Tuesday 6 March 2012

Thailand: Day 1, Part 3

I'm really drawing out this first day in Thailand!
Partly because there was a lot going on that day and partly because I'm in the middle of exams so I need to fill the blog with something.

After exploring Pak Thale and the sand spit earlier in the day, Mira and I went to the "King's Project area". This is an area of mangroves and settling pools that are being used for some sort of research. It's a good spot to see birds up close and watch birds and bats coming out of their roost after sunset.

Black-winged Stilts were everywhere we looked:

Pacific Golden Plovers were not as common but seen almost daily:

This Red-wattled Lapwing was very nervous by my presence but still let me take a few pictures:

Fruit Bats were easily seen hanging in their roost. After sunset they emerged revealing their full size. They're huge! In fact at the same time a steady stream of at least 500 Black-crowned Night-Herons emerged from the same area. The wingspan of the bats was the same as the Night-Herons. Which means the bats have a wingspan of over 1 meter!