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13 - 17 July 2020.
Variable cloud cover. Some afternoon rain. Temperatures ranged from 26°C to 34°C.
Thung Salaeng Luang National Park, Nam Nao National Park, Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Khelang Banphot National Park and Hang Chat Arboretum.

Dawnas Royal

Crimson-tailed Marsh Hawk

Lestes dorothea

Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo

Jewelled Nawab

Blue Leaf Blue

After an hour we pressed-on the short distance to Kaeng Sopha Waterfall, arriving at the entrance by 14:00, just as rain started to fall. As usual, as these falls are well inside the park the official entry price for foreigners is an outrageous 500 Baht. However, a short discussion with staff at the checkpoint eventually permitted us entry for the 40 Baht Thai price. No way is this waterfall worth 500 Baht. Having checked in, signed the log and had our temperature recorded, we drove the two kilometres to the falls where immediately, with impeccable timing, heavy rain started, confining us to the vehicle for 45 minutes.

When the rain finally eased we investigated the falls and walked the entrance road; but the cool, overcast and damp conditions were not conducive to wildlife activity of any sort. Surprisingly, at 15:45 staff came to inform us the waterfall closes at 16:00 and we should leave. Really? We'd have been really peeved if we'd paid 500 Baht for that experience! Due to the weather and time of day, we skipped a last hour around the main northern entrance of the park and continued to Lomsak for the night. A short bird list for the day due to the paltry selection of species encountered.

14 Jul. We headed to Nam Nao. As there were no access issues we spent most of the day along the track to Phu Goom Khao. A day of both excellent weather and wildlife, with a fair few butterflies, including the long sought after Dawnas Royal, as well as Tonkin Black Prince, Painted Bushbrown, Singleton, Small Grass Yellow and Siamese Pale Grass Yellow. Most of the usual and expected bird species were recorded plus an amazing record of Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo running across the track. Although known from Nam Nao, this is a rarely encountered species here. In the dragonfly line we found Lestes dorothea, Ceriagrion azureum, Gomphidictinus perakensis and Tetrathemis platyptera of note. We left when showers started, at 15:45, arriving at Phu Khieo by 17:15.

15 Jul. As usual, entry to Phu Khieo is not possible before 08:00, due to the possibility of marauding elephants early morning and late afternoon. The day was spent in a series of stops searching for birds and butterflies along the 20 kilometre entrance road. Always something interesting to be found here, with good numbers of butterflies including Jewelled Nawab and another Dawnas Royal. Better birds included Austen's Brown Hornbill, Bar-backed Partridge, Indian Cuckoo, Banded Kingfisher, Long-tailed Broadbill, Blue Pitta, Black-throated Laughingthrush and Sultan Tit, plus the day's highlight of yet another Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, with a single bird strolling across the road mid afternoon. Other than heavy rain for an hour around noon, a day of good weather. On our drive out we encountered Indochinese Grey Langur and a large group of Rhesus Macaque.

16 Jul. Another session in Phu Khieo, repeating much the same strategy as yesterday though managing to add several more species to the trip list. Rain again, around midday, stopped by 13:00 allowing us a final hour of activity before we headed off at 14:00 to drive to Phitsanulok where we spent the night.

17 Jul. Although we'd planned a morning at Wiang Kosai National Park, we deviated en route to Si Satchanalai National Park, only to find the park closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. So back to the original plan, we headed to Wiang Kosai, arriving around 10:00, only to find this closed too. With no other interesting locations on our radar, we simply headed toward Chiang Mai with the thought to stop anywhere that looked to have reasonable habitat and might actually be open. The first place we encountered was Khelang Banphot National Park, just outside Lampang. This park is new and was formerly known as the Khelang Banphot Arboretum. To say the staff were surprised to see anyone turn up, let along foreigners, would be an understatement, but they more than happy to let us in. Admission was even free, so maybe they were not fully open, or totally unprepared, though as usual we had to sign in and have our temperatures recorded. The forest here was very dry with nothing in the way of streams or damp gullies, and only a limited drivable road. The viewpoint is also not a viewpoint as totally blocked by trees. However, in a couple of hours here we recorded a few butterflies, including Blue Leaf Blue which appeared rather common at this locality.