s Treecreeper - 1
Chestnut-flanked White-Eye - 20
Hill Prinia (L) - 1
Ashy-throated Warbler (L) - 5
Hume’s Leaf Warbler - 1
White-Crested Laughingthrush - 5
Silver-Eared Laughingthrush (L) - 5
Chestnut-tailed Minla (L) - 10
Mrs Gould’s Sunbird (L) - 6
Yunnan Fulvetta - 3
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Snowy-browed Flycatcher at Summit Marsh,
Doi Inthanon
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Himalayan Bluetail at Summit Marsh,
Doi Inthanon
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Chestnut-tailed Minla at Summit Marsh,
Doi Inthanon
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| Yellow-bellied Fairy Flycatcher at Doi Inthanon |
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| Hill Blue Flycatcher at Doi Inthanon |
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Cook's Swift (Apus cooki)-
showing the black underwing coverts,
well defined pure white fringes on underparts,
off-white throat and thin white rump.
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| The summit marsh and boardwalk |
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| view from the KM 37 trail |
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The almost full eclipse of the moon,
thankfully little cloud in Thailand
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