I recently made a visit to a local tourist hotspot, just outside of Bangkok, in Samut Sakhon province where people go to enjoy a sea breeze and view while, inevitably, taking selfies on the "Red Bridge" boardwalk. For birders the attraction, though, is a flock of wintering Brown-headed Gulls that spend much of their time roosting on bamboo poles that create a breakwater along the eroding coast here. The gulls themselves have become part of the tourist attraction with local vendors selling little cups of fried chicken skin with which to feed the gulls. For 20 baht visitors can feed the gulls which, upon dispensation of the food, go wild, flying around, squabbling as they vie for the spoils.
Now, many birders will dismiss this as being "not real birding" but it provides a great opportunity to get close to these birds and see the wide variety of plumages that vary depending on age, moult-timing and each individual bird's health. Being so close to these birds also gives those of us with a camera plenty of opportunities to take nice flight shots, however, the real value of this opportunity to get close to birds lies in giving those people who are not normally thinking about birds the chance to appreciate them and interact with them.
For many of us that have been birding for a long time our interest was not necessarily kick-started by some vagrant shorebird but rather some simple interaction with birds such as seeing a colourful common bird on a garden bird-feeder, a chance encounter with an impressive species such as a raptor or, as in my case, feeding the ducks as a 6-month old in my mother's arms at a local park. In the same way places such as Samut Sakhon's "Red Bridge" creates a link between nature and people, most of whom in this case are city-dwellers, that modern life lacks in so many cases.
In the following video I have showcased the gull-feeding experience at this location as well as some of the other birds that I found when I visited in the morning on a weekday when there were few visitors and, consequently, minimum disturbance.
Thousands of Gulls Descend on the Gulf of Thailand Video
It can be frustrating at times to go birding at a location where there turns out to be lots of non-birders but next time it happens try to see it as an opportunity for others to find an interest in what we already love.