For those who may be interested, we are planning a birding trip to some islands south of Phuket to survey the seabirds which inhabit the open seas. The trip is due to take place on either the 14th or the 26th of March.
Those who would like to participate are welcome. The only fee would be the cost of the boat rental which would vary between 600-1000 baht per person, depending on the amount of people signing up for the venture. phuketbirdwatching.com will sponsor the cost of the chum. Maximum amount of people allowed per boat is seven.
Target species would include Lesser, Greater and Christmas Island Frigatebird, Short tailed Shearwater, Storm-Petrel and Sooty Tern. From conversations with various fishermen and boatmen, Lesser Frigatebirds, Black naped Tern and Whiskered Tern will be most likely encountered and we are hoping we will get lucky and see something new.
The boat is a longtail (or “duck”-tailed boat) which we will charter from Rawai beach.
Our objective is to survey and document the variety of birds which are present in the deep waters off Phuket’s southern tip. Our plan is to visit Racha Yai island and spend some time anchored in the deep water between Racha Yai and Racha Noi islands. The waters around there are rumored to be 50-80 feet deep and since commercial trawlers work these waters, it seems logical to start here.
We were considering Mai Ton island, but with a depth of between 20-40 feet deep, the possibility of finding tubenoses seems highly unlikely.
This is the first planned trip which we are undertaking. If all goes well we hope to plan two more for this year, one in April and another in May.
If you are interested in coming along, please drop me a line at 0815355014 or write me an e-mail at ikeandrosie@gmail.com. This offer will expire by March 10th 2011. -Hope to see you there!
So far we have five members interested in the trip: Ian, Games, Tony and Gerry (and myself of course). Seems like the trip will happen after the 22nd sometime. I’ll confirm the exact dates in a few days hopefully … anyone else interested? -If more than seven are interested we can rent a speedboat and get up to 12 persons onboard …
The final date has now been confirmed: the 26th of March. Departure from Rawai beach will take place around 8 AM. -Anyone else interested in the trip please let me know as soon as possible; we still have room for two (or more)!