Laem Phak Bia (, ; , formerly: Chulai Point) is a coastal area in Ban Laem District,

Phetchaburi Province Phetchaburi (, ) or Phet Buri () is one of the western or central Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Ratchaburi province, Ratchaburi, Samut Songkhram province, Samut So ...

, Thailand. The shore is a large, open area of mudflats and salt pans, with some mangrove areas and scrub, tipped by a sand spit. The area is not a national park, the land being privately owned, but it is a favoured location for bird-watchers where they can see a wide variety of shorebirds. The area is administered as Laem Phak Bia Subdistrict, and is home to a village of the same name.

Geography

Laem Phak Bia is located on the western shore of the northern end of the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...

in Phetchaburi Province, Thailand. A road runs parallel with the coast and provides access to the shore via various tracks. Near the village of Pak Thale in the north of the area lies the Pak Thale Shorebird Conservation Area and areas of salt evaporation ponds. South of this is the Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project (known as the king's project), mudflats, patches of scrub and of mangroves, and a sand spit jutting out into the bay. Further south lies the village of Laem Phak Bia, and beyond that the beach resort of Hat Chao Samran which has accommodation and facilities for visitors.

Fauna

This area is famed for its bird-watching opportunities. Important species include the critically endangered

spoon-billed sandpiper The spoon-billed sandpiper (''Calidris pygmaea'') is a small wader which breeds on the coasts of the Bering Sea and winters in Southeast Asia. This species is highly threatened, and it is said that since the 1970s the breeding population has dec ...

, the endangered

Nordmann's greenshank Nordmann's greenshank (''Tringa guttifer'') or the spotted greenshank, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. Description The Nordmann's greenshank is a medium-sized sandpiper, at long, with a slightly upturned, bicol ...

and

black-faced spoonbill The black-faced spoonbill (''Platalea minor'') is a species of wading bird in the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, found in eastern Asia. This species has the most restricted distribution of the six spoonbill species, and it is the ...

, and the white-faced plover. On the saltpans nearby, the spoon-billed sandpiper is reliably present from November to March, inclusive, and the

painted stork The painted stork (''Mycteria leucocephala'') is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive ...

, the

red-necked phalarope The red-necked phalarope (''Phalaropus lobatus''), also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a ...

and the

pied avocet The pied avocet (''Recurvirostra avosetta'') is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then on to the Russian Far East. It is a m ...

can also often be seen. The sand spit is a wintering area for such gulls as the

Pallas's gull Pallas's gull (''Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus''), also known as the great black-headed gull, is a large bird species. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus ''Larus''. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. ' ...

, the

Heuglin's gull Heuglin's gull (''Larus fuscus heuglini'') or the Siberian gull, is a seabird in the genus ''Larus''. Taxonomy It is sometimes considered as a separate species (''Larus heuglini'') but is now usually treated as a subspecies of the lesser black- ...

and the

Vega gull The Vega gull, East Siberian gull, or East Siberian herring gull (''Larus vegae'') is a large gull of the herring gull/ lesser black-backed gull complex which breeds in Northeast Asia. Its classification is still controversial and uncertain. It ...

, and the

Malaysian plover The Malaysian plover (''Anarhynchus peronii'') is a small (c. 35–42 g) wader that nests on beaches and Salt pan (geology), salt flats in Southeast Asia. Description The Malaysian plover is 15 cm (5.9 in) in length. The male can be re ...

the

Chinese egret The Chinese egret or Swinhoe's egret (''Egretta eulophotes'') is a threatened species of egret from east Asia, first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1860. Description The Chinese egret averages 68 cm in height. The plumage is white throug ...

are often present. Passerines that can be seen in the mangroves, swamps and enclosures at the research centre include the

golden-bellied gerygone The golden-bellied gerygone (''Gerygone sulphurea'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical ...

, the

dusky warbler The dusky warbler (''Phylloscopus fuscatus'') is a leaf warbler which breeds in the east Palearctic. The genus name '' Phylloscopus'' is from Ancient Greek ''phullon'', "leaf", and ''skopos'', "seeker" (from ''skopeo'', "to watch"). The specific ...

, the

racket-tailed treepie The racket-tailed treepie (''Crypsirina temia'') is an Asian treepie, a member of the crow family, Corvidae. It has a velvety-black forehead of short, plush black feathers with the rest of the bird being an oily green colour, though appearing b ...

, various

reed warblers The ''Acrocephalus'' warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Acrocephalus''. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler famil ...

, the

common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. Distribution and habitat The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution li ...

, the

pin-tailed snipe Pintail snipe head and bill The pin-tailed snipe or pintail snipe (''Gallinago stenura'') is a species of bird in the family Scolopacidae, the sandpipers. Distribution It breeds in northern Russia and migrates to spend the non-breeding season i ...

, the

ruddy-breasted crake The ruddy-breasted crake (''Zapornia fusca''), or ruddy crake, is a waterbird in the rail and crake family Rallidae, formerly included in the genus ''Porzana''. Its breeding habitat is swamps and similar wet areas across South Asia from the In ...

and the

slaty-breasted rail The slaty-breasted rail (''Lewinia striata'') is a rail species native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Breeding has been recorded in July near Dehradun in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. Despite traditionally being considere ...

Environment

This area receives effluent discharged by the Phetchaburi municipal wastewater treatment plant. The king's project has researched the heavy metal accumulations and how they can best be mitigated. The narrowleaf catstail (''Typha angustifolia'') has been found to accumulate large quantities of lead and remove the contamination from the soil. A 2004 proposal to build the Laem Phak Bia bridge over the

Bay of Bangkok The Bay of Bangkok (, , , sometimes informally อ่าวตัว ก), also known as the Bight of Bangkok, is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Thailand, roughly extending from Hua Hin District to the west and Sattahip District to the e ...

, the northern tip of the

, were shelved in 2005 on environmental grounds after concern from

King Bhumibol Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any Thai monarch, the longest on record of any independent ...

Geography

Fauna

Environment

References

Further reading