Thailand: Outskirts of Chiang Mai

 Outskirts of Chiang Mai

We were met early in the morning at our Chiang Mai hotel by our birding guide, Mr. Chalee. He is a great guy with acute ability to spot birds in the dense foliage, and has an expansive knowledge of the bird sounds. We recommend him highly. He has an interesting ethnic background: he is from the Karen tribe, one of a few tribes found in the mountains of northern Thailand. As he interacted with local residents and restaurant employees, he would switch between Thai and the Karen (kah-RAIN) language of his youth.

Mr. Chalee and our driver Mr. Ped took us south to Ob Khan National Park for the early morning hours. It began a bit quiet, but toward the park headquarters we managed views of White-browed Piculet, Ashy Minivet and Rosy Minivet, Hair-crested Drongo, Red-billed Blue-Magpie, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Pin-striped Tit-babbler, Purple Sunbird, and Golden-fronted Leafbird. These were all somewhat buried in the tree leaves, and I couldn't manage photos of any of them. Birding in Thailand is challenging, because the foliage in the deciduous forest is remarkably dense, even in winter. A few trees were at the leafless stage and provided perches, but only a few. Gray-faced Buzzards soared overhead.

Next came the Doi Lo Paddies, where the seeing was easier, but the thermometer rose. We viewed Lesser Whistling-Ducks, a lot like the ones in North America. There were some nice waterbirds here: Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Eurasian Moorhen, Gray-headed Lapwing, and Purple Heron. Surveying the agricultural fields were Black-winged Kite and Black Kite. In the dried stalks we found Gray-breasted Prinia, a new genus for us, looking a bit like large gnatcatchers. Asian Green Bee-eaters zoomed around like fighter jets with unicorn horns.

We made a quick stop at Ban Hong, one of the reliable spots for the endangered Green Peafowl, huge and iridescent.

The huge, colorful and stately Green Peafowl

Then we made another stop at the Ping River sandbars, adjacent to a dam. We got great looks at the bizarre Small Pratincole. It is a heterogeneous mixture: part shorebird, part tern, and part dove. This was our only chance on the trip for shorebirds, so we enjoyed scope views of Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper (the tail-bobbing, asian version of Spotted Sandpiper), and Common Greenshank. The pseudo-shorebird White Wagtail also made an appearance.

Going up into the cool mountains, Mr. Chalee then stopped at Ban Khun Klang hydropower station. (This should probably be considered part of Doi Inthanon National Park, but I wasn't sure at the time.) This is not often visited by birders, and seems to have once been a popular mountain retreat. We found it buzzing with bird calls. White-capped Redstart was perched close to the moving water, reminiscent of dipper behavior.

We tallied several of the bulbuls here, Gray-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Black-backed Forktail, Little Pied Flycatcher, Plumbeous Redstart, Black-throated Sunbird, and Orange-bellied Leafbird. Mr. Chalee heard a much-desired Pygmy Cupwing, but we could not coax it out into view. Still, we rate this as a birding spot not to be missed.

A few days later, we dropped into another good spot near Chiang Mai, the Mae Hia agricultural research center connected with the university. Viewing is good, so we took time to get familiar with Rufous-winged Buzzard, Crested Goshawk, White-throated Kingfisher, Gray-breasted and Plain Prinias, Wire-tailed Swallows, Amur Stonechat, Scaly-breasted Munia, and Paddyfield Pipit. A Chestnut-capped Babbler scolded us from the thick marsh vegetation. (If I can only figure out how to post audio tracks on this blog.)

We were ready to jump into the legendary Doi Inthanon National Park next.