. . to this, their Thai sanctuary, at Wat Pailom in Pathumthani, on the banks of the Chao Phraya river?

The dots in the sky [please look ‘large’] are soaring Openbill Storks (Anastomus oscitans).

In 1955 Thailand had only one colony of Openbill Storks – at this temple, and despite the best efforts of monks to protect the birds by declaring the nesting grounds part of the temple, the colony suffered persecution. One report records: "Poachers in the colony at night with slingshots accounted for several hundred adults in 1970 and almost broke up the colony."

However, thanks to the efforts of conservationists, in 1970 Wat Phai Lom was officially declared a sanctuary and protected by law. In 1964 there had been an estimated 4000 birds here, which had increased to an estimated population of 30,000 in 1980.

In 2004 the death of 200 of the birds raised concerns that they may have contracted bird flu, and if found true a mass cull of the birds was planned. Fortunately tests confirmed the deaths were not due to the feared Avian flu and the cull did not proceed.
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I took this photograph in March 2008, just before the birds started their migration to the deltas of the Ganges and the Bhramaputra in Bangladesh. There, they would usually have joined a healthy resident population, but now they face hunters who will take their toll along the migration route.

The birds usually return to Wat Pailom around November / December.

I visited on Sunday with my family . . . there were no birds. Even the monks could not explain their absence. We all expressed our hopes that perhaps it was a change in regional weather which has delayed their return. Our fears remained unspoken.
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See where this picture was taken. [?]

Posted by grantthai on 2009-01-05 14:17:19

Tagged: , Wat , Pailom , Pathumthani , Chao , Phraya , river , Openbill , Storks , Anastomus , oscitans , temple , monks , birds , nesting , grounds , colony , poachers , slingshots , conservationists , sanctuary , avian , bird , flu , mass , cull , migration , delta , Ganges , India , Bhramaputra , Bangladesh , hunters , fear , geo:lat=14.047282 , geo:lon=100.556021 , geotagged , climate , change , global , warming , who knows , sunset , sun behind me , grantthai , grant cameron