My two week trip to Vietnam was a family holiday. I organised one 24-hour-long
guided birding trip to Bạch Mã National Park plus some opportunistic
birdwatching while being a tourist. The result was 99 species, including 58
lifers, with some IDs still unresolved.
The birding trip to Bạch Mã began on my first day in Vietnam and was selected
because it was the closest I would be staying to one of the better-known
birding destinations in Vietnam. I organised it through the helpful Le Quy
Minh. I met him through Birding Pal but never met him face to face because he
was away. Minh organised my guide (Nanh) (for more details on Minh and Nanh go
to http://www.vietnambirding.com/about-us.aspx) as well as a driver, meals and
accommodation. I paid for everything, but Minh provided advice before the trip
plus follow-up identification of Bạch Mã birds calls via email after I returned
to Australia. Several other bird calls from my trip were identified by Marc
Anderson after I listed them as mysteries on xeno-canto.
We stayed at River Beach Resort near Hội An
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S27970097 The resort is
about 3 hours drive from Bạch Mã. The traffic in Vietnam is slow compared to
Australia, so the majority of the drive to Bạch Mã was at a speed of about 40
kilometres an hour. Being new to Vietnam several of the urban birds I saw on
the way would have been lifers and I was able to ID a few but urban birding
wasn’t part of the tour, making it a frustrating trip. Once we got into the
farmland and forest after the turn off to Bạch Mã it was a different story and
the birding tour began.
Road to Bạch Mã 14/1/16 - 15 species incl Paddyfield Pipit & Siberian Stonechat
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S27970007
Nanh stuck to the roads, getting the driver to meet us once we had worked our
way up another section of the mountain. It was a sensible approach but hard
work. The thick forest made it difficult to see many of the birds but Nanh made
up for it by pointing out whatever was around and then impersonating the call
of a Collared Owlet so he could pick up anything that didn’t show itself. The
owlet call worked like ‘pishing’. He also used playback from his phone if we
could hear an identified species nearby. For some time we were in a band of
cloud or fog that meant calls were the only way of getting an ID.
Bạch Mã 14/1/16 - 31 species incl Red-headed Trogon, Blue-winged Leafbird and
Racquet-tailed Treepie
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S27967572
Non-birding highlights included a large black snake, a family of rare
Red-shanked Douc langurs, squirrels and a Muntjac deer that was close enough
for me to get a poor photo.
After night-fall we went to the accommodation higher up the mountain. Dinner
was noodles at ‘The Chicken Restaurant’ across the road with a wonderful array
of Bạch Mã moths flying in to keep me company. Nanh then took me out
spotlighting but the fog or cloud made it impossible. He got me up before dawn
the next morning in time to hear a Mountain Scops Owl calling and then more
noodles and a nice coffee kept warm with a candle for breakfast. After that
Nanh covered the summit area, which was above the accommodation. Nanh was good
company, knowledgeable and tireless in finding birds, many of which we heard
only and I knew none of the calls. He found many birds that I would have missed
and it would have been a frustrating experience without him.
Bạch Mã 15/1/16 - 26 species incl Silver Pheasant, Golden-throated Barbet,
White-browed Scimitar-babbler & Sultan Tit
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S27968698
The way back to Hội An included an attempt to find the once-reliable Brown
Fish-owls at the entrance to the park. Apparently some recently installed
floodlights caused them to move from the roost at the gate and we failed to
find out where they had moved to.
The best birding once back at River Beach Resort was along the river next to
the resort and in the nearby sand dunes behind Cua Dai beach between Palm
Garden resort and Zero Seamile Beach Club. The section behind the dunes is
littered with cactus, a few trees, cow dung and graves/memorials (this may be
why this block hasn’t been developed. I also got a spike from one of the cacti
so tread carefully). It is also bombarded with Vietnamese pop music from the
seafood restaurants but every time I went there I found birds. Unfortunately
the mornings were always overcast and that was when I had time for birding.
Hội An 16/1/16 – 10 species
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28134883
Hội An 17/1/16 – 7 species incl Sooty-headed Bulbul
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28135003
Hội An 18/1/16 – 12 species incl Indian Nightjar, Vinous-breasted Starling,
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28418760
Hội An 19/1/16 – 5 species -
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28418969
I had difficulty with IDs for several species at Hội An (images on this link)
http://s273.photobucket.com/user/eve_jean_talbot/library/Birds/Vietnam%202016%20Hoi%20An?sort=3&page=1
particularly the shrikes. I originally thought they were all Long-tailed
Shrikes but have since changed all but one of them to Brown Shrikes. I also
failed to ID many of the swifts in flight and a pipit that I think is either
Richard’s or Paddyfield. If anyone can ID them from the photos on the link it
would be appreciated.
There are also 7 unidentified bird calls from Hội An on xeno-canto
http://www.xeno-canto.org/contributor/CCUCXWCPSW?query=mystery including this
one that could be Grey-capped
Greenfinch.http://www.xeno-canto.org/forum/topic/14219
From Hội An we went to Hanoi. Central Hanoi has two birding sites that I was
aware of (the Botanic Gardens surrounding the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and Lenin
Park). I managed to visit both on one morning. The mornings in Hanoi were just
as overcast as Hội An, so conditions were far from ideal. The crowds, noise,
traffic and the crews of people constantly raking the grass and leaves around
the Botanic Gardens added to the challenges. On the upside were quite a few
sprinklers leaving large puddles of water in the grass that brought some birds
out into the open.
Hanoi Botanic Gardens 20/1/16 – 11 species incl Taiga Flycatcher, Asian Brown
Flycatcher, White-throated Fantail
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28461732
I’m still not completely confident of my IDs of the two flycatchers. It seems
clear to me from their calls that both were present (Asian Brown Flycatcher
http://www.xeno-canto.org/307731 Taiga
Flycatcherhttp://www.xeno-canto.org/307730 ) but I’m not sure if I’ve got the
IDs right for the photos and video. There’s also an image of a bird with its
head obscured by a branch. I’ve called it
Flowerpecker?http://s273.photobucket.com/user/eve_jean_talbot/library/Birds/Vietnam%202016%20Hanoi?sort=3&page=1
Lenin Park’s local name is Thong Nhat Park. There is another Lenin Park on Dien
Bien Phu near the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Thong Nhat Park costs a couple of
dollars to enter.
Lenin Park 20/1/16 – 5 species incl White Wagtail
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28495773
The next destination was an overnight cruise on Hạ Long Bay which sounds like a
great place for birding but I had been warned from previous trip reports that
it would be mostly crows and kites. And – sure enough – whilst on the cruise
Large-billed Crows and Black Kites were the only birds I saw that I could
identify.
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28495822 Before leaving
the docks I got some long-range flight shots of ducks that turned out to be
Spot-billed Ducks and just outside the docks several seagulls flew past. I
couldn’t ID them but thought they might be Relict or Brown-headed Gulls. On the
bus on the way out I saw a flock of hundreds of gulls over the same area but
couldn’t ID them either.
http://s273.photobucket.com/user/eve_jean_talbot/library/Birds/Vietnam%20-%20Halong%20Bay?sort=3&page=1
The long wait for the bus after the cruise meant that I was free to wander
through the many nearby incomplete building sites. There I found Common
Kingfishers (hunting in the flooded foundations of half-finished apartment
blocks) plus Siberian Stonechat and Blue Rock-thrush. I also just missed a
Motacilla wagtail as it flew off.
Ha Long Bay 23/1/16 –
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28495822
The next stop was Haiphong (no birding) and then Ho Chi Minh City. The only
site I birded in HCMC was the impressive Reunification or Independence Palace
and I went there as a tourist without my camera. That was a mistake because the
gardens were very quiet with lots of birds – the roof of the palace was the
best location I found in Vietnam for watching swifts
Reunification Palace (24/1/16) 8 species incl White-rumped Munia, White-crested
Laughingthrush, Great Myna
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28496132
The final locations I saw birds were on a day trip from Ho Chi Minh City to the
Mekong Delta. The first site was around Cái Bè which included the markets and
short trip up a mangrove-lined creek across the river. The highlight of this
was recording the call of an Ashy Tailorbird (identified by Marc Anderson on
xeno-canto) and a species that I didn’t even know was found in Vietnam. I have
an out-of-focus attempted photo that looks like it could have been an Ashy
Tailorbird.
Cái Bè - 25/1/16 – 11 species incl Ashy Tailorbird
http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28512427
The final location was the village garden of our tour guide. The birds included
a poorly seen and photographed Olive-backed Sunbird and a cormorant that was a
long way away.
Xã Hòa Khánh – 25/1/16 – 6 species incl Plain-backed Sparrow, Malaysian Pied
Fantail http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/view/checklist?subID=S28523264
I also got a photo of a bulbul in HCMC itself that could be Grey-eyed or
Streak-eared.
http://s273.photobucket.com/user/eve_jean_talbot/library/Birds/Vietnam%202016%20Mekong%20HMC?sort=3&page=1
For a first time visitor to Vietnam there were plenty of new birds for me. Most
of the times that I didn’t take my birding gear on a tourist activity I
regretted it. I spent a total of two days birdwatching out of the two-week
trip, so I think the result was well worth the time I put into it. I recorded
calls of 54 species with 18 mystery calls remaining on xeno-canto
http://www.xeno-canto.org/contributor/CCUCXWCPSW?query=mystery and took photos
or video of 44 species with 4 remaining with ID issues (pipit in Hội An, the
two flycatchers in Hanoi and the bulbul in HCMC).
The Field Guide I was using was Helm Field Guides - Birds of South-East Asia
(Concise edition) by Craig Robson. The colour plates and information were
excellent and will be useful in future if I visit any of the other countries it
covers. To make up for the lack of distribution maps, I marked the species that
occur in Vietnam using http://birdlist.org/vietnam.htm. In the field guide, the
Range section of the notes on each bird mentions which part of Vietnam it
occurs in (Tonkin – North, Annam – Central and Cochinchina – south).
As a tourist Vietnam is a wonderful experience with Ha Long Bay, Reunification
Palace, Bạch Mã, Hội An Old Town and Mekong Delta all highlights. Plus the
great food/coffee and the odd little experiences that will stay in the mind
just as long, like having a straight razor shave, having the wax cleaned out of
my ears by a barber in Hội An, and being hassled by juvenile itinerant shoe
repairers in Hanoi (who did such a good job repairing one of my much-loved
hiking boots that I changed my mind about them and went back and got them to
fix the other one.)
The only real down-side was my decision to use Jetstar for the internal flights
(HCMC to Danang, then Danang to Hanoi and then Hanoi to HCMC). I chose Jetstar
because they were cheaper than Vietnam Airlines (the airline we used for flying
to and from Australia). Jetstar kept re-scheduling flights without explanation.
The flight between HCMC and Danang ended up being changed several times. The
first time was weeks before we left for Vietnam and I only found out they had
changed it because Le Quy Minh checked the arrival times at Danang and found
the flight wasn’t there. I had based everything else on the timing of this
flight so having it changed is an experience I don’t want to repeat. We didn’t
have any issues with Vietnam Airlines so we would pay the extra and use them
next time.
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