Final 2017 tally:
519 species
Work is usually done for the year by early December for us, so taking a big end-of-year trip has become a tradition in our house. This trip wasn’t exclusively for birds, but I made the most of our time. After 2016’s personal record of 411 species, I told myself 2017 was the year to crack 500. Happy to say I succeeded, thanks in no small part to closing out the year in Vietnam and Cambodia. Here’s a breakdown of my birds through Dec 31st:
Dec 19th - 14-hr layover in Seoul, South Korea; had a chance to bird for a couple hours with a nice local guide I would recommend - Byoungwoo Lee, who was very accommodating with my tight schedule (website:
http://www.birdingkorea.com/ and email: ecobirdtour ’AT’ naver ‘DOT’ com):
445. Eurasian Magpie (Oriental Magpie subspecies)
446. Eastern Spot-billed Duck (lifer)
447. Grey Heron
448. Taiga Bean-Goose (lifer)
449. Eurasian Spoonbill (lifer)
450. White Wagtail (Black-backed subspecies
lugens)
451. Green Sandpiper (lifer)
452. Eurasian Wigeon
453. Oriental Turtle-Dove (lifer)
454. Tundra Bean-Goose
455. Vinous-throated Parrotbill (lifer)
456. Carrion Crow
457. Smew (lifer)
458. White-tailed Eagle (lifer)
459. Japanese Tit (lifer)
460. Marsh Tit
461. Daurian Redstart (lifer)
462. Yellow-throated Bunting (lifer)
463. Eurasian Eagle-Owl (lifer)
464. Great Cormorant
465. Brown-eared Bulbul (lifer)
466. Eurasian Coot
467. Tufted Duck
468. Common Pochard
469. Common Sandpiper (lifer)
A few days exploring Hanoi (Dec 20-22) - not birding focused, just seeing the sights. Still, surprisingly little bird life in the city:
470. Japanese White-eye (lifer)
471. Yellow-browed Warbler (lifer)
472. Common Tailorbird (lifer)
473. Oriental Magpie-Robin (lifer)
Dec 23-27: Onward to the north Vietnam mountain province of Ha Giang (bordering China) - only accessible by bus. A few solid days of trekking through the forests and staying with local villagers was organized by the very cool Ha Giang Responsible Tourism (
https://hagiangresponsibletourism.wordpress.com/). It’s not bird-related, but $ goes to support the local ethnic minority hosts that you visit, and they have access to hiking trails you wouldn’t otherwise. Though I was on my own with ID, the birds that I got good looks at were amazing:
474. Asian Palm-Swift (lifer)
475. White-throated Fantail (lifer)
476. Dark-necked Tailorbird (lifer)
477. Chinese Blackbird (lifer)
478. Red-rumped Swallow (lifer)
479. Eurasian Kestrel
480. White-spectacled Warbler (lifer)
481. Hill Prinia (lifer)
482. Olive-backed Sunbird (lifer)
483. Black Bulbul (lifer)
484. White-rumped Munia (lifer)
485. Black-crested Bulbul (lifer)
486. Grey Bushchat (lifer)
487. Green-billed Malkoha (lifer)
488. Greater Coucal (lifer)
489. Green-eared Barbet (lifer)
490. Plain Prinia (lifer)
491. Long-tailed Shrike (lifer)
492. Grey-breasted Prinia (lifer)
493. Stonechat (Siberian/Stejneger’s - my basal list is AOU which stunningly maintains the most boring and out-of-date sensu lato approach possible to this species complex. Armchair tick down the road!)
494. Chinese Pond-Heron (lifer)
495. Puff-throated Bulbul (lifer)
496. Grey Wagtail
497. Silver-eared Mesia (lifer)
498. Plumbeous Redstart (lifer)
Final stop for 2017: Angkor Wat! The birds of Siem Reap and two days at the temples were a great way to close out the year. I hit 500 upon arrival at the Siem Reap airport:
499. Common Myna (lifer)
500. Black Drongo (lifer)
501. House Swift (lifer)
502. Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher (lifer)
503. Ashy Drongo (lifer)
504. Red-breasted Parakeet (lifer)
505. Cotton Pygmy-Goose (lifer)
506. Oriental Darter (lifer)
507. Shikra (lifer)
508. Germain’s Swiftlet (lifer)
509. Great Myna (lifer)
510. Blue Rock-Thrush (lifer)
511. Coppersmith Barbet (lifer)
512. Black-naped Oriole (lifer)
513. Hainan Blue Flycatcher (lifer)
514. Alexandrine Parakeet (lifer **#900**)
515. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (lifer)
516. Zebra Dove (lifer)
517. Yellow-vented Bulbul (lifer)
518. Asian Brown Flycatcher (lifer)
519. Plain-throated Sunbird (lifer)
Stay tuned for Cambodia part 2, starting in 2018 coming to a thread near you...