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Scaly Thrush, Doi Ang Khang
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Scaly Thrush, Doi Ang Khang
Birdtour Asia Thailand Custom Tour December 2006
Scaly Thrush, Doi Ang Khang
An early start the next morning was greeted by a Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl calling from the nearby hillside, we resist the temptation to search as we had to drive the long, rocky road up the steep slopes of Doi Chiang Dao, where we reached the ridge shortly after dawn. The 5km road that follows the ridge is famous for two species in particular, Giant Nuthatch and the elusive Mrs Hume’s Pheasant. Rather surprisingly, it wasn’t long before we encountered a pair of pheasants as they ran off a side-road, allowing only brief views of the male. As the light improved, birds become more conspicuous, Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush showed well on several occasions, Puff-throated Babblers called from the undergrowth, several small feeding flocks were seen and a Blue Pitta was heard in the distance. Slowly driving back along the ridge we suddenly came to a halt, as a pair of Mrs Hume’s Pheasant were feeding on the roadside, allowing sumptuous views as we soaked up every detail of the males’ stunning plumage before they slowly melted away into the bamboo. After this amazing experience, the rest of the day would struggle to compete, though by the late morning a vocal pair of our second target species, the Giant Nuthatch eventually showed, as a pair worked their way along a dead snag, their huge size evident compared to the Chestnut-vented & Velvet-fronted Nuthatches that we saw later in the day in the same tree as yet another pair of Giant Nuthatches. The rest of the day was spent walking along the ridge, searching through feeding flocks for the more cryptic species of the forest, though a flock of 20 Long-tailed Broadbills were anything but cryptic, other species seen included rodophei Rufous-fronted Babbler, a taxon once considered a separate species, Deighnam’s Babbler, Grey Treepie, Great & Blue-throated Barbet, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Hill Prinia and a surprise Slaty-backed Flycatcher. Vocal Slender-billed Orioles showed on 3 occasions, another speciality of the ridge, as dusk began to fall, we ventured to a nearby marsh where a vocal Black-tailed Crake, a little-known, localised species, revealed itself all too briefly before darkness slipped in and our night-birding exploits began. Unfortunately the cold weather had an obvious effect on night-birds calling, with just a single Hodgson’s Frogmouth heard all too briefly, though an impressive Brown Wood-Owl perched above the road on our way back for a well-earned nightcap.
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