Hanno
Ho Ho Ho
After two months in South Vietnam, I finally managed to get to Tra Su (pronounced Tsha Su). This is a 860 ha Melaleuca plantation close to the Cambodian border. Even though it is fairly small, 80 species of birds have been recorded here in a survey by BirdLife Vietnam. It hosts a large heronry, with thousands of Little, Cattle, and Great White Egrets, Purple, Grey, and Black-crowned Night Herons. The place is privately owned and exploited for the mangrove wood. However, this is done in a sustainable manner, with the core of the forest remaining untouched.
I spent a total of 6 hours on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. The weather was absolutely fabulous, with temperatures in the low 30’s, made bearable by a steady breeze. The rice planting season has just started, with the annual floods receding. Apart from the birds, it was a great time out; all the folks busy in the paddies, but still having time for a small chat and a quick look through the scope. :bounce:
On Saturday evening, we took a boat to the 30-foot high watchtower bang in the middle of the forest. It was such a pleasure to sit there with great views. We stayed until the sun set, all that was missing were a few cold Tiger beers. Birds came in from all sides to roost for the night. Underneath the tower, a pair of Pied Fantails was busy picking of gnats, whilst a large flock of Black Drongos was in the adjacent trees. However, the real spectacle was in the air above us, with wave after wave of herons, egrets and cormorants. Birds of the day were easily 4 Painted Storks that glided in right above us. Storks of all species have become exceedingly rare in Vietnam, due to the intense hunting pressure.
After such a great evening, I decided to take the next morning off and head out the 30 kilometers to Tra Su again. What a morning to be sitting on a motorbike; the weather was even better than the night before. Strengthened with a bowl of Pho, the Vietnamese national dish of noodle soup with beef, I reached the forest around 8 o’ clock. Heading down the canal that bisects the forest, I disturbed hundreds of Javan Pond-herons and Little Cormorants. The latter might be excellent swimmers, but they are pretty hopeless on try land, bouncing into every tree on the way to the water. All this commotion raised the interest of a pair of Stork-billed Kingfishers, whilst the single Common Kingfisher I saw couldn’t care less, staying motionless on its perch.
Tra Su is important for its population of Oriental Darters, and sure enough I saw at least four of these elegant birds. A couple of Black-shouldered Kites hunted over the swamp, causing much commotion amongst the Purple Swamphens, Moorhens and Bronze-winged Jacanas. The acoustic back-drop was provided by Greater Coucals. Whilst skulking and hard to see, the loud whoop-whooop-whoop could be heard all over. I almost made the mistake that most of us make at one time or another: after seeing literally thousands of Little Egrets flying over, I almost dismissed yet another flock as being of this species. But hold on! Something wrong here, since when do Egrets fly with their necks extended? I almost dropped my scope, could this be something interesting. They were Black-headed Ibises, a very rare species in Vietnam. And not just one or two, but 26 of them!!! My day was made: a rare species, and a lifer to boot. :clap:
Really pleased with myself, I headed back to the bike and a cold beer. Close to the end, I came across a small island with a few dozen Cormorants. I decided to check them out, and a good thing it was, too. Amongst all the Little Cormorants were a couple of Indian Cormorants, easily told by their larger size and the more extensive white on the throat and chest. And yet more Ibises, this time 4 Glossy Ibises.
All in all, it was really a fantastic day out, and Tra Su has been officially named my local patch. I shall return!
Below all birds seen on those two days. Make sure you let me know should you ever make it to Vietnam. A great country for birding, with friendly people, great food, and cold beer widely available. B
06/12/2003 Tra Su
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Great White Egret (Egretta alba)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Javan Pond-heron (Ardeola speciosa)
Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus)
Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis)
Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea)
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus)
White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica)
White-shouldered Starling (Sturnus sinensis)
07/12/2003 Tra Su
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger [pygmeus])
Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis)
Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Great White Egret (Egretta alba)
Javan Pond-heron (Ardeola speciosa)
Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)
Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis)
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)
Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha [superciliosa])
Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
Indian Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio poliocephalus)
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Bronze-winged Jacana (Metopidius indicus)
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)
Asian Palm-swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis [parvus])
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis)
Little Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus [superciliosus])
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis)
Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata [subflava])
Striated Grassbird (Megalurus palustris)
Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica)
Olive-backed Sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis)
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
I spent a total of 6 hours on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. The weather was absolutely fabulous, with temperatures in the low 30’s, made bearable by a steady breeze. The rice planting season has just started, with the annual floods receding. Apart from the birds, it was a great time out; all the folks busy in the paddies, but still having time for a small chat and a quick look through the scope. :bounce:
On Saturday evening, we took a boat to the 30-foot high watchtower bang in the middle of the forest. It was such a pleasure to sit there with great views. We stayed until the sun set, all that was missing were a few cold Tiger beers. Birds came in from all sides to roost for the night. Underneath the tower, a pair of Pied Fantails was busy picking of gnats, whilst a large flock of Black Drongos was in the adjacent trees. However, the real spectacle was in the air above us, with wave after wave of herons, egrets and cormorants. Birds of the day were easily 4 Painted Storks that glided in right above us. Storks of all species have become exceedingly rare in Vietnam, due to the intense hunting pressure.
After such a great evening, I decided to take the next morning off and head out the 30 kilometers to Tra Su again. What a morning to be sitting on a motorbike; the weather was even better than the night before. Strengthened with a bowl of Pho, the Vietnamese national dish of noodle soup with beef, I reached the forest around 8 o’ clock. Heading down the canal that bisects the forest, I disturbed hundreds of Javan Pond-herons and Little Cormorants. The latter might be excellent swimmers, but they are pretty hopeless on try land, bouncing into every tree on the way to the water. All this commotion raised the interest of a pair of Stork-billed Kingfishers, whilst the single Common Kingfisher I saw couldn’t care less, staying motionless on its perch.
Tra Su is important for its population of Oriental Darters, and sure enough I saw at least four of these elegant birds. A couple of Black-shouldered Kites hunted over the swamp, causing much commotion amongst the Purple Swamphens, Moorhens and Bronze-winged Jacanas. The acoustic back-drop was provided by Greater Coucals. Whilst skulking and hard to see, the loud whoop-whooop-whoop could be heard all over. I almost made the mistake that most of us make at one time or another: after seeing literally thousands of Little Egrets flying over, I almost dismissed yet another flock as being of this species. But hold on! Something wrong here, since when do Egrets fly with their necks extended? I almost dropped my scope, could this be something interesting. They were Black-headed Ibises, a very rare species in Vietnam. And not just one or two, but 26 of them!!! My day was made: a rare species, and a lifer to boot. :clap:
Really pleased with myself, I headed back to the bike and a cold beer. Close to the end, I came across a small island with a few dozen Cormorants. I decided to check them out, and a good thing it was, too. Amongst all the Little Cormorants were a couple of Indian Cormorants, easily told by their larger size and the more extensive white on the throat and chest. And yet more Ibises, this time 4 Glossy Ibises.
All in all, it was really a fantastic day out, and Tra Su has been officially named my local patch. I shall return!
Below all birds seen on those two days. Make sure you let me know should you ever make it to Vietnam. A great country for birding, with friendly people, great food, and cold beer widely available. B
06/12/2003 Tra Su
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Great White Egret (Egretta alba)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Javan Pond-heron (Ardeola speciosa)
Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus)
Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis)
Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea)
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus)
White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica)
White-shouldered Starling (Sturnus sinensis)
07/12/2003 Tra Su
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger [pygmeus])
Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis)
Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Great White Egret (Egretta alba)
Javan Pond-heron (Ardeola speciosa)
Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)
Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis)
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)
Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha [superciliosa])
Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
Indian Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio poliocephalus)
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Bronze-winged Jacana (Metopidius indicus)
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)
Asian Palm-swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis [parvus])
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis)
Little Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus [superciliosus])
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis)
Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata [subflava])
Striated Grassbird (Megalurus palustris)
Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica)
Olive-backed Sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis)
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
