South-East Asia 2025 Part 5 – Sun Bear & other mammals in South Thailand

 

Sun Bear

Following our visit to North Thailand, we picked up another hire car in Bangkok and drove south to the seaside resort town of Hua Hin. We had a few days at this delightful place. The view from the hotel, Ruenkanok Thaihouse Resort, was one of the nicest I've had anywhere.

Hua Hin - view from hotel room above, beach below

Long-tailed Macaques were present on Monkey Hill near our hotel.

Long-tailed Macaque

We moved on to Baan Maka Lodge, an hours drive to the north-west and the gateway to the famed Kaeng Krachan National Park. It's a comfortable lodge with decent food served at sensible times for early critter-watchers, and just a 15-minute drive to the park and bird hides outside the park.

Our Baan Maka Lodge room

Grey-bellied Squirrel is about the lodge grounds in considerable numbers. This post is devoted to mammals; birds to follow next.

Grey-bellied Squirrel

On our first morning we drove into the park and on to Ban Krang camping ground, 15km further west. Sun Bear has for years been a visitor to the area behind the camp restaurant here although appearances are patchy, and animals can be absent for long periods. I knew they were currently reliable, however, and after a 2-hour wait, a healthy looking Sun Bear emerged from its forest lair to forage for food scraps at a small dump behind the restaurant.

Sun Bear subadult (foreground) with adult (background)

Sun Bear foraging for food scraps

It was soon joined by a subadult male bear for about 20 minutes. Neither demonstrated the slightest sign of aggression towards – or interest in - human onlookers. The first bear hung around for the 2 hours we were there. It was particularly keen on a wire-netted open area at the back of the kitchen where food is prepared, its behaviour indicating that restaurant workers pass on the odd morsel. Sun bears are removed from similar situations in some countries as they are considered potentially dangerous. For us the encounter was pure pleasure.

Sun Bear below restaurant window (above and below)_

The mammal fun didn't stop with bears. Dusky Leaf-Monkey (below) was common in the camping ground with several juveniles present.

A group of White-handed Gibbons was howling loudly nearby. The gibbons entered the camping ground periphery, giving a fine demonstration of aerobatic mastery. Gibbons were heard frequently over the next couple of days of visiting the park. A couple of Pallas's Squirrels were seen in the forest. On the way back from the camping ground we briefly saw a small black phase Leopard by the road, most likely a large cub. Kaeng Krachan is known as a hotspot for black phase leopards for some obscure reason.

White-handed Gibbon

I visited the aptly named Bird Hide, 12km from Baan Maka, where food is left out in an open area in the forest for an array of birds and mammals, attracting photographers from around the world.

Baan Maka Bird Hide 

Preparing the feeding area at the hide

A Lesser Indo-Malaysian Mouse-Deer would occasionally enter the open area, incongruously feeding among the ever present cluster of Red Junglefowl.

Lesser Indo-Malaysian Mouse-Deer 

Grey-bellied Squirrel was again here, sharing the spoils with the junglefowl.

Grey-bellied Squirrel & Red Junglefowl

Northern Tree-Shrew was another regular in the feeding area and a couple of Common Tree-Shrews, noticably larger, were seen.

Northern Tree-Shrew

An Indo-Chinese Ground-Squirrel joined feeding Ferruginous Partridges (below).

Small numbers of the Himalayan (Western) Striped Squirrel darted about the place. A Javan (Small Asian) Mongoose crossed the road as I returned from the hide to Baan Maka.

Himalayan Striped Squirrel

South-East Asia 2025: Part 4 - North Thailand 23/7/2025

Mrs Hume's Pheasant

Following our three-week trip to Sumatra, we flew north from Pedang to the Thai capital of Bangkok. Here we had five days of relaxation and sight-seeing. We've been to Bangkok previously and are fond of the city. A couple of images follow. 

Bangkok - Grand Palce

Bangkok river ferry

Bangkok downtown at night

We then flew north to Chiang Mai and had four days at the delightful Bodhi Serene Hotel. More relaxation and sight-seeing in another city I've visited previously.

Chiang Mai view from hotel room

Chiang Mai Buddhist ceremony

Chiang Mai - old temple

We hired a vehicle in Chiang Mai and drove north to the small town of Fang, the base to explore the mountains on the nearby Thai-Myanmar border. We stayed for 3 nights at Tangerine Villa, a basic hotel where no English is spoken, but there aren't too many other options in the region. I hired a guide for two mornings up in the mountains. I won't name him because he wasn't very good – he'd never heard of one of my targets – and I would have found the birds without him. I've birded Thailand and surrounding countries before so there are just a handful of targets remaining in this part of the world. The road follows the border and mountains on both sides - in both countries - were something to behold.

View across Myanmar from Doi Lang

The first morning we headed up to Doi Lang West through Doi Pha Ha Bok National Park, the main route for regional specialties. We struck gold early as a male Hume's Pheasant appeared roadside in fir tree woodland, close to a spot where birds are fed in the dry season, attracting hordes of photographers. This was the wet season and we didn't see any other birders during our two mornings. The pheasant can easily be missed or consume days to find so it was a relief to see it early. This was the only one we saw. 

Mrs Hume's Pheasant

Soon after we had a couple of Giant Nuthatches in the fir trees. This smart nuthatch is another key target for the region. 

Giant Nuthatch

He had 

good views of Himalaya Cutia in the fir woodland. Other birds included Black-backed Sibia, Black-breasted Thrush and Blyth's Shrike-Babbler. 

Himalayan Cutia

The second morning had us back up the mountain, this time focusing on broadleaf wet forest, mostly at and below the Army-run checkpoint on the Thai-Myanmar border. A narrow trail into the forest a little below the base was productive. Brief but good glimpses of Scarlet-faced Liocichla were managed after some effort; the birds are fed at the Army checkpoint in the dry season. Also present was a flock of calling White-necked Laughingthrush. A little further down the road, 6 Moluntain Bamboo-Partridges finally showed after some coaxing. Two more were seen later on the liocichla trail and more were heard elsewhere. 

Thai-Myanmar border post

Other birds encountered included another key target for me – Stripe-breasted Woodpecker. Hill Prinia, Long-tailed Broadbill, Spot-breasted Parrotbill and Crested Finchbill were among other birds seen. 

Crested Finchbill

We visited Fang Hot Springs near the town on our third and final morning. This was a delightful area of parkland and forest, renowned for its bathing springs and geothermal geysers. 

Fang Hot Springs geyser

In the afternoon I drove north to Thatorn, locating an old water tower that marks the spot for what was once a reliable site for Jerdon's Bushchat along the river nearby. The birds' reed habitat has largely gone and I could not reach a patch I could see downstream because of a wall of mimosa, a prickly exotic weed. We drove back to Chiang Mai the next day.

River near Thatorn

South-East Asia Part 3 : Lake Kaco Track & Tapan Road, Sumatra

 

Sumatran Ground-Cuckoo

Following a rewarding few days around Mt Kerinci in the central west highlands of Sumatra, we moved on to Lempur Village and the Cinnamon Guesthouse, our lodgings for the next four nights. This was basic accommodation but with a fantastic view from the balcony, good food and overall a pleasant place to stay. Our first day was a break from birding. Lempur is the home village of my guide Sandra. He kindly took us on a local tour that took in rice harvesting, drying cinnamon bark and a vigorous wedding in the main street.

Lempur Village - rice harvesting (above); wedding preparations (below)

Lempur is close to the track to Lake Kaco - at 1100m a lower elevation than Mt Kerinci, with different species on offer. Chief among them was Sumatra's star bird, the Sumatran Ground-Cuckoo. Sandra and I were out in the forest early at a stake-out for the bird. He set up a hide and a ground-cuckoo could be heard calling distantly. It was two hours before the bird moved in closer before finally appearing, just as a second group of birders who had been hiding in the forest – unbeknown to us – emerged at the scene.

What a scene it was. First a glimpse of the bird's face in the ground vegetation. Then it jumped onto a branch, its purple orbital skin glowing in a brief flash of sunlight in the generally overcast conditions. It called several times before hopping on to a rock and then to a more shaded branch. This gem was in full view for about 10 minutes. Then it was gone, quietly returning to the undergrowth. Undoubtedly the trip highlight for me.

Sumatran Ground-Cuckoo

After that everything was a little underwhelming but the first endemic Sumatran Bulbul and Sunda Forktail were nice to see.

Sunda Forktail

Then Sandra spotted a Sunda Colugo clinging to a tree trunk high above the ground, peering down at us.

Sunda Colugo

We were back on the Lake Kaco track the next morning. It was a top morning for bulbuls, scoring the two other endemics – Cream-coloured and Spot-necked – along with two good species I did not expect. A pair of Ruby-throated Bulbuls were at the track entrance, and a pair of rare Black-and-white Bulbuls were an unexpected bonus. I didn't manage a single bulbul photograph in the gloomy conditions. I did snap a fine Pale (Sunda) Giant-Squirrel high in the trees.

Pale Giant-Squirrel

We moved on to the town of Sungai Penuh for a 2-night stay in the Grand Kerinci Hotel – the base for exploring the Tapan Road. We arrived at a gully at 1300m on the winding, narrow road in the early afternoon and soon heard Marbled Wren-Babbler calling. This was a much-wanted species I had missed on several trips. I got in among the undergrowth and caught some good but brief views of the birds. We moved on to a second gully further down the road. This was Sandra's stake-out for another top Sumatran target – the elegant Graceful Pitta. Sandra put out some mealworms. 

Pitta Preparations

He had not returned the few metres to the hide he'd put up before a pitta flew in for a feed. A squirrel had the same idea and we tried unsucessfully to keep it at bay. The pitta got used to the squirrel, however, and the two fed happily side-by-side. The pitta was then joined by its mate and a well-fledged juvenile, which kept to the shadows. The need to feed the juvenile explained the large numbers of worms being hoovered up by its parents.

Graceful Pitta

Pitta with a Mouthful

In the midst of all this action, another pair of Marbled Wren-Babblers appeared on the scene. They joined in the mealworm splurge, perching uncharacteristically in the open for brief periods. The whole affair came close to challenging the ground-cuckoo for experience of the trip.

Marbled Wren-Babbler

We were back on the Tapan Road the next morning, walking segments downhill to be picked up by the vehicle, with a roadside breakfast thrown in. Sumatran Leafbird and Blue-masked Leafbird appeared together in a small flock.

A Sunda Owlet that was calling from a gully flew in for a brief view. Sumatran Drongo was present in small numbers, rounding off the Sumatran specialties that I considered a reasonable chance in the Kerinci region.

Sumatran Drongo

Better views were obtained of Sumatran Green-Pigeon and Sumatran Treepie, both of which were seen several times along the road and elsewhere around Kerinci.

Sumatran Green-Pigeon

Sumatran Treepie

Blue Nuthatch  and Chestnut-breasted Malkhoa were nice to reconnect with.

Blue Nuthatch

Chestnut-breasted Malkhoa

Mammals performed nicely. A gathering of Siamangs in the tree-tops by the road was captivating as males with inflated throat patches howled and fought for position.

Siamang

Several parties of Sumatran Surili were seen along the road, with much better views than other sites where we encountered them.

Sumatran Surili

The Sunda Pig-tailed Macaque was common and tame along the road. We departed the next day for an 8-hour drive to Padang along the scenic coastal route, ending our Sumatra adventure with a flight the next day to Bangkok.

Sunda Stub-tailed Macaque

Cinnamon Guesthouse - Glenn, Zacky, Greg, Sandra