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amh2029
Wednesday 8th February 2006, 06:16
Hi,

I've been backpacking through S.E.Asia since December 2005 armed with just my trusty 8x25 Nikon III sportstar compacts. I've put a few posts up already but thought it would be nice to put them all together - and it helps me to keep a record of what i see. I list the lifer species for each country rather than repeat species - there is a lot of overlap as you can imagine.

Vietnam 12/12/05 - 06/01/06:

Cuc Phoung NP
Just spent a couple of days at this fantastic nature reserve. Cycled the 65 km from Ninh Binh on a rickety bicycle with a basket on the front, and for any of you who havent cycled on vietnam's highways, believe me it's white-knuckle stuff. If you plan to go there, I recommend going sunday afternoon. That's what I did and I had the reserve all to myself - really. I booked a guide, and we met each morning at 6.00am - didn't see another soul for three days. You can stay at the reserve reception centre and walk/drive by motorbike into the reserve from there, or you can stay at the reserve centre which is 18km into the reserve. It's a beautiful spot surrounded by primary forest. There is accommodation there - pillar houses and more posh huts if you want to splash out.

My guide was great, and one of only two rangers at the park who have knowledge of the birds there and can speak good english. So, in just one full day of birding my list ran as follows:

chinese pond heron
chinese egret
grey bushchat
grey backed shrike
brown shrike
white breasted waterhen
oriental magpie robin
black drongo
forest wagtail
olive backed pipit
red whiskered bulbul
sooty headed bulbul
black bulbul
black headed bulbul
black crested bulbul
puff throated bulbul
scarlet backed flowerpecker
javan cuckoo shrike (?)
black winged cuckooshrike
grey capped pygmy woodpecker
lesser yellow nape
rufous woodpecker
scaly thrush
snowy browed flycatcher
bar winged flycatcher
red throated flycatcher
rufous tailed tailorbird
green eared babbet
red jungle fowl
rufous capped babbler
black capped babbler
sooty capped babbler
sultan tit (WOW)
white rumped shama
pied falconet (a first for the reserve)
white throated kingfisher
dusky crag martin
ratchet tailed treepie

My guide was Tran Van Bay, and if you need any info about the reserve and its birds you can email him at: tranvanbayocp@yahoo.com

andrew

Na Trang coast line:

brown shrike
black capped kingfisher
olive backed sunbird
blue tailed bee eater
asian palm swift
stripe throated bulbul

Cat Tien NP

Another amazing NP - Thanks to David Easton and Hanno for their comments in earlier postings for info on this park.

black napped oriole
red breasted parakeet
black hooded oriole
greater racket tailed drongo
black and red broadbill
blue winged leafbird
crimson sunbird
asian fairy bluebird
green billed malkoha
comon iora
oriental pied hornbill
purple swamphen
dusky broadbill
stork billed kingfisher
green peafowl
lesser adjutant
woolly necked stork
red wattled lapwing
black crowned night heron
pied kingfisher
hill myna
red collared dove
dollar bird
greater coucal

Cambodia 06/01/06 - 17/01/06

Bit of a rest from birding but did manage a few new species:

yellow vented bulbul
common myna
coppersmith barbet
black baza
lineated barbet
cotton pyg,y goose

Thailand 23/01/06

Still here and loving it - what a place for birds - 77 NPs in total.

Khao Yai NP
white vented myna
greater flameback
laced woodpecker
blue eared barbet
great hornbill
scarlet minivet
ashy minivet
shikra
scaly breasted partridge
wreathed hornbill
blue rock thrush
arctic warbler
asian brown flycatcher
blue crowned hanging parrot
golden fronted leafbird
thick billed green pigeon
barred cuckoo dove
rosy minivet
javan pond heron
mountain imperial pigeon
barwinged flycatcher shrike
chestnut flanked white eye
ashy woodswallow
lesser racket tailed drongo
little cormorant
moustached barbet
siberian blue robin
coral billed ground cuckoo
blue pitta
orange headed thrush
yellow vented flowerpecker
spotted dove
yellow browed warbler
commn green magpie
stripped tit babbler
indian roller
hill blue flycatcher
banded broadbill
dark necked flycatcher
mountain hawk eagle
lesser necklaced laughing thrush
emerald dove
white crowned forktail
orange breasted trogon
black napped monarch
grey headed canary flycatcher
abbot babbler
little spiderhunter
white crested laughing thrush
hainan blue flycatcher
black laughing thrush
gray slated woodpecker
great eared nightjar
grey nightjar
large tailed nightjar
streaked throated woodpecker?

Ko Tao

Diving not birding - plenty of fish but also:

pacific reef egret
white bellied sea eagle
ornage bellied flowerpecker

More to come as I go along...

Tim Allwood
Wednesday 8th February 2006, 09:14
looks like you're having a great time...

Tim

Hanno
Thursday 9th February 2006, 03:49
and for any of you who havent cycled on vietnam's highways, believe me it's white-knuckle stuff

No kidding!!!!!

amh2029
Saturday 11th February 2006, 10:57
looks like you're having a great time...

Tim

Tim,
The best birding of my life - really amazing birds. The first thing i'm going to do when i get home is join the OBC!

Hanno,
The bicycle in question was a Miss Marple special - wicker basket on the front, embarrassingly useless bell on the front etc - must have aged twenty years! I wonder what lengths other birders go to get their bird? I feel a thread coming on...

Hanno
Monday 13th February 2006, 01:25
Well, there is no way I'd get on a bicycle, riding a motorbike in Viet Nam is harrowing enough!

amh2029
Wednesday 1st March 2006, 08:55
Hi,

I've been backpacking through S.E.Asia since December 2005 armed with just my trusty 8x25 Nikon III sportstar compacts. I've put a few posts up already but thought it would be nice to put them all together - and it helps me to keep a record of what i see. I list the lifer species for each country rather than repeat species - there is a lot of overlap as you can imagine.

Vietnam 12/12/05 - 06/01/06:

Cuc Phoung NP
Just spent a couple of days at this fantastic nature reserve. Cycled the 65 km from Ninh Binh on a rickety bicycle with a basket on the front, and for any of you who havent cycled on vietnam's highways, believe me it's white-knuckle stuff. If you plan to go there, I recommend going sunday afternoon. That's what I did and I had the reserve all to myself - really. I booked a guide, and we met each morning at 6.00am - didn't see another soul for three days. You can stay at the reserve reception centre and walk/drive by motorbike into the reserve from there, or you can stay at the reserve centre which is 18km into the reserve. It's a beautiful spot surrounded by primary forest. There is accommodation there - pillar houses and more posh huts if you want to splash out.

My guide was great, and one of only two rangers at the park who have knowledge of the birds there and can speak good english. So, in just one full day of birding my list ran as follows:

chinese pond heron
chinese egret
grey bushchat
grey backed shrike
brown shrike
white breasted waterhen
oriental magpie robin
black drongo
forest wagtail
olive backed pipit
red whiskered bulbul
sooty headed bulbul
black bulbul
black headed bulbul
black crested bulbul
puff throated bulbul
scarlet backed flowerpecker
javan cuckoo shrike (?)
black winged cuckooshrike
grey capped pygmy woodpecker
lesser yellow nape
rufous woodpecker
scaly thrush
snowy browed flycatcher
bar winged flycatcher
red throated flycatcher
rufous tailed tailorbird
green eared babbet
red jungle fowl
rufous capped babbler
black capped babbler
sooty capped babbler
sultan tit (WOW)
white rumped shama
pied falconet (a first for the reserve)
white throated kingfisher
dusky crag martin
ratchet tailed treepie

My guide was Tran Van Bay, and if you need any info about the reserve and its birds you can email him at: tranvanbayocp@yahoo.com

andrew

Na Trang coast line:

brown shrike
black capped kingfisher
olive backed sunbird
blue tailed bee eater
asian palm swift
stripe throated bulbul

Cat Tien NP

Another amazing NP - Thanks to David Easton and Hanno for their comments in earlier postings for info on this park.

black napped oriole
red breasted parakeet
black hooded oriole
greater racket tailed drongo
black and red broadbill
blue winged leafbird
crimson sunbird
asian fairy bluebird
green billed malkoha
comon iora
oriental pied hornbill
purple swamphen
dusky broadbill
stork billed kingfisher
green peafowl
lesser adjutant
woolly necked stork
red wattled lapwing
black crowned night heron
pied kingfisher
hill myna
red collared dove
dollar bird
greater coucal

Cambodia 06/01/06 - 17/01/06

Bit of a rest from birding but did manage a few new species:

yellow vented bulbul
common myna
coppersmith barbet
black baza
lineated barbet
cotton pyg,y goose

Thailand 23/01/06

Still here and loving it - what a place for birds - 77 NPs in total.

Khao Yai NP
white vented myna
greater flameback
laced woodpecker
blue eared barbet
great hornbill
scarlet minivet
ashy minivet
shikra
scaly breasted partridge
wreathed hornbill
blue rock thrush
arctic warbler
asian brown flycatcher
blue crowned hanging parrot
golden fronted leafbird
thick billed green pigeon
barred cuckoo dove
rosy minivet
javan pond heron
mountain imperial pigeon
barwinged flycatcher shrike
chestnut flanked white eye
ashy woodswallow
lesser racket tailed drongo
little cormorant
moustached barbet
siberian blue robin
coral billed ground cuckoo
blue pitta
orange headed thrush
yellow vented flowerpecker
spotted dove
yellow browed warbler
commn green magpie
stripped tit babbler
indian roller
hill blue flycatcher
banded broadbill
dark necked flycatcher
mountain hawk eagle
lesser necklaced laughing thrush
emerald dove
white crowned forktail
orange breasted trogon
black napped monarch
grey headed canary flycatcher
abbot babbler
little spiderhunter
white crested laughing thrush
hainan blue flycatcher
black laughing thrush
gray slated woodpecker
great eared nightjar
grey nightjar
large tailed nightjar
streaked throated woodpecker?

Ko Tao

Diving not birding - plenty of fish but also:

pacific reef egret
white bellied sea eagle
ornage bellied flowerpecker

More to come as I go along...

Doi Inthanon NP (01-02/03/06)
Just returned from a couple of days at Doi Inthanon NP.
Stayed at Mr Daeng's restaurant. He has a couple of basic room out the back. Really nice bloke - recommend anyone wanting to meet other birders to stop by there and have some breakfast/lunch/dinner/chang. Also recommend hiring a motorbike. I dont ride, and so had to hoof it up and down the mountain or hitch a lift (both are easy going down but difficult going up).

Not as many as I'd hoped for and dipped on some easy ones just because I wasnt as mobile as I'd have liked. So to add to my Thailand list are:

dark backed sibia
mrs gould's sunbird
chestnut crowned laughing thrush
eastern crowned warbler
rufous winged fulvetta
yellow bellied fantail
blue whistling thrush (yellow and black bill sp)
rufous throated partridge
yellow cheeked tit
chestnut fronted shrike babbler
silver eared mesia
verditer flycatcher
large niltava
fire breasted flowerpecker
grey backed shrike
flavescent bulbul
golden fronted leafbird
japanese whiteye
rufous bellied eagle
chestnut crowned warbler

Got chatting to a Thai birder up at the summit and I happened to spy his note book. 'Wow', I said, those drawings are amazing, you should do that for a living'. 'I do', he replied. Turns out the guy was Kmol, one of the artists for 'Birds of Thailand'!

amh2029
Thursday 23rd March 2006, 14:10
Doi Inthanon NP (01-02/03/06)
Just returned from a couple of days at Doi Inthanon NP.
Stayed at Mr Daeng's restaurant. He has a couple of basic room out the back. Really nice bloke - recommend anyone wanting to meet other birders to stop by there and have some breakfast/lunch/dinner/chang. Also recommend hiring a motorbike. I dont ride, and so had to hoof it up and down the mountain or hitch a lift (both are easy going down but difficult going up).

Not as many as I'd hoped for and dipped on some easy ones just because I wasnt as mobile as I'd have liked. So to add to my Thailand list are:

dark backed sibia
mrs gould's sunbird
chestnut crowned laughing thrush
eastern crowned warbler
rufous winged fulvetta
yellow bellied fantail
blue whistling thrush (yellow and black bill sp)
rufous throated partridge
yellow cheeked tit
chestnut fronted shrike babbler
silver eared mesia
verditer flycatcher
large niltava
fire breasted flowerpecker
grey backed shrike
flavescent bulbul
golden fronted leafbird
japanese whiteye
rufous bellied eagle
chestnut crowned warbler

Got chatting to a Thai birder up at the summit and I happened to spy his note book. 'Wow', I said, those drawings are amazing, you should do that for a living'. 'I do', he replied. Turns out the guy was Kmol, one of the artists for 'Birds of Thailand'!

Sri Lanka
Moving on swiftly from Thailand to SriLanka for a two-week pit-stop provided the following birds in order of first seen (NB not really birding just out and about):

purple rumped sunbird
long billed sunbird
white belied drongo
white rumped munia
spot bellied pelican
brahimy kite
crimson fronted barbet (endemic)
brown headed barbet
yellow billed babbler
common tailorbird
green imperial pigeon
black rumped flameback
black headed ibis
tickell's blue flycatcher
oriental white eye
crested serpent eagle
spotted dove
indian pond heron
scaly breasted munia
sri lankan white eye (endemic)
indian swiftlet
large billed crow
yellow eared bulbul (endemic)
blue tailed bee eater
kashmir flycatcher
indian scimitar babbler
yellow fronted barbet (endemic)
common woodshrike
asian koel
painted stork

Papuan birder
Thursday 23rd March 2006, 19:38
It seems like you have a great time, back packing in Southern Asia (espcially Indochina) is one thing that I have always wanted to do, a increadible large number of places I would like to visit, including most in this trip report.

One day I will, until then I can just keep on dreaming :cool: