Babblers part two

 

This is the only picture I can get to download.  Not a bad bird though, Whiskered Treeswift.  I am having a torrid time with Blogger right now so will probably change to another site.  I will post later if and when I change.  I am told using the technology should be intuitive.  I rest my case.

Babble, babble, babblers.

Last week we booked with Ian Dugdale and Games Petsri to guide Eunice and I around Hala Bala in the deep south of Thailand, bordering Malaysia.  It is a unique wildlife area of rich forest which has been undisturbed and, as a result, is full of towering trees and luxuriant tree ferns. It is the home of much wildlife that can only be found in the forests of this part of Thailand.  It is also the home of considerable insurgancy campaign which has caused the death of over 2000 people over the past few years resulting in the area being sparcely visited by tourists including birdwatchers and naturalists.  During Ramadan this year a truce has been declared which seems to have resulted in a lower level of activity on both sides.  Ian certainly felt there was a significant reduction in the number of road blocks we had to pass through and we experienced no problems during our stay of six days.  The accommodation expected at the HQ was not available so it was fairly basic with squat toilets and a lilo but this did nothing to detract from the outstanding birdwatching experience.  The food was copious, extremely tasty and predominately fishy.

The area lived up to all expectations and Ian and Games were outstanding in facilitating our stay both in its organisation and the their knowledge of where and how to find birds.  It  was a fest of babblers, woodpeckers and hornbills with a supporting cast of three species of trogon and owls.

I was going to add some pictures but the instructions for writing this blog are mostly in Thai which is extremely frustrating to a techie like me and so I will have to continue on a new posting which I will call Babblers part two.

Chiang Mai July 2013

Had a good run north last week with Emma and Amber.  It was great to get together for a while.  Called at Mae Wong first for an overnight camp and I went to Chong Yen where I connected with a surprisingly large number of birds.  Unfortunately the cloud was low so it was fairly foggy and windy and this kept the birds down.  I just missed the Rufous-necked Hornbills by a few minutes but saw a couple of Long-tailed Sibia, Long-tailed Broadbill, Silver-eared Mesia and Chestnut-crowned Warbler to name but a few.

We then made our way to Chiang Mai and then to Malees.  Green-billed Malkoha showed well as did Asian Fairy Bluebird and Asian Paradise Flycatcher.  A Crested Goshawk regularly displayed over Malees as the day warmed up.

Common Tailorbirds seemed to be everywhere....

A pair of Puff-throated Babbler were also very obliging as well.

The Bird of Paradise flower was impossible for this streaked Spiderhunter to resist but it must make a welcome change from banana flowers.

We were pleased to see a couple of Rhesus monkeys at the Wat and we found another on the Checkpoint road.  It was the first time we have seen monkeys.

Eunice and I travelled up to Doi Lang for day which was never going to be a long enough time.  It was pleasing that even at this time of year there were plenty of birds to see but the thick green foliage made them tricky to get onto for any length of time so good views were hard to get. However, this Slaty-bellied Tesia showed well as did the Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush.

Birds of prey were in short supply but a Mountain Hawk Eagle showed well.  The good news is that the broken road has been mended at Km 41 and we could travel the full length of both east and west sides without turning round.  The repair is a massive piece of work but it is already starting to erode in the heavy rains so I don't know how long it will last!

Female Little Pied Flyctacher.

Striated Bulbuls were pretty showy.  Other highlights were Spot-throated Babbler, Brown-throated Treecreeper, Whiskered Yuhina, loads of Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Yellow-bellied Fantail and Black-eared Shrike Babbler, Red-faced Liochichla, Blue-winged Minla, Spectacled Barwing, Rufous-backed Sibia, Silver-eared Laughing Thrush, White-tailed Robin and Large Niltava. I had planned it as an exploratory visit for next winter but there was still loads to see.We also had this snake chasing a frog.  Any ideas?

I can't wait to get back this winter and spend some time exploring the area in more depth.  Back to Doi Chiang Dao.  Early one morning this young Crested Serpent Eagle showed well.  It was reluctant to fly as it was still a bit too cool at 21 degrees!

Marlees we spent quite a lot of time along the Checkpoint road, especially at the highest point.  The road gets up to 1200 metres at this point and it seemed pretty productive.  Maroon Oriole showed well, Grey-capped Woodpecker, Plain Flowerpecker, Yellow-eyed Babbler which was a surprise, Sultan Tit, Ashy Bulbul and probable Deignan's Babbler.  These latter birds seemed surprisingly different as they were darker on the underside and showed more contrasting grey area behind the eye.

Birds of interest around the Wat were Banded Kingfisher, 14 Wedge-tailed Green Pigeons, 12 White-headed Bulbuls, Brown Needletail, Drongo Cuckoo, Bay-banded Cuckoo, Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike, Bay Owl and Orange-bellied Leafbird.  I think the girls enjoyed themselves as well.  By way of a contrast we are off to Hala Bala on Wednesday with Ian and Games.

Banded Kingfisher

Rufescent Prinia

Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker