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

South-East Asia Part 2 - Mt Kerinci in central west Sumatra

 

Schneider's Pitta

After our successful foray to the Mentawai Islands off the West Sumatra coast, we were picked up at our hotel in Padang for the next chapter of this journey – a 10-day trip to the central west mountains of the famed Mt Kerinci area. These mountains host the lion's share of Sumatra's endemic birds so is top-of-mind for visiting birders.

A pleasant if sometimes hairy 7-hour drive south through inland footfalls took us to the town of Kersik Tua and our hotel, Swarga Lodge. This was a handy base from which to explore the trails of Kerinci Seblat National Park around the base of Mt Kerinci, South-East Asia's largest volcanic peak which dominates the landscape in spectacular form. This trip was organised by Wild Sumatra, whose services I can highly recommend.

Mt Kerinci (above and below)

I was assigned a guide, Sandra, for the whole of the visit to the Kerinci region. He was a hard young worker and keen to please, with excellent eyes and ears. Sandra was especially adept at tracking down specialties and skulkers, though a little rusty on non-target species. We left Swarga Lodge a night earlier than planned because the steep staircase to the attic bedroom was daunting, and wedding ceremonies at a venue below the hotel featured extremely loud music and singing which didn't end until the early morning hours.

Guide Sandra

I birded only until lunchtime most days (not wanting to leave my non-birding partner alone all day) but this had little or no impact on our birding success. The first morning saw us at the trail entrance at 1600m. Shining Whistling-Thrush was the first endemic and it was common wherever we went.

Shiny Whistling-Thrush

That was followed soon after by a female Sumatran Niltava - the only one we saw on the trip.

Sumatran Niltava

Some distance up the track we saw our first Sumatran (Brown-winged) Whistling-Thrush. This is supposedly one of the more difficult endemics but we saw it several times.

Sumatran Whistling-Thrush

We had calling Pygmy Cupwing, Snowy-browed Flycatcher and several Eye-browed Wren-Babblers in view, including a couple of juveniles.

Snowy-browed Flycatcher juvenile

I was happy to connect with a pair of beautiful Sumatran Trogons close to the trail.

Sumatran Trogon

Rusty-breasted Wren-Babbler was vocal and reasonably approachable at all elevations on Mt Kerinci.

Rusty Wren-Babbler

Late in the morning I had a female Sumatran (Bronze-tailed) Peacock-Pheasant on the trail. A male was seen the next day. We heard this species frequently. Sumatran Flowerpecker and Sumatran Green-Pigeon were seen briefly.

Sumatran Peacock-Pheasant

The next morning saw us going higher up to 2200m at Panorama Post. Sunda Bush-Warbler showed well during the ascent. Less co-operative was Sumatran Cochoa. Two individuals called loudly at different sites but despite an intensive effort, a brief flight view of one bird was all we managed.

Sunda Bush-Warbler

Sumatran Wren-Babbler (Rimator) was calling loudly in small numbers and it took a while to eventually snare a brief view of a bird. Mammals included Niobe Ground-Squirrel and Sumatran Mountain Squirrel. Red-billed Partridge can be notoriously difficult to see but Sandra was good at finding these skulkers and we saw them on three occasions, sometimes very well, with others heard. High up the mountain, Sumatran Shortwing was calling commonly and seen a couple of times.

Niobe Ground-Squirrel

Sumatran Mountain-Squirrel

We left at 3.30am on our third morning for a bit of night work. We had 3 or 4 Sumatran Frogmouths calling close to the trail entrance but frustratingly didn't manage to see one. Salvadori's Nightjar was flying about but there was not a sniff of Wallace's Scops-Owl. The owl and Salvadori's Pheasant were the only two Kerinci area specialties that I had a reasonable chance of connecting with but failed to do so; neither had been encountered by other birders for several weeks.

Schneider's Pitta

The fourth and final morning at Mt Kerinci saw us again on the lower track. This time the reward was excellent - close-up views of two separate Schneider's Pittas. A female and an immature male showed nicely at different sites. This is one of Sumatra's most sought-after endemics and one that is easy to miss - a fitting end to our time on the mountain.