Day 1: The trip begins at 6:00 p.m. with a meeting in the lobby of our Bangkok hotel. Night near Bangkok’s international airport.

Day 2: We will start this morning birding several temples on the northwest side of Bangkok, starting with one along the Chao Phraya where we have consistently found Red-breasted Parakeets and usually Spotted Owlets, at another there are hundreds of Lyle’s Flying Foxes (fruit bats) and at another stop we have a good chance of seeing Alexandrine Parakeet, a scarce and local species in Thailand. At various other stops, we should see a fine variety of other species, including some shorebirds and Asian Golden and Baya weavers.

Later we’ll drive to Ayutthaya, the former capital of Old Siam until sacked by the Burmese in 1767, stopping en route to examine concentrations of feeding Asian Openbills in marshy fields. We will have lunch at a riverside restaurant near the ruins of this striking capital city. We often see Pied Kingfisher along the river here while dining. We’ll depart Ayutthaya and head towards Buri Ram Province not far from the Cambodian border. Night at Ayutthaya.

Day 3: We’ll search the flooded rice fields, our chief target species being the Sarus Crane which has been re-established from extant populations nearby in Cambodia. Water birds should be numerous and should include Grey-headed Swamphen, bitterns, shorebirds, crakes, possibly of several species, and maybe Watercock. We’ll also visit a scenic Khmer temple. Later we’ll head to the Sakaerat Environmental Research Station. Here we have had success in recent years seeing the striking Siamese Fireback, the national bird of Thailand. Later we will continue to Khao Yai, arriving by early evening at our comfortable resort near Khao Yai’s northern gate. Night near Khao Yai National Park.

Days 4-6: We will spend three days exploring the densely forested hills, clear rivers, and waterfalls at Khao Yai National Park, one of the best-preserved tracts of tropical evergreen forest in all of Indochina. Khao Yai is noted particularly for larger forest birds, among which are four species of hornbill, including the magnificent Great, as well as Orange-breasted and Red-headed Trogons, Banded Kingfisher, Banded and Long-tailed Broadbills, and Sultan Tit. We can also expect a fine collection of raptors, pigeons, barbets, woodpeckers, leafbirds, bulbuls, laughingthrushes, babblers, warblers, sunbirds, and flowerpeckers. Red Junglefowl and Siberian Blue Robin haunt the undergrowth, and there is a chance of finding other, scarcer ground birds such as the elegant Silver Pheasant, and the elusive Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoo or Blue Pitta. At dusk, we’ll look for Great Eared-Nightjars.

Khao Yai is also extremely rich in mammals, including Pig-tailed Macaque, gloriously vocal gibbons (both White-handed and Pileated are present), Black Giant Squirrel, civets, Sambar, and Barking Deer (Red Muntiac), East Asian (Malaysian) Porcupine, and Asian Elephant. There is at least a chance for Gaur. Nights near Khao Yai National Park.

Day 7: This morning we’ll head first for Wat Phra Phutthabat Noi, a temple built amongst the steep limestone karst formations. Our main goal here is to find the Rufous Limestone-babbler (Turdinus calcicola), a recent split from its two other sister species. It is a vulnerable Thai endemic species with a small range in this part of Thailand. Here we might also see Eurasian Hoopoe and Linneated Barbet as well as Long-tailed Macaques. Later we’ll we’ll head for either the coastal town of Laem Phak Bia, or perhaps stop at Khok Kham first, if a Spoon-billed Sandpiper or two is wintering at this location. Later we’ll reach at the lovely beachfront Fisherman’s Resort, near Laem Phak Bia. our home for the next three evenings.

Day 8: We will spend much of the day birding the brackish and saltwater mudflats, sandflats, mangroves, and salt pans of Phetchaburi Province in the western sectors of the Gulf of Thailand. We’ll search for 40 or more shorebird species, including Red-necked, Long-toed, and Temminck’s Stints, Great Knot, Broad-billed, Marsh Sandpipers, Common and Spotted Redshanks, Pied Avocet, and Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers. Amongst the large flock of wintering Eurasian Curlews, there are sometimes a few Far Eastern Curlews present. Our three main targets are the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (1-3 have wintered here in recent winters),the threatened Nordmann’s Greenshank, and possibly Asian Dowitcher. Night at Fisherman’s Resort. Recently, the Lesser Sand-Plovers have been split into two species, Tibetan Sand-Plover (Anarhynchus atrifrons) and Siberian Sand-Plover (A. mongolus). Wintering birds from coastal Southeast Asia are Tibetan Sand-Plovers, the Siberian wintering from the Philippines and central Indonesia east. Nearby we’ll take a boat out to a spit of land that extends out into the Gulf of Thailand. For at least a decade, one or two White-faced Plovers (Charadrius dealbatus) have wintered on this sand spit; the species was first collected in 1861 by Swinhoe, who described it as a new species in 1870—after which it was forgotten for well over a century! Most taxonomists now regard this as a separate species while some still treat it as a subspecies of Kentish Plover. We’re also likely to see Pacific Reef Egret, Malaysian Plover, Greater Crested, and possible Lesser Crested Tern. Brown-headed Gulls should be numerous and there is a chance for a rarer gull such as a Pallas’s, Black-tailed, Slender-billed, or Heuglin’s. As we head out, or return, through the mangroves we’ll watch for Striated Heron, Collared and Black-capped Kingfishers, and watch overhead for Brahminy Kites. Here, or elsewhere nearby, the globally threatened Chinese Egret is a possibility. Late in the day hopefully, we’ll have time to visit the Royal Project, only a few minutes away, where we might see Javan Pond Heron, Slaty-breasted Rail, and Ruddy-breasted Crake, and both Pin-tailed Snipe and Greater Painted-Snipe. White-shouldered (sometimes with Daurian) Starlings sometimes come into the mangroves here to roost along with large numbers of Black Drongos and Blue-tailed Bee-eaters. Night at Fisherman’s Resort.

Day 9: In the early morning we will return to the Royal Project near Laem Phak Bia, searching for additional marsh birds such as Yellow Bittern, Bronze-winged Jacana, and a variety of warblers, including Oriental and Black-browed Reed. Later we will travel to the open country an hour or so away that is particularly good for raptors. Among the many wintering Black Kites, we will be looking for eagles: Greater Spotted is the most likely, but we have at least a chance of seeing Booted, Imperial, and Steppe as well. The numbers present are highly dependent on the timing of the burning of the rice fields. In some years raptors have been few and if so we’ll visit a nearby wetland which hosts Painted Storks and Black-headed Ibis and Pink-backed Pelican might be present as well, and there is at least a faint chance of seeing a Black-faced Spoonbill.In some years we have had our best luck finding Asian Dowitchers amongst the Black-tailed Godwits, although in 2023 and again in 2024 we had good luck in finding them at Phak Thale. At some point, we may visit nearby Bang Khun Sai. An interesting feature of the town is its “swift apartments,” multi-story concrete structures built by Chinese investors to house wild Germain’s Swiftlets. Thousands of pairs nest in the most favored apartments, each with its own set of (human) managers and a speaker system that broadcasts swift calls at high volume in hopes of attracting additional recruits; the nests reportedly sell for upward of $2,500 per pound in Chinese markets. Night at Fisherman’s Resort.

Day 10: This morning we’ll make our way to Kaeng Krachan National Park, with a stop along the way at Kaeng Krachan Country Club or at Thalaong, where we might see Indian Thick-knee, Rufous Treepie, Indochinese Bushlark, and Grey-breasted Prinia before. Before we reach the park we’ll likely visit one of several blinds established near the park entrance. These sites are excellent for several secretive species that are quite difficult to see in the field, including Green-legged and possibly Bar-backed Partridges, Kalij Pheasant, Greater and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrushes, Siberian Blue Robin, and Indochinese Blue-flycatcher. From time to time even the secretive forest Slaty-legged Crake visits these sites along with Gray Peacock-Pheasant, Ferruginous Partridge, and even Blue and Eared Pittas, although we would be lucky to see them. Night at a lodge near the park entrance.

Days 11-13: Kaeng Krachan, with its range of habitats from drier deciduous forest to huge expanses of evergreen forest, is a wonderful place to watch birds. We’ll spend three days and a final morning exploring this region. At middle elevations we’ll search for Tickell’s Brown Hornbill and five species of broadbills, including Black-and-yellow, Black-and-red, Banded, Dusky, and Silver-breasted. Wintering Palearctic species should be numerous and might include some more southerly winterers like Eastern Crowned Warbler and Chinese Blue-flycatcher. If the road has been fixed, at our highest point we’ll be searching for Ratchet-tailed Treepie at its only location in Thailand, along with its frequent traveling companion the striking Collared (White-hooded) Babbler. Black-throated Laughingthrush occur here too along with Grey-rumped Treeswift, Long-tailed Broadbill, Greater Green Leafbird, and Dark-sided Flycatcher, a winter visitor from the north, and we have at least a chance of seeing Spot-necked Babbler, Yellow-vented Pigeon, and Red Bearded Bee-eater, At this season many Oriental Honey-Buzzards should be moving north. Other raptors we might see include Black Eagle and Mountain Hawk-Eagle and with good luck an Oriental Hobby. During the summer monsoon season, washouts of the road going to higher elevations can occur. A major washout in 2018 led to a closure for three years.  If it is closed we will spend more time in the blinds where the list of uncommon to rare species we might encounter is very long and every year is different. In 2020 it included a King Cobra! We should add that the road was open in both 2023 and 2024.

In the drier deciduous forest, woodpeckers are particularly numerous, and we could see more than ten species including Buff-rumped, Heart-spotted, Black-and-buff, Black-naped (a split from Grey-headed), Common and Greater Flamebacks, Greater Yellownape, and possibly Streak-breasted, Great Slaty and White-browed and Speckled piculets.

The park harbors many mammals too, and we might encounter Asian Elephant, Golden Jackal, Fea’s Muntjac, Crab-eating Mongoose, Dusky and Banded Langurs, Stump-tailed Macaque, and possibly Dhole and even Gaur. Several cats also occur here, Leopard being the most frequently seen but also Tiger, although we would be exceptionally lucky to see one. Dusky Langurs, along with a few Banded are present as well. Nights at a lodge near the park entrance.

Day 14: This morning is flexible and we’ll likely make another visit to the blinds looking for things we may have missed earlier or make another trip inside the park. We may also check for raptors again on our way back to Bangkok and perhaps something notable will have turned up in one of the Bangkok parks. Night at the Novotel near Bangkok’s international airport.

Day 15:  The tour concludes this morning after breakfast.

2024 Narrative

In Brief: Our 2024 Central Thailand tour recorded 295 species, eight of which were only heard. This tour is best known for the variety of shorebirds and we recorded 40 species including the so-called “big  three:” Asian Dowitcher, Nordmann’s Greenshank (130 on one day) and Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Other notable species recorded included Siamese Fireback, Silver and Kalij Pheasants, Grey Peacock Pheasant, Ferruginous, Bar-backed and Green-legged Partridges, Crested and Grey-rumped Treeswifts, two Chestnut-winged Cuckoos, Chinese Egret, Indian Thick-knee (13), Little Pratincole (7), Spot-billed Pelican, Jerdon’s Baza (two), Black Eagle, ten species of Owls including good views of White-fronted Scops-owl and Spot-bellied Eagle-owl, eight species of woodpeckers including five Great Slaty and Speckled Piculet, six species of Broadbills, Ratchet-tailed Treepie, and Forest Wagtail, Mammals included Stump-tailed Macaques, White-handed Gibbons, a large male Asian Elephant, Gaur, and a Yellow-throated Marten.

In Detail: Our trip started with a group meeting in the lobby of the Novotel followed by a delicious buffet dinner. Here our tour manager, Pipith, joined us and was thankfully with us throughout the tour. We departed the following morning before dawn and our birding started with a visit to several temples on the outskirts and north of Bangkok. At one we noted Red-breasted Parakeets, Eurasian Hoopoe, Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, Sunda Pied Fantails, Black-naped Oriole, Verditer Flycatcher (a male), and a roosting Spotted Owlet, at another there was a large roost of Lyle’s Flying Foxes and at the third nesting Alexandrine Parakeets, a scarce and local species in Thailand, a relative of the Rose-ringed Parakeet. Yellow-vented Bulbuls were also seen during the morning as were Asian Golden Weavers in the agricultural areas. At a gas station rest stop, in the tiny park adjoining we noted a female Brown-throated Sunbird and a pair of Plain-backed Sparrow, our only ones of the tour. Adjacent to the park was a flooded rice field where we noted four Greater Painted-Snipe, including brightly colored females. Asian Openbills were periodically seen during the morning. At lunch at Ayutthaya we noted a pair of Pied Kingfishers across the Chao Phraya River. Afterwards, we headed northeast towards Khao Yai, stopping rather late in the day at a temple (Wat Pra Phuttabaht Noi) with steep limestone karst on three sides where Rufous Limestone-babbles are found. It took us a while to locate them, but we eventually obtained good views of this threatened and very local Thai endemic species. Two White-rumped Shamas were also seen. This is a split of the Limestone Wren-babbler which is now treated as multiple separate species. From here we carried on to the Lilawalai Resort, our home for the next four nights and a convenient location for our excursions into Khao Yai National Park.

The next morning we left early for Khao Yai and birded the Viewpoint and the Headquarters area. Khao Yai is just full of birds. Some of the highlights included Thick-billed Green-pigeon, Green-billed Malkoha, a juvenile Shikra, Oriental Pied, Austen’s Brown (at a nest), Wreathed and Great hornbills, Green-eared and Moustached barbets, Laced Woodpecker, Vernal Hanging-parrot, nesting Long-tailed Broadbills, Scarlet, Brown-rumped (Swinhoe’s) and Rosy Minivets, Black-winged Cuckoo-shrikes, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Ashy (pale and white faced subspecies leucogensis) and Hair-crested drongos, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Golden-crested and Common Hill mynas, Golden-fronted and Blue-winged leafbirds, Two-barred (Greenish) Warbler, and Thick-billed and Buff-bellied (Cambodian) flowerpeckers. We also noted a half dozen wild Red Junglefowl in the more open areas of the park and a green colored White-lipped Pit-viper was curled up in a tree above our lunch site. Late that afternoon we visited a site north of the park entrance where a Spot-bellied Eagle-owl had been making dusk appearances. When we arrived there were birders present and they had found it on its roost. We were able to get adequate scope views and as darkness settled in it flew up to a conspicuous snag. This is the first time we have seen this very large Asian owl on a Thai tour, a lifer for the leader.

We returned the next morning to Khao Khieo and drove up the highest point on the ridge. Here we had excellent views of Black-throated Laughing-thrush (pair), and also saw Common Green Magpie and Grey-backed Shrike, a winter visitant, and a Mountain Imperial-pigeon. Along the boardwalk below we searched without success for Silver Pheasant, but did see a scarce Indochinese Serow, a rather large goat-like mammal and from the viewpoint noted numerous hornbills. For the day we counted some 35 Pied and 7 Wreathed hornbills. A pair of Black Eagles and two juvenile Mountain Hawk-eagles were also seen there and during the day we had good views of a Crested Serpent-eagle along with eight Oriental Honey-buzzards. As we headed back down off the ridge, we spotted the striking (the males) Silver Pheasants along the south edge of the road, noting a total of six, including three young. From here we headed on the Park’s south entrance road to Haew Narok. The 2^nd van was delayed by an encounter with Khao Yai’s rarest broadbill, Dusky. Fortunately, they remained for the entire group to see. Along the trail to the waterfall at Haew Narok we saw Banded Broadbill (they give my favorite Asian bird call) and Banded Kingfisher, a forest kingfisher, along with Chestnut-headed Bee-eater and Crimson and Van Hasselt’s (Maroon-bellied) sunbirds. In the parking lot we re-located the calling Collared Owlet (seen earlier by part of the group) and noted a young Jerdon’s Baza circling over. From here we headed to the park headquarters and had our delicious catered lunch. We observed the nesting Long-tailed Broadbills and also noted Hume’s White-eyes, plus a Spotted Gliding-lizard. A Hainan Blue-flycatcher was also noted during the day along with a Eurasian Wild Pig. Late in the afternoon we went to the pond in front of the old TAT buildings where we observed Needle-tail swifts coming in to drink. The great majority were Brown-backed (subspecies indicus with a white lore spot), but we also saw at least three of the smaller Silver-backed with a whitish back. Two large and striking Malayan Porcupines worked the edge of the forest and were well-seen. Near dusk we went to Nom Phak Chi where we saw (and heard) a Great-eared Nightjar, and a Southern Boobok, and heard a Mountain Scops Owl (toot-toot). This species is very difficult to actually see.

The following morning we started by noting an adult male Eastern Marsh Harrier that flew over our lodge at dawn, and then we headed into the park and walked a forest trail at km 33. We noted Wreathed Hornbills, Greater Yellownape, Puff-throated Babbler, and a pair of striking and colorful Sultan Tits. We then headed to the Orchid Waterfall campground where in a fruiting tree there were a number of flowerpeckers including Yellow-vented, Thick-billed (with a dependent fledgling) and briefly, a Buff-bellied. A Blue-eared Barbet also made periodic visits. A male Black-throated Sunbird was also seen. After lunch, we left the park and drove the better part of two hours to the Sakaerat Environmental Research Station where we walked about a kilometer to a roadside area where Siamese Firebacks frequent. We were not disappointed and saw some ten birds very well, both males and females, and even noted the often concealed “fire back” on the males, a yellow-orange patch on the lower back. This is Thailand’s national bird. An added highlight was a pair of Orange-breasted Trogons. On the way back we stopped at Wang Nam Khiao and the viewpoint at Khao Phaeng Ma. The animal of attraction here is the magnificent Gaur Bos frontalis (black with white legs and a white nose), the world’s largest cow. We saw nine somewhat distant animals but with scopes, the views were fully adequate. Also noted was a Crested Treeswift, the first time we’ve seen this species on this tour, and as it got dark also noted two Great-eared Nightjars in flight. Three Large-tailed Nightjars were also heard. A single Siamese Hare was seen today.

The following day was a driving day. We left at dawn and headed back towards Bangkok, stopping at a service station where we noted in the back two White-rumped Munias and a leocogensis Ashy Drongo. Late in the morning we got to the salt pond complex at Khok Kham where we were expertly led to several small ponds where two Spoon-billed Sandpipers were frequenting with a rather small group of other shorebirds. We located them and got very good views (and photos) of one in particular. We spent nearly an hour with them. This is critically endangered species that breeds in the coastal northeast portion of the Russian Far East and winters in very small numbers from the western Gulf of Thailand to eastern Bangladesh. Its total population is only a few hundred and recent cooperative efforts between Russia and Great Britain have broken down a result of the Ukraine War. The junta running Myanmar (Burma) seems to have other concerns more compelling than protecting the habitat and the Spoon-billed Sandpipers that are found there. Other waders noted here included Tibetan Sand-plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Curlew and Broad-billed Sandpipers (some 100), Great and Red knots, as well as Red-necked Stints. An Oriental Darter was also seen. We then headed to lunch and drove down to Laem Phak Bia where we had a bit of time to bird the Royal Project. Here we had Little Grebes, Pin-tailed Snipe, Wood Sandpipers, a Javan Pond-heron (in alternate plumage) and a White-winged Tern, along with many Whiskered terns. Overhead Painted Storks flew over along with over a hundred Indian Cormorants.

The next morning we spent the entire day in the Laem Phak Bia and Phak Thale areas. We spent much of our time studying the thousands of shorebirds present, tallying over 30 species including another Spoon-billed Sandpiper, 130 Nordmann’s Greenshanks and eleven Asian Dowitchers, all with designations from “near threatened” to “critically endangered.” Many of the species were present in large numbers, notably Pacific Golden-plover (300), Tibetan Sand-plover (500), Greater Sand-plover (50), Eurasian Curlew (725), Black-tailed Godwit (300), Bar-tailed Godwit (30), Great Knot (2500), Red Knot (100), Red-necked Stint (150), Broad-billed Sandpiper (50), Curlew Sandpiper (100), Terek Sandpiper (100), and Spotted Redshank (300). More uncommon species included a single Long-toed Stint and Ruddy Turnstone (5). On our boat trip out the spit at Laem Phak Bia we noted some twenty Sanderlings, five Kentish Plovers and three Malaysian Plovers, an uncommon species that breeds here. Despite careful checking we were unable to find a White-faced Plover, a very uncommon winter visitor (breeds coastal southeast China), but one to two usually winter here. Other species noted here included two Pacific Reef-egrets, Lesser Crested (12) and Great Crested (57) terns and Black-capped and Collared kingfishers. During the day we also had a flock of some 100 Northern Pintail fly over and a Black-headed Ibis along with two Chestnut-tailed Starlings and ten Oriental Pratincoles.

We spent the next day at Phak Thale but also headed north to a lake to the north, Bang Tabin and birded rice fields and along the edges of marshy khlongs. We started by birding the mangroves where we noted Golden-bellied Gerrygone (Flyeater). We tallied some eight Long-toed Stints, along with a single Temminck’s Stint, our only one of the tour. New were a flock of 15 Pied Avocets near Laem Phak Bia and Dixie carefully looked at an egret and wondered if it could be a Chinese. We approached it slowly and got very good views. It was a Chinese, a rare winter visitor to Thailand. I believe most breed in coastal North Korea. It is termed a “vulnerable species.” At a nearby temple we noted Oriental Skylarks and some 90 Oriental Pratincoles. At the lake we noted four Pink-backed Pelicans and a variety of ducks including Lesser Whistling-ducks (150), Garganey (250), and a female Eurasian Wigeon. Ten Black-headed Ibis were also seen and along marshy khlongs we saw a family group of White-browed Crakes along with Grey-headed Swamphens, Bronze-winged Jacana (with young), Oriental Darter (6), and a Yellow Bittern. We concluded with birding in some rice fields where we located all three species of weavers, including our first Streaked Weavers. Also noted were several Zitting Cistocolas and some 20 Chestnut Munias. Three Eastern Marsh Harriers were also seen.

We left early the next morning for Kaeng Krachan National Park, stopping along the way near Tha Laeng for Indian Thick-knee. We found a flock of 13. Here we also had a Large Hawk-cuckoo. From here we entered the park and found a nice variety of birds, highlighted by one or two White-faced Scops-owls, a rather rare and little known species which is found locally in peninsular Thailand and Malaya. It took a long time to pick out the bird(s) through the high dense vegetation near the top of the tree. Other notable species were Thick-billed Green-pigeons, Crested Goshawk, Black Eagle (at a low elevation), Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Greater Flameback (3), Banded Broadbill, Indochinese Bushlark, Baker’s (a split from Grey-eyed) and Ochraceous bulbuls, Golden-crested Myna, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird (with a young bird) and a Forest Wagtail, a scarce winter visitant. Raffle’s Malkoha was heard. Mammals included Black Giant and Grey-bellied squirrel, Red Munjac, Dusky Langur (including with their reddish-orange babies), White-handed Gibbons, and close (but not too close) views of a large male Asian Elephant. Five Stump-tailed Macaques were seen well and four Gaur were also briefly seen. Back at our lodge (Samarn Bird Camp) we had good views of Large-tailed Nightjar after dusk.

The next morning we re-entered the national park and birded our way to the headquarters area at about km 15. Highlights were numerous including four species of broadbills including Black-and-red, Black-and-yellow and Silver-breasted, six species of woodpeckers, including Greater and Common flamebacks, Greater Yellownape, Buff-rumped and Black-naped (a split from Grey-headed), and five spectacular Great Slaty Woodpeckers, Tickell’s (Southern Brown) Hornbill (6), Thick-billed Green-pigeon (6), Black-thighed Falconet (3), Drongo Cuckoo, White-bellied Erpornis, Large Woodshrike, and several wintering Sulphur-breasted Warblers. A rare Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (briefly seen and heard) was a surprise. During the day we tallied five Asian Barred-owlets and got much better views of another roosting White-fronted Scops-owl. After lunch we left the park and visited one of the blinds that ring the park and remained until a little past dusk. In the blinds, normally secretive and seldom seen species can actually be seen quite well. These included Bar-backed and Green-legged partridges, Emerald Doves, Racquet-tailed Treepie, Indochinese Blue-flycatcher, Siberian Blue Robin, and four species of Laughing-thrushes: White-crested, Lesser and Greater Necklaced and White-browed Scimitar-babbler. Mammals were numerous and included Burmese Striped and Grey-bellied squirrels, and tiny Lesser Oriental Chevrotains (also called Lesser Mouse-deer). Perhaps the highlight of the day, one of the highlights of the trip, was a Yellow-throated Marten that came in as it was getting dark. It rapidly hit the fresh fruit offerings and seemed to know exactly where all of the caches were. This large marten species has a large range in Asia, but we have only seen it on a few occasions.

The next morning we headed up in jeeps up to km 30 and highest point you can access in the park. Far to the west and over several ridges you could see Myanmar. Here we saw Mountain Imperial-pigeon, two distant Grey-rumped Treeswifts, Blue-throated Barbet, and Mountain and Flavescent bulbuls. On the way up and back we birded and noted a few species, notably Long-tailed Broadbill, Speckled Piculet, Buff-rumped Woodpecker (2), Lesser Racquet-tailed Drongo, Scarlet Minivet, Red-headed Trogon (sadly, just brief views), and Collared Babbler (4). The main highlight of the day was two Ratchet-tailed Treepies that we located on the way down. They were typically elusive, but we got some of the best views we’ve ever had on a tour. We miss them on at least half of the tours. This is the only location in Thailand where this scarce species can be found. That evening after dinner a few of us heard a somewhat distant Oriental Bay-owl wailing in the distance. It is one of my favorite evening sounds of the forest.

We spent the morning hours back in Kaeng Krachan National Park mostly birding the stream crossings at about km 16-18. Here we saw another Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (again, brief views), Chestnut-breasted and Raffle’s malkohas, Orange-breasted Trogon (2), Greater Yellownape, Buff-rumped Woodpecker, Racquet-tailed treepie, Rufous-fronted Babbler and a male Chinese Blue-flycatcher, a winter visitant. A distant Red-throated Barbet was heard. In the afternoon we visited a hide where we got to see a male Kalij Pheasant and both Bar-backed (3) and Ferruginous (2) partridges. A Common Green Magpie and Racquet-tailed Treepie were also seen.

The following morning we visited another hide starting before dawn. We hoped for views of Grey Peacock-pheasant. We had heard them, but had not seen them. Eventually a female (with young) did come in but remained shy and elusive and not everyone in the group saw them. Sadly, when we finally gave up and left we learned later they did come in and were seen well by those that remained. We also saw Bar-backed Partridge (3), Kalij Pheasant (2) and Common Flameback (outstanding views) here this morning. Returning to Samarn Bird Camp we noted a soaring Jerdon’s Baza overhead. After lunch, we returned to Bangkok and the Novotel near the airport, but we stopped along the way at a wetland area. This was quite productive and we noted Cotton Pygmy-goose (35), Little Grebe, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Common Snipe, Yellow Bittern, Little Pratincole (7) Black Kite, and Yellow-vented Bulbul. After our arrival and our good-byes to our drivers, Sam and Pa-nam, we all met for a relaxed final buffet dinner and said our good-byes.

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