Overview
Dates: |
2 - 4 Jun 2021. |
With Steve Tibbett. Due to never-ending Covid restrictions, and the ridiculous closure of most Thai national parks for the past year, any field trip is more a question of going where possible rather than where one would like. With this in mind, Omkoi was chosen, since it has access of many kilometres of forest outside of closed areas. At this time of year monsoon weather could easily have disrupted our plans, so given these restrictionss we were certainly not expecting too much in the way of either birds or butterflies. This was purely an opportunity to be out in the field.
2 Jun. We left Chiang Mai just before 07:00 and headed to Hot and onward to the Omkoi area, arriving in the dry forest north of town by 09:45. With no specific plan of action we spent the whole day exploring various tracks and trails we'd discovered on previous visits. This year, with April having been unusually wet, the annual forest burning activity had thankfully been lower than usual, so the forests looked more verdant. Few birds were active, with our only notable species being Black-headed Woodpecker and a calling Chinese Francolin. The usual collection of butterflies included a number of Arhopala oakblue and Flos plushblue species. Chiang Mai Rain-pool Frog was also found plus a number of damselflies and dragonflies. Overnight in Omkoi, where we discovered our usual eating establishment was no longer operating in the evenings, so we had to make-do with a selection from 7-Eleven as we could find no place else - Omkoi continuing to be a backwater for eating out. 3 Jun. A full day at the higher elevations of the wildlife sanctuary between 1,200 and 1,500 metres south of town. Near the viewpoint we encountered Veined Scrub Hopper. Despite the slightly different, damper, forest we found it generally disappointing, though we did manage a couple of rather notable species - Bronze Duke and Myanmar Veined Labyrinth. Bird activity was once again very low, with only Ashy Bulbul and Blue-bearded Bee-eater of note. Surprisingly, for the time of year, the weather was clear and sunny all day. Frequently, once over the viewpoint pass the weather deteriorates into solid cloud and rain. In the evening, with the assistance of our accommodation owner, we found a simple eatery serving excellent food. 4 Jun. Most of the morning was spent exploring the dry Dipterocarp forest south of town, though little new added to our trip list. Before leaving for Chiang Mai we re-explored a denser area of forest found the first day, finding a few skipper species and a couple of plushblues. Around 14:30 we returned to Chiang Mai for a welcome curry and beers. Not too much to celebrate, but as always, good to be out. |
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Species List
| Omkoi | Count | Count | |||
| Chinese Francolin | 1 | Red-billed Blue Magpie | 2 | ||
| Greater Coucal | 2 | Eastern Jungle Crow | 20 | ||
| Green-billed Malkoha | 1 | Japanese Tit | 2 | ||
| Asian Koel | 1 | Ashy Bulbul | 2 | ||
| Plaintive Cuckoo | 1 | Black-crested Bulbul | 2 | ||
| Spotted Dove | 6 | Pin-striped Tit-Babbler | 4 | ||
| Red-wattled Lapwing | 5 | Puff-throated Babbler | 3 | ||
| Rufous-winged Buzzard | 2 | Velvet-fronted Nuthatch | 2 | ||
| Asian Barred Owlet | 3 | Great Myna | 10 | ||
| Blue-bearded Bee-eater | 2 | Common Myna | 10 | ||
| Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker | 2 | Oriental Magpie-Robin | 1 | ||
| Black-headed Woodpecker | 1 | Golden-fronted Leafbird | 2 | ||
| Black-naped Monarch | 2 | Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker | 2 |