17th Jan
Today was to follow a similar pattern, with some exploration in the park in the morning and a hide session in the afternoon. With breakfast at around 6, we left Baan Maka at around 6:45 and headed into the park, the first stop being the large fruiting tree which we had stopped at yesterday. Today we just logged Oriental Pied Hornbills and Thick-billed Green Pigeons. A completely new family for me was Broadbills, small finch-like birds with as the name suggests a kind of partly flattened wide stubby bill, and another stop a little farther on had us straining to get on to a very smart Black-and-Red Broadbill, which we did, but it was fairly high up and in amongst the leaves so no shots were possible. Also near here was a Crested Serpent-eagle in a tree and a Crested Goshawk displaying, and we added another sunbird in the form of a Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, plus Dark-necked Tailorbird.
After a short while climbing higher we reached the Bang Krang campsite where we ended up yesterday. The plan was to explore farther up the road that continues up into the upper reaches of the park. This further section of road was currently closed to vehicles [and probably still is], so we had to walk. We crossed a shallow stream with the aim of walking two different trails, one of which leads to a youth camp. There was not much activity at first but with some diligent scanning we began to pick up some pretty decent species. A second Broadbill was found, a group or rather easier to see Silver-breasted Broadbills, and whilst following these around through the trees we found a couple of Large Woodshrikes. A bit farther along and we had a few tiny Vernal Hanging Parrots high in a dead looking tree. I took some photos but they only serve as a record - the birds were tiny in the frame but I did manage a record shot by cropping from one. We found Olive Bulbuls again plus the "Oh Gracious" bulbuls - Ochraceous Bulbul to use the correct name, but you can see why they got our pet name. Flycatchers seen were Taiga and {Asian} Brown Flycatchers and Black-naped Monarch and a Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher was also logged although I didn't see one until the next day. Other species were Blue-winged Leafbird and Golden-fronted Leafbird, Black-naped Oriole, Pin-striped Tit-babbler and Malaysian Pied Fantail. A bit farther along the track and we came upon a member of one of my favourite families - an Orange-breasted Trogon - doing what trogons do best - sitting very still slowly looking around. In the same area we had a few Great Ioras and the third member of the broadbill family - Black-and-Yellow Broadbill, again very difficult to photograph. Another good find was a Black Giant Squirrel - these are medium dog-sized beasts - I recall the surprise of first seeing a related species in Sri Lanka, the Grizzled Giant Squirrel. The Black Giant species is Ratufa bicolor. As we retraced our steps back to the camp site we had a few Grey-rumped Treeswifts circling overhead. Where we crossed back over the stream there were a lot of butterflies including some very attractive prioneris types. That was a pretty good morning with some quality species, so we headed back to Baan Maka for a well-earned lunch.
After a short while climbing higher we reached the Bang Krang campsite where we ended up yesterday. The plan was to explore farther up the road that continues up into the upper reaches of the park. This further section of road was currently closed to vehicles [and probably still is], so we had to walk. We crossed a shallow stream with the aim of walking two different trails, one of which leads to a youth camp. There was not much activity at first but with some diligent scanning we began to pick up some pretty decent species. A second Broadbill was found, a group or rather easier to see Silver-breasted Broadbills, and whilst following these around through the trees we found a couple of Large Woodshrikes. A bit farther along and we had a few tiny Vernal Hanging Parrots high in a dead looking tree. I took some photos but they only serve as a record - the birds were tiny in the frame but I did manage a record shot by cropping from one. We found Olive Bulbuls again plus the "Oh Gracious" bulbuls - Ochraceous Bulbul to use the correct name, but you can see why they got our pet name. Flycatchers seen were Taiga and {Asian} Brown Flycatchers and Black-naped Monarch and a Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher was also logged although I didn't see one until the next day. Other species were Blue-winged Leafbird and Golden-fronted Leafbird, Black-naped Oriole, Pin-striped Tit-babbler and Malaysian Pied Fantail. A bit farther along the track and we came upon a member of one of my favourite families - an Orange-breasted Trogon - doing what trogons do best - sitting very still slowly looking around. In the same area we had a few Great Ioras and the third member of the broadbill family - Black-and-Yellow Broadbill, again very difficult to photograph. Another good find was a Black Giant Squirrel - these are medium dog-sized beasts - I recall the surprise of first seeing a related species in Sri Lanka, the Grizzled Giant Squirrel. The Black Giant species is Ratufa bicolor. As we retraced our steps back to the camp site we had a few Grey-rumped Treeswifts circling overhead. Where we crossed back over the stream there were a lot of butterflies including some very attractive prioneris types. That was a pretty good morning with some quality species, so we headed back to Baan Maka for a well-earned lunch.
The plan for this afternoon was to spend the whole time in a hide called the Nui Hide, which was of the same genre at the last one - hot, humid and slightly uncomfortable! - but awesome at the same time. Unlike the previous hide, mealworms are put out at this one, mainly because of the target species. Things kicked off pretty well with the by now usual bulbuls coming in, then Puff-throated and Abbott's Babbler's, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, White-rumped Shama, Indochinese Blue Flycatcher and Hainan Blue Flycatcher, then a couple of Siberian Blue Robins including a stunning male, both Necklaced Laughingthrushes, Racket-tailed Treepie and Common Emerald Dove. A Scaly-breasted Partridge also appeared and we had excellent views of two Grey-headed Woodpeckers of the Black-naped geurini race. However the star of the show was the target bird - Blue Pitta. We had been scanning and scanning the dense surrounding undergrowth willing it to appear and eventually patience was rewarded with a movement on the ground out to the left. Tantalising glimpses were had until eventually it came out and settled on the top of a slight mound where it fed on the supplied mealworms. It was pretty dull under the trees but needless to say loads of photos were taken. I discarded a lot mainly due to there being mealworms hanging out of its bill, but I did get one pretty decent shot. Well satisfied with our session we headed back to the comfort and serenity of Baan Maka.