Introduction
As part of a trip to several beach locations in Southern Thailand,
Srasri and I made our first visit to Koh
Phi Phi, the islands made famous in travel brochures and
movies. Most of our time was spent relaxing and eating fresh
seafood but on one afternoon we arranged a boat trip out into
the ocean to look for frigatebirds.
Notes
While relaxing on the island was nice, I was also keen to
go and look for frigatebirds near the sea stack beyond Phi
Phi Ley where they had been reported in the past. Plenty of
boatmen hang around the main pier area waiting to be hired
for day trips, and my tactic was to wander around asking them
if they knew of Nok Jon Sa-Lat (Thai
for frigatebird, see Thai script for printing here - frigatebird).
I was fortunate to find a boatmen who clearly knew where to
see them, naming the sea stack where they congregate; he also
told us that it was best to go and see them an hour or two
before dusk. I trusted in his judgement and at 600 baht for
as long as we liked the price seemed pretty good too.
At about
4pm we found our boatman and off we went towards Ko Phi Phi
Ley in our longtail boat. Very soon we were able to spot Black-naped
Terns resting on rocks around the islands with Brahminy Kites
and a White-bellied Sea Eagle soaring overhead. Our boatman
was a real old sea-lover, singing Thai sea shanties as we
went; very impressively he spotted a very distant group of
frigatebirds and off we went towards them. It was difficult
to view them properly at a distance on an unstable boat but
I was able to identify them as Lesser Frigatebirds with some
difficulty. We were taken towards the distant sea stack and
chased small parties of frigatebirds around, trying to get
a better view, whilst doing this a single Bridled Tern flew
past. The boatman told us that it would be easier to see the
frigatebirds closer to dusk and that we should wait in one
of the concealed beaches on Phi Phi Ley. As the sea was getting
a little choppy and I was becoming a little green, I was happy
to rest on dry land for a while.
The bay
we rested in was a very beautiful hidden cove with huge cliffs
and crystal-clear water, a very sceneic place; and at 5 pm
completely free from other tourists! More importantly for
the birdwatcher this bay was the haunt of a number of Black-nest
Swiftlets, a Blue Rock Thrush, a Collared Kingfisher and several
Pied Imperial Pigeons coming in to roost.
Resuming
at around 5.45, our boatman said that the frigatebirds would
be gathering, so out to sea we went again; before very long
a distant hoard of birds were spotted and we went after them.
This time the birds were happy for us to get really close,
and they circled around above our heads, our boatman following
them wherever they went. As time wore on the number of birds
grew to an amazing number, at least 1000 to 1500, with them
circling around us to as low as a few metres above our heads
when their huge size could be appreciated. Out of the clouds
of Lesser Frigatebirds I picked out at least 50 to 100 Christmas
Island Frigatebirds, but try as I might I could not confidently
identify any Greater Frigatebirds. With the engine turned
off we bobbed around watching this spectacle as the sun set.
As it
was getting dark, I decided it was time to go back, particularly
as we seemed to have drifted some way out into the ocean:
our boatman seemed happy to stay there all night!. We chugged
along in the fading light back towards Phi Phi Ley when the
engine cut out: the chain had fallen off! I said to my girlfriend
that it was lucky that it did not fall into the sea or we
could have been in trouble; both she and the boatman laughed
at my stupidity!!!!! After taking around 10 minutes to fix
the engine off we went again, this time with a wailing sound
from the engine to accompany us and only managing a crawling
speed through the water. Then the chain flew off again, this
time into the sea. "Never mind", I said, "he
will put on the spare".
Whilst
our captain tried to fix the engine with a piece of string
the wind had increased, blowing us quickly towards the rocky
cliffs of the island where, it was pointed out to me, were
a group of roosting Black-naped Terns. I would not have cared
for them any more had they been Dodos, being more concerned
with being capsized or smashed into splinters on the rocks.
After persistently asking the captain to summon help I was
told that the battery of his mobile phone was dead, anyway
he wasn't bothered, he just stood dancing on the roof and
somehow called the only other boat around by yelling at it,
quite impressive as it was about 1 kilometre away. Finally
this longtail boat arrived, fixed up a tow-line and towed
us all the way back to Phi Phi Don. By this time it was all
quite amusing and I gave the boatman a decent tip for providing
such a memorable trip!
10.
Little Tern
11. Bridled Tern
12. Pied Imperial Pigeon
13. Collared Kingfisher
14. Black Nest Swiftlet
15. Blue Rock Thrush (madoci)
16. Common Myna
17. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
If you are interested in arranging a bird
watching tour you can see some suggested itineraries here
- Birdwatching
Trips - and you can contact me at the above email address
to discuss the best options.
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featuring the Birds of Thailand available now - Thaibirding
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Central
Mongolia , 20th May-3rd June 2021 - Black-billed
Capercaillie, Oriental Plover, Henderson's Ground Jay, Azure
Tit, Pallas's Sandgrouse: Contact
me for details
Thailand
Raptor Migration, 26th Oct-5th Nov 2021 -
Black Baza, Grey-faced Buzzard, Pied Harrier, Lesser Fish
Eagle, Spoon-billed Sandpiper: Contact
me for details
Central
Mongolia , 20th May-3rd June 2021 - Black-billed
Capercaillie, Oriental Plover, Henderson's Ground Jay, Azure
Tit, Pallas's Sandgrouse: 
Thailand
Raptor Migration, 26th Oct-5th Nov 2021 -
Black Baza, Grey-faced Buzzard, Pied Harrier, Lesser Fish
Eagle, Spoon-billed Sandpiper: 
South
Korea, 5-17th January 2022 - Steller's Sea
Eagle, Relict Gull, Red-crowned Crane, White-naped Crane,
Baikal Teal, Solitary Snipe, Asian Rosy Finch: 
