Mixed bits of birding in Vietnam (Oct 2015) (1 Viewer)

[dalat]

This october I spent three weeks in Vietnam with the family. So it was far from a full birding holiday, rather using a few occasions here and there to get out.

We started with few beach days in Con Dao, where I tried to look for the Nicobar Pigeon. Next was 2 days in Cat Tien, here I took my son (10 y), as Cat Tien is the best place in Vietnam to see stuff (monkeys, big birds, colorful birds, crocs! leeches!!!), with the hope to get him interested a little. Afterwards Dalat, but here only a morning birding on Lang Bian Mountain, again with the little one. After this it was Hanoi, with a few mornings spent along Red River to look for migrants. And a small trip to Xuan Thuy national park, again with the hope for migrants.

A few impressions, decorated with crap fotos will follow...

 

[dalat]

Con Dao is a small group of Islands off-shore of South Vietnam. It has nice beaches, relatively little development yet, a lot of historic interest (it was used as prison island for political prisonors by both French and Americans/South Vietnamese), and a national park. The NP is famous for turtles coming on shore to lay eggs, but we were a little late in the season and did not do the trip to the smaller Bay Canh island, where these can usually be seen.

The other attraction of Con Dao are sea birds (terns, Brown Noddy and Brown Booby) nesting on some rocks far out, but a longer boat trip to the Egg Island (hon Trung) was also not so compatible with the family plans. So my birding was limited to morning walks through the forest of the main island, Con Son, and here I aimed at my main target: Nicobar Pigeon. Con Dao is the only place in Vietnam where it can be found, as it is for Pied Imperial Pigeon. My expectations were rather low, as there are zero reports of sightings of Nicobar Pigeons by visiting birders. On the other hand, very few birders actually visit the islands, so...

My main walk was on the trail up to the So Ray Plantation and down the other side until the coast near Ong Dung Beach. The start of the trail is marked by a sign at the road, so easy to find. After 50 m through banana trees the forest starts and it is actually pretty nice forest with relatively tall trees. Into the forest I was welcomed by Common Tailorbirds, Pin-striped Tit-babblers, Streak-throated Bulbuls and White-rumped Shamas, which remained the most common birds I saw on the Island. Also rather soon I saw a group of Red Junglefowl. And then I flushed a bird from the ground, it flew up and perched in sight but mostly hidden behind branches. Darkish body and a few times a wierd shaped thin head peaked out. I tried to approach for a photo, but it escaped unphotographed. Before, when the bird was flying up, a white tail flashed, the rest was very dark. That was it then, Nicobar Pigeon! Less than satisfying views, but the bird was there, with only 20 min on the trail.

After this sighting the trail went up steeply, and when almost reaching the highest spot, several Pied Imperial Pigeons were flying off from the trees above the trail. That spot remained the only place where I saw them, again when returning. On the top it got flat again, I guess that's what is called So Ray Plantation. More Junglefowl here, a female Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Common Iora, some Phyllos Warblers, Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo.

Then the trail descended steeply down the other side. A lot of Long-tailed Macaques and also quite many Giant Black Squirrels down here. The black variant of Variable Squirrel was very common everywhere. All three are endemic subspecies. Also a few Northern Treeshrew. The mammals seemed more common than birds, actually. Almost all the way down the slope I flushed another Nicobar Pigeon. This time I saw the short while tail and the dark back and wings of the bird quite well. Like the first bird, it made a loud woosh-woosh sound with the wings when flying up.

I returned the same way and reached the road around lunch time. The way back could also be shortend by going up the new paved path to the road leading to Ong Dung beach, when arranging pick up there.

Along this road, they are constructing a new National Park headquarter, if I read the construction sign right. Shortly after this, there is a signpost marking trails to Bai Bang Beach (2.4 km) and Dat Tham Beach (3 km). I tried this path another morning. As the ones decending to Ong Dung beach, these ones where also recently paved. One of thoe works not so uncommon in Vietnam's national parks: a 3 m wide path made from granite blocks and lots of mortar, surely very expensive and totally useless. The algue growing on the mortar made the path extremly slippery. It was rather dry and I managed not to hurt myself too badly. The forest here is also nice, but much lower trees and dryer than the one at So Ray trail, and I saw much less birds here. Forest Wagtails and a White-bellied Sea Eagle at Bai Bang Beach were the only new birds here. However, during the first km on the trail, lots of Pigeons were calling, probably Pied Imperial.

I did not see much else: Kentish Plover, Common Sandpiper and Pacific Reef Egret on the Beaches, 2 Terns hunting on the Lotus ponds, I believe it were moulting White-winged Terns. And Flying Foxes feeding in the trees of the hotel compound.

So very happy about the two Pigeons, but nothing really exiting besides. For a birding trip to Con Dao, I'd recommend to focus on the So Ray trail (both my sightings of the Nicobar Pigeon were at the parts with tallest forest near the lower end of the steep slopes on either side of the hill) and try to get out to Trung Island for the terns.

Here is map of the Island, the mentionned trails can be seen west of "Con Dao Town". Another trail in the North of the Island is marked there as well, could be interesting, but I havn't tried it.

Photos:
- Common Con dao Birds
- Con Dao Mammals
- A Whip Snake, not sure which Species
- Slipery paths
- White-bellied Sea-Eagle

 

[dalat]

Two more pics of the forest and beach reached via the So Ray trail.

 

[MKinHK]

Congratulations on finding the two pigeons!

Cheers
Mike

 

[dalat]

Congratulations on finding the two pigeons!

Thanks Mike! The Nicobar Pigeon is a bird I always dreamed seeing, which did not seem very realistic in Vietnam. Thus very happy I was so lucky to see it, eventhough I couldn't really appreciate its beauty from these sightings :-O

 

[dalat]

Cat Tien National Park

Next birding opportunity was a short trip to Cat Tien National Park. Probably the best birding site in Vietnam (next to Dalat of course) and I really love going there. This time, the mission was not a big list or cleaning up some of the birds still not seen (e.g. a certain Partridge), but to take my son and give him some jungle feel. Of course I always have the hope to get him interested in birds and stuff, and he sometimes he likes indeed to come along, other times not really. I'll generally try not to overdo it, but I was sure he'll enjoy Cat Tien, as there is enough exiting wildlife around to see.

We stayed 2 nights, one at the park HQ (inside, not in one of the newer nicely looking hotels on the other river side near the ferry) and another night at Crocodile lake. We arrived late, allowing for just a short walk in the direction of the grass lands. We observed a few nice Drongos, Ashy, Black and Hair-crested through the scope but it got dark quickly. Great Eared Nightjars circling above were nice!

Next morning we went to the Heaven's Rapid's trail. When sorting through the bicycles to find the largest and the smallest one among those still working, suddenly Buff-cheecked Gibbons started to calling right above. Took a while until they moved out of the dense foliage, but nice views then. Phantastic, just next to the reception, while somehow I always managed to miss them on previous occasions, really happy! Also the little one was mightily impressed by the noises these guys can do.

Cycling along the road towards the junction of the trail, we collected some more primates, several Macaques (in the end we had seen all three spieces: Long-tailed, Stump-Tailed and Pig-tailed Macaques), and nice views of Black-shanked Doucs. Just love them!

On the trail then a selection of commoner birds of the region, and I spent most time to get Woodpeckers in the scope, as those never fail to impress. Not very successfull though, an unidentfied Flameback, some Yellownapes that preferred to remain invisible, but nice views of Bay Woodpecker and Laced Woodpecker. And then out of the sudden came the star bird of the morning: a wonderfull Banded Kingfisher, just sitting there in front of us and giving enough time for admiration. A bird I never managed to see in Vietnam before and of the type of birds I definitly wanted to show to my son.

On the way back for noodles, an Asian Pied Hornbill made a great show and didn't fail to impress (unfortunately we didn't see any of the larger Hornbills). On the bikes again, the 10 km ride to the trail head for Crocodile Lake. More Macaques on the way and a Blue-birded Bea-Eater being the best bird. The trail to Croc Lake also got paved now, although a bit better done than those at Con Dao: a more modest 1 m width and not slipery at all, ok to walk. Best improvement is certainly for the rangers staying at the lake, a less bumpy ride on the motorbike now.

The trail to Crocodile lake was difficult birding (as usual), no Firebacks but nice views of Red Junglefowl at least. But the forest with some really big trees, huge leaves and small nasty leeches was entertaining enough, so it never got boring. Pittas were hardly calling and refused to react to my tape. But at one point, a Bar-bellied Pitta was calling right next to the trail, so I sent my son in front to stalk it. He did a great job, slowly approaching and he managed to get on the bird! Bingo! His first Pitta!

A lot of primates near the trail crashing in the canopy, but rather difficult to get good views. Most were Black-shanked Doucs, but at one point, I managed to see a tail and a bum of a Silvered Langur.

Arriving at Crocodile Lake, I really was pleased to find cold beer there, and we relaxed on the terrace. Not many birds on the lake, but Great Eared Nightjars and an atmospheric sunset were beautiful enough. Spotlighting around the buildings later, we saw Sanbar and lots of Siamese Crododile eyes, but he was too tired to go more in the forest, so we went to sleep.

Next morning we waited for the fog to clear. Again little activity on the lake, but the Green Peafowls showed up at least. Not much new on the trail back, but on the road we found Red-and-black Broadbill.

A nice little adventure, enjoyed equally by dad and son. We slept pretty well in the car on the way to Dalat.

 

[dalat]

Some short videos from the two previous trips:

Long-tailed Macaque condorensis, Con Dao

Black Giant Squirrel condorensis, Con Dao

Whip Snake, Con Dao (still don't know which species exactly)

Black-shanked Douc Langur, Cat Tien

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Congratulations on finding the two pigeons!

Cheers
Mike

hear hear :t: I didn't even know they were in Vietnam

 

[dandsblair]

Sounds good

Cat Tien National Park

Next birding opportunity was a short trip to Cat Tien National Park. Probably the best birding site in Vietnam (next to Dalat of course) and I really love going there. This time, the mission was not a big list or cleaning up some of the birds still not seen (e.g. a certain Partridge), but to take my son and give him some jungle feel. Of course I always have the hope to get him interested in birds and stuff, and he sometimes he likes indeed to come along, other times not really. I'll generally try not to overdo it, but I was sure he'll enjoy Cat Tien, as there is enough exiting wildlife around to see.

,small nasty leeches was entertaining enough, so it never got boring. Pittas were hardly calling and refused to react to my tape. But at one point, a Bar-bellied Pitta was calling right next to the trail, so I sent my son in front to stalk it. He did a great job, slowly approaching and he managed to get on the bird! Bingo! His first Pitta!

A lot of primates near the trail crashing in the canopy, but rather difficult to get good views. Most were Black-shanked Doucs, but at one point, I managed to see a tail and a bum of a Silvered Langur.

.

Sound like a good trip and getting your son on a Pitta and some nice mammals I'm sure will get him interested and wanting to come back for more

 

[dalat]

Thanks both for the kind comments

 

[dalat]

Dalat

Dalat was our next destination, the place where we used to live for a few years and where I started birding. I would really have liked to spend a few days on all the usual and unusual sites and go after birds and memories. But there is family, and there were also a couple of old friends to spend time with, so birding time was very limited.

I did, again with my son, go to Lang Biang for one morning. It's a nice little hike, with chance for some good birds, including one of the star birds of Dalat: Collared Laughingthrush. On the other hand, Lang Biang is often rather quiet birdwise, and so it was during our visit. Laughers were hardly calling all the way, but there was one bird miaowing close to the trail just under the summit (never saw them that high up before) and I managed to lure him out, so the main target achieved. Wonderful bird! On the summit we had very nice views of a Black Eagle and Ashy Woodswallows repeatedly coming back to the same perch. Golden-throated Barbet (the local subspecies is partiularely nice) also showing well. Grey-bellied Tesia, Dalat Shrike-Babbler and the Dalat variant of Black-headed Sibia were other nice birds we could see.

One evening I went with a friend to Tuyen Lam Lake to check for Hodgon's Frogmouth and Mountain Scops Owl. The spot we tried is near the end of the road along the western lake side. That road was not yet constructed when I lived there, thus does not appear in my Tuyen Lam map made at that time. It is described in this excellent trip report, the spot for the owl is around the red cross in the map. No sound of the Frogmouth, but several Mountain Scops Owl were calling. But despite of some bushwhacking in the dark we couldn't get onto one.

I wish I had more time to explore the place by day, this side of the lake seemed always interesting, but at the time I lived there the access was not easy. Now it seems to be the best place for birding at Tuyen Lam.

Photos from Lang Biang: Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon and Kloss's Leaf Warbler

 

[dalat]

After this excursion to the south it was back to Hanoi, where I did a bit of city birding, a half day trip to Ba Vi and a 2 day trip to Xuan Thuy.

Ba Vi National Park is a mountain quite close to Hanoi of about 1300 m, which has good forest, some interesting resident birds (like Rufous-cheeked Laughingthrush, Grey-winged Blackbirds) and good potential for migrants, especially Thrushes.

A new highway reaches almost all the way to the park, so leaving Hanoi early morning, I was there in about 1 hour, much faster than a couple of years ago. A road leads all the way up the mountain, where footpaths and stairs lead to the two summits, one with a Buddhist temple and the other one with a Ho Chi Minh temple. I usually prefer the Ho Chi Minh side, as the way is a bit longer and it generally gets less people than the Buddhist peak.

However, not this time. I had made the mistake to go on Saturday, and it was totally crowded. Already at six am, groups of friendly but very noisy young people were on the trails. Not sure if that was a normal weekend or a special holiday, but all day was extremly crowded and noisy, so less than ideal.

I spent the morning trying to avoid people by going off the paths or along the older half overgrown steps leading up the Ho Chi Minh peak. No really exiting finds, but still a number of nice birds, such as: Small Niltava, Rusty-capped Fulvetta, some nice Orange-headed Thrushes, Blue Whistling Thrushes (the migrant race with dark beak), some Siberian Thrushes. On the summit, Brown-backed Needletails were whooshing by very close.

Later I went down the road a bit, and discovered that a new path (mostly steps) had been constructed between the popular peaks and the peak where some army guys guard some antenna. This path seems to be hardly used, it is already overgrown in parts, but still in good shape, no problem to use it. I didn't see much there, apart from a nice White-throated Rock Thrush, but it was already noon by then. Perhaps this paths could be interesting earlier in the morning?

Going down, I tried the paths in the botanical gardens opposite to the restaurants in the park HQ area. The trails there are very overgrown now and hardly usable any more. A shame, this area used to be quite good at times for migrants. I saw the Red-billed Blue Magpies, a Grey Treepie, and a bunch of Phyllos, Arctic and Yellow-browed being the only ones I could ID.

Still some good birds, but I left a little unnerved. My plan was to go birding, not meeting up with hundreds of friendly young Vietnamese very exited to talk to a foreigner... :-O

 

[dalat]

Hanoi is normally not very exiting for a birder. Most of Vietnam's rural landscape is devoid of birds and more so is Hanoi. Red-whiskered Bulbuls, Japanese White-eyes, Common Tailorbirds and Tree Sparrows is more less all you can expect to see.

Different in migration season. Hanoi, located at the Red River, lies along a major flyway, and the few green areas in the vast urban desert often yield good birds. Amazing sights are possible. In the last couple of years, the few resident birders in Hanoi have made quite some discoveries, including a good list of firsts for Vietnam. Last spring, I've seen a Silver Oriole there! Of course this time I also used the days in Hanoi to get out for birds in the morning. No spectacular sightings this time, so much already, but still very enjoyable...

When I lived in Hanoi, the places to go were the Botanical Gardens and the large Lenin Park in central Hanoi. They had a few untidy areas with scrub and some shitty places behind the toilets attracting Flycatchers and the like. They've cleaned up the parks a bit more and they seem less interesting now. Another interesting place is the large Island in the Red River, which can be accessed from the old Railway bridge (Long Bien). Lots of cultivations there, but also some swampy bits, scrub, grass and small groups of trees. A good mix of habitats and many birds can be found. The negative thing is that you have to share the fun with guys with guns who enjoy shooting at Sparrows, Flycatchers and anything else :C So the last few times I mainly went to Bai Da, a place near the northern tip of the Red River Island, where they have turned the river shore into a kitschy flowery place, very popular with young people for shooting fotos. The advantage is that you can park your motorbike there safely (against a fee) and they seem to keep the hunters out of the little forest there. The crowds rarely go that far (it's not far at all, but still), so an enjoyable place for a birding morning. Things change fast in Vietnam and alreay next spring, the forested area could be turned into a banana plantation or a rose garden decorated with concret micky mice, but for now it's a place to recommend for anyone having a morning to spare in spring or automn. It's here: https://www.google.ch/maps/place/21...8346772,1059m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

I went there maybe three mornings. It seems I was too late for Flycatchers, apart from a lone Asian Paradise Flycatcher and lots of Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, there weren't any. Yes, a Hainan Blue was there as well. The main attraction was warbler hunting. Quite a few different ones, and both identifying Phyllos and Seicercus Warblers is a bit above my skill level. I always learn a lot, and next time I go there, I've forgotten most of it. On top they keep splitting these birds, and usually in a way that even the pros can't ID them any more on migration. But somehow I still like Warblers... At least more than Gulls :-O

Assisted by the ID forum, I found Claudia's Leaf Warbler, Arctic Warbler (probably nominate borealis), Yellow-browed Warbler, Dusky Warbler, Radde's Warbler, Grey-crowned Warbler and Bianci's Warbler. Here a video of the Claudia's Leaf Warbler: https://youtu.be/eNeBASbL8UI

Most conspicuous were a number of Drongos, mostly Black and Hair-crested. A few female Orioles, but I could not see them well (no Silver anyway). Quite a few Asian Koel as well. In one dense bit of brush, there were quite distinct calls to hear. It sounded a bit like Laughingthushes, and after a while I remembered that a friend had seen Masked Laughingthrush here several times. As I've missed that one last year in Bach Ma, I put in some effort and eventually got onto them. Yes, a nice lifer! Apparently they are breeding here, the friend had seen young birds at one occasion.

What else? Ashy Minivert, Black-winged and Great Cuckooshrikes in the canopy. Sib Stonechat , Grey Bushchat, Brown Shrike and Blue Rockthrush in the open areas, and Grey-throated Martins along the river (they seem to breed there).

But the big Hanoi highlight came at a different place, where this friend helped me to see a pair of Grassowls. Awesome!

Photos:
- Red River
- Siberian Stonechat
- Blue Rockthrush
- Grey-throated Martins
- Eastern Grassowl

 

[dalat]

Xuan Thuy National Park is an area of extensive shrimps ponds, mangroves and sand banks at the mouth of Red River. It provides wintering ground for a number of birds, most prominently Black-faced Spoonbills, but also a range of Ducks (very rare in most of Vietnam because of the hunting), Waders and more. Spoon-billed Sandpaper has been a regular visitor in the past but these day seem over, its not seen any more in most years. But the special attraction here, at least for me, is migration: the youngest islands and outer sand banks with sparse Casuaina growth can be excellent in automn or spring. I've been there a couple of times in the past and always enjoyed a lot the very particular tye of birding with unpredictable and often good finds.

I decided to save on the car rental and go by public tansport, which was a good choice as it was faster than I expected and pretty comfortable. I went to Giap Bat bus station, ignored the touts trying to convince me that buying tickets to Ninh Binh from them is the only thing a foreigner can possibly want to do here, went to the counter and bought a ticket (2,5 €) to Giao Thuy district. There was no bus to the village closest to the National Park HQ, Giao Thien, so I took the one to Ngo Dong, the district capital. Highway all the way to Nam Dinh meant we were there by one and a half hour, much faster than just a few years ago. I think also the small rural roads from Nam Dinh to the coast have improved somewhat, and the bus arrived in Ngo Dong after only 2.5 hours. I hopped into a small taxi and after another 15 km arrived at the National Park headquarter.

They have added some more buildings to the park headquarter, but that did not change the usual feeling of having arrived at a deserted place at the end of the world. After a while standing by the large ever dilapating landscape model of the park, the staff returned red-headed from their lunch break. I had some tea and chat with them, then took my room, while they went to have a nap in their offices. One of the new bulding is for guest rooms, plenty of place now and rooms comfortable enough.

In the afternoon, I went birding with Truong, one of the staff whom I knew from earlier visits. We went on his motorbike along the dike (now paved) through the shrimp ponds, mainly to search for the Spoonbills. We didn't find them, probably they had not arrived yet. The ponds had Little Grebes, Indian Spot-billed Ducks and Common Teal. The usualy range of egrets and herons, include some Purple Herons. Along the tidal channels there were a few waders, including Black-winged Stils, Black-tailed Godwits, Common, Marsh and Wood Sandpipers, Little Ringed and Kentish Plovers. Near the Kentish Plovers was another Plover, which was slightly larger and had more dark on the breast sides than the Kentish. I think it was a rare Long-billed Plover, but unfortunatly it was too far away to get photos good enough to proove this. A few Whiskered Terns were hunting over the ponds, they remained my only terns seen here. Eastern Marsh Harriers were frequently patrolling the ponds and channels, and Black-shoulderd Kites hiding in the bushes on the dikes. I also saw a large falcon, probabaly a Peregrine.

In the evening I also had a stroll through the dense Caruarina plantation right behind the park facilities. They were full of birds, but unfortunately the undergrowth was too dense and it was very difficult to actually see the birds. There were a lot of Dusky Warblers and several Phyllos that I did not manage to ID. Various Cuckoo sized birds managed to keep out of proper site, but at least I managed to see Asian Koels and both Great and Lesser Coucal. The vegetable field near the kitchen was home to a Taiga Flycatcher and nearby the Light-vented and Sooty-headed Bulbuls were hard to miss. Chinese Blackbirds were also noisy enough to have themselfs found the dense tree tops. Some ponds nearby had Pied, Common, and White-throated Kingfishers.

For dinner (and next day lunch) I went to a small restaurant near the park gate. The park facilities include a kitchen, but they only cook for larger groups they told me. The small restaurant was fine, if a bit on the noisy side as it was quite popular for business lunch (drinking) parties it seems.

Photos:
- Views on the tidal channels, mangroves and towards the Red River mouth
- Paddyfield Pittit
- Sooty-headed Bulul
- juv Lesser Coucal

 

[dalat]

Next morning at dawn, Truong picked me up and we drove 10 km or so to the boat landing. The most interesting bit for migrants are the youngest islands: basically sand banks, covered with a lot of rubbish washed on shore here near the river mouth, and with Casuarina trees planted by the locals. The Casurina are planted to stabilise the island and are used for the wooden huts and fences that dot the bay. People stay there and grow mussles on the shallow bottom of the bay. Quite a surreal experience passing the large bay full of these wierd stilt structures at sunrise. We arrived near the peak of high tide, which meant we could hop on the island without the usual few 100 m of wading through the shallow water. The dynamics of this landscape always amazes me, every time I was there, the Islands have grown on one side, eroded on the other, the Casuarinas grow extremly fast and it's different every time. The whole island looks much longer now, I guess in a couple of years the bay will almost be enclosed.

The first birds of notice when going ashore were a group of Blue-tailed Bee-eaters passing through ahead. A few steps further I flushed a bunting, it landed not far and I could located it in the dense but short vegetation: a Chestnut-eared Bunting! A lifer for me, what a start, this is why I like Xuan Thuy....

We then went towards the southern tip of the Island, the youngest part and also with the youngest Casuarina trees. Migrant birds rest here, they are usually very tired and easy to approach, and when flushed, don't fly far. However, when the Casuarins are too dense, they hide deep inside and are extremly difficult to find. Much more fun when the trees are less dense and you can easily single out the tree where a bird flies in. We went to such a bit of tree stand, and every tree had its tired Dusky and Radde's Warblers, Lanceolated Warbler, Black-browed Reed Warbler, Oriental Reed-Warbler or Thick-billed Warbler. Fun indeed!

As in Hanoi, Flycathers seemed already have to passed through, an Asian Paradise Flycatcher (I still have to sort out these ones.... resident birds in Vietnam are either Indian or Blyths, and migrants are Amur?) was the only one I found. One bird cause me quite some hard work, but the reward was when it turned out to be stunning male Siberian Rubythroat.

Various Sparrowhawks keep whoosing by and between the dense growth, but I've always trouble to nail them down and views were never good.

I almost stepped on a Quail or Crake, which flew just a couple of meters and landed in the grass that was not taller than maybe 20 cm. I saw it walking and managed to get a few shots and then it vanished, despite we being sure in which patch of grass it was. Magic. Luckily I had the photos and piecing the various grainy shots together we found it to be a Yellow-legged Buttonquail. Lifer again, yes!

We then went to the outer shore to look for waders, always with the vague hope for a Spoon-billed Sandpiper. But the only ones here were many Kentish Plovers widely dispersed, not even Red-necked Stints, so we didn't even spent much time scoping through the birds...

Around 3 pm we called it a day and went back to the boat. On the motorbike back to the park HQ, we stopped at one of the ponds that now was full with waders, herons and the like. Great Knot, otherwise the same species as seen yesterday, but many of them and at quite close range. We enjoyed this for an hour or so and then back to finally some decent food and rest.

Next day I headed back to Hanoi, which feels like on another planet when coming from this not so far a way but still so remote piece of land.

 

[dalat]

Bits of the Bunting and the Buttonquail, Lanceolated Warbler and Black-browed Reed-Warbler

 

[dalat]

And here the total list of the trip.

Indian Spot-billed Duck - Xuan Thuy
Green-winged Teal - Xuan Thuy
Green Peafowl - Cat Tien
Red Junglefowl - Con Dao, Cat Tien
Little Grebe - Xuan Thuy
Gray Heron - Xuan Thuy
Purple Heron - Cat Tien, Xuan Thuy
Little Egret - Con Dao, Xuan Thuy
Pacific Reef-Heron - Con Dao
Cattle Egret - Con Dao
Chinese Pond-Heron - Con Dao, Lang Bian, Xuan Thuy
Black-shouldered Kite - Ba Vi, Xuan Thuy
Black Eagle - Lang Bian
Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Xuan Thuy
White-bellied Sea-Eagle - Con Dao
White-breasted Waterhen - Con Dao, Cat Tien, Xuan Thuy
Eurasian Moorhen - Xuan Thuy
Black-winged Stilt - Xuan Thuy
Black-bellied Plover - Xuan Thuy
Kentish Plover - Con Dao, Xuan Thuy
Long-billed Plover - Xuan Thuy
Common Sandpiper - Con Dao, Xuan Thuy
Common Greenshank - Xuan Thuy
Marsh Sandpiper - Xuan Thuy
Wood Sandpiper - Xuan Thuy
Black-tailed Godwit - Xuan Thuy
Great Knot - Xuan Thuy
Yellow-legged Buttonquail - Xuan Thuy
White-winged Tern - Con Dao
Whiskered Tern -Xuan Thuy
Red Collared-Dove -Xuan Thuy
Nicobar Pigeon - Con Dao
Wedge-tailed Pigeon -Lang Bian
Pied Imperial-Pigeon - Con Dao
Chestnut-winged Cuckoo - Xuan Thuy
Asian Koel - Xuan Thuy
Greater Coucal - Xuan Thuy
Lesser Coucal - Xuan Thuy
Australasian Grass Owl - Red River
Mountain Scops-Owl - Tuyne Lam
Asian Barred Owlet - Cat Tien
Great Eared-Nightjar - Cat Tien
Brown-backed Needletail - Ba Vi
House Swift - Lang Bian
Red-headed Trogon - Cat Tien
Oriental Pied-Hornbill - Cat Tien
Common Kingfisher - Xuan Thuy
Banded Kingfisher - Cat Tien
White-throated Kingfisher -Cat Tien, Xuan Thuy
Black-capped Kingfisher - Xuan Thuy
Pied Kingfisher -Red River, Xuan Thuy
Blue-bearded Bee-eater - Cat Tien
Blue-tailed Bee-eater -Xuan Thuy
Dollarbird -Cat Tien
Coppersmith Barbet -HCMC
Golden-throated Barbet - Lang Bian, Ba Vi
Laced Woodpecker - Cat Tien
Bay Woodpecker - Cat Tien
Black-and-red Broadbill - Cat Tien
Bar-bellied Pitta - Cat Tien
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike - Cat Tien
Ashy Woodswallow - Lang Bian
Common Iora -Con Dao, Cat Tien
Gray-chinned Minivet -Lang Bian
Ashy Minivet - Red River
Large Cuckooshrike -Lang Bian, Red River
Black-winged Cuckooshrike - Red River
Indochinese Cuckooshrike - Cat Tien
Brown Shrike - Red River
Burmese Shrike - Lang Bian
Long-tailed Shrike - Xuan Thuy
Dalat Shrike-Babbler - Lang Bian
Black Drongo - Lang Bian, Red River, Xuan Thuy
Ashy Drongo - Cat Tien, Lang Bian
Hair-crested Drongo - Red River, Xuan Thuy
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo - Con Dao, Cat Tien
White-throated Fantail - Lang Bian
Asian Paradise-Flycatcher - Xuan Thuy
Eurasian Jay - Lang Bian
Gray Treepie - Ba Vi
Racket-tailed Treepie - Cat Tien
Gray-throated Martin - Red River
Barn Swallow - Con Dao, Red River
Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher - Lang Bian, Red River
Green-backed Tit - Lang Bian
Japanese Tit, Hanoi
Chestnut-vented Nuthatch - Lang Bian
Black-crested Bulbul - Lang Bian, Ba Vi
Red-whiskered Bulbul - Red River
Light-vented Bulbul -Ba Vi, Xuan Thuy
Sooty-headed Bulbul - Lang Bian, Xuan Thuy
Stripe-throated Bulbul -Con Dao, Cat Tien
Ochraceous Bulbul - Cat Tien
Ashy Bulbul - Lang Bian
Mountain Bulbul -Lang Bian
Gray-bellied Tesia - Lang Bian
Mountain Tailorbird - Lang Bian, Ba Vi
Dusky Warbler -Red River, Xuan Thuy
Radde's Warbler - Xuan Thuy
Yellow-browed Warbler - Lang Bian
Arctic Warbler - Con Dao, Ba Vi, Red River
Claudia's Leaf Warbler - Red River
Kloss's Leaf Warbler - Lang Bian
Gray-crowned Warbler - Ba Vi, Red River
Bianchi's Warbler - Red River
Thick-billed Warbler - Xuan Thuy
Black-browed Reed-Warbler - Xuan Thuy
Oriental Reed-Warbler - Xuan Thuy
Lanceolated Warbler - Xuan Thuy
Common Tailorbird - Con Dao, Red River
Dark-necked Tailorbird - Cat Tien
Rufescent Prinia - Cat Tien
Plain Prinia - Red River
Chestnut-flanked White-eye - Red River
Japanese White-eye - Red River
Pin-striped Tit-Babbler - Con Dao, Cat Tien
Rufous-capped Babbler - Lang Bian
Scaly-crowned Babbler - Cat Tien
Rusty-capped Fulvetta - Ba Vi
Buff-breasted Babbler - Ba Vi
Abbott's Babbler - Cat Tien
Masked Laughingthrush - Red River
White-crested Laughingthrush - Cat Tien
Collared Laughingthrush - Lang Bian
Black-headed Sibia - Lang Bian
Silver-eared Mesia - Lang Bian, Ba Vi
Blue-winged Minla - Lang Bian
Asian Brown Flycatcher - Xuan Thuy
Oriental Magpie-Robin - Xuan Thuy
White-rumped Shama - Con Dao, Cat Tien
Hainan Blue-Flycatcher - Cat Tien, Red River
Small Niltava, Ba Vi
Blue Whistling-Thrush -Ba Vi
Siberian Rubythroat - Xuan Thuy
Korean Flycatcher - Con Dao
Taiga Flycatcher - Xuan Thuy
White-throated Rock-Thrush -Ba Vi
Blue Rock-Thrush - Xuan Thuy
Siberian Stonechat - Red River, Xuan Thuy
Gray Bushchat - Red River
Siberian Thrush - Ba Vi
Chinese Blackbird - Xuan Thuy
Black-collared Starling -Lang Bian, Xuan Thuy
Common Myna - HCMC
Crested Myna - Xuan Thuy
Blue-winged Leafbird - Cat Tien
Golden-fronted Leafbird - Cat Tien
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker - Cat Tien
Van Hasselt's Sunbird - Cat Tien
Gould's Sunbird -Lang Bian
Forest Wagtail -Con Dao, Cat Tien
White Wagtail - Red River, Xuan Thuy
Paddyfield Pipit - Xuan Thuy
Chestnut-eared Bunting - Xuan Thuy
Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Lang Bian, Red River, Xuan Thuy

 

[dalat]

Asian Paradise Flycatcher (I still have to sort out these ones.... resident birds in Vietnam are either Indian or Blyths, and migrants are Amur?)

I've been doing my homework now and also got help from BF experts .

So the passage migrants in Vietnam are indeed Amur Paradise Flycatcher and so was this bird on Xuan Thuy. Next time I have a closer look at those.

 

[dalat]

But the big Hanoi highlight came at a different place, where this friend helped me to see a pair of Grassowls. Awesome!

I just had news that the pair we saw in october has now 4 fledglings. In the middle of a Vietnamese megacity, that is more than just amazing. :t: