New one for my Vietnam List

[Hanno]

On the way from my accommodation to work this morning, I saw a Little Pied Flycatcher Ficedula westermanni . Apparently by no means a rare species here in Vietnam, this bird is nevertheless a new one for both my Vietnam and life lists. Great start to a working day. Maybe spring is finally around the corner? The weather up here has been atrocious for the last couple of weeks, pretty cold, and constant rain and fog.

Cheers.

Hanno

[dennis]

Hello Hanno,

Congratulations !

A life bird on the way to work. I know from a previous post that your list is large and a new bird can be hard to find. Where I live in the USA the first few flycatchers are starting to return also. There is still one that I need for my list (Alder Flycatcher) so I hope I'll be as lucky as you.

dennis

[Hanno]

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for the note. Actually, I am hoping to pick up a few more "lifers" up here in NW-Vietnam. I have birded Vietnam a fair bit, but have never been that far up north. As I will be here for another year, at least, I am counting on turning up a few more goodies.

Had to look up Alder Flycatcher, as I am not familiar with American birds, the closest I have been was Venezuela. Looking at http://i-bird.com/Species/AlderFlyctchr.htm , it appears that the bird is present, but uncommon, at the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge. I quote: "Not likely to be seen except by extensive searching over several days" Ah, the wonders of the Internet and Google!

Good luck in the hunt for that elusive flycatcher,

Hanno

[dennis]

Hi Hanno,

Don't know if you noticed but I'm putting together a Bird Forum year list of warblers. I'm not sure which, if any, warblers pass your way. Any sightings would be appreciated. You can post them to my thread in the "lists" forum.

Thanks
dennis