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16 -22 Jan 2022.
Unseasonably wet. Variable cloud cover. Temperatures ranged from 12°C to 28°C.
Doi Inthanon National Park, Mae Ping National Park, Nong Cham, Wat Tham Inthanin, Khun Phawo National Park, Ban Thi Paddies, Pha Daeng National Park, Fang Paddies, Doi Lang and Chiang Saen.

Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker

Above 1,800 metres the weather consisted of low cloud, poor visibility and occasional spots of rain - hardly optimal for finding our one and only Inthanon target - Speckled Wood Pigeon - which we'd bafflingly dipped on in December. An hour's short walk around the summit boardwalk held the usual suspects, such as Pygmy Cupwing, Ashy-throated Warbler and Rufous-winged Fulvetta, plus a singe Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker. Late afternoon we descended a little, to wait out the fog. It was with great relief when, in between thick waves of cloud, that we were able to find at least 20 Speckled Wood Pigeon perched in the canopy.

With our target successfully found, we headed to the town of Li, driving through some heavy rain after dark. Inexplicably, given no vehicles were outside, our planned accommodation was mysteriously full - for that read that the staff were loo lazy to register guests - so we simply tried one of the newer resorts in town, which proved pleasantly comfortable.

17 Jan. Some heavy overnight rain. Despite the late night, having watched the Premier League, we were into Mae Ping in good time, although the cloudy start was hardly conducive to bird activity. Our morning's target was the elusive Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher which, sadly, we failed to find. The birding did however produce Crested Treeswift, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Black-headed Woodpecker, Red-billed Blue Magpie and, annoyingly, a number of Hainan Blue Flycatcher and several unidentifiable female Cyornis flycatchers.

Following recent reports of Spot-winged Starlings, around 14:00 we drove to Nong Cham, north of Tak. Here we simply scouted for large flowering trees and were rewarded with two small groups of Spot-winged Starling and a pair of Vinous-breasted Myna. A late afternoon drive to Tak city for an overnight stay.

Black-headed Woodpecker

Spot-winged Starling

Variable Limestone Babbler

Common Buzzard

Common Rosefinch

Spot-breasted Parrotbill

18 Jan. An hour's drive west of Tak found us at Wat Tham Inthanin, probably the most northerly location known for the recently split Variable Limestone Babbler which, although we'd seen previously in western Thailand, we'd not managed to photograph. No doubt, due to being accustomed to swathes of temple visitors, these birds proved exceptionally easy to locate. We then visited the newly established Khun Phawo National Park on account of a reliable recent record of Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher. However, despite a couple of hours in suitable habitat we were unable to find any. A couple of Dusky Crag Martin was a notable sighting.

We also tried the nearby Phawo Shrine which we found pretty hectic, and downright dangerous once the locals started live ammunition target practice behind the shrine - so we beat a hasty retreat, driving north to Ban Thi paddies just south of Chiang Mai. These paddies have, over the last month or so, held a splendid array of raptors, so we were hoping for Hen Harrier. However, that was not be be, although in the course of a mid to late afternoon session we racked up an impressive list, including Eastern Imperial Eagle, Common Buzzard, Western Marsh Harrier, Greater Spotted Eagle, Steppe Eagle and Rufous-winged Buzzard. Surprisingly, locating a reasonable hotel in Lamphun town proved time-consuming, though we found a pizza restaurant still open late in the evening.

19 Jan, Some early morning thunder and rain, eventually dissipated by the time we reached the edge of Pha Daeng National Park. Our unsuccessful search here for Pale-footed Bush Warbler was not a great surprise given that vocalisation of any bush warblers during the dry season is not to be expected. Species encountered at altitude during the morning included Brown-breasted Bulbul, Crested Treeswift, Grey-thoated Babbler and good numbers of Common Rosefinch. Early afternoon we headed to Fang, spending the last couple of hours of light in paddies west of town, finding Eurasian Teal, Grey-headed Swamphen, Ferruginous Duck, Peregrine Falcon, Singing Bush Lark, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler and Bluethroat.

20 Jan, Further rain overnight set up a cool and cloudy day. Today turned into a day to forget, as we ended up spending all our time on our solitary target on Doi Lang - Scarlet Finch - with no satisfactory conclusion. One male Scarlet Finch put in a brief appearance, but Richard found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and despite much effort, we could not relocate the bird, so eventually had to leave empty-handed. Consolatory species encountered were Chestnut Thrush, Giant Nuthatch and Spot-breasted Parrotbill. A late afternoon drive to Chiang Saen, where we met with Andy. It was very welcome to find beer available here, rather than the ridiculous restrictions of nanny-province Chaing Mai.

Falcated Duck

We were rewarded with a flock of eight Falcated Duck and three Gadwall. With skies looking less threatening, we returned to Nam Kham for an Acrocephalus hunt which was spectacularly unsuccessful, although a couple of Golden Comma butterfly were decidedly interesting.

Golden Comma

Mid afternoon we met up with Andy again for a duck and harrier hunt. A scan for waterbirds produced two Eastern Spot-billed Duck, and amazingly another 13 Falcated Duck. During late afternoon and dusk at the harrier roost, we encountered around 500 Pied Harrier and Eastern Marsh Harrier, though failed to identify any of the supposedly three Hen Harriers present.

22 Jan. With no specific targets to aim for we opted to simply explore some tracks, complete with mud, around Mae Lua. A couple of hours here were quite productive with a sizeable group of Yellow-breasted Bunting, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Eurasian Wryneck and two Black-faced Bunting.

Yellow-breasted Bunting