Bangkok Post: The world windows to Thailand

Bird watching in Talay Noi Non-Hunting Area is a popular activity that draws thousands of visitors to Phatthalung, 840 kilometres south of Bangkok, every year.

Talay Noi is 457 square kilometres (285,625 rai) of wetland in Khuan Khanun district of the province. It is the habitat of birds such as the painted stork and purple heron, lesser whistling-duck and little greb, black-winged stilt, brahminy kite, cormorant and whiskered tern.

According to Sirimanee Chumrieng, chief of Talay Noi Wildlife Conservation Development and Extension Station which is located in the non-hunting area, at its height Talay Noi was home to 43,000 birds representing 187 species, including migrating birds that find refuge there from October to March every year.

``But their number has dwindled in recent years due to expanding human settlement and population around the sanctuary,'' she said.

Until 1960 Talay Noi residents lived in peace next to nature, birds and wildlife. Then arrived the hunters  shattering the calm. That's when things got out of control and the government declared the place a non-hunting area. In her grandfather's time, said Sirimanee, sarus cranes were a common sight but she hasn't seen any in decades.

Talay Noi, declared a non-hunting area in 1975, is also Thailand's first Ramsar site after the government signed the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, known as the Ramsar Convention, in 1998. It calls for conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

Talay Noi, meaning ``little sea'' in Thai, is a misnomer. Actually, it is a large freshwater swamp measuring 28 square kilometres (17,500 rai), or six per cent of the total wetland, that also connects to Songkhla Lake. The swamp is home to snakes and many aquatic animals including around 40 species of fish, not to mention numerous species of plants that thrive in such conditions.

Even so, Talay Noi has its share of human inhabitants who live on margins of the lake. Most earn their living  fishing and weaving krajud  or lepironia, a plant of the sedge family, making mats, baskets and purses.

Some of them also raise buffaloes, not to work the rice fields but for sale. With plenty of grass all around the animals are allowed to graze freely, with the result that sometimes they end up trampling bird nests containing eggs.

Visitors to Talay Noi, which also boasts a visitors' centre, can ride long-tailed boats to observe the habitat of birds, lifestyle of fishermen and buffaloes roaming the fields.

Talay Noi is 32 kilometres from Muang district of Phattalung. From the town, take Highway 41 and turn right to Road 4084 that leads to the lake.

The ideal time for a boat ride on the lake is early morning when the sun is not too strong and the birds are most active.

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The little cormorant is expert at diving and fishing. When not hunting the bird finds a perch where it spreads out its wings to dry. Tip-to-tip the wingspan is 51-55cm long.

 

The Purple Swamphen, with its purplish-blue plumage, red beak and legs, is a rare sight elsewhere, but at Talay Noi, you can see several during a boat ride. It can swim a bit and feeds off floating plants and vegetation.

 

Brahminy kites have a distinctive bright chestnut upper wing and belly with black wing-tips and white head, neck and breast. Its diet includes carcass of small birds and fish.

 

The great-billed heron doesn't figure high on IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species. Usually seen along coastal areas, it also comes inland to feed in the freshwater lake.

 

The black-winged stilt with its long reddish legs is a welcome sight to all bird watchers. The species is noted for its high and loud `keek' pitch that it repeats several times.

 

This surface-feeding female cotton pygmy-goose thrives in bladderwort-covered areas of Talay Noi. These ducks feed on aquatic vegetation such as lemna and pondweed.

 

Chinese pond herons are short-necked. Sometimes it is hard to notice them as they melt into their surroundings. The birds feed on frogs, small insects and fish.

 

Water lilies are in full bloom in March. You can appreciate their natural beauty by hiring villagers' long-tailed boats which are available all day.

 

Apart from the pink and white lotus, you will also see these tiny bladderwort flowers in bloom.

 

The common tern is a familiar sight on the fence not far from where you're staying. Talay Noi has accommodations, operated by its own staff, that can take in up to 78 people at any given time. There is no service charge if you stay the night, only donations.

 

Buffaloes and their young ones can be spotted grazing in groups during boat ride. They are part of the attraction, at least for city slickers like me. I spotted three herds. When the calves have grown to sufficient size, they're sold for their meat.

 

Weaving lepironia is a full-time job for 65 housewives who are active members of the Talay Noi community. Each of them earns around 4,000-5,000 baht a month making mats, baskets and purses that have ready buyers _ even in places far away as Trang, Phangnga and Phuket.

 

Deep fried fermented catfish rates highly on Phatthalung menus. It is made by fermenting fish meat in sugar and salt for two days and exposing it to strong sunshine for three days, after which it is deep fried. The dish is a little salty, but it would taste better if you eat it with yellow spice, sour soup and steamed rice.

 

Most people in Talay Noi are fishermen, like this woman tending a net for her husband. Everyday they set out to catch fish, which they sell, and add value to whatever is left unsold by turning it into fermented fish.

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Talay Noi is not just about boat rides and watching birds, but you can also walk concrete bridges to admire the surroundings, weeds and plants.

A boat ride costs 400 baht per trip. Each boat can accommodate six to eight persons. Boats have no roof so carry your own umbrellas for cover.

Talay Noi Non-Hunting Area charges an entrance fee: 10 baht for children and 20 baht for adult Thais, while foreigners are charged 100 baht and 200 baht, respectively.

Accommodation is also available. Call 074-685-230 for details and reservation.

Krajud Rong Fang warehouse and showroom opens everyday from 9am to 5pm. Call Pranee Buakaew at 087-030-9566 or 074-685-2999 for more information.

To download map or more information about Phatthalung, visit the Tourism Authority of Thailand's web site at www.tourismthailand.org or call its southern office at 074-346-514 to 6.