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5 - 12 Dec 2016
Dry, sunny and warm. Cool at altitude at night.
Bangpoo, Khao Chamao - Khao Wong National Park and Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary.

5 Dec. Flew Bangkok Airways to Bangkok arriving on schedule by midday. Picked up by Ian and drove to Bangpoo where met up with Andy who'd arrived earlier in search of Mongolian Gull, reported a week earlier. No luck however, with only the ubiquitous Brown-headed Gull and a single Heuglin's Gull. Continued our travels eastward, the traffic pleasantly lighter than usual due to the pubic holiday meaning far fewer heavy trucks. Drove as far as Khao Chamao - Khao Wong National Park, finding a pleasant place to stay just outside the park with decent grounds, holding Brown Wood Owl calling after dark.

Heuglin's Gull

Returned to the park restaurant for a simple lunch then drove the 20 kilometres to Khao Wong Cave, arriving 14:45. At the entrance talked to the ranger on duty who emphasised to us that the cave closes at 16:00. but at least allowed us to proceed unaccompanied. As caves go, this one is rather pleasant, with a good throughput of fresh air and straightforward access. During our hour inside we found several Sumontha's Cave Gecko as well as some difficult to identify frogs hiding in dark corners.

Returned to the park, taking dinner at one of the restaurants near the entrance. After dark, explored the immediate surroundings of the park headquarters and accessible forest for herps, returning around 23:30. The hoped for Cardamom Green Pit Viper not found, but a reasonable collection of frogs seen, including Taiwanese Frog, Striped Sticky Frog, Mortensen's Frog and a couple of unidentified species. Night birds heard included Great Eared Nightjar, Collared Scops Owl and Brown Boobook. Cool and pleasant overnight temperature.

7 Dec. After somewhat of a lie-in and a catch up with notes and photos we drove to the Khao Soi Dao area. As usual here, logistical issues dominate, but after visiting two ranger stations we were possibly in a position to try a walk up the mountain. Maybe. Overnight at a small resort near the breeding centre and dinner along the highway where we unexpectedly found some good, dark German beer available.

Sumontha's Cave Gecko

Striped Sticky Frog

Chanthaburi Stream Frog

Cardamom Green Pit Viper

8 Dec. Most of the day spent preparing for our nights camped on the mountain. A late afternoon visit to the Khao Soi Dao Breeding Centre where we searched the small stream for butterflies and dragonflies. Another German beer session, so not a totally wasted day!

9 Dec. Met up with our guides and started into the forest by 08:30. As usual on Khao Soi Dao the low species diversity makes finding specialities and interesting wildlife slow and difficult. By 13:00 when we arrived at our first camp at 950 metres, we'd seen precious little. A few butterflies around the falls at our chosen camp included Himalayan Jester and a rarer sailor species that disappeared before being photographed. Despite the dry weather, leeches were rather prevalent as much of the forest leaf-litter still damp. Ticks too, as we discovered a few days later.

During the afternoon explored higher forest above the camp, as high as 1,230 metres, finding Davison's Leaf Warbler and a single Black-browed Fulvetta. After dark we clambered up and downstream from the camp hopping around on the slippery boulders and steep trails; not recommended for the inexperienced. During two to three hours we encountered an excellent collection of reptiles and amphibians, such as Cardamom Green Pit Viper, Cardamom Wolf Snake, Chanthaburi Stream Frog and Spiny-breasted Frog. A pretty cool night, in part due to a wind flowing down the valley stream.

11 Dec. A surprise just after dawn in the form of a singing Green Cochoa, as well as Siamese Partridge resonating from the adjacent valley. With the morning to spare we again hiked onto the ridge above the camp in search of Indochinese Green Magpie, that disappointingly remained silent. Some good feeding flocks with Claudia's Warbler, Davison's Leaf Warbler, Sulphur-breasted Warbler, Martens's Warbler, Moustached Barbet, White-browed Shrike-babbler and a couple more Green Cochoa. At the recommendation of our guide we took a shorter route back to base that, while decidedly a shorter distance, was steep, difficult and could have verged on dangerous if wet, resulting in little saving in time, arriving back around 16:30.

Moustached Barbet

Mongolian Gull

12 Dec. Hardly surprisingly, not up at dawn, but a mid morning departure back to Bangpoo, where not only the Mongolian Gull had reappeared but a Common Gull had been found. We arrived around 15:30, and with pleasant, cloudy conditions a good number of gulls present. Mongolian Gull successfully located, plus a single Heuglin's Gull and two Slender-billed Gull. However, the Common Gull failed to materialise. Overnight near Bangkok airport.

13 Dec. Return to Chiang Mai.