Doi Inthanon National Park

After landing  at Chang Mai we met up with our new mini-van drivers who drove us to our hotel. The historic Kaomai Resort which was once a tobacco leaf processing site. The old tobacco drying barns were converted to uniquely styled hotel accommodation when tobacco pressing stopped in 1995. With well vegetated gardens and lots of mature trees it looked to be a birders paradise.

After a restless night I woke early to find a message from Marc. It was still dark outside but he was out birding with the thermal imager so I quickly got dressed and joined him looking and listening for nocturnal avian activity before breakfast. This was our routine for the next three day.

After breakfast we were heading into the Doi Inthanon National Park where we'd be spending two full days birding. Doi Ithanon is Thailands highest mountain rising to an impressive 2565 m above sea level and has a number of impressive waterfalls on its forested slopes. We had one treat in store before we left the hotel when a superb Litchi Lantern Bug was found as we waited for our drivers and the vans. This bug is actually a sap-sucking planthopper. Despite its name it doesn't emit light.

As usual our first stop, once entering the park, was for the all important toilet break.We took the oppurtunity to bird around the edges of the car park where Marc picked up a leucopsis Pied Wagtail along the banks of the river whilst a shout from one of our drivers alerted us to the presence of one of our target species - Red-billed Blue magpie. A good start to the day! 

Climbing higher we passed terraced cultivated fields tended by the resident hill tribes until we turned off onto a well vegetated track where we left the vans and started birding.

The relative coolness of the mountain air was more comfortable than the climate in the lowlands and the chilly early morning air meant I was quite glad to wear a hoody.  New birds were coming thick and fast - Little Pied Flycatcher, Black-backed Sibias and Silver-eared Mesia.

Black-backed Sibia

Scanning the canopy and low level vegetation I thought I'd see na Treecreeper but lost it again almost immediately only for jay to pick it up on another tree trunk a few metres away. A Humes Treecreeper. My imagination wasn't playing tricks on me after all. 

After 2-3 hours birding we returned to the vans where our drivers and Jaeb had laid on morning tea or coffee and some more lovely fresh bananas. These really were addictive and much sweeter and tastier than the ones we get in the UK. A short drive took us to the famous Siriphum Waterfall beauty spot where we'd hoped to see both Plumbous and White-capped Water Redstarts. Navigating the steep and slippery path to the waters edge, alongside a torrent of rushing water and with the air full of spray, was accomplished without mishap and it wasn't long before we were watching a magnificent male White-capped Water Redstart and a cryptically plumaged female Plumbeous Water Redstart. Mission accomplished. White-capped Redstart is an uncommon winter visitor to Thailand and is typically found alongside fast flowing rivers. Plumbeous Water Redstart is commoner and is both a winter visitor and thinly distributed resident

Buoyed by our success and with lunch beckoning there was still time for the obligatory tourist photographs.  It really was a beautiful spot.

Lunch was at one of the Royal Agricultural Project restaurants supported by the Thai Royal family to promote agriculture among the Hill Tribes rather than growing opium. The food is delicious and the restaurant is situated at around 1400 m above sea level surrounded by cultivated terraces where most of the food served is grown.

Superb food like this was the main reason I returned from Thailand 3 kg heavier than when I arrived! The presentation was fantastic and these sites are well worth seeking out when in Thailand. After lunch we headed to the peak to carry on birding. 

As usual we made a beeline for the toilets and our ablutions were rudely interrupted with the appearance of a Silver-eared Laughing Thrush followed by the discovery of a pair of endemic Green-tailed Sunbirds of the race angkanensis also known as Doi Inthanon Sunbird. It's only found on Doi Inthanon in evergreen forest between 2000-2565 m elevation! We generated a lot of interest from other tourists as we watched these birds whilst only a few metres from the entrance to the only toilets for miles.

Our next stop was the easily walked boardwalk taking us into the cloud forest. Birds were everywhere but Marcs thermal came in handy for picking up two skulkers. Both Snowy-browed Flycatcher and Rufous-throated Partridge were both picked up using this. A Yellow-bellied fairy Fantail didn't require the thermal and we spent a happy hour or so sorting through leaf warblers. Yellow-browed were the commonest but we also had Ashy-throated, Blyths and Buff-barred Leaf Warblers. 

The boardwalk was a ciruclar loop and walking back to the van we came across a feeding flock of Bar-throated Minla's and Rufous-winged Fulvetta's.

We weren't done yet though as on the way back down the mountain we stopped at a vantage point for Ashy Woodpigeon and saw 50 explode from the forest canopy as if they were trying to escape a raptor. The icing on the cake was when Jay found a Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush perched at the very top of a dead tree. Golden-throated Barbet was also picked up singing in the scope and everyone managed to get views.

Stopping at another superb local restaurant for dinner we reached our hotel well after dark and after a hot shower and a hot mug of local tea I settled down to sleep knowing the alarm would go off at 5 am the next morning to meet up with Marc before breakfast...