LAEM PAK BIA/PAK THALE
THAILAND
LOCALE
| # Species: | 304 |
| # Excl Vagrants: | 304 |
| # Endemics: | 0 |
| # Near Endemics: | 0 |
| Habitat: Wetlands | |
ABOUT THE BIRDING
Laem Pak Bia and Pak Thale are a wetland and beach area south of Bangkok, an excellent place for a birding day trip or overnight trip. This area is the place to go to see the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, which winters there from late October until late March. A large array of other wetland and shore birds are also present in the area during these same months.
A number of birding sites are in the area. Spoon-billed Sandpipers are almost always seen at the salt farms around Pak Thale. They sometimes appear at other nearby sites as well. These same salt farms are excellent for many other species as well. Most common are Spotted Redshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew Sandpiper, and Red-necked Stint. Other less common shorebirds also show up there as well, along with various gulls, terns, and egrets. Rarities such as Painted Stork and Milky Stork have also shown up at times.
The mangroves around the Environmental Research Project near the Laem Pak Bia Sand Spit is a good place for Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Malaysian Pied-Fantail, Black Drongo, Racket-tailed Treepie, Dusky Warbler, Common Tailorbird, and various warblers. In nearby marshy areas one can find Slaty-breasted Rail, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Common Snipe, and Pin-tailed Snipe. The spit itself is the place to find Malaysian Plover as well as the so-called White-faced Plover, a distinctive subspecies of Kentish Plover. Other birds on the mudflats near the sand spit include Chinese Pond-Heron, Javan Pond-Heron, and several species of egrets. Large flocks of gulls and terns are also present at the end of the spit. A great diversity of wintering shorebirds can be found throughout the area.
LOCATION OF SITE
Laem Pak Bia/Pak Thale is located 2-2½ hours drive south from Bangkok on the coast of central Thailand.