Interlude 5: Princess Mother's Health Garden, Chiang Mai

09/21/2013.  7:40 AM.

Start:  GPS N 18, 47.615, E 98, 57.952
End:   GPS N 18, 47.601, E 98, 58.037

The Princess Mother's Health Garden is part of the Chiang Mai University campus, though it seems more like a public park. It is called the Fitness Park on the CMU campus map.  It is located not too far north from the corner of Suthep Road and Nimmanhaemin Road, and is even closer to Chiang Rai Road #2 and Nimmanhaemin.  Two entrances can be found on Soi 26 off of Nimmanhaemin Road, across from Uniserv.

The Health Garden seems to attract a lot of runners, at least on the weekend.  Just across the white bridge as you enter is a paved path that is decently shaded and which passes some exercise equipment for those who want to add a little weightlifting to their workout.  This area of the park is only about 50 meters deep. Runners seem to be fewer once you get beyond it. I have been to the park twice now and only seen a couple of common birds in this area. It may be too active for most birds to want to hang around.

The sky was cloudy with temperatures somewhere in the mid-70s at the start. It turned partly cloudy a little later in the morning.

I divide the park up into four areas for birding purposes. There are the northern and eastern edges of the park, which seem to attract the most joggers, although I am pretty sure it is possible to jog around the entire periphery of the park. Next, there is the southern edge of the park, which is a medicinal plant garden sponsored by the university's pharmacy department. Right in the center of the park is a large building with a raised area across the front that is the Chiang Mai University Meeting Hall, and there is a large strip of park along most of the western side designed for additional parking when needed. The two most productive areas for birding seem to be the medicinal plant garden and, surprisingly, the trees along the western side of the meeting hall.

Although I visited the Princess Mother's Health Garden on two different Saturdays, this report will primarily focus on the second visit, when I had my GPS device with me and was better prepared.

Birds Sighted Along the Northern and Eastern Edges:

Common Myna:  As the name implies, these birds are a common sight in Chiang Mai, and there were many of them in the park. I counted a maximum of 13 in one place. The first two of the day were near the entrance. The largest gathering was in the parking area of the southwest corner.

Lesser Coucal:  GPS N 18, 47.559, E98, 58.034. My first glimpse of this bird was just its head poking up out of some ground cover. At first I thought the head looked something like a crow I might see back home, except for the red eye. It must not have liked having me near, because it flushed to a post a little ways away. At first, I thought this was the more common Greater Coucal, but it was noticeably smaller in size with a shorter tail.

Species Sighted in the Medicinal Plant Garden

Be warned that this part of the park is a mosquito haven. Didn't notice any mosquitoes in other parts of the park, just here. I got chased out on my first visit. I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and had several mosquitoes trying to find an opening through my bug spray after I stopped to use my binoculars for a couple of minutes. They finally found an unprotected spot...the palm of my hand.  On the next visit, I came prepared with a long-sleeve shirt, and didn't wash the bug spray off of my palms after application. Had an even bigger swarm of 10-12 this time, but no bites. I expect they may be a particular problem right now because it is the rainy season. There is a small pond in the Medicinal Plant Garden that may be a breeding ground for them.

Spotted Dove:  GPS N 18, 47.473, E 98, 57.964. I originally saw five of these, but would later see at least 16 together in the southwest parking area. I have seen large numbers of doves and Common Mynas in the southwest on both of my visits to the park. The first time around I saw a pair of Zebra Doves as well.

Greater Racket Tailed Drongo:  It appears that one or two of these may make their homes here in the medicinal plant garden. I saw two the first time I came, and one the second time around. I did not see them in other parts of the park, so they seem to prefer the denser woods of the garden. Got a nice look from close up on both visits.

White Crested Laughingthrush:  In the same tree with the Racket-Tailed Drongo.  A beautiful bird that was new for my lifelist. I ended up seeing three of them together. A nice find.

Species Sighted Around the Meeting Hall

A little red bridge leads from the medicinal plant garden to the meeting hall. The meeting hall has steps that lead up to a platform. Some trees run along the western side of the hall, near the front entrance, and these trees seem to be a little arbor highway for birds moving around the park. On both visits I saw more bird activity from that platform than from anywhere else.

Great Myna: GPS 18, 47.522, E 98, 57.956. My bird book calls this the White Vented Myna, but ebird.org calls it a Great Myna. I suspect Great Myna is the more current name.

Olive Backed Sunbird: GPS N 18, 47.562, E 98, 57.967. This is probably the most common sunbird in Chiang Mai. It is the only one I've seen here so far.

Green Billed Malkoha:  I was really surprised to see this bird in the park. I had seen one on the more wooded part of Chiang Mai campus, but didn't expect to see one so far into the city. They are very good at hiding for their size, and I had to chase it around for about 10 minutes to confirm which type of Malkoha I was following.

Scarlet Backed Flowerpecker:  I heard this species several times. It makes a fast clicking kind of noise, but it took some time to actually spot one. Beautiful red color along its head and entire back. Not an uncommon bird here in Chiang Mai, but a nice one to look at nonetheless.

Oriental Magpie Robin:  GPS N 18, 47.568, E 98, 57.962. Distinctive markings.

Grey Wagtail:  I saw two of these in a little concrete-lined ditch beside the meeting hall. These birds pump their tails rhythmically as they walk around. This was a new species for my lifelist.

Species Sighted in the Overflow Parking Areas

These parking areas do not appear to be open during regular park hours. I suspect they open only for special events. They are lined with trees so are worth checking out on a visit to the park, though the main occupants of this part of the park are doves and Common Mynas.

Ashy Woodswallow:  These birds like to hang out on the wires across Nimmanhaemin Road from the park. This time around I spotted three of them. On the first visit, there were five or six. This may be a reliable spot from which to see them.

I think this park is an excellent place to start if you are a birder who has not seen many of the birds of Thailand before. Although they are not that uncommon, it was great to see a Greater Racket Tailed Drongo up close, and the park seems to be a reliable place to find them. Other larger birds in the park were Green Billed Malkoha, White Crested Laughingthrush, and the Lesser Coucal.  On my first visit, I saw a Greater Coucal in the open field across the street from the park as well.  In addition, the Olive Backed Sunbird and Crimson Backed Flowerpecker are both small but very colorful birds that are nice to see.