Thailand is one of Asia’s most exciting birding destinations. Located at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, Thailand has high bird diversity, featuring many colorful resident birds alongside wintering Palearctic and Himalayan migrants. Combined with legendary Thai hospitality, some of the finest cuisine in the Orient and high-quality western standards, it is no surprise that this is one of the most popular Asian destinations for birders.  This tour explores the national parks of south, central and northern Thailand, looking for handsome hornbills, spectacular broadbills, stunning pittas, and a host of other Asian denizens.  For those with extra time, a short extension to search for the incomparably beautiful Gurney’s Pitta at Khao Nor Chuchi should ensure a grand finale to our time in Thailand.

Day 1: Bangkok. You arrive and will be transferred to our Bangkok hotel.

Day 2: Samut Sakhon Saltpans. Today we visit the saltpans of Samut Sakhon on the shores of the Gulf of Thailand. This is an extensive area of mudflats, pools, saltpans, and shrimp ponds. In recent years a handful of Spoon-billed Sandpipers have wintered at this internationally important wetland. As we search through hundreds of waders, including Marsh and Broad-billed Sandpipers, Lesser and Greater Sandplovers, and scores of Red-necked Stints, we hope to catch up with this great rarity. Other possibilities include Brahminy Kite and Collared and Black-capped Kingfishers.

Days 3-5: Khao Yai National Park. Today we head to Khao Yai. The lush, evergreen Dipterocarp forest supports some highly sought-after birds and mammals, including White-handed and Pileated Gibbons. Impressive Silver Pheasants, stunning Siamese Firebacks, and bizarre Coral-billed Ground-Cuckoos walk unobtrusively through the undergrowth, hornbills frequent the treetops, elusive Blue and Eared Pittas skulk in the leaf litter, and White-crested Laughingthrushes move noisily in understory flocks. The bird list is long and includes stunners such as Silver-breasted Broadbill, Vernal Hanging-Parrot, Greater Yellownape, Banded Kingfisher, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Indian Roller, Green Magpie, Asian Fairy-bluebird, White-crowned Forktail, White-bellied Yuhina, and Little Spiderhunter. One night we will linger in the park as dusk approaches and enjoy hundreds of Wrinkle-lipped Bats emerging from caves and the strange eerie calls of the harrier-sized Great Eared-Nightjar. We shall also search for Sambar Deer, Indian Muntjac, and the retiring Asian Elephant in the more remote sectors of the park.

Day 6: Khao Yai National Park to Bangkok. As our final morning birding in Khao Yai comes to an end, we will return to Bangkok for one night.

Days 7-8: Doi Chiang Dao. After an early flight to Chiang Mai we drive to the looming limestone massif of Doi Chiang Dao. We bird an area around an attractive Buddhist temple searching for Crested Treeswift, Black-throated Laughingthrush, Streaked Wren-Babbler, and Buff-breasted Babbler. We will also explore the mountain’s upper slopes for the aptly named Giant Nuthatch. If we are extremely lucky we may also track down the elegant Mrs. Hume’s Pheasant.

Days 9-10: Doi Ang Khang. After a last morning at Doi Chiang Dao, we will head to the flanks of Doi Ang Khang, near the Myanmar border. The local specialties include Crested Finchbill, Slaty-bellied Tesia, the striking Red-faced Liocichla, White-browed Laughingthrush, Silver-eared Mesia, and Spectacled Barwing. Occasionally the highly sought-after Rusty-naped Pitta is also seen here. A night walk may reveal Mountain and Collared Scops-Owls.

Days 11-15: Chiang Mai and Doi Inthanon National Park. We head south to Chiang Mai and then on to Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain, with a quick stop along the way for the beautifully spangled Green Peafowl. The “Roof of Thailand” provides spectacular forest birding at a range of different altitudes. The lower mountain comprises dry, open, deciduous Dipterocarp forest. Here we seek two of the cutest raptors in the world: White-rumped Falcon and the diminutive Collared Falconet. Black-headed Woodpecker and Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch may be seen climbing the limbs of gnarled trees, while Black-backed Forktails haunt the rushing torrents. Dazzling Green and Purple Cochoas are the prize birds in the evergreen forest higher up the mountain slopes, where the resident birds are joined by migrants such as Siberian and Gray-sided Thrushes. On one day we visit the damp sphagnum bog and Rhododendron forest at the summit. This is an eerie place in the early morning, but the misty atmosphere is brightened by dazzling Mrs. Gould’s and Green-tailed Sunbirds and the bold and approachable Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrushes, while White-browed Shortwings and Slaty-bellied Tesias feed unobtrusively on the damp forest floor.

Day 16: Bangkok. Today we return to Bangkok, where the tour ends.

Thai Peninsula Extension - Seeking Gurney's Pitta (6 days)
This area is renowned as the last sanctuary for the electric blue, yellow, and black Gurney’s Pitta. This fabulously rare bird has recently been rediscovered in Myanmar, but Southern Thailand remains the only easily visited place where this wonderful bird can be seen. Khao Nor Chuchi reserve is one of the last remaining sanctuaries of lowland forest on the northern peninsula. Although Gurney’s Pitta is its undisputed star bird, some of the other residents, such as Green Broadbill, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, and Banded Pitta are equally startling in appearance. The nearby coastal mangroves have their own specialties, and we may find the big-billed, crab-smashing Mangrove Pitta and the localized Ruddy Kingfisher, whose colors almost defy description. The mudflats are home to many migrant shorebirds, with Chinese Egret also occasionally present.

Tour info:

CLIMATE: Warm and humid in lowlands, cool to cold in the mountains

DIFFICULTY: Easy, some walking on good trails is required.

ACCOMMODATION: Good hotels throughout.