Back to Bavi NP. My main target was the
Red-headed Trogon, which I suspected to breed somewhere, not far from the
Red-vended Barbet nest. I finally found them and had some poor shots in the foggy
condition of the morning. Not so long after, I found the nest. After gathered
some food, the female stay all the day in the cavity.
The nest is really in danger. It is too close
from the road. At midday, tourists like to stay there, making a lot of noise. I
told to some of them I was a snake expert, there were some cobras in the area
blablabla… and at the breeding season they can attack without warning... They
left immediately!
A cold front brings altitudinal migrants to the city (Hanoi).
Recently spotted at the Botanical Gardens a juv. White-tailed Robin and a female
Small Niltava. The latter is a patch tick and the 22th species* of
‘Flycatcher’ being observed in this park!
During the winter months, this strict montane bird
sometimes shifts to lower elevations. It is a scarce visitor at Hanoi (I have
2 previous sightings in November 2010 and
December 2012). Moves lower inside denser vegetation, more skulking in habit
than other Niltavas. With all the ‘grooming’ in the park, I was not
expecting to spot this species there.
No photos unfortunately (photography gear had some 'problems'
recently)...
Sebastien
* the 21 others are : Fujian Niltava, Brown-chested
Jungle Fly, Grey-headed Canary Fly, Dark-sided, Asian Brown, Brown-breasted,
Ferruginous, Verditer, Yellow-rumped, Green-backed, Mugimaki, Taiga,
Snowy-browed, Slaty-backed, Slaty-blue, Rufous-gorgeted, Blue-and-White sensu
lato, Hainan Blue, Chinese Blue, Hill Blue, Blue-throated (ssp klossi) (excluded : Asian Paradise Fly, Black-naped Monarch).
2 photos of the juv. White-tailed Robin taken one day before by Jean-Daniel L'HERIAU, a french visiting birder (many thanks to him!)
Hanoi : Some interesting winterers/migrants spotted last week (3rd -> 9th Dec.) in different wooded patches, not more than 10km from the city center.
-White-tailed Robin (Lenin Park, FIPI)
- Rufous-tailed Robin (Lenin Park + FIPI)
- White-throated Rock Thrush female (Lenin Park the 6th December), 1 late migrant. At Hanoi, very few sightings of this species during the autumn passage, more frequently seen in spring.
- Fujian Niltava (Lenin Park, orchard Vinh Thuy, FIPI + Bot. Gardens) - Interesting to notice that this species is present in ALL my patches !
- Small Niltava (FIPI) - A VIP guest at Hanoi!
- Red-flanked Bluetail (Bot. Gardens)
- Siberian Rubythroat (Lenin Park)
- 4 species of Thrushes (Scaly, Japanese, Grey-backed, Orange-headed) - Japanese T. is the commonest species, present in all the patches
- Thick-billed Warbler (Lenin Park, orchard Vinh Thuy)
- Eurasian Woodcock (FIPI) - 2 flushed
Small Niltava
During the winter months, this strict montane bird sometimes shifts to lower elevations. It is a scarce visitor at Hanoi. Moves lower inside denser vegetation, more skulking in habit than other Niltavas. Photos taken at the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI), in a nice patch of 2 ha of good forest (only 10km from the city center). Many thanks to John Parr who show me this place !
female Orange-headed Thrush
Scaly Thrush
female Japanese Thrush
male Japanese Thrush feeding in a fruiting tree
female Red-flanked Bluetail
"Blyth's Leaf Warbler" with a tiny prey in its bill
A bit of video of the Crested Goshawk spotted at the FIPI
