Today promised to be one of the birdiest, but also longest days, on our whole itinerary, with a plethora of species we wanted to see in the mountains of Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park. We took the middle road, or west Doi Ankgang which leads up to the border with Myanmar. To target a few very specific species we set off first thing in the morning, departing our accommodation at five in the morning, to be on-site around six before first light.
The reason for this
dramatically early start was to arrive at the location where the very rare Mrs
Humes Pheasant is fed before sunrise, to avoid disturbing the
birds and potentially preventing their visiting. Sadly when we arrived we found
that a tour group was already present, and this made it difficult to view the
layby where the birds are fed, and with so many people present it was hardly a
surprise that the birds did not come out to feed in the morning. While we
waited there were a few other nice species, including a smashing Ultramarine
Flycatcher, and a quirky Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler.
Once it became
apparent that the pheasants were not coming, we continued our morning by
birding back down the road. This route took us through an area of primarily
pine forest, and as such was not incredibly lively, but we added a few nice
species including Chestnut-vented Nuthatch and Puff-throated Babbler, before we
landed our first key target species with a pair of Giant Nuthatch. Although
impressive compared to the other nuthatch species present, it was not as large
as I had hoped to see, and they were reluctant to show well.
From here we drove
all the way to the border gate with Myanmar to search for a few species here.
The habitat in this area was more open and we had a few specific targets to
look for while here. We got excellent views of a pair of Crested Finchbill
feeding on roadside fruits just down from the border post, and had phenomenal
views of a Crested Serpent Eagle soaring low overhead. However, this area was generally
not particularly lively and it certainly did not help that the morning was
already getting quite warm.
We walked quickly through
the open areas and eventually arrived at an area of nice broadleaved woodland
where there were much fewer pines, and this was the area where we finally encountered
mixed species flocks with good variety, despite it already being midday. Streak-throated
Woodpecker was new for me, and we had another Giant Nuthatch before the peak of
the morning session with a fantastic Himalayan Cutia feeding in the canopy as
the flock passed through. A stunning, but uncommon and tricky species, it was a
key target for the day and one we were extremely pleased to connect with. A
massive bonus species we had here was a group of four Long-tailed Broadbills which we were
absolutely not expecting to see. This flock showed very nicely feeding above the road.
Also in the area we
found the rare White-spectacled Warbler. This species is a rare
winterer further north, but one has spent the previous three consecutive
winters at this site and it was good to find this bird. Confusingly it was also
in the company of a Martens’s Warbler, which is an almost identical species it
took us some time to work out exactly what we were looking at.
After a short lunch
break with a nap, we set off again around 15:00, once again deciding to work
the same area of woodland. Again it proved fruitful with a fantastic Golden
Babbler, one of the highlights of the day without doubt. A Humes Treecreeper
was another new species for me, as was Grey-chinned Minivet and the area was
generally lively with good numbers of Yellow-browed Warblers and Pallas’s
Warblers feeding in the canopy. It was certainly a pleasant area to spend the
afternoon birding session before we returned to the area for the pheasants.
This time we were alone but once again the pheasants did not come out onto the road
and at 18:40, with the light fading, we decided to bite the bullet and drive
back down the mountain, content with a phenomenal days birding.
Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park: Oriental Turtle Dove, Spotted Dove, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Cook's Swift, Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Stripe-breasted Woodpecker, Long-tailed Broadbill, Grey-chinned Minivet, White-browed Shrike-babbler, Slender-billed Oriole, Maroon Oriole, Ashy Drongo, Grey Treepie, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Japanese Tit, Hill Prinia, Asian House Martin, Crested Finchbill, Flavescent Bulbul, Brown-breasted Bulbul, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Yellow-browed Warbler, Pallas's Leaf Warbler, Radde's Warbler, White-spectacled Warbler, Martens's Warbler, Davison's Leaf Warbler, Black-throated Bushtit, Golden Babbler, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler, Puff-throated Babbler, Yunnan Fulvetta, Himalayan Cutia, Silver-eared Laughingthrush, Spectacled Barwing, Giant Nuthatch, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Hume's Treecreeper, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Verditer Flycatcher, Slaty-backed Flycatcher, Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Little Pied Flycatcher, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Grey Bush Chat, Black-throated Sunbird, Mrs. Gould's Sunbird, Grey Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit,
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