Black-tailed Crake

Yesterday spent the full day birding around the DYK sub station with Neil and Eunice Parks, great company and some decent birds, despite low cloud for much of the day and maximum temperatures of just 11 degrees. First bird of the day was a Large-tailed Nightjar on the track followed a little further along by a black billed Blue Whistling Thrush and soon after a White's Thrush which showed very well feeding along the track in the first glimmers of light.

Arriving at a very quite sub station where the only bird calling was a Bay Woodpecker, we headed to the pond in hope of Black-tailed Crake upon arrival one was heard calling and after a few minutes Eunice found one feeding in grass along the lake margins, after good views for a few minutes it soon disappeared. Though resident on the pond and nearby stream they are seldom seen here by visiting birders and the DYK pond is one of just a few sites in Thailand to hold this species.

Giant Nuthatch DYK
by Fred Rowe

The rest of the days was spent birding back along the track, the summit trail which was very birdy and around the campsite. Best birds of the day included 2 Giant Nuthatch, 4 Stripe-breasted Woodpecker, 3 Greater and 1 Lesser Yellownape, 4 Bay Woodpecker, Lesser Cocual, 2 Hoopoe, 4 Slender-billed Oriole, 2 Little Pied Flycatcher, Slaty-backed Flycatcher, 2 Rufous-bellied Niltava, White-bellied Redstart, 3 Japanese Tit, Aberrant Bush Warbler, 4 Grey-crowned and 2 Marten's Warbler, flock of White-necked Laughingthrush (heard), Rusty-cheeked Scimiter Babbler, Golden Babbler and 6 Mrs Gould's Sunbird. On the way out of DYK a Collared Owlet was flushed carrying prey, it gave excellent views as it perched next to the road with a not quite dead Small Niltava a potential new bird for one of the party!

Grey Bushchat
DYK by Fred Rowe

Common species included many leaf warblers with several flocks in excess of 50 birds mostly Davidson's with smaller numbers of Cluadia's and Yellow-browed, 4 Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, 3 Oriental Turtle Dove, 6 Orange-bellied Leafbird, 5 Eurasian Jay, Maroon Oriole, 8 Grey Bushchat, c30 Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Mountain Bulbul, many Chestnut-flanked White-eye, 12 Blyth's Shrike Babbler, 6 Grey-chinned and 20 Long-tailed Minivet, 6 Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, 4 Grey Treepie, several hundred Indochinese Swiftlets, Grey-backed Shrike, 4 White-browed Scimiter Babbler and 25 Striated Yuhina.

Nearly back at Chiang Dao a Grey Nightjar was seen feeding alongside the road.