Spring raptor migration at Tam Dao

Last year I (Tom Kompier) had quite a good day at Tam Dao for raptors (see the blog entry) on April 10. Last Saturday (April 8) the clouds above Hanoi seemed ready to dissipate around noon, so I drove up to give it a try. At first not a lot seemed to be happening, but after an hour or so harriers started moving, and soon I had a male Pied Harrier accompanying 4 Eastern Marsh Harriers. A little after that a large pale raptor appeared that had me puzzled for a while, until it finally dawned on me it was a Short-toed Eagle. A very rare bird in Vietnam indeed. The field guide only mentions it as a vagrant from Annam. But there it was. It turned into an eventful day after all.
Below the totals (12.30 - 17.00, from the Belvedere Resort):

Eastern Marsh Harrier 34
Pied Harrier 4 (3 males, 1 female)
Shikra 1 male
Japanese Sparrowhawk 6+
Chinese Sparrowhawk 20+
Eurasian Sparrowhawk 2+ (and about 15+ unidentified)
Jerdon's Baza 17
Black Baza 50 (one group)
Oriental Honey Buzzard 15+
Grey-faced Buzzard 3
Crested Serpent Eagle 5+
Osprey 1
Kestrel 1 (resident?)
Crested Goshawk 2 resident
Peregrine 1 resident

I also made a few record shots:

Short-toed Eagle

 Pied Harrier, males

 Eastern Marsh Harrier, male

 Eastern Marsh Harrier, female

Chinese Sparrowhawk, males

Flock of Black Bazas

Tristram's Bunting at Red River Island (Hanoi) and Raptor Migration over Tam Dao (by Tom Kompier)

Last week Red River Island went through a "pimp-my-island" episode - NOT. People have been digging at the soil quite a bit over the years, but recently activity has increased substantially. What is more, the little forest patch towards the northern side has been decimated and the reedy grasslands have been turned into banana plantations. But migrants still turn up. Many of them actually end up in traps and nets, but even so, birding can be pretty good still. Here a few records of interest from the recent past:

Baikal Bush Warbler was a nice addition to my Vietnamese list on April 2. After a sighting by Dom this spring and the Chinese Bush Warbler seen by Sebastien I was ready to see a Locustella (besides the rather common Lanceolated Warbler, that is).

Short-eared Owl was another great bird on April 2. I hope it survived, as several local bird-catchers were actively pursuing it.

Apparently a good bird in Hanoi was the male Tristram's Bunting on April 4, the first time I saw 3 species of bunting on the island on a single day (the others being Yellow-breasted and Little). 

April 6 I saw a Northern Boobook and a Jerdon's Baza. The latter was carrying a lizard and showed very well. Both were new for me in Vietnam. 

Chinese Penduline Tits have been around regularly, with sightings on March 26 (1), April 2 (2), and April 4 (3). 

++++++

On April 10 finally a sunny day seemed to be truly happening, a rare event in springtime Hanoi and even rarer for it to be on a weekend. I know that Tam Dao can be pretty good for raptor migration, but it is very much dependent on the cloud cover (even on good days Tam Dao can be locked in cloud and mist) and the wind. After a spell of pretty bad weather raptors are eager to circumnavigate the higher mountains on their way to the north. I have seen good migration at various points, notably Pia Oac in Cao Bang, and Tam Dao. Pia Oac seemed a bit far for a day outing, so I opted for Tam Dao. When I reached the hill station at 9 AM it was shrouded in mist, but the sun peeked through it vaguely and soon I started seeing the mountains over a sea of cloud. Because the mist returned I went a little higher up the town and found a spot with good views. Between 10 AM and 4 PM I saw around 280 raptors migrating. No big flocks, irrespective of the seemingly good weather. Maybe they passed already the last few days, or maybe the lack of wind was not good. 

Accipiter species were out in good numbers. Many could not reliably be identified, but the more striking Chinese Sparrowhawk clocked 40, Japanese Sparrowhawk 13, Eurasian Sparrowhawk 7, and 46 I left unidentified. So, 106 Sparrowhawks in total, not bad.

I was very surprised that Jerdon's Baza, allegedly a resident species that does not occur to the north of Vietnam, nor around Hanoi for that matter, was migrating in considerable numbers. I had only seen my first reliably last week at Red River Island (on the same day that Sebastian saw several close to Hanoi), so I had dismissed what looked like it yesterday in Sa Pa as probably something else. Here in Tam Dao I again dismissed several pairs and singles mixed in with Crested Serpent Eagles. I though my eyes were playing tricks on me and that they just had to be immature Oriental Honey Buzzards. Even when I saw two singles that I positively identified, I still could not bring myself to accept that the others had been Jerdon's too. Until at the end of the afternoon I saw 6 together. These too were obviously Jerdon's, so I dashed to the car and took out my camera to shoot some proof. In the end I tallied 10, but there must have been at least 15-20 passing.

The other Baza, Black Baza, passed in small numbers. Only one small flock of 5 and a few singles, for a total of 8.

I saw 6 Eastern Marsh Harriers, 4 males and 2 females. I was hoping for Pied, but that did not happen.

Crested Serpent Eagles can be quite numerous at Tam Dao, but today I only saw 64, with the largest group 15.

I counted 51 Oriental Honey Buzzards, but if we deduct some misidentified Jerdon's Baza, then there were little over 40 passing.

Grey-faced Buzzard was scarce, with only 11, and now flocks to mention (largest number together 3). Disappointing. Maybe they passed through already.

A single Black-eared Kite, a single Eastern Buzzard, and a single Osprey added some spice, as did single Kestrel and Amur Falcon.

Local Crested Goshawks completed the picture. 6 Raptors I did not identify at all.

Below some pics of Jerdon's Bazas:

A few late autumn goodies from northern Vietnam

The last few weeks dragonflies have become scarce, so my attention has shifted somewhat to birds. November 15 I visited Sa Pa and hiked up to the reservoir above the road that leads from Sa Pa town to the Love Waterfall area. Beyond the reservoir there are a number of small rocky streams running through what once was lovely forest and what is now an area with a few remaining trees and a lot of shrub. I was very happy to repeatedly flush a Wood Snipe that eventually I also saw for an instant on the ground, when it crossed a stream, before taking off again. To me this was both an unexpected and much desired species, irrespective of the fact that all snipe are more or less the same. The same day I also saw at approximately the same location a Long-tailed Shrike of subspecies tricolor. The first time I saw this subspecies in Vietnam. Apparently its range just about extends to the Sa Pa area.

December 5 I visited the same area again. No Wood Snipe this time, but I saw several female Blue-fronted Redstarts, new in Vietnam for me. It apparently winters regularly in the Sa Pa area. Another new bird for my Vietnamese list was the Great Spotted Woodpecker. A female fed in a lone tree for a while, before moving on.

Tam Dao also offered a few interesting birds to me recently, along the long trail at Tam Dao 2. On December 6 I was thrilled to flush a Dark-sided Thrush from the vegetation along the path that perched just long enough on a fallen log for me to be able to ID it. That same day also brought a party of Red-billed Scimitar-Babblers. Both were new birds for me.

On December 12, along the same trail and on a rather misty day, a party of Short-tailed Parrotbills were the definite highlight. I love parrotbills and seeing a party feeding for a while in close proximity was fantastic.

Below a photo of a Blue-fronted Redstart, taken with my macro lens.

Tom Kompier

Green Cochoa - Tam Dao / 15th April

First of all, I want to thank Richard Craik, owner of  Vietnam Birding, a company offering services for birders to Vietnam and beyond (website here), who kindly informed me there were a pair of Green Cochoas busily collecting nesting material near a trail at Tam Dao, seen on 2 days the 11 and 12th April – very exciting! 

According to Richard, the Cochoas were spending most the time collecting moss from some branches and flying behind the trunk (of the same tree) which is where - he guess - the nest is being built. 

I decided to try my luck 3 days later. Richard gave me detailed indications about the location of the famous tree.  I found it easily but the Cochoas lived up to their reputation i.e. sluggish and elusive. I had a glimpse of two birds - maybe the same individual - around the tree, frustrating brief views but not so bad after all. I covered up with my camo blanket at 20 meters from the tree, down the trail a bit (didn't want to be seen by walkers...) and waited. 45 minutes later, a female landed on a branch, stayed few seconds then flew up and away, not to be seen again the two following hours. End of the show. Short but intense!

Seeing this near-mythical creature was a dream – finally fulfilled. I hope this pair will breed successfully and will not be too sensitive to disturbance by noisy walkers that invade the place each weekend. With the coming of spring and warm weather, their number will increase significantly over the next few weeks.

The brownish wash on wings indicates a female

A morning at Tam Dao / 27th Feb.

Hi all, 

Last week, a morning visit to Tam Dao (along the “Water Tank trail”) produced some nice species in spite of many groups of noisy students. As usual the birding activity was slow in spite of the excellent viewing conditions. Some « innovations » there since my last visit last year: a barrier at the Forest protection station, an entrance ticket (20.000 VND) and, at the end of the trail, a restaurant + a new loop trail. Obviously there is a plan to attract more visitors there. And unfortunately it works well !

The 3 peaks that gives Tam Dao its name (Tam = 3, Dao/Đảo = island - above the sea of fog!), seen from the Water Tank trail.
An amazing warm and sunny weather, rare in February.

The piping call of the Golden Babbler and the loud song of the Golden-throated Barbet accompanied me all the morning, and some gave nice views. Another common singer was the handsome Chestnut Bulbul. I also did hear some distant Laughingthrushes (probably Grey), and at the end of the morning a flock of Grey L. finally crossed the trail. It took plenty of time and effort to get some kind of view of one of the 3-4 birds present. Chestnut Bulbul and Grey Laughingthrushes are restricted to East Tonkin and South China, and are among the specialities of Tam Dao.

In mid-morning, as virtually nothing was moving, I played the Collared Owlet call and had a male Forktail Sunbird and some unexpected Short-tailed Parrotbills (another local speciality), which vanished as quickly as they appeared. No photos, maybe next time.

At the end of the trail I had also 1 Ratchet-tailed Treepie, which gave great looks. Following the bird-waves as usual. One ceicercus warbler was also seen, identified by ear as the Bianchi’s Warbler (soft più call). 

Notable other birds include a fine pair of Blyth’s Shrike-Babbler, Schaeffer's Fulvetta, Black Bulbul, Chestnut-collared Yuhina (a breeding pair), Spot-necked Babbler, Collared Owlet (heard), Streaked-breasted Scimitar Babbler, Lesser Yellownape, Sultan Tit, a lone Japanese Thrush, Brown-flanked Bush Warbler... 

I also bumped into 2 guys on motorcycle with (homemade) guns. My god, where are the "rangers" ? Despite being a national park, proper conservation remains non-existent. This is Vietnam!

heavily cropped shots of a male Blyth's Shrike-Babbler - split from White-Browed Shrike-Babbler complex

Golden Babbler

male Forktail Sunbird

David's (Schaeffer's) Fulvetta - split from Grey-cheeked.

Chestnut Bulbul

a very smart Black Bulbul of the white-headed morph

Along the Water Tank trail...
The former trail has been fully degraded into a gravel track...Hopefully it will not be upgraded to a paved road...

Silver Waterfall at Tay Thien - Tam Dao

I haven’t been birding for a few weeks due to work and family commitments, so it was nice to go last Saturday to Tay Thien, Tam Dao, in Vinh Phuc province (70km from Hanoi). 

On the way to the Silver Waterfall, I saw some mix flocks with warblers, Schaeffer’s Fulvettas... 

But my main target here were Water-Redstarts and I picked up 2 birds : a stunning White-capped WR and a  female Plumbeous WR.

Other interesting birds include  a couple of Grey Wagtails, a smart Slaty-backed Forktail, 2 Rufous-gorgeted Flycatchers - 1 female and 1 male at good range, nice and clean light and background. 

On the way back, I saw more birds moving and calling around but not enough time to photograph them.

Tay Thien, a really nice place for sight-seeing, trekking and birding!

Sure I will be back soon :)

Le Viet Tuan Hoang

White-capped Water Redstart

Schaeffer's Fulvetta is a recent split from Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, and is a typical component species of bird-waves at Tam Dao

Slaty-backed Forktail

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher

Plumbeous Water Redstart, female

Grey Wagtail

Tam Dao Birding - April 10th and 12th

I spent about 1.5 days birding Tam Dao this past week.  I arrived in late afternoon on the 10th in crumby weather and left a little after noon on the 12th in very nice weather.

Tam Dao is a VERY weird place.  It reminds me a lot of the tourism scene on Cat Ba Island because there are over 50 hotels!  Literally!  And almost all are empty...  how is this feasible???  Is there an incredibly high 'peak' season where they make a ton of money to live off of the rest of the year?

I tried to find a smaller hostel type accomodation but in the end all I could do is get the cheapest hotel room. They need a bloody hostel for low budget travellers!  I also didn't understand their idea of a National Park.  The only people of significance I encountered was 2 or 3 men at the gate to the Water Tank Trail.  They charge 50 000 dongs for each entry which is a fair price... but a far cry from the 4 000 to enter the Hanoi Botanical Gardens or the 40 000 for multiple daily entry in Cuc Phuong N.P.  And really... all you do is walk along a path for a few hours.

On the afternoon of the 11th I encountered an organised birding group from Tropical Birding led by Sam Woods, an excellent guide that I have had the pleasure of working with briefly in the past.  Another short encounter with the group the following morning (12th) had me shaking hands with Robert S. Ridgely.  Definitly a high point in my birding career.  For all you Asian birders, this man is one of the most famous South American ornithologists.  He co-wrote the two-volume Birds of Ecuador and discovered the Jocotoco Antpitta of southern Ecuador, just to name two things off the top of my head.

Both the birding group and I missed the sought-after Short-tailed Parrotbills.  I put a huge effort in looking for these too!  I may try again before I leave on the 21st if I can spare the time!

For a list of the birds seen please see my eBird checklists found at the following urls:

http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S13764804
http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S13764895
http://ebird.org/ebird/canada/view/checklist?subID=S13764925

A nice surprise at Tam Dao

In life, sometimes the best things come when you least expect them to. In birding also...

The 12th April, during a dragonfly watching trip on the lower slopes of Tam Dao (near Dai Lai lake, 60 km northwest of Hanoi), as I was walking along a rocky stream in forest, I saw a yellowish passerine landed on a rock in the middle of the stream (probably for bathing or drinking), then flew off to a nearby tree. I put my bins on it and was more than happy to see a male Narcissus Flycatcher, a bird I have long dreamed of seeing.

Definitely an unexpected surprise finding that bird, especially during a non birding trip when I was concentrated on little bugs flying close to the ground!

I waited one hour and half and got 3 other good views of this guy – fortunately I had with me my 400mm lens. What an absolute stunner, my bird of the year so far!

male Mugimaki Flycatcher, photographed in the same area than the Narcissus

And a list of some migrants seen the first week of April in my Hanoian patches (i.e. Red River Island RRI, Botanical gardens and some orchards) :
Black-naped Monarch, many species of Flycatchers (Taiga, including some fine males, Mugimaki, Hill/Chinese Blue, Hainan, Asian Brown, Asian Paradise, Yellow-rumped, Grey-headed Canary), Ashy and Spangled Drongos, small flock of Crested Buntings (RRI, reeds), Seicercus Warbler, Thrushes (Blue Whistling, Japanese, Grey-backed), Chinese Blackbird, phylloscs (Arctic, Dusky, Yellow-browed, Pale-legged, Eastern-crowned, Radde’s), Pied Harrier, Red-throated Pipit (RRI)...

Tam Dao - Water Tank Trail / March 23th

Hi all,

After a long time, finally some news from Tam Dao (not a lot though): singing Chestnut and Black Bulbuls, flocks of Silver-eared Mesias, Indochinese (or Chestnut Collared) Yuhina, White-bellied Erpornis, one tame White-browed Piculet, one Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler, Collared Owlets, Large Hawk Cuckoos and Golden-throated Barbets were calling, Grey-cheeked (Schaeffer's) Fulvettas were very obvious as usual, 2 small feeding flocks of Short-tailed Parrotbills with Yellow-bellied Warblers and Golden Babblers, few Scarlet Minivets, 1 male Fork-tailed Sunbird, Red-headed Trogon (heard), 1 Streaked Spiderhunter, one Treepie sp (heard only, Grey or Collared), some Spot-necked Babblers, 1 Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, a group of Grey Laughingthrush heard...

No migrants were seen... but the spring migration is well underway (as I can see in the Hanoian parks).

And a good news to end with : the annoying Park "ranger" has gone! Good riddance to him, he was so negative and greedy.

Streaked-breasted Scimitar Babbler in bamboo forest

White-browed Piculet

This guy tried to hide itself, but it does not work with me :))

Short-tailed Parrotbill, one of the Tam Dao specialities.

Did not get a clean shot, better luck next time !

Golden-throated Barbet

Tam Dao, Watertank trail, 22-4-2012

Hi all,

An evening stroll along the first part of the watertank road produced very few birds, as expected. Cars (predominantly big, black, expensive ones), people on motorbikes carrying out forest products, and hunters were around.
Nevertheless the following birds were encountered,

a few singing Chestnut and Black Bulbuls, a flock of Silver-eared Mesias, large numbers of Indochinese Yuhina, a Common Green Magpie, Rufous-capped Babblers feeding their offspring, Spot-necked Babblers, a lone Streaked Wren Babbler, one Streak-breasted Scimitar-babbler showed surprisingly well, a White-browed Scimitar-babbler called nearby, 2 Orange-bellied Leafbirds flew overhead, 2 Collared Owlets were calling. Flocks of Grey Laughingthrushes were only heard, as was a Blue-rumped Pitta. Grey-cheeked (Schaeffer's) Fulvettas were very obvious, unlike my nemesis-bird. No migrants were seen...


Cheers,
Falk

Tam Dao migration, 7-4-2012

Hi all,

This morning a few birds were heard or seen around the bear centre in good ol' TD, including this nice Chestnut-tailed Starling (1 of 4 individuals) - a tick for my country list!


The birds were feeding in a Cotton tree (Bombax spec.) together with Red-whiskered Bulbuls.

Other species that migrate through in numbers are Ashy and Spangled Drongos. Koels are singing already. A few Taiga Flycatchers around, including some fine males.
A Small Asian Mongoose was seen too.

Cheers,
Falk

Update Tam Dao, 13-2-2012

Hi all,

Not much around bird-wise (miserable weather) - a displaying pair of Crested Serpent Eagles, 1 Radde's Warbler, still plenty of Pale-footed Bush Warblers, the odd bird wave and very nice views of Collared Scops Owl being the exception.

On the other hand, mammals are putting in an appearance with very regular sightings of Small Asian Mongooses around the bear centre.
Even better 1 Red Muntjak was heard on Saturday - unbelievable they are not completely wiped out!

Cheers,
Falk

Scaly Thrush, owls - Tam Dao

Hi all,

I can only agree with what Sebastien has sad earlier - thrushes seem to stay away from traditional sites this winter. There's very little activity regarding them here in Tam Dao.

One unlucky bird however flew into a fence nearby, a beautiful Scaly Thrush - poor bird.

Owl activity on the other side has increased again with Asian Barred Owlet and Brown Hawk Owl being very active around the Bear center.

Cheers,
Falk

Pictures taken by Nguyen Tam Thanh

Pitta, TamDao NP HQ, 10-12-2011

Hi all,

A colleague of mine saved a bird that trapped itself inside a bike shed - the bird appeared to be in good condition and was released.

This happened right next to the National Park Head quarters, and the bird turned out to be a pitta!
My colleague took two pics (of not so great quality) - first thoughts were, Blue-rumped Pitta. But then again, it looks very warm brown around the head. A very late this year's Blue-rumped Pitta or Rusty-naped?
What do you think?

Cheers,
Falk

Tam Dao NP HQ, 2-12-2011

Hi all,

More and more birds seem to move down from the higher elevations. Lots of birds around at the moment, though nothing cheerfully exciting.
Best birds lately,

- 1 female Fujian Niltava
- the group of Greater and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush continues to linger around
- a big flock of Chinese Blackbirds feeding on figs
- a residential Blue Whistling Thrush whistling away
- a couple of very approachable Pale-footed Bush Warblers
- one bush warbler that was seen very briefly could have been a Russet Bush Warbler

Cheers,
Falk

Tam Dao, Warblers

Hi all,

It got quite chilly last night and this morning was dull and grey. Unsurprisingly, quite a few warblers were seen foraging around the lower parts of the NP today.

- 2 Hume's Warblers
- 1 presumed Bianchi's Warbler
- 1 Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler
- 2 very showy Pallas's Leaf Warblers
and many Y-broweds.

Cheers,
Falk

Tam Dao, NP HQ

Hi all,

This weekend it was 'time to flock'.

Not only was there a flock of about 30 Striated Yuhinas hopping around in the trees near the National Park head quarters but also a group of ca. 15 Red Junglefowls scratching their way through the leaf litter. A group of the resident Red-billed Blue Magpies gave brilliant views.

Much better was a flock of about 30 laughingthrushes - both Greater and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrushes were observed very close to the main road that leads up to Tam Dao town!

There were also the more expected large flocks of visitors...

Cheers,
Falk

Tam Dao NP, Water tank trail, 13-11-2011

Hi all,

An early morning visit to Tam Dao produced some nice species - even though a few hunters, campers and annoying Park "rangers" tried to get between us and the birds. In the end we succeeded!

Here the more notable species (amongst not many others),
- 1 or 2 Collared Owlets calling
- 1 juv. Grey-backed Shrike that was welcoming us at the Ranger station
- 1 bird looked suspiciously like a female Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush but views were too poor and short
- 1 female Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher- at least 1 White-crowned Forktail was heard
- quite a few Chestnut Bulbuls, also a few Black Bublbuls
- Mountain Tailorbird
- Sulphur-breasted Warbler
- a few flocks of laughingthrushes, probably Grey as well
- 2 Streaked Wren Babblers
- Red-billed Scimitar Babbler, heard only
- a fine pair of White-browed Shrike Babblers
- Black-chinned and Striated Yuhinas
- 1 or 2 Olive-backed Pipits
- 1 Fire-breasted Flowerpecker
- 1 female Fork-tailed Sunbird
- 1 Streaked Spiderhunter

We were really lucky with the weather as it started getting very foggy, just as we were heading back to Hanoi.
Even though my companions didn't seem to really believe me, but this was a good, above-average birding trip to Tam Dao!

Cheers,
Falk Wicker, Frank Momberg, John Parr

Tam Dao, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, 11-11-2011

Hi all,

Very outstanding record - 2 Blue-bearded Bee-eaters were first heard and then seen along the stream that flows into Ho Son. Possibly a first for Tam Dao!

As the days (and nights!) are getting much cooler here in Tam Dao, a bit of altitudinal migration seems to start.

This morning a Grey Treepie was seen, in a mixed flock of Scarlet Minivets, Ashy Drongos and a few Phylloscs. Later on 2 more treepies were heard but not confidently identified.

Slaty-backed Forktail now inhabits the lower stretches of the small stream near NP head quarters (again, the one that ends up in Ho Son).

A lone Forest Wagtail was a late migrant. One Large Hawk-cuckoo showed up as well.

Bar-backed Partridge and the smaller owls calling actively.

Cheers
Falk