We heard a Collared Scops Owl calling from our room at around 4am and successfully spotlighted it sat just above head-height in a nearby tree. We enjoyed a 5.30am breakfast of coffee, toast and honey at Ban Maka before leaving in a 4WD they had arranged driven by Mr. Piac to ensure we reached the higher elevations of Kaeng Krachen National Park that requires crossing three stream fords and some steep ascents on a loose surface. On entering Kaeng Krachen NP we soon saw a troop of Dusky Langurs, although the obligatory stop at some Elephant dung was less exciting! We then briefly joined the Yorkshire tour participants watching a pair of Great Slaty Woodpeckers before quickly heading for the upper elevations where the highlight was seeing a White-handed Gibbon singing from the treetops en-route. We first stopped in earnest at Km27 and walked the next couple of kilometres hearing but not seeing Ratchet-tailed Treepie. Our search for the Treepie went on for the next six hours seeing a procession of good species with Asian Emerald Cuckoo, Collared Owlet, a Red-bearded Bee-eater, Great and Wreathed Hornbills, a Black-thighed Falconet, Green Magpie and a party of White-crested Laughingthrushes proving the best. As we were beginning to commence our descent of the mountain, resigned to not seeing the Treepie at their only known site in Thailand, amazingly a last walk of the road produced a pair sat unobtrusively in the depths of a roadside thicket, where they eventually briefly showed in the open. At a slightly lower elevation, during a speculative stop at an impressive stand of bamboo, we heard a Woodpecker tapping and when it was tracked-down it proved to be a male Bamboo Woodpecker - another addition! Now running short of time to make it out of the National Park on time we enjoyed more good fortune in seeing a male Grey Peacock-Pheasant cross the road in front of us. The drive out was further enlivened by seeing a Wild Cow before arriving back at Ban Maka in the dark where we enjoyed another excellent meal. A brilliant day's birding ensuring that Kaeng Krachen NP had already exceeded expectations and we still had two days remaining...
Bar-backed Partridge 2
Red Junglefowl 6
GREY PEACOCK-PHEASANT 1 male
Pond Heron sp. 5
Red-wattled Lapwing 2
Emerald Dove 3
Thick-billed Green Pigeon 10
Asian Emerald Cuckoo 1
Banded Bay Cuckoo 1
COLLARED SCOPS OWL 1
Collared Owlet 1 +h
Brown-backed Needletail 1
Red-bearded Bee-eater 1
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater 10
Oriental Pied Hornbill 1
Great Hornbill 1
Wreathed Hornbill 7
Great Barbet 1
Blue-throated Barbet 3
Blue-eared Barbet 2
Grey-headed Woodpecker 1
Common Flameback 3
BAMBOO WOODPECKER 1 male
Great Slaty Woodpecker 2
Black-thighed Falconet 1
Vernal Hanging Parrot 1
Rufous-winged Philentoma 1 blue morph
Black-winged Cuckooshrike 2
Swinhoe's Minivet 1 male
Scarlet Minivet 2
Black-naped Oriole 1
Ashy Drongo 15
Bronzed Drongo 5
Hair-crested Drongo 10
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo 1
Black-naped Monarch 10
Common Green Magpie 1
RATCHET-TAILED TREEPIE 2
Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher 1
Sultan Tit 4
Black-headed Bulbul 4
Ochraceous Bulbul 4
Buff-vented Bulbul 2
White-browed Scimitar-Babbler 2
Brown-cheeked Fulvetta 10
White-crested Laughingthrush 4
Asian Fairy-bluebird 2
Eye-browed Thrush 8
Dark-sided Flycatcher 4
Verditer Flycatcher 4
Taiga Flycatcher 5
Greater Green Leafbird 2
Golden-fronted Leafbird 2
Yellow-vented Flowerpecker 1
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker 1
Black-throated Sunbird 1 male
Crimson Sunbird 1 male
Streaked Spiderhunter 1
Kaeng Krachen National Park
Deer seen soon after arriving in Kaeng Krachen National Park
Dusky Langurs in Kaeng Krachen National Park
A White-handed Gibbon singing from the treetops in Kaeng Krachen NP
Butterfly in Kaeng Krachen NP
Common Flameback in Kaeng Krachen NP
Blue-throated Barbet in Kaeng Krachen NP
Greater Green Leafbird in Kaeng Krachen NP
Male Swinhoe's Minivet in Kaeng Krachen NP
Lower image showing the diagnostic grey nape of this species.
Upper elevations in Kaeng Krachen NP
Collared Owlet in Kaeng Krachen NP
Verditer Flycatcher in Kaeng Krachen NP
Male Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike in Kaeng Krachen NP
Red-bearded Bee-eater in Kaeng Krachen NP
Male Wreathed Hornbill in Kaeng Krachen NP
Black-thighed Falconet in Kaeng Krachen NP
Great Barbet in Kaeng Krachen NP
Ratchet-tailed Treepies in Kaeng Krachen NP
Call of Ratchet-tailed Treepie in Kaeng Krachen NP
that helps give away the presence of this unobtrusive species when concealed in roadside thickets
Male Bamboo Woodpecker in Kaeng Krachen NP
Whilst a dreadful image it is just possible to see the whitish bill, red crown and yellowish face diagnostic of this bamboo specialist that is considered an uncommon resident of Thailand.
Banded Bay Cuckoo in Kaeng Krachen NP
Ashy Drongo in Kaeng Krachen NP
Bronzed Drongo in Kaeng Krachen NP
