It’s sad to say it has come down to this, but I’m afraid we might just have to admit it.

The number of waders visiting the once bird-rich mudflats has reached an all time low. What was once a popular feeding site for plovers, godwits, redshanks and curlews has now become so polluted and disturbed that now we are left with hardly a handful of birds.

The easiest time to spot waders is during the high tide when the birds are forced into large groups on the banks of the shoreline. The birds at Sapan Hin on this blustery day were very accommodating and allowed me to get within three meters of them, allowing for the photo displayed above, taken with my Canon 105 mm lens.

The photo shows the presence of only three species: Lesser Sand Plover, Red necked Stint and Curlew Sandpiper.

In the distance were a few Eurasian Curlews and the usual Little and Great Egrets.

Missing from the site were the once common Ruddy Turnstone, Common Greenshank, Bar tailed Godwit, Black winged Silts, Common Redshank and Terek Sandpiper.

What can I say about Chatuchak Weekend Market?

When I refer to the Chatuchak Market, I am actually referring to the entire block of markets, stretching from the actual market to JJ Mall in the back. In fact, most of the criminal activity has now been moved to the back, in what is the pet market, open all days of the week and thriving with wild bird trade.

Wild birds can be found selling on the roadsides at all times of the day. Most of the victims are orioles, bulbuls, leafbirds and mynas, but on occasion you’ll find a few more interesting specimen such as broadbills, barbets and owls.

A trip on Sunday the 11th found a White Crowned Hornbill, three Green Broadbill, a single Dusky Broadbill, a House Crow, Golden Crested Myna, Collared Scops Owl, Asian Barred Owlet, Shrika, and a host of other common specimen. A call to the forestry department was unanswered. –After all, it was Sunday.

One seller has a pair of Grey faced Parakeets on sale. The original price was 1000 baht for the pair, and when I turned to walk away, the price dropped to 600. “Do you know that selling parrots is illegal?” I asked. Her response was “I’ll give them to you for 400, throw in the cage for free and cover it with newspaper so the authorities won’t see.”

Either its desperate times or it’s an age-old habit which is not too easily broken.

The last place I stopped by had over 2000 Silver Eared Mesia for sale at 1200 baht a bird. –Songbirds from China was the excuse.

I would like to invite anyone from the forestry department to walk the streets of the pet market in plainclothes for a week. You’ll be surprised how inventive these traders are. The minute one specimen is sold out, a new, fresh cage is brought out from a shop somewhere in the market. It seems the traders have a never ending supply of birds, hidden in some shop. God only knows how many are suffering in some dark corner.

The Fah Thai channel on Thai TV has been running short 30-minute programs about birds of Thailand. Last time I watched one, it was featuring the Grey Wagtail. Superb video footage and detailed scripting makes it a very educational TV program and a great way to teach Thai people about the little angels which we call birds.

It’s great to see programs like this on the air as it helps to create a general awareness for Thai people, especially children. I hope this program continues to air regularly for a long time.

As for the scheduling, I’m not exactly sure when it comes on, but I know that from the last two times I watched the show, it was sometime around 10 AM on the weekends and around 1 or 2 PM in the afternoons. Perhaps they were re-runs but nevertheless, I don’t have a clue. Please check with your cable operator for details.

The illegal bird trade is starting to pick up in Phuket where I recently uncovered a shop with three Banded Woodpecker, five Chestnut napped Forktails, 12 White crested Laughingthrush, a pair of Golden crested Mynas, three Lesser Green Leafbirds, six Asian Fairy Bluebirds and a variety of barbets, all in such bad condition I can’t tell what they are (Gold whiskered perhaps). The shop is closed most of the time and police do come and look into the shop but I think they are more interested in buying rather than confiscating the birds.

The shop is located in Chatuchak (does that name sound familiar to you?) near the Honda and Mazda showrooms.

The illegal wildlife trade has been curbed in Phuket due to the influx of foreigners who are often more compassionate to animals than locals. The once-popular parade of vendors hawking gibbons and iguanas on the streets of Patong have pretty much disapeared, thanks to the protests of tourists to Phuket. Now it seems the traders have targeted a new group of people: Thais.

Thankfully the economy is still sluggish and many Thais are not financially able to afford pets (would you pay 4500 baht for a Asian Fairy Bluebird at this time, esp. one that is not tame and could die at any moment?) so the shop has been rather deviod of customers. Lets hope that the trader gets the point and decides to stop selling birds and just stick to his fish.

-Does anyone know if there is a hotline for this kind of stuff in the south?