Thailand Trip Report Northern & Central Thailand 20th February to 9th March 2013 & Southern Thailand Extension 9th to 15th March 2013 Female Gurney's Pitta by Bob Stamp Trip Report compiled by Tour Leader Erik Forsyth Top 10 birds as chosen by participants: 1) Spoon-billed Sandpiper 2) Gurney's Pitta 3) Eurasian Woodcock 4) Black-headed Woodpecker (Ted will be happy!) 5) Blue Pitta 6) Silver Pheasant 7) Great Hornbill 8) Black-and-red Broadbill 9) Red-bearded Bee-eater 10) Asian Paradise Flycatcher / Nicobar Pigeon RBT Thailand I Trip Report Feb/Mar 2013 2 Tour Summary Intro: Our very impressive trip total of 566 species in 23 days just goes to show the great birding potential in this fabulous Asian nation. Participants were treated to an amazing number of star birds that included the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Mountain Bamboo Partridge, Mrs Hume’s and Silver Pheasants, Siamese Fireback, Green Peafowl, Buffy Fish Owl, Gould’s and Blyth’s Frogmouths, the mythical Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, Gurney’s, Malayan Banded, Blue, Rusty-naped and Mangrove Pittas, Ratchet-tailed Treepie, Slaty-bellied Tesia, Large, White-browed and Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babblers, Limestone, Streaked, and Pygmy Wren-Babblers, Spot- breasted Laughingthrush, Scarlet-faced Liocichla, Grey-headed and Spot-breasted Parrotbills, Giant Nuthatch, Heart-spotted, White-bellied and Great Slaty Woodpeckers, Black-backed Forktail, Mrs Gould’s Sunbird, Malayan Night Heron and Nicobar Pigeon – to name just some of the many fantastic highlights! The tour in detail: Heading out early from the capital, Bangkok, through the bustling metropolis, we journeyed south towards the Gulf of Thailand. We were 14 excited birders starting a birding tour, but as we were leaving Bangkok, “disaster” struck: we realised that a camera had been left in the hotel toilets! A quick call to the hotel, a scooter driver was despatched, and the camera was returned to us. However this time was not wasted, and in a busy city street we watched our first Great Mynas, a Red Turtle Dove, Eurasian Tree Sparrows and Rock Doves. (The previous day half the group had been fortunate enough to see the highly wanted Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Asiatic Dowitcher and Nordmann’s Greenshank amongst many other more common species with two local bird guides.) After arriving at the shorebird centre we headed out to the nearby saltpans. Unusually, there were few waders around, possibly because an immature Brahminy Kite was lurking nearby. Within an hour, though, more waders had arrived and a joyous shout from Uthai signalled that he had found a Spoon-billed Sandpiper, much to the delight (and relief!) of our group! We all enjoyed good scope views of what is fast becoming one of the rarest waders in the world, and so it was an incredible honour Baan Pak Thale entrance sign by Bob Stamp for those who had made the journey to see it at its wintering grounds. Other waders seen here and at Laem Pak Bia included Great Knot and a couple of Red Knots, Black-tailed Godwit, Red-necked Stint, Marsh Sandpiper, Dunlin (a scarce winter visitor) and 300- plus Eurasian Curlews. It was amongst the latter flock, when in flight, that we also located two Far Eastern Curlews, a very unexpected find! Nearby at Laem Pak Bia, we also found many Long-toed Stints, Pacific Golden Plover and our second-most-sought-after species, Nordmann’s Greenshank RBT Thailand I Trip Report Feb/Mar 2013 3 (for those who hadn’t seen it the previous day). Here we enjoyed extended scope views and could compare these with the nearby Common Greenshanks. After lunch, we took a boat ride to a nearby beach where we were soon watching the newly described White-faced Plover (a species under taxonomic review), a few pairs of Malayan Plover, and both Greater and Lesser Crested Terns. On returning from the beach, we headed to the Kings Project and here had excellent views of Ruddy-breasted Crakes, Pin-tailed and Common Snipes, and even flushed two Greater Painted-snipes that couldn’t be relocated. After a long but very exciting day we headed to our lodge outside Kaeng Krachan NP. The next morning we departed for the upper hills of Kaeng Krachan NP, first stopping for a party of Great Slaty Woodpeckers that showed really well. Another quick stop yielded a flock of beautiful Silver-breasted Broadbills, the only sighting for the trip! From here we climbed up the bumpy road, listening to a variety of bird calls including Spangled Drongo and Blue-throated Barbet. About halfway up the mountain we hopped out the vehicle and encountered a cacophony White-throated Rock Thrush by Bob Stamp of birds and gibbons calling. The birding was fantastic over the next few hours, yielding huge Great Hornbills thundering overhead and down the valleys, scope views of stunning Red-headed Trogons, the localised Ratchet-tailed Treepie flashing his “ragged tail”, Black-crested Bulbul, Blue-eared Barbet and wintering Yellow-browed Warblers, amongst many others. The afternoon was much quieter but we did see the scarce Yellow-vented and Wedge-tailed Green Pigeons, lovely Blue-throated Barbet, Streaked Spiderhunter and Oriental Honey Buzzard. On leaving the park in the late afternoon, we found a huge Buffy Fish Owl hunting along some quieter pools near the road as well as an Asian Elephant, which was heading for the vehicles. We quickly departed as the situation appeared threatening, bringing the excitement of another jam-packed day to a finish. Our next full day in the park was spent at a lower elevation and here we found many more new species. The calls of Banded Bay, Asian Drongo and Violet Cuckoos filled the air, and after scoping these species, we were soon watching Sultan Tits, Asian Fairy Bluebirds, Kalij Pheasants, brief views of Black-thighed Falconets whizzing by, Tickell’s Brown Hornbills and more Great Hornbills. At a nearby stream we also enjoyed a variety of butterflies and damselflies clustered in Ratchet-tailed Treepie by Bob Stamp hundreds feeding at a muddy bank. It was here that we visited a roost of the rarely seen White-fronted Scops Owl and enjoyed very close looks at these highly sought-after species. In the late afternoon we then located a pair of beautiful RBT Thailand I Trip Report Feb/Mar 2013 4 Heart-spotted Woodpeckers and ended the day with a fine pair of Black-and-red Broadbills in the scope and yet another Asian Elephant, this time a bull alongside the road! The following day we took a long drive to Sab Sadou, a forest reserve consisting of dry woodland situated north-east of Bangkok. Our journey was broken midway by a few hours at some wetlands where we enjoyed good views of Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Golden Weaver, Bronze-winged Jacana, beautiful Cotton Pygmy Geese and, for half the group, a Cinnamon Bittern. We arrived at our lodge in the late afternoon and during dinner that evening, we heard a Great-eared Nightjar calling overhead. Very early the next day, we drove to Sab Sadou. Here we saw several range-restricted species including Black Baza, Black- hooded Oriole, Brown Prinia, Indochinese Cuckooshrike, the scarce Burmese Nuthatch and the huge and stunning White-bellied Woodpecker, which was scoped for all to enjoy. We also had great looks at Rufous-winged Buzzard Silver Pheasant by Bob Stamp and Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters. With temperatures rising, we packed up mid-morning and headed to Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve to escape the heat. Our target bird here was the fabulous Siamese Fireback and we were not disappointed as we had brilliant views of three males and a female bird only a short distance away in the forest. Red-breasted Parakeets were scoped and half the group saw Black-headed Woodpecker, albeit briefly, as it headed off quickly. In the late afternoon, we drove to our hotel on the outskirts of Khao Yai NP after another long but rewarding day. Heading off early in the morning, we drove through Khao Yai NP and up to the radar station. Here we spent the morning seeing a selection of new birds. Best of all were Black-throated Laughingthrush, Radde’s Warbler, Vernal Hanging Parrots whizzing by, White-bellied Epiornis, Golden- throated and Moustached Barbets and, on our drive down at lunchtime, we scored with a male Silver Pheasant leisurely crossing the road for all to enjoy – what an exceptionally beautiful bird! We were therefore Mugimaka Flycatcher by Bob Stamp quite surprised a little later to find two other males on the forest edge as well as a pair of Banded Broadbills and White-handed Gibbons – fantastic stuff! The next morning we spent a considerable time at a forested patch along the main road where, after hearing a Blue Pitta calling nearby, we spent quite a bit of time pursuing this bird. Eventually it paid off and the whole group saw it particularly well as it hopped and called on logs RBT Thailand I Trip Report Feb/Mar 2013 5 for all to enjoy! Shortly after this we tried for Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo along the road and we were again very surprised when a pair called behind us. Unfortunately, a bank blocked our views of the birds but, as luck would have it, they then ambled up to the edge of the bank to check us out!! What amazing luck to view this very scarce and localised species. After this success we continued our good fortune with an evening walk where we found Brown Hawk-Owl and Great-eared Nightjar – another fantastic to an exceptional day! The next day we flew to Chiang Mai in the north of the country.