Mopping It Up With Uthai

Hi everyone, I woke up to my last day in paradise and went to Doi Inthanon National Park. Our guide, Uthai, picked us up in a rustic one-of-a-kind van at 5:30 am. We arrived at the first spot in the park, which was just along the side of the road. We went there to look for a bird called a SPECTACLED BARWING. It took a while to call them in, but eventually two arrived. Lifer! Our second spot was, of all places, a clump off trees and bushes near at a parking lot. I got several lifers there, such as MRS. GOULD'S SUNBIRD, RUFOUS WINGED FULVETTA, ASHY THROATED WARBLER, ASHY DRONGO and DARK BACKED SIBIA. Dark Backed Sibia below.

Next we went up to the summit. We started birding around a coffee shop and I got my life bird SILVER EARED LAUGHINGTHRUSH! Perhaps he was coming by for a cup of coffee.

In the exact same spot I saw this BLUE WHISTLING THRUSH, a lifer! This bird is really cool, because some migrate through the area and some are resident. The resident has a yellow bill and the migrant has a black one. The migrant is a subspecies, which means that a long time from now it *may* become its own species.

While walking along the road looking for a very special bird, the GREEN TAILED SUNBIRD, I saw my life bird FLAVESCENT BULBUL. Photo below.

Then, Uthai spotted a male GREEN TAILED SUNBIRD! This bird is very special because the summit of Doi Inthanon is the only place you can find it in all of Thailand. I also got my life bird CHESTNUT TAILED MINLAH at the summit. Here is a picture of me and Uthai at the highest spot in the country.

Then we went to look for a rare Eurasian Woodcock that had recently been seen at this specific location. We never found the bird, but my dad did spot some RUFOUS THROATED PARTRIDGES and we did see a Blue Whistling Thrush migrant, which means it had a black bill. We went down further and Uthai spotted a Grey Checked Fulvetta. He ran to his car, pulled some worms out of a container, and fed about four or five GREY CHECKED FULVETTA. Life bird! Photo below.

Then we went to the best spot of all, a waterfall. On the way there, I saw my life bird PIED BUSHCHAT, a bird that I missed while birding with Steve. Photo below.

My life bird WHITE CAPPED WATER REDSTART, a migrant from China, was on the rocks of the waterfall.

So was this PLUMBEOUS REDSTART.

At that spot, we also saw GREY HEADED CANARY FLYCATCHER, BLACK BULBUL, WHITE HEADED BULBUL, and the rarest bird of the day, the SPECKLED PICULET. The Speckled Piculet is a very small woodpecker. FIRE BREASTED FLOWERPECKERS were also present there, and I captured this shot of a male.

After a quick lunch at the town's local restaurant, we ended our birding with a trip to the foothills of the Doi Inthanon Highlands Resort. On the drive, I got my life bird INTERMEDIATE EGRET, also a LITTLE EGRET and a CHINESE POND HERON. We pulled into the resort, looking for one of our goal birds, the INDIAN ROLLER. We saw it right away. Unfortunately, I did not get any good pictures. A BLUE ROCK THRUSH was also present. Then, Uthai got a GREEN BEE EATER in his scope, which made for great looks. In the same area, we also saw GOLDEN FRONTED LEAFBIRD and OLIVE BACKED SUNBIRD! My dad and Uthai saw an Ashy Woodswallow, but I had missed it. Many SOOTY HEADED BULBULS were there, and there were also a few SCALY BREASTED MUNIAS. Sooty Headed Bulbul below.

We got in the car and as we were driving back, Uthai pulled over and pointed out an ASHY WOODSWALLOW on a wire (the one that only my dad and Uthai had seen). Life Bird! I have seen many swifts in Chiang Mai, and Uthai told me that they are ASIAN PALM SWIFT. Also Lifer! And thanks to my birding friend Henry Griffin, I know what my mystery bird was in my previous post: An Oriental Magpie Robin. Thanks Henry! Steve also IDed this bird for me. Thanks, Steve! Uthai dropped us off back at our villa. It was a great day of birding and I got 37 life birds! It was sad to leave Chiang Mai, it was one of my favorite places. Please also note that not all lifers were mentioned, so there is a full species list below if your interested. If you are a birder coming to Thailand and are in a need of a guide, contact Uthai!


Bird List For Doi Inthanon                                                       Life List 369 (36 life birds at Doi Inthanon)

Rufous Throated Partridge 2 life bird!
Golden Throated Barbet 1(heard)
Blue Throated Barbet 1 (heard)
Speckled Piculet 1 life bird!
Scarlet Minivet 2 life bird!
Ashy Drongo 1 life bird!
Bronzed Drongo 1 life bird! 
Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher 2 life bird!
Chestnut Vented Nuthatch (heard by Uthai)
Velvet Fronted Nuthatch 1 life bird!
Black Crested Bulbul 3 life bird!
Flavescent Bulbul 3 life bird!
Black Bulbul 2 life bird!
White Headed Bulbul 1 life bird!
Pygmy Cupwing 1 (heard)
Ashy Throated Warbler 2 life bird!
Yellow Browed Warbler 2
Davison's Leaf Warbler 1 (heard)
Chestnut Flanked White Eye 2 life bird!
Oriental White Eye (additional species seen by my dad and Uthai)
Japanese White Eye 6 life bird!
Rufous Winged Fulvetta 6 life bird!
Grey Checked Fulvetta 5 life bird!
Silver Eared Laughingthrush 5 life bird!
Dark Backed Sibia 6 life bird
Spectacled Barwing 2 life bird!
Blue Whistling Thrush 3 life bird! (1 not seen by me)
Snowy Browed Flycatcher 1 life bird!
Plumbeous Redstart 1 life bird!
White Capped Water Redstart 2 life bird!
Blue Rock Thrush 2 life bird!
Pied Bushchat 1 life bird!
Plain Flowerpecker 1 life bird!
Fire Breasted Flowerpecker 1 life bird!
Black Throated Sunbird 1 life bird!
Mrs. Gould's Sunbird 2 life bird!
Green Tailed Sunbird 5 life bird!
Streaked Spiderhunter 1 life bird!
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 1
Intermediate Egret 1 life bird!
Little Egret 1
Chinese Pond Heron 2
Spotted Dove 1
Zebra Dove1 (heard)
Green Bee Eater 2 life bird!
Indian Roller 2 life bird!
Ashy Woodswallow 2 life bird! (1 not seen by me)
Common Iora 1
Black Drongo 1
Sooty Headed Bulbul 6 
Oriental Magpie Robin 1
Taiga Flycatcher 1
Golden Fronted Leafbird 1 life bird!
Scarlet Backed Flowerpecker 1(heard by Uthai)
Scaly Breasted Munia 6