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We found the beautiful and range-restricted Black-crowned Barwing at Lo Xo Pass. Photo by participant Myles McNally.

Vietnam today is not the country many envision when they think back on the war newsreels of the 1960s and 1970s. Nowadays, it is known for its bustling cities filled with motorbikes transporting people from every walk of life (and seemingly in every uniform!) from place to place, and for its rapid modernization, which has led to a healthily growing economy. Despite the business boom in the country, there are still some phenomenally productive wild places, and friendly and welcoming locals (as most of the populace is towards foreigners these days) at each of them. On our 2018 tour we had the good fortune of sampling a wide variety of the still-wild habitats in the country, with great success.

We started off in Hanoi, the capital, with a bit of a cultural orientation, some light birding, and some excellent food (including the Hanoi specialty of Bun Cha for many folks). From there we departed for birdier pastures, heading towards the strikingly scenic limestone karst region to the south. En route to Cuc Phuong National Park, we stopped at a community-run nature reserve at Van Long Reservoir. While we didn’t see the rare Delacour’s Langur (the main reason for the establishment of the reserve), we did get an excellent introduction to the avifauna, including our only experiences with several freshwater marsh-dwelling birds, a group that is very underrepresented in this country where subsistence hunting is still widespread. Add to that the breathtakingly beautiful karst backdrop, and we had a recipe for a splendid first morning birding. Featured birds here included White-browed Crake, Yellow Bittern, Purple Heron, Greater Coucal, and Blue Rock Thrush, all under the sentinel gaze of a Peregrine Falcon perched up atop the sharp karst ridge.

We then moved on to Cuc Phuong, the oldest national park in Vietnam. Cuc Phuong held quite a few species which we wouldn’t run into again on the tour, and we started off with a bang upon our arrival there, netting the scarce and patchily distributed Red-collared Woodpecker in the afternoon. We got two full days to explore the park, and our dawn drives netted us Rufous-tailed Robin, Indochinese Green-Magpie, Orange-headed Thrush, Black-breasted Thrush, and White-rumped Shama. Among our many bird highlights while on foot were Hainan Blue-Flycatcher, Limestone Wren-Babbler, Bar-bellied Pitta, White-bellied Green Pigeon, Red-vented Barbet (nasal tufts and all!), Red-headed Trogon, Limestone Leaf-Warbler, Black-browed and Rufous-throated fulvettas, Mountain Scops-Owl, Collared Scops-Owl, Large Scimitar-Babbler (babbling about its large scimitars), Lesser Shortwing, and a great little Pied Falconet teed up in full view. We even got to see a Toad performing a very odd dance-walk one morning, which brought us to teary-eyed laughter.

Once we had had our fill in the north, it was time to explore the central part of the country, so we left the limestone of the north and flew down to Da Nang. Our first birding location here was Lo Xo Pass, where we eventually connected with our primary target, the range-restricted and only recently discovered Black-crowned Barwing. Once we had had our fill of a spectacularly cooperative pair, we continued down to Mang Den, arriving in time for some evening birding which produced a big surprise is a group of Silver Pheasants! We spent the next two and a half days birding Mang Den’s productive evergreen forests. We enjoyed the mixed-species flocks that we encountered everywhere we went, each one seeming to hold a new gem which we hadn’t previously encountered. Lesser Racket-tailed Drongos and Ratchet-tailed Treepies flew back and forth, their long tails flowing behind them. Yellow-billed Nuthatches clambered up and down at the tops of the flocks, while show-stopping Rufous-faced Warblers got in our faces at eye level. There were confiding Black-chinned Yuhinas, and the more reserved and sneaky Black-hooded Laughingthrushes. We got repeated good looks at Green-billed Malkohas (one of Judy’s birds of the trip!), Chestnut-eared Laughingthrushes played hard to get, but Coral-billed and Red-billed Scimitar-Babblers showed very well, and we even got excellent looks at tiny sprites such as the gaudy Clicking Shrike-Babbler and the understated but crisp-looking White-browed Piculet. Short-tailed Scimitar-Babbler and Eyebrowed Wren-Babbler played nice as well, allowing most folks to see these normally skulking species. To top it off, a wonderful Brown Hornbill experience was the capper to an excellent couple of days birding there. Having added seventy-some-odd species in the center of the country, we made our way down to Ho Chi Minh City.

As there were more birds to be seen, we spent but one night in the notorious (and now very modern) metropolis that even most locals still call Saigon. We then made our way to the most biodiverse park in the country (and one of the most biodiverse in all of Southeast Asia), Nam Cat Tien National Park. Spending four nights here in the midst of lush lowland tropical forest was a real treat, and the biomass was almost overwhelming. Before we had even hit our beds on our first night we had amassed an impressive mammal list that included Wild Boar, Sambar, Red Muntjac, and the big highlight: a small group of Gaur! The bird show on the mammal drive rivaled the mammal show as well, with Great Eared-Nightjar, Lineated Barbet, Burmese Shrike, Racket-tailed Treepie, and the headliner: several Green Peafowl. The next three days were jam-packed with birds and other wildlife, and even the midday breaks and evening vigils at our wonderful lodging along the Dong Nai River were productive, with the dusk procession of Great Eared-Nightjars being especially mindboggling. We had big waterbirds such as Lesser Adjutant and Woolly-necked Stork, and we had several species of kingfishers, highlighted by Stork-billed and Black-capped along the watercourses, and the oft-elusive Banded in the forest. We also did well on our target trifecta of broadbills here, with Banded, Dusky, and Black-and-Red both showing very well. Blue-winged Leafbirds and Yellow-vented Flowerpeckers showed daily right next to our deck overlooking the river where we ate lunch every day, and we also saw the tiny but deadly (to winged insects, anyway!) Collared Falconet from here multiple times. We got great views of Green Peafowl twice more after our first evening’s encounter with them, and we even got some fleeting looks at the shy and retiring Germain’s Peacock-Pheasant. Other show stoppers here were Van Hasselt’s Sunbird, Forest Wagtail (one of Bob’s top 3), Gray-headed Fish-Eagle, Black-and-buff Woodpecker, Vernal Hanging-Parrots (affectionately named “vern” by our group), Orange-breasted Trogon, Crested Serpent-Eagle (we didn’t see it feasting on any crested serpents, alas), Violet Cuckoo, Siamese Fireback, and a quick look at a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo!

We departed from this wonderland of wildlife after a final morning’s birding, and headed towards the mountain range to the NE, and we were at Deo Nui San Pass by early afternoon. We had an incredibly successful stroll along the road here, netting a couple of front-page-worthy birds in a trio of very vocal and showy Vietnamese Cutia (a top 3 bird for at least four folks, including Minh!), and a pair of Orange-breasted Laughingthrushes which were as shy as the cutias were showy. Striated Swallow and Speckled Piculet were other highlights here before nightfall. We came back the next morning to clean up even more of the species there, with the highlights on day two being a huge and very cooperative flock of Black-headed Parrotbills, a couple of Alstrom’s Warblers, Streaked Spiderhunters, Mugimaki Flycatcher, excellent views (complete with great audio) of Black-headed Sibia, some more of the “Gray-crowned” subspecies of Black-throated Tits, and a young Rufous-bellied Eagle just as we boarded the bus the depart.

This year, we saved arguably the best for last, with the final region of the tour being Da Lat, home to the highest rate of endemism in the country. From the bird-filled Tanung Valley to the gusty but scenic saddle of Mt. Langbian, to the wet, misty environs around Bidoup National Park, the (bird) hits just kept on coming. Gray-crowned Crocias is perhaps the most emblematic bird of the country, having been rediscovered in the 1990s after being lost to science for more than seventy years, and we got some stellar views of it during our morning at Tanung. Tanung also provided us with Jerdon’s Baza, Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Mountain Tailorbird, Pin-tailed Pigeon, Wedge-tailed Pigeon, Rufous-backed Sibia, and the strikingly white-faced Asian subspecies of the already visually striking Eurasian Jay.

We had to cope with some big-time gusts during our scenic hike at Mt. Langbian, but we were able to find a few well-sheltered spots in the montane forest which provided plenty of birds, including a couple of very intimate encounters with a couple of high quality and much sought after species. After a long wait and game of cat and mouse, a pair of the notoriously skulky and difficult-to-see Collared Laughingthrush showed themselves, and we were even able to get everyone views of this sneaky species through a scope while it was singing- Wow! At the other end of the spectrum of difficulty was Pygmy Cupwing. After not seeing it on our first attempt, we went back after our tasty field lunch to try for it one more time, and this time we almost immediately got stellar up close and personal views of this usually shy, tiny little tailless thimble of a bird. In addition to these two highly memorable ones (both made several folks’ top 3 lists), we also saw Hume’s Treecreeper, Dalat Shrike-Babbler, and Black-crowned Fulvetta. Our final bit of birding at Bidoup National Park netted us more prolonged views of Black-crowned Fulvetta, the local race of Lesser Shortwing, White-spectacled Warbler, Kloss’s Leaf-Warbler, and a phenomenal encounter with a Spotted Forktail that actually came down onto the trail itself three times as it moved on past our stunned assemblage of birders!

Dalat was a great way to put a bow on what was a great two and a half weeks with a gregariously fun and congenial group. Our biggest thanks are due to our most important player of all: our local guide Le Quy Minh, who in addition to having top notch bird finding skills, was unflappable and unfailingly sensitive, generous, and effective at making everything happen smoothly. His great sense of humor was always on display, and could add levity to any situation (even in the early mornings before coffee was served), which was much appreciated by all. Thanks to all of you who came along on the trip- you really did make it an enjoyable one for Minh, Dave, and myself. Cheers, until next we meet, somewhere in this wide world of birds!

-Doug Gochfeld

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

Participant Stan Lilley got this photo of our group birding on the Van Long Reservoir.

We were not able to find any of the rare Delacour's Langurs at Van Long Reserve, but we did see the Black-shanked Douc Langur at Cat Tien. It looks like it got into someone's makeup! Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Blue-winged Leafbird was common in the forests; it's easy to see from this photo how they got their name! Photo by participant Stan Lilley.

Yellow-vented Flowerpecker showed well at a fruiting tree at Cat Tien NP. Photo by participant Myles McNally.

Siamese Fireback was one of our prizes at Cat Tien NP. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Long-tailed Shrikes were seen in the northern part, from Mang Den to Danang. Photo by participant Stan Lilley.

The tiny Pygmy Cupwing had to be coaxed out, but eventually we got a great look at it. What a charmer! Photo by participant Myles McNally.

Our view of the shy Germain's Peacock-Pheasant was not the best, but we did get to see the "eyes" on this one, briefly! Guide Doug Gochfeld managed to get a shot of part of the bird as it ducked between vegetation.

The Purple-rumped subspecies of Gould's Sunbird should probably be split as a distinct species. Photo by participant Stan Lilley.

This Asian Barred Owlet was another one that behaved well at Cat Tien, and allowed us a nice look. Photo by participant Myles McNally.

Guide Doug Gochfeld got this flight shot of the distinctive Black Eagle.

Several Rufous-faced Warblers were seen in the Mang Den area, where participant Myles McNally got this nice portrait.

Some of the highlights of the tour were our sightings of Green Peafowl near Cat Tien. Photo by participant Stan Lilley.

The mammal highlight of our tour was a sighting of these Gaur at Cat Tien. This is a wild "cow" found in the forests of Vietnam, and seldom seen. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

We spent time at the Dong Nai River, where this Stork-billed Kingfisher put in an appearance. Photo by participant Myles McNally.

This large group of Ashy Woodswallows was possibly a wintering flock. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Participant Stan Lilley got a nice shot of this Indochinese Cuckooshrike.

We had a great encounter with this Brown Hornbill. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

The Gray-crowned race of the Black-throated Tit was pretty common in the highlands south of Mang Den. Photo by participant Myles McNally.

We saw some gorgeous butterflies, including this fabulous White Dragontail. Photo by participant Stan Lilley.

The White-rumped Shama that we saw at Cat Tien NP posed for this lovely portrait by guide Doug Gochfeld.

The male Gray Bushchat is an Old World flycatcher that looks a lot like a shrike. Photo by participant Stan Lilley.

Participant Robert Pacheco took this photo of our group birding at sunset in Cat Tien NP.

In Cat Tien NP, we also found several Barking Deer, or Muntjac. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 345 bird taxa and 17 mammal taxa