Dates:
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17 - 27 Jun 2023.
Variable cloud cover. Mostly dry mornings leading to afternoon and evening rains. Temperatures ranged from 24°C to 35°C.
Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, Iyenweng, Bang Lang National Park and Betong.

However, for reasons unknown, both insect and bird activity were relatively poor. This has seemed the case on all trips this year, starting with lower than usual wintering bird numbers and poor insect variety and quantity throughout. That this could be related to the El Niño remains a distinct possibility. Leeches were prevalent at Hala-Bala and Bang Lang.

17 Jun. Took the early evening flight from Chiang Mai to Hat Yai, which arrived on time. Met up with Antonio, and an overnight in town.

18 Jun. An early start for the four hour drive to Hala-Bala, stopping for a few provisions en route. Accommodation options in the Hala-Bala area have improved over the years, and on this occasion we opted to try the recently constructed rooms available at the wildlife sanctuary headquarters. This allowed us to stay inside the sanctuary, though the lack of restaurant facilities meant having to self-cater. One of the first birds to greet us was Javan Myna, now breeding around the santuary offices - a recent coloniser having spread up the Malayan peninsula. The afternoon was spent in a general recce along the road running through the sanctuary. The overcast conditions meant butterfly activity was low. Best of the bunch found was Sumatran Bob. Bird activity was equally poor, though several Rhinoceros Hornbill were seen, along with nesting Blyth's Frogmouth, Silver-rumped Spinetail, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha and Cream-vented Bulbul. Some reasonable moth activity overnight.

19 Jun. A hot and mostly cloudless day. However, the improved weather made little to no difference to our observations, which were mostly a repeat of yesterday. Having woken up to no water at the rooms, the problem persisted into the evening, so evidently some teething problems with the new accommodation. Unusually for park accommodation, A/C was available, though a lack of hot shower, fridge, chairs, curtains and a water heater didn't really make up for it; definitely work in progress. A light rain shower late afternoon.

20 Jun. Another hot, cloudless day. Bird species of interest included Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Great Argus heard, Plume-toed Swiftlet, Green-billed Malkoha, Violet Cuckoo, Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, Malaysian Blue-banded Kingfsher, Black-thighed Falconet, Javan Myna and Plain Sunbird. During the night at least three Blyth's Frogmouth were vocalising, plus Brown Wood Owl and Sunda Scops Owl.

21 Jun. A three hour drive to Chula 9 just outside Bang Lang. The increasing rate of forest destruction in the whole Betong area is notable, with a massive trend toward clearing even steep slopes for durian plantations. By 10:30 we were walking the upper road and forest trail to Halasa Waterfall. Better butterfly activity than Hala-Bala, but still little of note found. The only birding highlight was a single Long-billed Spiderhunter, Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot and singing Blue-winged Pitta. By 14:00 the threatening rain started, effectively wiping out the remainder of the day.

22 Jun. Despite originally having planned two nights, the lack of moth, butterfly and bird activity encouraged us to move farther west, around the Betong, Along the way we stopped at the Iyenweng viewpoint - to look at the forest, not to try out the recently constructed skywalk. Another hot morning with sunburn on the menu. A solitary Black Eagle from the viewpoint was notable, as well as a single Long-tailed Shrike - a fast disappearing species in Thailand. Rain started 17:00 and continued well into the night.

23 Jun. With a dry, bright, morning we headed to Chula 10 to check trails, the area around the communist village, and the well-known Big Tree. Caught out in rain badly at 15:00, which again continued into the evening.

24 Jun. A bitty day with us trying to work around the cloudy weather - cloud being useless for butterfly activity. We initially decided to try the higher reaches of the mountains around Betong. A major surprise was a vocal Rail-babbler, as well as passing Cook's Swift. Showers started by midday, so we descended to lower forests, but found little. A late afternoon return to Chula 10. Barred Eagle-Owl and Brown Boobook heard at dusk.

25 Jun. Given the dry night and bright start to the morning we again tried Bang Lang around Chula 10. This proved more successful for butterflies, with our first Glorious Begum of the trip, and a interesting general selection of species. Heavy rain by 14:30 forced us to retreat to lower elevations around Betong.

26 Jun. Higher mountains around Betong again, with Black-thighed Falconet. However, our day financed with heavy rain from 13:30 onward.

27 Jun. A final morning at Bang Lang, finding the usual suspects we'd found this week. We were fortunate to return to the vehicle just as a heavy downpour started. A four hour drive back to Hat Yai, followed by the evening flight to Chiang Mai.

Javan Myna

Aeolopetra sp.

Dark Grass Brown

Green Crested Lizard

Black Eagle

Glorious Begum

Malayan Ringlet