Vietnam August - October 2013, Ho Chi Minh City

Since we were more or less stuck for quite some time in Ho Chi Minh City I started to do some birding within the city. Especially after seeing some posts on http://vietnambirdnews.blogspot.com/ about migrants in Hanoi, I wanted to give the zoo in Ho Chi Minh city a try. It has quite a lot of large trees and might prove interesting for birds that are not in a cage. The zoo is located in district one and therefore very easy to access above all the entry fee is only 8.000 VND. We birded the zoo for three hours accumulating over four Ashy Minivets, 30 Asian Brown Flycatchers, two leucogenis Ashy Drongos and over 20 Yellow-browed Warblers, but unfortunately no other migrants.

1 ky Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica)

It was clear that the migration in the south had not yet reached the same magnitude as in Hanoi. Other birds included Green-billed Malkoha, Black Drongo, Collared, Common and White-throated Kingfisher, Lesser Necklaced and White-crested Laughingthrush and Coppersmith Barbet. The zoo looks good for migrants, but will probably prove to be more productive later in the year.

Vietnam August - October 2013, Ngoc Linh

After seeing the first endemic of the Kontum plateau (Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush) we set out with Bao to do some exploring, in the hope of becoming the first birding crew to complete the Kontum trio. Recently a new road has been built along the southern slopes of mount Ngoc Linh, where the mythical Golden-winged Laughingthrush is found. The laughingthrush was reported to occur between 2.000 and 2.200 MASL on Ngoc Linh, but also occurs on Ngoc Boc to south of Ngoc Linh and that mountain is only 1.800 MASL. The new road,which starts at Tumorong and will lead in the future all the way to Quang Ngai province, only reaches an elevation of just above 1.500 MASL. However, the road passes through some really good quality high montane forest, which looked exactly the same as the the forest on Ngoc Linh on higher elevations.

Satellite picture of the new road leading to the southern slopes of Ngoc Linh

We set out to check out the forest and the area on the first day, so we could decide our strategy. After all this area has probably never been birded before. Unfortunately on our first exploration drive we got stuck in a mud hole in the road, whose quality ranges from Dubai highway to virtually non-existent. The car was so stuck that a truck could not pull it out and after five to six hours of trying, we had to abandon car for the night. After a very interesting night at a local house we went back to the car with a bigger truck and managed to pull it out of the swamp. However lady luck was still not on our side as it rained all day (apparently it had rained here for a month non-stop). We explored one trail which produced not much, but an unidentified laugher flying over the trail, but unwilling to show itself was enough to keep our spirits high. Furthermore we recorded Pygmy Cupwing, Plumbeous Water Redstart and White-crowned Forktail.

Luckily the next day it was beautiful weather and we enjoyed stunning scenery and good birding. We tried both roadside birding and checking out forest trails up to 1.670 MASL, but in the end we were not successfull in locating a Golden-winged Laugher. The highlight of the day was a Black-crowned Barwing that was found in a patch of degraded forest along the roadside. This sighting might prove to be quite important as it is only the second area where this species is found (the first being the northern slopes of Ngoc Linh including the Lo Xo pass). Other highlights included several Red-tailed Laughingthrushes and White-winged Magpies. Mixed species flocks where diverse and entertaining. They held Clicking and Green Shrike Babblers, Red-tailed Minla. Rufous-winged Fulvetta (of the endemic stepanyani subspecies), Fork-tailed Sunbird, Large Niltava, Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Grey-crowned Tit, Grey-crowned, Grey-cheeked and Chestnut-crowned Warbler and Annam Barbet amongst others. While the sky prooved good for Black Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, Shikra, Oriental Honey Buzzard and Silver-backed Needletail. Stangely enough we only recorded one mammal, which was an unidentified squirrel.

The highlight of our visit to Ngoc Linh: discovering a new site for Black-crowned Barwing (Actinodura sodangorum)

Red-tailed Laughingthrush (Garrulax milnei)

White-winged Magpie (Urocissa whiteheadi)

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

Black eagles (Ictinaetus malayensis) are always cool to see

I really think that this area might hold some Golden-winged Laughingthrushes, but obviously one day in the wet season, without local knowledge is not enough to locate it. Apparently it is only dry here between March and May, so another try in that time of the year might prove more fruitful. The forest is still very nice and exciting things are just waiting to be found. The locals for example recognised Crested Argus and Cutia in the book. However the site is still very remote and more or less a restricted area for foreigners, although they seem to be less strict about it here then on the northern slopes of the mountain, for we had barely any trouble. We were only advised by locals to turn around at the altitude of 1.670 MASL for we might get problems with the authorities. So when visiting this site please be careful and do not bring the locals in jeopardy. Furthermore, I think visiting this site without a guide is unwise, because nobody speaks any english and you might want a translator if you get into trouble with the authorities. Regarding the accomodation, there is a small hotel in Tumorong which is only 30 km from the forest, that offers very decent rooms, but the locals might also be willing to invite you into their homes. Concluding, I highly recommend this site, but with the right consideration and preparation.

Vietnam August - October 2013, Mang Den

Just like the previous site, Mang Canh was visited by us together with my dear friend Bao from Vietnam Birdwatching. The main reason for our visit to this site is the rare, localised and endemic Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush, that was found here by Bao a couple of years ago. The only other site for this bird is Mount Kon Ka Kinh that is off limits for foreigners and moreover it has not been seen there for a while. Because we reached this site by private transport I have no idea how to reach this site by public transport. It should be possible to reach the town of Mang den, where the closed accomodation to Mang Canh is found, by bus from Kontum and take a motorbike to Mang Canh forest (which is a 45 minutes drive from the town).

We stayed in the area for three nights, but had limited time to do good birding due to heavy rains. Even though we managed to get brilliant views of the Chestnut-eared Laugher on our second day in the midst of heavy rains! We had to work hard to get views and had about ten non-cooperating individuals before we finally saw some feathers! But the area holds more goodies and we recorded Bar-backed Partridge, Besra, Annam Barbet, Blue-bearded Bee-eaters, Silver-backed Needletail, White-winged Magpie, Indochinese Green Magpie, Ratchet-tailed Treepie, White-capped Water Redstart, Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Sultan Tit (ssp. gayeti) Rufous-faced Warbler, Grey-crowned Tit, Grey-headed Parrotbill and Black-hooded Laughingthrush.

Sultan Tit (Melanochlora sultanea gayeti)

Grey-headed Parrotbill (Paradoxornis gularis)

Silver-backed Needletail (Hirundapus cochinchinensis) zooming overhead

We also enjoyed some first migrants like Asian Brown Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Warbler, Pale-legged Leaf Warbler and Arctic Warbler. We missed Pale-capped Pigeon and Northern Brown Hornbill, but that was probably because our birding time was rather limited, for both species are rare in the area and it is more a matter of luck of finding them. Mammals recorded included Cambodian Striped and Black Giant Squirrel.

Pale-legged Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus tenellipes)

Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis)

Vietnam August - October 2013, Yok Don National Park

This national park is rarely visited by birders, for the area that holds the real goodies like Masked Finfoot, Giant Ibis, White-shouldered Ibis, Red-headed Vulture and White-headed vulture is completely off limits for foreigners. The area that can be visited holds species that can also be seen in Cambodia. The main highlights are Mekong Wagtail, White-rumped Pygmy Falcon and Neglected Nuthatch. We visited this site on a Birdwatching Vietnam Tour with my friend Bao, so I don´t know much about the accessibility of this site by public transport, but it shouldn´t be too difficult.

We only spent one afternoon and one morning in the park, for we were mostly just passing through on our way to Mang Den (see next post). On the afternoon we saw Mekong Wagtail and Stork-billed Kingfisher in the Ban Don tourist area. In the evening we did some owling around the Ban Don lodge, where we spent the night, which resulted in some glimpses of a Brown Boobook. Owling here can be very productive as Oriental Scops Owl, Brown Fish Owl and Savannah Nightjar can all be seen here.

Male Mekong Wagtail (Motacilla samveasnae)

The next morning we birded the dry dipterocarp forest around the Ban Don lodge and observed Black-hooded Woodpecker (very common), Greater Yellownape, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker,Oriental Pied Hornbill, Asian Barred Owlet, Green Imperial Pigeon, Collared Falconet, Black-hooded Oriole, Spangled Drongo, White-browed Fantail and Grey-faced Tit-babbler amongst others. Unfortunately we missed the Pygmy Falcon and the Nuthatch. 

Black-headed Woodpecker (Picus erythropygius)

When travelling over the inland road, I highly recommend a stop at this site, but maybe not for longer than one or two nights, for the area that is accessible is not that big and the birding might get boring.