Bach Ma NP 10th - 15th August

Hi everyone,

a 6 day trip to Bach Ma National Park revealed some good birds, though it was tough birding throughout with no access to higher elevations (from the Pheasant Trail on) and only being able to hike up the road. The upper part of the road towards the summit was blocked (road construction, which will continue for quite a while, apparently) and no vehicles were allowed inside the park.

Best birds seen/heard include: Annam Partridge (heard only; 100 metres away from the ranger's hut), Collared Scops Owl (heard only), Mountain Scops Owl (seen and heard; seems to be common), Brown Fish Owl (1 was heard calling on the night of the 14th-15th near the reception area; another Ketupa sp. was flushed near the Pheasant Trail on the 15th), Brown Hornbill (2 flyovers), 6 species of raptor, 3 species of bee-eater, Red-headed Trogon, Slaty-backed Forktail, Streaked Wren-babbler amongst others.
Mammals included gazillions of Tree-shrews, Red-bellied Squirrels, Taemiops-Squirrels, Yellow-throated Marten, 3 families of White-cheeked Gibbons.
Really quiet otherwise, with either unbearable heat or downpours.

Cheers,
Falk

Sapa gloom

Past weekend (14.-16.8.2010) in Sapa, very wet weather and non-birders as company, so not the ideal pre-conditions for great birding. This is why I put my hope for the short stroll down to the "Golden Stream Love Waterfall" at the National Park Headquarters near Tram Tom pass. However that visit turned out rather depressing as they seem now following the Dalat example of tourist attractions and are working hard to turn that place into another Love Valley (starting with the name). Where last November was only a single path leading to the rather nice waterfall, they are now busy constructing paths all over, and it looks like there will be benches, pavilions and concrete mickey-mice as well soon. Two big concrete tanks look like there will be trout farming and restaurants too. I guess this place will be still ok for birding in future, but probably only early morning before the crowds arrive or with getting off the trails into the forest... It was not all gloom though, a little flock had some Golden-breasted Fulvettas, lifer for me.

Another depressing sight was a Silver-eared Laughingthrush in a cage at Sapa market, which I would have much preferred to see as lifer on Fansipan instead.

Florian

Ps: forgot to mention a bird in Ham Rong garden, that looked like a non-breeding male Sapphire Flycatcher, though the head seemed darker than the plate in the Robson. Are there non-breeding plumaged birds at this time of the year?

29 Asian Openbills take a rest at Van Long Natural Reserve

Hi everyone,

Birding trip at Cuc Phuong (on 14th-15th). Nothing of particular interest for all of you, but not for me ! 2 new species in the pocket, I dare not tell you which ones... I send you a photo of a mammal. If you have any idea of the species, please tell me ! I was pishing along the Loop trail in order to attract hidden birds. My pish attracted nothing but this curious animal, which approached me less than 2 meters... Hey guy, buy glasses !

On the road back to Hanoi, short stop at Van Long, mainly to rest tired butt muscles (I am a motobirder, a rare species). The marshy area 1 km on the left of the small harbour for boat trips were full of Egrets (Little 60+, Great 15-20, Cattle 30 among buffaloes). A nice unexpected surprise was a group of 29 Asian Openbills with both juveniles and adults perched quietly on top of trees, for all the local people to... admire (not the most appropriate verb, I know). They choosed a small clump of willows (?) located 500m on the right of the boats place.

An erratic group of the wealthy thai population ?

Cheers,

Sébastien Delonglée

Thu Bon River, Hoi An - Son Tra Peninsula

Hi all,

on a small island in Thu Bon River (near the Life Resort Hoi An) following birds showed up on the 7th:

2 Greater Sand Plovers, 1 Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpipers, at least 5 White-breasted Waterhens, 2 Slaty-breasted Rails, 2 Long-tailed Shrikes, 2 White-breasted Kingfishers, at least 6 Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, about 25 Germain's Swiftlets.

On the 9th Son Tra produced amongst Javan Mongooses, Rhesus Macaques, Macaca sp. and two groups of Red-shanked Douc Langurs the following:

3 Black Eagles, 1 Crested Goshawk, 1 Oriental Honey-buzzard, 1 Pacific Reef Egret and hordes of Blue-tailed Bee-eaters plus road workers, hunters and loggers.

Cheers,

Falk

Hanoi - Island of the Red River - a Hwamei whistles "Sweet Liberty"

Xin chao cac ban thich xem chim !

Short photo stroll to the island of the Red River, Hanoi, more precisely the small open "forest" in the middle.

First time I see a Hwamei outside a cage yeahh

But probably an escaped bird hu huu....

What do you think ?

Some other species there include a pair of Black-Shouldered Kites and 3 Cinnamon Bitterns in the fallow land around, flying out from dense - and dry - vegetation within a couple of metres. Some very shy Lesser Coucals added - basic - music and colour to this noon stroll.

Chuc cac ban 1 ngay vui ve nhe,

Sébastien

Van Long Natural Reserve - Bonelli's Eagle

30th of july. Aroud 5PM. 1 adult and 1 immature circling along and above the limestone cliffs. Impressive raptor... At the same time, a family group of Delacour's Langurs lazed around. Hmm hmm... I don`t know if any cases of Bonelli`s predation on this rare primate have been noted there. The adult weight of a langur is about 7-10kg, so not small deal even for such a predator. But the young ones...
The 2nd of last may, I observed a Bonelli's immature flying low and quickly over the marsh, scolding by some Chinese Pond Herons. It perched on a rock, just above a small pagoda, not far from the dyke (200m), on the left side, and began to tear apart its prey (a bird, identication impossible).

Van Long, a paradise for birders, a well-stocked pantry for others...

Sébastien and Vân