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27 Jun - 8 Jul 2021.
Mostly dry with variable cloud cover. Temperatures ranged from 22°C to 41°C.
Kaeng Krachan National Park, Hin Lad Waterfall and Khao Yai National Park.

Due to the ever-changing rules and regulations in the country nothing could be planned in advance, so we simply took things day by day, concentrating on birds, butterflies and any other wildlife we came across. The weather, that potentially could have been problematic at this time of year, proved to be rather on the dry side.

27 Jun. Not wishing to stop overnight en route, a long, 894 kilometre, 12 hour drive, to Kaeng Krachan where met up with Ian and Games at Baan Maka. It had been a full 16 months since the last visit here. Only a small amount of rain en route and a pleasant evening with sun downers in the field with Malayan Night Heron and Indian Stone-curlew calling in the distance.

28 Jun. A full day at the park. Upper levels of the park still remained closed, though at least vehicular access was available to the stream section. Since the last visit, two new loops trails had been constructed in this area, so pretty much the whole day was spent on these trails, between streams one and two. Birding highlights included Jerdon's Baza at a nest, Dusky Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Banded Kingfisher and Spot-necked Babbler. Also some interesting butterflies, with Common Falcate Oakblue, Blue Begum, Black-spotted Labyrinth, Dark Posy and Red Bushbrown. At dusk, the fields produced Indian Nightjar, Large-tailed Nightjar and Crested Treeswift.

29 Jun. For a total change of habitat we decided to visit Pha Nam Yot Waterfall. Although officially part of Kaeng Krachan National Park, the 1.5 kilometre trail to the waterfall is maintained by the local villagers, to whom you pay a small fee, in order to access the area. The word waterfall would be a grandiose term to apply to the trickle of water running from the rocks, but the limestone faces and lichens are quite picturesque. The trail passes through low elevation dry, mixed, forest so is rather low on diversity, especially for birds. Best butterflies included Thai Plane, Lurcher and Red-spot Duke. It was past 14:00 by the time we returned to Baan Maka, so a lazy afternoon ensued. Despite the threatening skies and rumbling thunder all afternoon, nothing became of it.

Forest Crested Lizard

Banded Kingfisher

Blue Begum

Blue Posy

Common Falcate Oakblue

Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker

Sunset

Dhole

30 Jun. Due to the late night yesterday, watching Euro 2020, a delayed start, with us just about managing a return to the park by 09:00. The morning was spent walking the Pranburi Nature Trail from the first stream to to the Bang Krang campsite. This provided the usual birds such as Blue-eared Kingfisher, Silver-breasted Broadbill and Green-legged Partridge. Butterflies of interest included Blue Imperial, Witch and Common Cornelian. During the afternoon we walked the road between the second and third streams and one of the loop trails, with the scarce Blue Begum encountered.

1 Jul. A long, hot, day inside the park, exploring the full distance along the stream section plus two of the side trails. Hoping for some late afternoon mammals we left Bang Krang at 17:30 for a slow drive out. Miraculously, we had hardly driven a couple of kilometres when a Leopard ran across the road in full view. Although a fantastic view, it was far too rapid for any photos. Some rain at 17:00 was the first decent shower experienced since arrival.

2 Jul. Deciding to try a different area and habitat, we drove the 45 minutes to Hin Lad Waterfall, which consists of a 1.5 kilometre track through poor quality Dipterocarp forest and secondary scrub. The area in general proved rather good for skippers, with several notable records - Tricolour Pied Flat, Purple-and-gold Flitter, Common White Flat and Green-streaked Awlet. The only interesting bird species was Red-billed Blue Magpie. Late afternoon we took the short, hard, hike to the local viewpoint above Baan Maka where a Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker put on quite a show.

3 Jul. Back to the park for another full day. Maybe due to the continuing dry weather, it was notable that insect activity had been dropped since our first visit. As usual we worked the streams section forest, but then swapped to the Vanilla Trail, the other side of the campsite. This provided us with Blue Posy; a rarity in the park. With gathering clouds and ominous-looking weather we finished the day with a quick cave exploration, but nothing of note found. Again the threat of rain vapourised.

4 Jul. In summary, a lazy day. A mid morning, thorough exploration of the Baan Maka trails, produced Common Falcate Oakblue and Variegated Plushblue. Some heavier showers by mid afternoon were a refreshing change, and were followed by a superb sunset.

5 Jul. A six hour drive to Khao Yai, with mid afternoon temperatures up to 41°C, although by the time we'd reached our destination conditions had become damp and overcast. Having not booked any advance accommodation, we simply took our pick - times being terribly difficult within the tourist industry.

6 Jul. All day in Khao Yai. Cloudy and dull almost the whole day, with rain late afternoon continuing into the evening. Our initial focus was the forest around the headquarters and Sai Sorn Reservoir, hoping for Austen's Brown Hornbill, though, as expected this proved unsuccessful, A single male Siamese Fireback standing by the roadside was a nice find. We then spent the morning in forest along the Khao Khiao road and visited the viewpoint at the top. Disappointingly, the Pha Diao Dai Trail was closed. Late morning, a couple of hours were spent around the Phu Kluai Mai campsite, where we heard several Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo. We finished the afternoon around the headquarters, where a Dhole was visiting an old carcass, and providing quite a spectacle for many photographers. The Nature Trail, affectionately known as Leech City, had Common Green Magpie and Long-tailed Broadbill.

Neocollyris cylindripennis

7 Jul. Another full day in Khao Yai, covering pretty much the same as yesterday, though with much better weather. Again, no Austin's Brown Hornbill. Heavy rain early evening.

Green-streaked Awlet