Lenin Park-Hanoi : migration in full swing!

New sightings of migrants at Lenin Park during 3 visits : last Monday with John Parr & Family and Falk Wicker + 2 solo noon strolls on Tuesday/Wednesday. Most of the birds have been spotted in the area near the northern gate - a part, the best one, is outside the park (i.e. on the other side of the barrier) and accessible by Le Duân Street. In total, not more than 2 ha of birding playground mostly occupied by small trees, scrub and bushes.

- 1 White-shouldered Starling *
- 1 Spangled Drongo
- 1 Ashy Drongo (ssp mouhoti)
- 1 Wryneck
- 2 Siberian Stonechats
- 2 males Hainan Blue Flycatchers
- 1 Taiga Flycatcher
- 1 male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher
- 1 female Blue-and-White Flycatcher
- 1 Chinese/Hill Blue Flycatcher
- 1 Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher
- 2 Siberian Rubythroats
- 1 Manchurian Bush-warbler
- 1 Dusky Warbler
- 1 Seicercus Warbler
- 1 Blue Whistling Thrush
- 1 Chestnut Bunting
- 1 imm Pied Harrier headed north *
- 15 Black-crowned Night Herons *
- 1 Chestnut-winged Cuckoo *

* Patch tick (now ca 110 species spotted in the 2 main Hanoi’s parks)

John, Falk, did I forget anything ?

This stunning male Chestnut Bunting, not yet in breeding plumage, was foraging in low scrub


Manchurian Bush-warbler. Piles of dead branches are an excellent playground for this skulker. And the game it like best is hide-and-seek!

Male Hainan Blue Flycatcher with a strange throat/upper breast pattern (normaly, it is dark blue)

Taiga Flycatcher enjoying luxury perches

Wryneck

Siberian Rubythroat

Female Chinese/Hill Blue Flycatcher

Spangled Drongo

Blue Whistling Thrush of the black-billed migratory race caeruleus (a possible future split)

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo moving slowly from branch to branch high up in the tree canopy. A rare passage migrant in the Hanoi area - another sighting the 16-04-11 by Falk & Simon (Red river Island)


Black-crowned Night Herons (5 individuals on Monday, 15 on Tuesday) flying around Bẩy Mẫu Lake

Sébastien

Three more pics from me (Falk)

A well-camouflaged Scaly-breasted Munia,

A very showy Plaintive Cuckoo,

And one of those Flys - Chinese or Hill Blue?

Photo stroll at noon 21/03

Hi all,

A wander around the Red river Island at noon produced some interesting birds. En route to this area, I picked up a flock of 50 Black-crowned Night Herons above the West Lake, apparently seeking a place to roost.
After this, I encountered in the channel 5 Kentish Plovers together.
In the main woodland of the island, nothing special except this smart male Grey Bushchat amazingly showy, probably very proud of its brand new breeding plumage.

For this male Sibechat, the molt is underway.

In the woodland, I met a snake hunter, with 3 snakes in a bag. He showed me one of them, a non-venomous specimen, long at least 1.50m. He told me that there are "rắn hổ mang" (cobras) in this area. I'm not surprised; last year I saw one on the sand, at the northern tip of the island. I don't know much about snakes but I noticed its characteristic dilated neck taking shape as a hood.

So, watch your steps whenever you're walking around and avoid tall grass !

For information, the poor snake of the photo will end its life in the "famous" village of snake of Lệ Mật, just outside the city, disemboweled alive, the still beating heart dropped into a glass of rice wine...

Sebastien

Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

Hi all,

1 adult Black-crowned Night Heron and 1 Little Heron (image) were seen at Hoan Kiem lake on the 28th.

Observer: Roland Männel (image)

Cheers

Falk