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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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  1. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 17: Da Lat We started out this morning with a couple of hours walking the grounds of Hoa Son Dien Trang in Ta Nung Valley. This was a rather strange resort/tourist attraction, with an assortment of unoccupied cabins and tents and gardens featuring odd sculptures intended for selfies. We had...
  2. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 16: Da Lat We began the morning at a hide within Bi Doup National Park. We spend close to 4 hours here waiting for a few key species that were no-shows: Rusty-naped Pitta and Collared Laughingthrush. However, Gray-bellied Tesia was a regular visitor and a much-wanted lifer. Other new...
  3. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 15 - Di Sinh and Da Lat This morning we hiked up the trail at the Deo Nui San pass, again trying for laughingthrushes that were a no-show. We had some decent mixed-species flocks though, most importantly one containing a pair of Vietnamese Cutias. A few other notable species included Ms...
  4. ovenbird43

    Your silliest/most entertaining/unlikely birding accomplishments

    I added Green-breasted Mango, Great Kiskadee, Golden Eagle, Limpkin, Brown Noddy, and Red-footed Booby to my Mississippi list before finally adding Grasshopper Sparrow this week! Also regarding the booby - that was my (self-foundd!) lifer despite having traveled to tropical locations around the...
  5. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    No wait, actually it was Blue-rumped Pitta - for some reason the names of those three small pittas gave me fits. But spoiler alert, Rusty-naped was also a no-show target up around Da Lat.
  6. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    oops, yes - thanks for catching that, I have changed it in that post
  7. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 14: Di Linh We had the entire day to bird the Di Linh surroundings, and divided the time up between hides and hiking the roads/trails in the area. First up was a visit to a different hide, a bit higher up the mountain than the one we visited the prior afternoon. We arrived at 6:45 a.m. and...
  8. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 13: Di Linh I was picked up by my guide and driver from Vietnam Birding Tours at 6:00 am, and set off for the 5-hour drive to Di Linh (variously pronounced as zee-lin or zee-ling), with a stop for breakfast en route. We arrived into Di Linh around 11:30 and made a brief stop to check in to...
  9. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 12: Kratie and travel back to Vietnam This morning's main event was a boat tour of the Mekong River, searching for Irrawaddy River Dolphins and riverine birds, primarily Mekong Wagtail. We launched at 7:30 and motored northwards toward an area of the river dotted with small, vegetated...
  10. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 11: Tmatboey and drive to Kratie We spent the morning birding a few more spots not far from the Tmatboey lodge before departing for Kratie. At our first stop, we quickly found our main target for the morning, a trio of White-rumped Falcons. We birded this area for a bit before moving on to...
  11. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 10: Tmatboey This was a full day birding the Tmatboey area, with main targets being the two ibis species: White-shouldered and Giant Ibis. Though both can be seen by visiting their preferred foraging grounds, we elected for the more guaranteed options - for the White-shouldered Ibis...
  12. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 9: Bengal Florican Reserve and Tmatboey After about an hour and a half drive from Siem Reap, we arrived at the Bengal Florican reserve at 6:30 a.m. This reserve is an area of active rice production, managed in such a way as to provide foraging and resting habitat for the endangered Bengal...
  13. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 8: Changkran Roy We returned to the hide just before first light for another session in hopes of some of the remaining targets. It wasn't long after dawn before one arrived - a group of 5 Siamese Firebacks, which arrived on the heels of a couple more Red Junglefowl. One spectacular mature...
  14. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 7: Phnom Krom rice fields and Changkran Roy community forest We started out this morning at some rice fields/lotus ponds about a half hour's drive from the hotel in Siem Reap. I didn't have any major targets for this area, just general wetland birding at somewhere close by before making the...
  15. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 6: Prek Toal Waterbird Sanctuary We departed the hotel at 5:00 and arrived at the boat launch at 6:00 for the boat ride to Prek Toal, the breeding site of large numbers of wading birds including both adjutants and the endangered Milky Stork. The boat ride took about three hours, which...
  16. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    Dec 1-5: Hoi An and Bach Ma National Park I arrived to HCMC via Air France on the morning of Dec 1, and even after getting through immigration, I had some 5+ hours to kill before my flight to Da Nang in the afternoon. I parked myself at a Highland Coffee for a while, drinking some strong...
  17. ovenbird43

    Indochina 2023: Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and Laos

    I've just returned from a month-long, solo trip covering most of Cambodia, southern Vietnam, and central Laos. I used professional guides with drivers for all of Cambodia and most of southern Vietnam, though I birded Cat Tien National Park on my own, and I did Laos independently. Though...
  18. ovenbird43

    2024 Targets

    Not too many specific goals this year. Do more local birding than I did last year. I'll almost certainly do at least one larger trip, but it's still very up in the air. I've been eyeing a fall trip to Papua New Guinea, though I imagine if I don't commit soon I'll be waiting for 2025. A friend of...
  19. ovenbird43

    Top 5 of 2023

    Mostly from my recent trip to Indochina, I suppose I'll go with: 1. Giant Ibis. Tmatboey, Cambodia. What a beast of a bird, seen from a respectful distance on its nest with a chick. It gave its crane-like call in response to a circling buzzard, and in the fading light of day we watched the mate...
  20. ovenbird43

    First bird of 2024

    Carolina Chickadee right now, singing in the twilight just before dawn
  21. ovenbird43

    Birding goals for 2023

    Well it's been a rough year in my personal life, I ditched the Chile/Argentina plans because I envisioned that as a couples' trip... but I ended up putting together a different solo trip from which I have just returned - Cambodia, Laos, and southern Vietnam. I'll start a trip report soon! I also...
  22. ovenbird43

    Birding holidays not requiring car

    Another possibility in Africa - I did most of Ghana using only public transport. I don't know that one could do Ankasa that way, we hired a guide and driver for that portion, but we got to Kakum National Park, the crater lake, the Picathartes site, and Mole National Park using public transport...
  23. ovenbird43

    What souvenirs do you keep from foreign trips?

    Same! Also quite often a bottle of some locally-produced liquor or wine. Once in a great while I'll also purchase some small piece of artwork. I have a coffee cup with a hand-painted sunbird on it from my trip to South Africa in 2010, it's still one of my favorites.
  24. ovenbird43

    Cambodia- Ground Agents & Companions to share trip

    Thanks. One of the quotes I have received is from SVC. The other I have received is actually not a whole lot cheaper.
  25. ovenbird43

    Cambodia- Ground Agents & Companions to share trip

    Hi Carol, I'm planning a trip to Cambodia for early December 2023 and have received a few quotes for a 10-day trip. This does include the laughingthrush trek at the beginning of the trip but I think you could join the rest of the tour from Siem Reap. It's just me so I'd be very keen for some...
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