Chumphon Raptor Center

Chumphon province, near the Isthmus of Kra, Southern Thailand has, since 2001, been recognized as major center for birdwatchers, nature lovers, wildlife photographers and conservationists. Its main attraction is provided by the spectacular diurnal migration of over a quarter of a million raptors of at least 25 species that takes place each spring and autumn along the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Additionally, the site is increasingly recognized, through banding studies, as an important observatory for a much wider range of land bird migrants, including warblers, flycatchers and others.

The principal observation site is a 310 m elevation ridge less than 1 km from the coast, on the steep mountain of Khao Dinsor, where raptors and other diurnal migrant birds pass at eye-level.

Chumphon Provincial Government recognized the site’s significance, and thanks to the dedication and commitment of Chukiat Nualsri, the local official who first discovered the flyway, the province funded the construction of Chumphon Raptor Center, where both Thai and visiting overseas researchers, and thousands of visitors may come to study the migration.

Migratory birds play a major role as global ambassadors for international cooperation since their conservation depends upon collaboration among flyway countries.

The survival of migratory birds is a delicate balancing act. Migratory birds make annual, continent-spanning round trips of thousands of kilometers, between a breeding area in the northern Eurasian landmass and a wintering area, usually in the tropics or subtropics. They must fit their remarkable journeys into an annual cycle that also encompasses nesting and raising their young, moulting (growing a new set of feathers each year), laying down sufficient food reserves to power their migratory flight, meanwhile dodging the many hazards they encounter on migration. Populations of many migratory birds are declining due to an increasing range of threats in both their breeding and wintering areas: hunting, habitat destruction and global climate change caused by the expanding human population. Their study and conservation therefore assumes added urgency.