Thailand wrap

The updated Ebird trip report with photos is HERE (6 sensitive species not shown publically). After the tidy up the final trip list for me was 404 (the group got about 413), managed to photograph 287 interesting species with 151 bird lifers, 18 species of mammals with 17 lifers, 5 herps (3 lifers) and about 48 species of leps HERE. 

The leps need more verification so my world selective taxa species list is approx 6253 (birds, mammals, herps, leps and dragonflies) including 3570 birds, 295 mammals, 146 herps, approx 1800 leps and 57 dragonflies. The main long term target is to get to 5000 birds (approx half the world's birds) and 10,000 pan species. IGoTerra lists HERE. 

Another fantastic trip with Wise Birding that specialises in bird and mammal trips for serious birders/naturalists and can't wait for the next one! Thanks to Colin Bushell and Deng our guides and for good company from the crew. 

Thailand landscapes

A few landscape and habitat shots that we visited of our adventure. 

Chiang Dao Temple and Wildlife Sanctuary

Views over the Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park (above and below) 

Views of Inthanon National Park (above and below) 

Cloud forest at Inthanon NP

Forktail habitat

Gardens and prunus blossom in the Northern National Parks 

Rice paddies (above) and salt pans (below)

Thailand other wildlife

Moth trapping opportunities were pretty limited and even when I did manage to get the trap out in habitat it was surprisingly quiet. In fact it was pretty quiet on the butterfly front. Apparantely the peak time for leps is during the early rainy season in April time and it's pretty quiet this time of year- cooler and drier. Most of the moth trapping I did was on the balcony of the hotel rooms which was pretty limited.

Also had a few herps but overall it was really quiet on that front too with no snake sightings and just a few lizards and a few frogs calling which I-Nat has tentatively identified as Black-striped Frog.

I-Nat observations HERE. About 55 species of leps and 5 species of herp. A few tentative ids and photos below. 

Tokay Gecko

Common Sun Skink 

Water Monitor and Indian Cormorant 

Swinhoe's Striated Hawkmoth 

Handmaiden moth

Eressa confinis

Arguda sp

Ornate Hydrisis moth

Common Awl

Chabula acamasalis

Paris Peacock Swallowtail

Red-based Jezebel

Common Jester

Rafflesiacae sp (Plantnet says Hermit's Spitton, Sapria himalayana) 

Thailand Mammals

We recorded 18 species of mammal during our trip with the highlights including Sun Bear, Malayan Porcupine and an unexpected Gaur that crossed the road pre-dawn at Kaeng Krachan NP. 17 were lifers for me taking my world mammal list to 295.

What a fantastic bonus to all the birds. 

Sun Bear (above and below)

Malayan Porcupine

Northern Pig-tailed Macaque. We also had Long-tailed Macaques at the Rufous Limestone Babbler site. 

Dusky Langur (above and below). We also heard Lar and Pileated Gibbons. 

Samba having a bad hair day, We also had Northern Red Muntjac. 

Lesser Indo-Malayan Chevrotain

Northern Tree Shrew

Finlayson's (Variable) Squirrel (above and below) 

Northern Grey-bellied Squirrel

Black Giant Squirrel

Indochinese Ground Squirrel and Asian Emerald Dove

Cambodian Striped Squirrel

Thailand Days Fourteen and Fifteen

We spent the last two days of the trip at the fantastic Inthanon National Park. Checklist from the first day HERE and the second day HERE. So many highlights in this magical region including Pygmy Cupwing, Himalayan Shortwing,  Yellow-bellied Fairy-fantail, Yellow-cheeked Tit, stacks of pylloscs including Davison's, Blyth's and Grey-throated Warbler, Forktails and White-capped Redstarts in the mountain streams, Scaly Thrush and loads more.

My trip list total concluded on 405 species in 15 days (151 lifers taking my world list to 3570). Trip report HERE (still need to add photos and further information).

Pygmy Cupwing

Male Siberian Blue Robin

White-gorgeted Flycatcher

Himalayan Shortwing

Lesser Shortwing

Davison's Warbler

Buff-barred Warbler

Buff-breasted Babbler

White-capped Redstart

Scaly Thrush

Little Pied Flycatcher

Inthanon scenes