On the second day I drove to the national park of Doi Inthanon in a rented car. I was supposed to meet up with a Birding Pal, but the man put his back out and couldn’t move. He had given me some info over the phone and so I went straight to "checkpoint 2" and was welcomed by the brightly colored minivets.
Small-billed Minivet
male female
Yellow-cheeked Tit
Spectacled Barwing
I found the entrance to a narrow trail, hiked up a bit but returned after a few hundred meters, thinking it would not be safe if I got out of telephone reach and nobody knew I was here… I saw some interesting birds there like many warblers, bulbuls and babblers and a Mountain Tailorbird peeked out from dense bush for just a few seconds. (no pix)
Grey-cheeked Fulvetta
Black-crested Bulbul
Blue-winged Minla
Mountain Bulbul
Back at the car I drove further up to the top as far as the road went and strolled around that area a bit. The sky had been clear most of the day with little periods of overcast and I didn't need a jacket, but here the clouds increased and the temperature was considerately lower: 12 C compared to Chang Mai’s 26 C it felt freezing! There is a bit of a park and a sign marking 2565 m, the highest point of Thailand. A small shop selling hot snacks had put a bowl of rice on their veranda. Several by passers stopped for a bite!
Also an open air kitchen at the back of the staff quarters had a few visitors.
Blue Whistling Thrush M.c. eugenei
