Blossom-Headed Parakeet Conservation Area Near Doi Inthanon

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The Blossom-Headed Parakeet Conservation Area is a few km before you reach the gate for Doi Inthanon.  If you pick up a car at Chiang Mai airport it will be about a 2 hour drive or a bit less.  You will see the turn-off on the right hand side of the road and it’s the same road that leads to TouchStar Resort and Inthanon Highland Resort.  There is a map on the Thai Birding site.

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Turn down this road.

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We tried two different areas.  The road on the left as indicated by the sign leads to a couple farms but no one around to explain anything about the parakeets.  The Thai Birding map tells you to keep going down the road on the right as shown here.

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Don’t turn left at the first shelter, it leads to a private home.

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This is the correct “shelter with corrugated iron roof”.  Drive past it a couple hundred metres and watch the trees on the left.

IMG_0046 IMG_0048 IMG_0049Find a place to park and keep your eyes out.  The parakeets started arriving around 4:30pm.  Unfortunately they perched fairly far from the road where you can park.  The land between the road and the trees is private property and I didn’t want to trespass on it.  So I used every bit of my 400mm lens for these shots!

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A few other birds can be found there too – mostly bulbuls, sparrows, swallows and doves.  There were a couple Bee-eaters just before entering the area.

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IMG_9873 IMG_9880After visiting Doi Inthanon NP, we went back the 2nd evening hoping for better views.  The birds were still far away but the light was somewhat better.

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We went back to the road that goes left to the “sanctuary” and still not a bird in sight.  It looks like someone is leaving food for them or that could just be a Spirit House offering but still no humans around to ask.

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And another beautiful sunset to end the 2nd day.

IMG_0123For some reason I can’t crop in the WordPress package so these are out of sequence but at least you can see the birds a bit better!  The females have a lavender head and only a hint of a ring.  The males have a brighter magenta “blossom” head and a clearly defined ring around their necks.

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