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4 - 16 Oct 2018.
Cloudy and humid with heavy rain the first few days. Thereafter, moving northward, mostly dry. Temperatures ranged from 26°C to 34°C.
Baan Maka at Kaeng Krachan, Bang Tabun Whale-watching trip, Chaloem Rattanakosin National Park, Phu Toei National Park, Wat Tham Welawan, Wat Thep Mueong, Wat Tham Phu Wai, Hup Pa Tat, Mae Wong National Park, Mae Sot and Thaksin Maharat National Park.

Green-backed Frog

White-lipped Pit Viper

Silver-streak Blue

The three of us then extended this into a 12 day exploratory trip to a number of rarely visited localities of western Thailand, northward as far as Tak province.

2 - 3 Oct. A lengthy drive from Chiang Mai to Cha-am, with an overnight on the coast.

4 Oct. Mid afternoon arrival at Baan Maka. With persistent rain showers, little seen around the lodge. In cool, overcast conditions an evening walk produced, among others, Painted Chorus Frog, Spot-legged Tree Frog, Green-backed Frog and Keeled Slug-eating Snake. Late evening we were caught out in heavy rain, though two excellent butterflies found sheltering when we dashed for cover - Blue Nawab and Silver-streak Blue.

5 Oct. Heavy rain all night continuing into the morning. Although we'd planned to visit a local waterfall this was cancelled due to the incessant rain, so the morning spent on photo editing and note writing. By mid morning, the heavy rain resulted in the stream at the property rising over one metre with the raging torrent making the entrance road impassable. Another night walk, in light rain, produced Collared Scops Owl, Mock Viper, White-lipped Pit Viper and Grey Water Snake.

6 Oct. All day around the lodge trying to dodge the rain. An evening walk produced another Keeled Slug-eating Snake and Oriental Whip Snake, but little else.

7 Oct. An excellent start to the day with bright, sunny weather which unfortunately deteriorated after lunch. Still, a morning walk on the Nature Trail produced Water Snow Flat and Swinhoe's Forest Bob, followed by Yellow-eared Spiderhunter and several Thick-billed Flowerpecker in a flowering tree. By some fortunate coincidence, the rain permitted an afternoon of watching motor sport, so not totally wasted.

Bryde's Whale

8 Oct. Having completed the weekend blitz, we headed to Bang Tabun for a whale-watching trip. Excellent weather, maybe too excellent, meant few birds due to the calm conditions. Although we had many Bryde's Whale only once did we have any feeding activity, so quite disappointing all round.

Lesser Frigatebird

9 Oct. A two hour drive to Chaloem Rattanakosin National Park where we were able to secure park accommodation for the night. Always pleasant to visit these less frequented, provincial parks as the staff are almost always friendly, helpful, and pleased to receive visitors. A good number of butterflies were in evidence around the well maintained headquarter area, though nothing particularly uncommon. Still the park looked to have potential and we had positive vibes.

Most of the afternoon spent along the trail to Tham Than Lot Yai, the cave at the end of a two plus kilometre walk following a lowland stream. The first 200 metres of the trail passes through Tham Than Lot Noi. Unfortunately, after a hard climb, Tham Than Lot Yai was temporarily closed - would have been nice if a sign had been posted at the bottom of the trek up! With limited facilities in the park, late afternoon we visited the local market, grabbed some barbecue chicken and took a beer outside the local store. As the chicken seemed to consist only of scrag end and bones, the store owner's dogs went well fed that evening. A night walk produced calling Collared Scops Owl and Asian Barred Owlet, Banded Kukri Snake, roosting Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Giant Red Centipede, River Toad, Siamese Cascade Frog and Dark-sided Chorus Frog.

10 Oct. Demonstrating just how poor this area is bird wise, despite the excellent weather the dawn chorus was totally absent. A distant calling hornbill might have been Great Hornbill or Wreathed Hornbill. With only a couple of hours available we tried the drivable, with caution, track to Slider Waterfall. A couple of hours in the vicinity gave us Pallid Nawab, but little else. Still, a pleasant four kilometre drive through forest that appeared to offer potential. Definitely a park for a return visit.

A two hour drive to Phu Toei, through some heavy rain. Again we found accommodation available at the park headquarters, after which we took the dirt road through the park, for about six kilometres to Khao Son, passing the shrine of the 1991 Lauda Air crash at the brow of the hill. Wreckage from this crash is still present. The last kilometre of the road to Khao Son is now totally impassable by any vehicle so we hiked the remainder to the mixed pine forest at the summit. Habitat at Phu Toei is almost totally bamboo, so species diversity low.

Siamese Cascade Frog

Very cool caterpillar

Yellow Black-tailed Racer

Indochinese Long-nosed Whip Snake

Large-eyed Pit Viper

A pair of Eastern Barn Owl were roosting in the cave ceiling, and a Indochinese Long-nosed Whip Snake found while leaving was a great find. Next up was Wat Tham Phu Wai, which proved excellent for bats and an interesting series of stalactites, stalagmites and Buddhist effigies. As our stay here proved longer than expected, we ended up missing Saiboe Waterfall in favour of heading straight to the Khao Pla Ra area.

12 Oct. As expected, the limestone karst in this area is riddled with temples and their associated caves. First we tried Wat Thep Mueong, that had a small cave, but no bats, though we did find Variable Limestone Babbler. Next up was Wat Tham Namthip, where the usual temple dogs had a nastier streak than usual. The climb to the cave here was quite difficult - a few hundred metres steeply uphill on slippery karst with plenty of mosquitoes for good measure. Finding the cave was not straightforward, so for sure few tourists ever visit. Again we found Variable Limestone Babbler, plus Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher and Thick-billed Green Pigeon. Best find of the morning went to Large-eyed Pit Viper. A stop at Wat Khao Khong Chai was brief, on account of the appalling stench of guano and the very high cave roof making identifying bats impossible. Finally, mid afternoon, we visited the touristy, sanitised, karst forest of Hup Pa Tat, which gave us yet another pair of Variable Limestone Babbler plus Eastern Crowned Warbler. The biggest surprise on a night walk was Serow at the back of an orchard, as well as Eastern Barn Owl and Spotted Owlet.

13 Oct. A brief stop early in the day for butterflies around Hup Pa Tat produced only Common Acacia Blue. Another change of plan at this point, as given the start of a holiday weekend, we decided against the originally planned trip to Chong Yen at Mae Wong due to the likely overflowing campsite. Instead we opted for the Mae Rewa Ranger Station at the southern end of the same park. This proved a good move, as it was not particularly busy, so we handily secured accommodation immediately outside the entrance.

During the afternoon we surveyed the river, part of the Nature Trail plus the four kilometre track to the research centre. The whole area proved rather interesting, with good forest at a low elevation of around 150 metres. Birds included White-bellied Woodpecker, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Black-headed Woodpecker and Green Peafowl. A good butterfly find was Siamese Onyx. A night sortie had Yellow Frog and Phayre's Flying Squirrel. Given the holiday weekend, a long noisy night of revellers outside the accommodation.

14 Oct. A three hour drive to Thaksin Maharat, where we miraculously secured the last available room at the park. At the time this seemed odd as few people were present mid morning. We immediately continued to Mae Sot where, in the heat of the day, we attempted to find Ayeyarwady Bulbul - a very recent addition to the Thai list.

Common Acacia Blue

Club Silverline

Ayeyarwady Bulbul

Yellow-legged Buttonquail

Tak Horned Frog

Yellow Gorgon

15 Oct. An 06:00 return to Mae Sot. Checked out the same two areas where we'd found the bulbul yesterday, but again only distant views. A Brown-throated Sunbird was a surprise. After much persistence, discovered an abandoned patch of land close to town, that held several Ayeyarwady Bulbul, so eventually seen well. Back to Thaksin Maharat where in good weather several butterflies were hill topping a grassy area, with Yellow Gorgon, Great Windmill and Painted Jezebel.