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Nakhon Sri Thammarat and Yala: 21 - 29 Jun 2025


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21 - 29 Jun 2025.
Mixed. Wet the first couple of days, drier farther south. Temperatures ranged from 21°C to 34°C.
Namtok Yong National Park, Bang Lang National Park, Betong and Khao Luang National Park.

With Antonio Giudici. A wet season trip concentrating on southern Lepidoptera. We had a similar trip in January, which had not been particularly successful due to unseasonally heavy cloud and rain. Hopefully this time would prove better; though the forecast didn't look optimistic. All things considered June should be good time for butterflies in this area. However, this is against a backdrop of a seemingly ever decreasing species diversity and numbers of insects across Thailand. Personally it seems that during the last ten years a 50+% decrease in both diversity of numbers of butterflies throughout Thailand has been observed, with more and more species scarcer and harder to locate. Leech numbers were way down on usual for this part of Thailand.

Violet Cuckoo
Violet Cuckoo

Pachynoa xanthochyta
Pachynoa xanthochyta

Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha

Short-branded Darkie
Short-branded Darkie

Scarce Silver-streak Blue
Scarce Silver-streak Blue

Tawny Palmfly
Tawny Palmfly

20 Jun. Took the early evening Air Asia flight from Chiang Mai to Surat Thani, arriving on time at 19:15, where met up with Antonio. With the airport being 30 kilometres from town, our first overnight was spent in Surat Thani town.

21 Jun. A dry, but cloudy start to the day, with a two hour drive to Namtok Yong, where amazingly our prearranged park accommodation was actually ready and available early morning. Having quickly dropped our gear we took a short look around the headquarters area, as within 30 minutes the threatening rain started, so it was back to the accommodation for coffee and to wait it out. Few birds or insects in evidence; vocal Red-throated Barbet, Violet Cuckoo and Chestnut-naped Forktail noted. The afternoon was dry but cloudy, with very low activity. Rain started late afternoon.

22 Jun. A mostly dry night, with a good variety of moths in the early morning. A wet start to day though, with solid rain continuing all day until finally petering out around 16:00. Consequently most of the day was spent on notes and photo processing.

23 Jun. Early morning we experienced several huge swarms of small flies around the building lights, presumably in response to the wet conditions of the previous days. As the forecast for the next few days showed no sign of improvement we decided to head south to the Betong area, so all morning was spent in an six hour drive. En route we stopped at Than To Waterfall in Bang Lang National Park, but the results were disappointing despite the good weather and excellent forest. After a couple of hours here we stocked up in Betong town, then continued to toward the Chulabhorn Development area and Chinese village for a three night stay. Not a great start to our stay, with a major power outage at 21:00 to the whole Betong area, which lasted the next 16 hours.

24 Jun. No power, so unfortunately no morning coffee either. The day was spent exploring trails and forest on the edge of Bang Lang. Plenty of sun, plus dry conditions, but the bird and insect activity was still slow. Best birds of the day were Rufous-backed Dwarf Kingfisher, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha and Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot. Also one very rare butterfly - Short-branded Darkie.

25 Jun. During the morning we visited several areas of forest edge around Betong, covering a range of altitudes up to 1,000 metres. After lunch more forest near Bang Lang was visited. All in all pretty much a repeat of earlier visits. One unexpected bird seen by the roadside was Javan Myna - a species continuing to spread north through the Malay Peninsula.

26 Jun. Not a great start to the day, due to a totally flat car battery. Fortunately we had sufficient cable and a charger, so after a couple of hours quick charge we were back on the road. The majority of the morning was spent in limestone karst forest near Betong, with a highlight being Scarce Silver-streak Blue. An afternoon drive through some heavy rain, to Hat Yai, with an evening of traditional British food and draft beer.

27 Jun. A two plus hour drive to the Khao Ramrom ranger station of Khao Luang. As usual, the weather was damp, foggy and windy, but improved during the afternoon. A couple of basic rooms are available here, though for your money you only have a bed and a cold shower, but the location at the top of the hill is interesting. First up, we discovered no electricity, which took several hours to return. A couple of walks around the Nature Trail produced almost nothing. Brown Wood Owl calling from behind the toilet block at night.

28 Jun. With a reasonable weather forecast we visited Karom Waterfall, about an hour's drive away. Finally a day with some butterfly activity, with a fair selection of species found. With threatening rain approaching we left at 14:30 for another night on Khao Ramrom.

29 Jun. As windy and cool on the mountain we left early to check a viewpoint, marked on Google Maps, on the other side of the mountain. However, no viewpoint, though we found a trail which, according to locals, went to a waterfall.


Not having enough time to check it we again returned to Karom Waterfall. As this was a Sunday, Karom was well visited by locals and little found. With gathering cloud we left at 13:30 for the return to Surat Thani airport.

Species List

  Bang Lang Count   Namtok Yong Count
  Edible-nest Swiftlet 20   Plume-toed Swiftlet 4
  Chestnut-breasted Malkoha 1   Edible-nest Swiftlet 2
  Black-bellied Malkoha 1   Brown-backed Needletail 3
  Banded Bay Cuckoo 2   Asian Palm Swift 10
  Plaintive Cuckoo 1   House Swift 4
  Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo 2   Violet Cuckoo 1
  Crested Serpent Eagle 1   Crested Serpent Eagle 1
  Collared Scops Owl 1   Brown Wood Owl 1
  Orange-breasted Trogon 2   Orange-breasted Trogon 1
  Great Hornbill 2   Banded Kingfisher 1
  Banded Kingfisher 1   Golden-whiskered Barbet 1
  Rufous-backed Dwarf Kingfisher 1   Red-throated Barbet 4
  Golden-whiskered Barbet 2   Vernal Hanging Parrot 1
  Red-throated Barbet 2   Black-and-yellow Broadbill 2
  Yellow-crowned Barbet 2   Large-billed Crow 2
  Black-eared Barbet 3   Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher 1
  Rufous Piculet 1   Grey-cheeked Bulbul 1
  Banded Woodpecker 2   Ochraceous Bulbul 2
  Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot 4   Black-headed Bulbul 4
  Black-and-yellow Broadbill 2   Spectacled Bulbul 6
  Large Woodshrike 2   Dark-necked Tailorbird 2
  Large-billed Crow 1   Pin-striped Tit-Babbler 10
  Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher 2   Brown-cheeked Fulvetta 8
  Ochraceous Bulbul 3   Oriental Magpie-Robin 2
  Spectacled Bulbul 2   Chestnut-naped Forktail 1
  Black-crested Bulbul 2   Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker 1
  Asian Red-eyed Bulbul 2   Orange-bellied Flowerpecker 1
  Yellow-vented Bulbul 1   Purple-naped Spiderhunter 2
  Pacific Swallow 4   Grey-breasted Spiderhunter 1
  Yellow-bellied Warbler 3   White-rumped Munia 2
  Common Tailorbird 2      
  Pin-striped Tit-Babbler 6      
  Rufous-fronted Babbler 5      
  Puff-throated Babbler 2      
  Brown Fulvetta 6      
  Asian Fairy-bluebird 2      
  Chestnut-naped Forktail 1      
  Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker 2      
  Orange-bellied Flowerpecker 2      
  Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker 2      
  Eurasian Tree Sparrow 2      
  Paddyfield Pipit 3