November 20, 2024
Chao Samran
We were at Pak Thale soon after seven thirty and enjoyed a few hours of good birding although we once again didn't pick up the two species I would really like to see. Shore birds really need a spotting scope because the birds can't be approached. So birding is generally done from a long distance. Nonetheless it was good to work our way through distant views of thousands of waders hoping in vain that we might latch onto a Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea). Less than a thousand of these birds remain with possibly only two hundred breeding pairs. The main threat is habitat loss, both in their breeding grounds in the Beiring Sea tundra as well as their wintering grounds in SE Asia. Miraculously, the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand has managed to purchase the land at Pak Thale where a handful of these birds spend their winter season each year. The other species I was hoping to pick up was Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer). Birders who had arrived just before us had seen two but they had flown off by the time we arrived.
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Afterwards it was a short ride down to Chao Samran. On the way a group of cyclists touring very lightly with a meat wagon on hand past us.
Chao Samran has "grown up" since we were last here with many new hotels and resorts. The beach area has changed completely. Leigh was hoping to recreate a photo from more than eight years ago on our first cycle touring trip but the naff whale statue no longer exists and the beach has been buttress by a wall to protect the tourist area from the sea.
We had our evening drinks on the beach south of the no-longer-extant whale statue and enjoyed the light as it changed to the most gaudy of pink hues.
Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 2,340 km (1,453 miles)
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