We travelled onwards to the Isthmus of Kra . Here we took a brief stop for photos and, once again, the toilet. Additions to the list came in the form of an obliging Pacific Swallow sitting on foliage beside the river and a pair of stunning Ruby-cheeked Sunbirds . In addition a Draco flying lizard put on quite a performance constantly flicking its yellow-and-blue throat patch from a nearby tree. However, the ‘highlight' for most of us was looking across the river into Myanmar and starting a new ‘country list'. Including a calling Abbott's Babbler, I clocked up 6 ticks for the country!

Before walking the short 100m trail to Bokkrai Waterfall, an inquisitive Grey-breasted Spiderhunter entertained us in the low bushes around the car park. From the waterfall, a steep 1km nature trail wound its way through the forest and deposited us back at the second tier. Birds were thin on the ground but did include White-bellied Yuhina , Hairy-backed and Ochraceous Bulbuls , a vivid Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker and Little Spiderhunter . However, back at the car park, Lah, Off and I had cracking views of Asian Paradise Flycatcher and Orange-breasted Trogon to the annoyance of Tu and Jan!

We stopped for lunch at a riverside restaurant at La-un for a great meal of fresh fish plucked straight from an array of holding nets in the river. Lunchtime entertainment came in the form of Brahminy Kites , a single White-bellied Sea-eagle and breeding Pacific Swallows . A minor diversion took us Khao Fa Chi WWII Historical Site where I resisted the temptation to clamber over a rusting steam engine. Information boards told us of the horrendous conditions and extraordinary achievements of the Japanese prisoners of war forced to build this amazing railway.

Finally, we arrived at Ranong and quickly checked in at the Thansila Resort. Here, we were given a very reasonable suite that easily accommodated us all. Back on the road we headed the few miles to Ranong Biosphere Reserve. This was all for me as the other members of the party had all seen Ruddy Kingfisher before, so there was some pressure to ‘bag the bird' and be ready to leave for Krung Ching early the next day. The reserve covers a large expanse of mangrove forest and has a long circular boardwalk that allows visitors to easily observe the unique wildlife that inhabits its dark interior.

Satisfied, we departed for Krung Ching but not before adding a very accommodating White-chested Babbler that was feeding at our feet in the entwined roots of massive mangrove trees. A Little Heron flitted through the undergrowth as we left the trail.

A few hours later, we stopped for a fantastic lunch of spicy southern food on the Surat Thani bypass unconcerned about the known consequences! A further stop at Tesco Lotus saw us buying our provisions for the next few days. Tu and Jan had brought all the cooking utensils with them (including an enormous ice box) and Off was a trained chef, so all Lah and I had to do was offer to wash-up occasionally. Not a bad deal! Eventually, after stopping at a local farm and stocking up with fruit, including a stinking durian, we arrived at Krung Ching. After setting up camp in a large sala, we managed to squeeze in an hour or so of birding before sunset. One bird Lah hoped to catch up with was White-crowned Hornbill but despite hearing its calls and staking out a regular flight path each evening, we never did manage to see it.

Later that evening, we tried a bit of spot-lighting and turned up an obliging metre-long Reticulated Python . Other than that, the call of an unknown bird (I was hoping it was a Gould's Frogmouth) was the only other thing of note. Despite listening to recordings back at home, I was unable to identify it, though Tu found a source suggesting it was a rarely heard and atypical call of Brown Wood-Owl . However, later that we evening we certainly did hear the typical territorial song of this species.

Tuesday 21 st August: So this was it. With just two full days left we were about to experience a site that has become somewhat of a must for birders visiting southern Thailand . It started a little slow I thought despite the campsite hosting a spectacular strangling fig that was just about coming into fruit. The first few birds were identified purely by song and included Red-throated Barbet , Drongo Cuckoo and Abbott's Babbler . A lovely Lesser Cuckoo-shrike also gave itself away with its characteristic song but actually allowed some extended viewing as well. Things started to warm up (no pun intended) as the sun tried to poke through the clouds. Green Iora , Spectacled Bulbul , Brown Barbet , Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike and Vernal Hanging Parrot all fell under the hammer. Shortly after, Lah added a tick to her Thai list in the form of a Lesser Green Leafbird . It wasn't until later that I realised it was new to my list too! As we ate breakfast, a solitary Crested Serpent Eagle called mournfully as it soared overhead.

Since Tu and Jan had visited the site on several previous occasions, it was decided that only Off, Lah and I would take the full 3.7km trail all the way to Krung Ching Waterfall - Tu and Jan would follow at a more leisurely pace.

After negotiating the 700m steeply undulating (to put it politely) steps to the waterfall we gently collapsed on the viewing platform and raggedly breathed in the toxic fumes of discarded burning plastic that the park rangers had decided to destroy at that very moment. Lying on my back, I managed to pick out Glossy Swiftlet , a tick for both Lah and Off, as the acrid toxic smoke swirled around us. Despite all that, the waterfall was very spectacular and well worth the visit. In fact, it is featured on the older 1000 Baht notes.

Today, we had decided to walk only as far as the second sala, little more than 2kms each way. Tu, Jan, Lah and I set off first with Off holding back a little longer. Within just 5 minutes we were watching and photographing my third lifer of the trip, Diard's Trogon . A stunning male bird put on a great but brief performance allowing all four of us some cracking views. Shortly after its departure, Off arrived and was devastated to receive such ‘happy' news. However, that's the way with birding and I'd missed a potential lifer the day before when Tu and Jan had seen Scarlet-rumped Trogon . The Thai pronunciation of ‘Diard's' sounded remarkably like ‘Diehard' to me, so from then on the poor bird became known as Bruce Willis's Trogon!

Next up was not a bird but an Agamid lizard that dropped out of a tree, bounced off my head and crashed to the forest floor. It was an incredible vivid green but as its body twitched and jerked and the legs collapsed against the body, it gradually changed to a dirty, leafy brown. After several posed photos, I picked it up by the scruff of its neck to take a better look. To my surprise, it opened its mouth and peeked through its half-closed eyelids.

The next highlight was once again not a bird. This time, Off had located an incredibly well camouflaged trapdoor spider . This was only the second time I had ever seen this type of spider and with a very cautious lifting of the trap-door we all had great views of this large and rarely seen natural wonder. Nearby a lone Barking Deer quietly slipped into the undergrowth.

Thursday 23 rd August: After packing up camp, we were left with an hour or so before setting off at 9.00am . However, before that, Off finally got the shower he'd put off over the last few days. Unusually for a Thai, Off seemed to have an aversion to water and despite lots of cajoling and taunts could not bring himself to take a full shower. He got his comeuppance though when he somehow managed to break a water pipe when washing up the plates and had to use his body to prevent the high pressure water from soaking the industrial washing machines located in the same building! For some reason (!?!), it took a good twenty minutes for the rest of us to find suitable rags to shove up the pipe and cut off the water supply.

The last hour provided Tu and I some quality time photographing an extremely accommodating Little Spiderhunter feeding on the vivid red flowers of Torch Ginger ( Etlingera elatior ). Returning regularly to the same few flowers, we were able to take a wonderful series of pictures in the soft morning sunlight. Time up, we packed our gear away and ticked the final bird of the trip, Striated Swallow, before embarking on the uneventful return journey to Bangkok.

In total, I saw 140 birds on this southern trip, 3 of which were lifers. Including these lifers, I managed to boost my Thai list by a surprising 8 species. Between us we saw 157 species and the following bird list includes all the species seen or heard by us over the 6 days. Thanks again to my friends for making this trip so worthwhile and lots of fun!

P.S. I also got Grass Owl in Chiang Saen but that's another story and one that Tu, Jan and Off aren't ready to hear!