Thailand is one of Asia’s most exciting birding destinations. Located at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, Thailand has exceptionally 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 accommodation 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 are 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 critically endangered 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 odd and enigmatic shorebird. Other possibilities include Brahminy Kite and Collared and Black-capped Kingfishers. We’ll return to Bangkok for another night.

Days 3-5: Khao Yai NP. Today we head to the hill forest park of Khao Yai. The lush, evergreen dipterocarp forest supports some highly sought-after birds and mammals, including the entertaining 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 through noisily in understory flocks. The bird list 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 the sight of hundreds of Wrinkle-lipped Bats emerging from caves and the strange eerie calls of the harrier-sized Great Eared-Nightjar. We will also search for Sambar Deer, Indian Muntjac, and the retiring Asian Elephant in the more remote sectors of the park. Our three nights will be spent in a hotel just outside this flagship park, with spacious, bird-filled grounds.

Day 6: Khao Yai NP to Bung Boraphet. Leaving Khao Yai NP we begin our journey into the north with a stop at Bung Boraphet. Located approximately halfway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Bung Boraphet is Thailand’s largest freshwater lake and an area of international conservation importance for migratory waterbirds, which congregate there in the thousands in the winter months. They include Asian Openbill storks, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Cotton Pymgy-goose, and Lesser Whistling-Duck. The fringes of the marsh can also be good for passerines like the spectacular Siberian Rubythroat, and up to three species of Asian weavers. We overnight in a hotel near Bung Boraphet.

Days 7-10: Doi Inthanon NP. After another morning birding Bung Boraphet, we make our way farther north to Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest mountain. 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 quietly on the damp forest floor. We will stay in a hotel just outside the park for these two nights.

Days 11-12: Doi Chiang Dao. Heading north from Chiang Mai, with a quick stop along the way for the beautifully spangled Green Peafowl, we arrive at 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. Two nights will be spent at an inn near the mountain.

Days 13-15: 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 Shrike-babbler, 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.  Two nights will be spent in a mountain resort within this highland town.

Day 16: Bangkok. Today we return to Bangkok, where we overnight.

Day 17: Departure. We head to the airport in the morning for departure or to start the extension.

Thai Peninsula Extension (6 days)
This extension will take in the two parks of Kaeng Krachan and Khao Nor Chuchi. Kaeng Krachan is located in the far north of the Thai peninsula near the border with Myanmar. While the park is home to huge numbers of species, the most sought-after is the oddly shaped Ratchet-tailed Treepie. Khao Nor Chuchi, in the south of the Thai peninsula, is renowned as one of the last sanctuaries for the electric blue, yellow, and black Gurney’s Pitta. This fabulous rare bird has been recently 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 appealing in appearance. The nearby coastal mangroves have their own specialties, and we may find the large-billed crab-smashing Mangrove Pitta and the localized Ruddy Kingfisher. The mudflats are also home to many migrant shorebirds, with the endangered Chinese Egret sometimes present.

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