Thailand; Day 6 - Chiang Dao

   Our only full day in Chang Dao was spent at the nearby monastery, just a short walk up the road from our accommodation. The actual temple itself was up a flight of apparently 500 stairs, but this passed through some stunning forest, and this was where the birding was done. We spent the early morning birding around the lodge, and while there were a few nice birds, there was nothing that we had not seen already.

  Once in the temple grounds, we quickly started to see birds. Although there were a lot of stairs, because we were moving slowly we did not exhaust ourselves going up and we picked up birds along the way. We started with a nice Great Iora in the canopy above us, followed by Black-hooded Oriole and our first of the brilliant White-throated Fantails, although we would see more during the day. Continuing up the mountain, we also had a nice Pale Blue Flycatcher and our first Hornbills of the trip, with a pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills passing over us as we hiked. Once we reached the top we had probably the bird of the morning with a stunning Violet Cuckoo which showed nicely despite the strong midday sun. Despite the heat, on our way down we added a few more species with a nice Velvet-fronted Nuthatch.

  After lunch the team headed off to a nearby wetland but I decided to stay behind and return again to the monastery forest. Obviously the forest was quieter but there were still a few nice birds. The highlight was walkaway views of Streaked Wren-Babbler, which were incredibly confiding and frequently scuttled along next to the path. There was also a nice Streaked Spiderhunter, although high up in the canopy, and Blue Rock-Thrush was a good trip tick.

  I stuck around until after dark to try to find some owls, and was able to find a Mountain Scops Owl near the summit which was a new species for me. The other species I tried did not come in or respond to the tape, but at least four other species were singing during the two hours I spent searching.

  The undoubted highlight of the evening was an unbelievable Indochinese Flying Squirrel. I was simply scanning the canopy for something when a shape flew through the light. Assuming this would be an owl, and quite pleased about this, I followed it to where it landed, upon which it became clear that it was in fact not an owl, or even a bird, but a Squirrel. It then scuttled up the tree it was in and began to feed on the abundant figs growing off the trunk. Unfortunately it had a strong aversion to the light, and it was very difficult to get photos of them. 

Species List:
Chiang Dao: Spotted Dove, Violet Cuckoo, Himalayan Swiftlet, Chinese Pond Heron, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Mountain Scops Owl, Asian Barred Owlet, Brown Boobook, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Peregrine Falcon, Black-hooded Oriole, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Common Iora, Great Iora, White-throated Fantail, Ashy Drongo, Bronzed Drongo, Eastern Jungle Crow, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Common Tailorbird, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Barn Swallow, Striated Swallow, Puff-throated Bulbul, Black-crested Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Yellow-browed Warbler, Pin-striped Tit-Babbler, Streaked Wren-Babbler, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, White-rumped Shama, Pale Blue Flycatcher, Hill Blue Flycatcher, Blue Whistling Thrush, Taiga Flycatcher, Blue Rock Thrush, Black-throated Sunbird, Streaked Spiderhunter, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Blue-winged Leafbird, Golden-fronted Leafbird, White-rumped Munia, Grey Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit,