Doi Kham Fa
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| View from the top of Doi Kham Fa, with the predictable agricultural smoke plume |
Our final birding location was this mountain location, high above the Chiang Dao region of northern Thailand. It was yet another beautiful and quiet mountain spot, with cool temperatures and tall forest. I did not manage to get many photos, for some reason. Being the last day of the trip, many of our sightings were repeats, but some of the highlights were Asian Emerald Cuckoo, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Striated Yuhina, Red-flanked Bluetail. We had another calling Asian Barred Owlet at the beginning of the mountain trek. Sounding louder than the others we had heard, we decided to track this one down on the steep slope above the entrance building. It stared back at us placidly as it continued to call.
As a birding location, Doi Kham Fa is relatively new, and the road to the top is still unpaved. So we jumped onto a pickup truck with makeshift benches in the back. It worked great. This arrangement made for good views of raptors crossing over the road, which included Oriental Honey-buzzard, Crested Serpent-eagle, and Shikra.
The forest here is different from the other northern Thailand spots. The understory was more open. Perhaps there is less rainfall here. But the elegant high tree canopy was a pleasure to be walking under. There were large stretches of long-needled pine. Jim and I commented that it felt a bit like the upper reaches of the Magdalena Mountains in New Mexico.
Returning back down to the bottom, warmed by the cloudless skies, I managed a few butterfly shots. It's hard to say why, but we did not see many butterflies on this whole trip. Maybe predation is more of a limiting factor in this ecosystem type. I'd be curious to get more information about that.
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Vagrant, a species of butterfly.
Traveling back to Chiang Mai, our guide Chalee granted us one final birding experience. We stopped at a reservoir known as either Nong Chee Po or Huai Bong, not sure which. It is not visited regularly, being part of some kind of police property, so we got nice scope views of Lesser Whistling-Duck numbering in the thousands, Black-winged Stilt in the hundreds. There was one large and splotchy-looking goose on the lake. Chalee could not identify it, surprisingly, thinking it might be an escaped barnyard bird. Some detective work by us later revealed it to be the only rarity that we saw on the whole trip: a female Knob-billed Duck. Unknown to our guide, the bird had actually been present for several weeks. Local birders got good photos. That was not the real treat at the reservoir, though. Chalee walked us down to a collection of dense shrubs on the shoreline and starting playing bird calls. We had to work hard to find it, but sure enough, a Siberian Rubythroat perched on an interior branch and looked out at us from the shadows. The brilliant throat patch was all we needed for identification. It was actually our second sighting, but a great final bird for the trip! *************<<<<<<<<<<<<<***********>>>>>>>>>>*************<<<<<<<<<<<<<***********>>>>>>>>>> The Lists Here's the list of all birds seen in Thailand on this trip. A little over 300 species, although about 10 were only heard.  Lesser Whistling-Duck Knob-billed Duck Northern Pintail Silver Pheasant Siamese Fireback Green Peafowl Scaly-breasted Partridge Red Junglefowl Rock Pigeon Speckled Wood-Pigeon Oriental Turtle-Dove Red Collared-Dove Spotted Dove Zebra Dove Thick-billed Green-Pigeon Pin-tailed Green-Pigeon Mountain Imperial-Pigeon Greater Coucal Green-billed Malkoha Asian Koel Asian Emerald Cuckoo Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo Hodgson's Frogmouth Great Eared-Nightjar Gray Nightjar Large-tailed Nightjar Indian Nightjar Brown-backed Needletail Germain's Swiftlet Cook's Swift House Swift Asian Palm Swift Eurasian Moorhen White-breasted Waterhen Black-winged Stilt Gray-headed Lapwing Red-wattled Lapwing Little Ringed Plover Pheasant-tailed Jacana Common Sandpiper Common Greenshank Small Pratincole Asian Openbill Painted Stork Oriental Darter Little Cormorant Yellow Bittern Gray Heron Purple Heron Great Egret Little Egret Cattle Egret Chinese Pond-Heron Striated Heron Black-winged Kite Oriental Honey-Buzzard Crested Serpent-Eagle Mountain Hawk-Eagle Rufous-winged Buzzard Gray-faced Buzzard Crested Goshawk Shikra Black Kite Eastern Buzzard Mountain Scops-Owl Buffy Fish-Owl Asian Barred Owlet Collared Owlet Spotted Owlet Brown Wood-Owl Brown Boobook Red-headed Trogon Orange-breasted Trogon Eurasian Hoopoe Great Hornbill Oriental Pied-Hornbill Wreathed Hornbill Common Kingfisher Banded Kingfisher White-throated Kingfisher Blue-bearded Bee-eater Asian Green Bee-eater Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Indochinese Roller Coppersmith Barbet Blue-eared Barbet Great Barbet Green-eared Barbet Lineated Barbet Golden-throated Barbet Moustached Barbet Blue-throated Barbet White-browed Piculet Gray-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Stripe-breasted Woodpecker Bay Woodpecker Greater Flameback Common Flameback Lesser Yellownape Collared Falconet White-rumped Falcon Eurasian Kestrel Oriental Hobby Peregrine Falcon Alexandrine Parakeet Red-breasted Parakeet Vernal Hanging-Parrot Long-tailed Broadbill Dusky Broadbill Banded Broadbill Eared Pitta Small Minivet Gray-chinned Minivet Short-billed Minivet Long-tailed Minivet Scarlet Minivet Ashy Minivet Brown-rumped Minivet Rosy Minivet Black-winged Cuckooshrike White-browed Shrike-Babbler Clicking Shrike-Babbler White-bellied Erpornis Black-naped Oriole Maroon Oriole Ashy Woodswallow Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike Common Iora Malaysian Pied-Fantail Black Drongo Ashy Drongo Bronzed Drongo Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo Hair-crested Drongo Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Black-naped Monarch Brown Shrike Burmese Shrike Long-tailed Shrike Gray-backed Shrike Eurasian Jay Red-billed Blue-Magpie Gray Treepie Large-billed Crow Yellow-bellied Fairy-Fantail Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher Sultan Tit Japanese Tit Yellow-cheeked Tit Indochinese Bushlark Common Tailorbird Dark-necked Tailorbird Rufescent Prinia Gray-breasted Prinia Yellow-bellied Prinia Plain Prinia Pygmy Cupwing Dusky Crag-Martin Barn Swallow Wire-tailed Swallow Red-rumped Swallow Striated Swallow Asian House-Martin Black-headed Bulbul Black-crested Bulbul Crested Finchbill Striated Bulbul Red-whiskered Bulbul Brown-breasted Bulbul Sooty-headed Bulbul Stripe-throated Bulbul Flavescent Bulbul Yellow-vented Bulbul Streak-eared Bulbul Puff-throated Bulbul Gray-eyed Bulbul Black Bulbul Ashy Bulbul Mountain Bulbul Yellow-browed Warbler Hume's Warbler Pallas's Leaf Warbler Dusky Warbler Eastern Crowned Warbler Gray-crowned Warbler Martens's Warbler Pale-legged Leaf Warbler Arctic Warbler Sulphur-breasted Warbler Blyth's Leaf Warbler Claudia's Leaf Warbler Davison's Leaf Warbler Slaty-bellied Tesia Yellow-bellied Warbler Aberrant Bush Warbler Black-throated Tit Yellow-eyed Babbler Spot-breasted Parrotbill Gray-headed Parrotbill Striated Yuhina Chestnut-flanked White-eye Swinhoe's White-eye Indian White-eye Hume's White-eye Chestnut-capped Babbler Pin-striped Tit-Babbler Golden Babbler Rufous-fronted Babbler White-browed Scimitar-Babbler Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler Rufous-winged Fulvetta Abbott's Babbler Streaked Wren-Babbler Rufous Limestone Babbler Yunnan Fulvetta Himalayan Cutia Silver-eared Laughingthrush Black-backed Sibia Blue-winged Minla Chestnut-tailed Minla Spectacled Barwing Silver-eared Mesia Rufous-backed Sibia Scarlet-faced Liocichla White-crested Laughingthrush White-necked Laughingthrush Black-throated Laughingthrush Chestnut-vented Nuthatch Velvet-fronted Nuthatch Giant Nuthatch Hume's Treecreeper Common Hill Myna Black-collared Starling Siamese Pied Starling Chestnut-tailed Starling Common Myna Great Myna Scaly Thrush Orange-headed Thrush Black-breasted Thrush Gray-sided Thrush Eyebrowed Thrush Asian Brown Flycatcher Oriental Magpie-Robin White-rumped Shama Hainan Blue Flycatcher Pale Blue Flycatcher Blue-throated Flycatcher Hill Blue Flycatcher Large Niltava Small Niltava Rufous-bellied Niltava Chinese Vivid Niltava Verditer Flycatcher White-bellied Redstart Blue Whistling-Thrush Black-backed Forktail Slaty-backed Forktail Siberian Rubythroat White-tailed Robin Red-flanked Bluetail Mugimaki Flycatcher Slaty-backed Flycatcher Slaty-blue Flycatcher Snowy-browed Flycatcher Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher Sapphire Flycatcher Little Pied Flycatcher Ultramarine Flycatcher Taiga Flycatcher Plumbeous Redstart White-capped Redstart Daurian Redstart Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush White-throated Rock-Thrush Blue Rock-Thrush Amur Stonechat Pied Bushchat Gray Bushchat Thick-billed Flowerpecker Yellow-vented Flowerpecker Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Ruby-cheeked Sunbird Brown-throated Sunbird Van Hasselt's Sunbird Purple Sunbird Olive-backed Sunbird Black-throated Sunbird Mrs. Gould's Sunbird Green-tailed Sunbird Green-tailed Sunbird (Doi Inthanon) Crimson Sunbird Little Spiderhunter Streaked Spiderhunter Asian Fairy-Bluebird Blue-winged Leafbird Golden-fronted Leafbird Orange-bellied Leafbird Baya Weaver Scaly-breasted Munia House Sparrow Eurasian Tree Sparrow Forest Wagtail Gray Wagtail White Wagtail Richard's Pipit Paddyfield Pipit Olive-backed Pipit Spot-winged Grosbeak Chestnut Bunting And here's a list of the mammals and herps seen. Northern Pig-tailed Macaque White-handed Gibbon Wrinkle-lipped Bat Variable Squirrel Giant Squirrel Sambar Deer East Asian Porcupine Asian (Indian) Elephant Civet Asian Jackal Southeast Asian Water Monitor Golden Tree Snake |
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| Dawn and Mr. Chalee horsing around at Doi Kham Fa |
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