On Saturday we went birding for the second time in Thailand, this time with a friend of Marie's who is also a talented birder. We met at 4:45 AM in our lobby for the hour and a half drive to the park, which has unusual species because it extends from about 3,000 feet elevation to over 8,000 feet, the highest point in Thailand. The mountains here are an extension, say the foothills, of the Himalayas.
Chintana had a telescope and intimate knowledge of the birds of the park, which helped a lot. Currently we are only seeing the indiginous species, not those that migrate through in the winter, so the number of species in the park is about 250 I think.
We started out by finding a number of birds right near the park entrance at about 6,000 feet altitude, including several pairs of bright red and black Short-Billed Minivets. David spotted a pair of rare Spectacled Barwings. Further up in altitude we saw Black-throated Sunbirds and very cute Pygmy Wren Babblers. We identified over 40 species over almost 11 hours of looking at different locations, and hiking down some jungle trails.
At the end of the day, we were in an area of a hotel complex at the base of the mountain and found a Spotted Owlet (pictured) and an uncommon sighting of a raptor, probably a Changeable Hawk Eagle.
It was an enjoyable day, with only a few drops of rain, very lucky as the remnants of a hurricane were scheduled to impact the area.
Chintana had a telescope and intimate knowledge of the birds of the park, which helped a lot. Currently we are only seeing the indiginous species, not those that migrate through in the winter, so the number of species in the park is about 250 I think.
We started out by finding a number of birds right near the park entrance at about 6,000 feet altitude, including several pairs of bright red and black Short-Billed Minivets. David spotted a pair of rare Spectacled Barwings. Further up in altitude we saw Black-throated Sunbirds and very cute Pygmy Wren Babblers. We identified over 40 species over almost 11 hours of looking at different locations, and hiking down some jungle trails.
At the end of the day, we were in an area of a hotel complex at the base of the mountain and found a Spotted Owlet (pictured) and an uncommon sighting of a raptor, probably a Changeable Hawk Eagle.
It was an enjoyable day, with only a few drops of rain, very lucky as the remnants of a hurricane were scheduled to impact the area.
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