With a limited time frame of only 9 days, I was never going to do Viet Nam justice. Hence after useful advice from Richard Craik, I limited myself to two southern Viet Nam areas - Da Lat and Cat Tien. In all I managed a decent checklist of 217 species, my first trip to South East Asia, totally unguided.
Logistics
Flights
Evening flight from London, Heathrow to Ho Chi Minh City, Tan Son Nhut on Qatar Airways. A useful route, as the stop-over in Doha is only an hour. Flight is evenly broken up into 6½ hours each way on the flight out. Customs and baggage collection in Vietnam is swift to say the least.
Early morning, 35 minute flight with Vietnam Airlines from HCMC to Da Lat. As expected, Da Lat is merely a run way with a small terminal building. Although it will handle International flights soon.
Other transport
Taxi fairs at HCMC airport were arranged inside the terminal building with one of the operators rather than picking one up outside. Hence the taxi was pre-paid and no potential for rip-off ($8.00).
In Dalat, Lien Khuong International Airport is new - and at least 30kms from the town of Da Lat. You do not fly into the nearby Camly Airport which is a few miles from Da Lat - this is used primarily for military flights. I caught a local taxi to my hotel on the outskirts of Da Lat. I paid near enough $20 for this taxi only to be told at the hotel that I was ripped by 100%. My hotel proprietor was no happy - ripping off tourists is bad for business and they have an agreed rate of $9.00. So again, as you should on every occasion, get the cost first before you ride.
Taxi transfers were arranged prior to departure for the long drives between Dalat and Cat Tien and then from Cat Tien to HCMC.
Motorcycles
You can be driven about by a driver (Say An) or you can hire your own motorbike. A specific motorbike license doesn’t seem to be necessary - merely saying that you know how is good enough! Prices for an Automatic are roughly VND90 000 and fuel itself is rather cheap, a tank costing around VND60 000. A degree of steel is required, especially if you consider driving about in HCMC!
Accommodation
I used the services of Vietnam Birding to help with a suitable plan of action for my limited time frame as well as arrange Taxi Transfers and Accommodation at Cat Tien National Park. Richard provided very informative advice, not so much on where to go, but how long I needed as well as the best methods of arranging this. I arranged my own flights, long-haul and internal as well as accommodation in Da Lat. I must of course thank him for providing 2 items of clothing which were extremely useful, leech socks which I had neglected as well as a cap which I had forgotten. These were unexpected bonuses which saved my face from further sun burn and my body from further hidden leeches!
Vietnam Birding
Richard Craik
3rd Floor, 71-75 Hai Ba Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
www.vietnambirding.com
info@vietnambirding.com
+84 8 3827 3766
Da Lat
YK Home Villa Hotel
9 Yet Kieu, Ward 5, Dalat.
www.ykhomevilla.com
info@ykhomevilla.com
+84 633 561 466
I took a chance and booked a hotel with limited reviews (albeit very good ones) via Agoda. As it happens, the hotel is slightly outside the main town centre - thus not much noise. I would hate to be staying in central Da Lat. I never thought I’d say this, but there is a country where the populations drivers toot horns more than those in India, they are Vietnamese! Besides being quieter, the hotel is run like a home. Almost everything can and does get done very quickly - all you need do is ask. The hotel is run by sisters, Huong and Thu Nguyen. A most delightful pairing who looked after me as if I was family. After the first day, they had tuned in to the way I worked, coffee arrived whenever I sat down - they even gave me ‘breakfast’ at 14:00 in the afternoon because I had skipped it while out birding. Everything from arranging taxis, to motorbike taxis, motorbikes, laundry etc was handled superbly. I was normally quite shattered after roaming about that I couldn’t be bothered to eat in town, hence I had dinner in house every night. Food was very tasty as well as being plentiful. At a little over £12.00 a night this was more than just a bargain.
Cat Tien
Standard bungalow booked via Vietnam Birding. Perfectly suitable for my purposes. Large double bed was clean, hard and covered by an excellent mosquito neat. Bathroom had plenty of resident insect life, but otherwise clean. There were even kettles, although the stuff I thought might be tea was actually shampoo - be careful if your Vietnamese is up to no good!
** A new hotel development has gone up since most other reports were published. While I did not stay at the venue, I was able to have coffee on the balcony and have a look at the rooms and tents. This is most definitely up market by comparison to the typical bungalows of the National Park. Nor is it cheap, at a minimum of $100 a night in the low season. However, if you are coming to the end of a long and grueling journey or money is not an issue, then this is certainly a viable option.
Forest Floor Lodge
Cat Tien National Park
www.forestfloorlodge.com
enq@forestfloorlodge.com
+84 631 669 890
Internet Resources
I used the following on-line reports almost exclusively. Unfortunately, I only came across Vince van der Spek’s report after I had already been to Mt Lang Biang and wasted a morning at Di Nong Trai (Ta Nung Valley) trying to find trails. I have listed them in order of what I consider currently relevant :
1. Vincent van der Spek
2. Henk Hendriks
3. Hanno Stamm
The maps provided by Hendriks were very detailed and useful, except for Di Nong Trai which has changed so much since, that I advise no-one to even attempt using it. van der Spek’s map for Di Nong Trai itself has become outdated in a very short space of time and I expect mine below will be shortly too.
I have attempted to draw the new road system around Ho Tuyen Lam as accurately as possible. However, with current road building still in existence it is eminently possible that both roads will connect at some stage in the near future. I spent so much time exploring the new network that I did not spend too much time birding the actual sights mentioned by the above reports. I cannot say with certainty if I even managed to find them all.
Useful Resources
Birds of South East Asia, Robson. C ISBN 978 1 84330 746 4
At this time, the definitive hand guide to the region.
I downloaded specific Bird Calls from Xeno-Canto which I played through my iPhone to good enough effect. I did not bring my usual amplifying speaker, which would have been useful on Mt. Lang Biang where a little wind interfered with volume carry.
Weather
Dalat varied between afternoon showers, grey skies, blistering dry heat and cool mornings. Cat Tien was simply very hot and humid with evening thunder showers to further saturate the air.
Driving Conditions
In HCMC and central Dalat almost all vehicles were motorcycles, motorbikes or trucks. Some nerves are required to get involved. Foreigners are not allowed to rent cars, for good reason too.
Notable Species and Venues
Ho Xuan Huong, including Da Lat Flower Park 14/11/2010
The usual suspects were to be found around the damn, the most populous bird being Chinese Pond Heron and a few Javan Pond Herons. Other typical species included Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great Egret, Osprey, Spotted Dove, Pacific Swallow (over the trees on the golf course side), Grey Wagtail, the recently elevated Black-backed Wagtail (formerly a sub-species of White Wagtail ssp leucopsis), Paddyfield Pipit, Richard’s Pipit, Golden-headed Cisticola (amongst long grass and reeds at the top end of the dam), Yellow-browed Warbler, Siberian Stonechat, Brown Shrike, Burmese Shrike, Black-collared Starling and Scaly-breasted Munia. Around the Flower Park, the following species were seen, Little Grebe, Black-shouldered Kite, Common Moorhen, Asian Palm-Swift, Common Kingfisher, Barn Swallow, Common Myna and Plain-backed Sparrow.
Mount Lang Biang 15/11/2010
Pine forests : Crested Goshawk, Grey-capped Woodpecker, Fork-tailed Swift, Grey Wagtail, Richard’s Pipit, Large Cuckoo-shrike, Long-tailed Minivet, Black-crested Bulbul, Sooty Bulbul, Ashy Bulbul, Black Bulbul, Yellow-browed Warbler, Grey Bushchat, Green-backed Tit, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, Burmese Shrike, Ashy Drongo, Eurasian Jay and Eurasian Tree Sparrow.
Main Trail : Red-vented Barbet, Golden-throated Barbet, Black-browed Barbet, Flavescent Bulbul, Mountain Bulbul, White-throated Rock Thrush, Grey-bellied Tesia, Mountain Tailorbird, Ashy-throated Warbler, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, White-browed Scimitar-babbler, Mountain Fulvetta and Vietnamese Greenfinch.
Di Nong Trai (Ta Nung Valley) 16/11/2010
Pin-tailed Green Pigeon, Banded Broadbill, Scarlet Minivet, Grey-chinned Minivet, Flavescent Bulbul, Puff-throated Bulbul, Ochraceous Bulbul, Grey-eyed Bulbul, Brown Prinia, Common Tailorbird, Grey-cheeked Warbler, White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Rufous-backed Sibia, Fork-tailed Sunbird, Streaked Spiderhunter and Thick-billed Flowerpecker.
17/11/2010
Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Green-billed Malkoha, Indochinese Cuckoo-shrike, Hill Prinia, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Arctic Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Little Pied Flycatcher, Blue-and-White Flycatcher, Pale Blue Flycatcher, White-tailed Robin, Rufous-capped Babbler, Blue-winged Minla, Grey-crowned Crocias (a single bird in amongst a group of White-cheeked Laughers and a second bird later also near a Laugher party, large group of very noisy birds were not seen), Asian Fairy-bluebird, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Great Racket-tailed Drongo and Indochinese Green Magpie.
Ho Tuyen Lam (Right branch) 16/11/2010
Thick-billed Green Pigeon, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Dusky Warbler, Black-throated Tit, Plain Flowerpecker and Slender-billed Oriole.
17/11/2010
Yellow Bittern, Grey-faced Buzzard, White-throated Kingfisher all seen en route. Only new bird seen was a Mountain Hawk-Eagle before rain intervened. Could certainly hear some calling Nuthatches, but could not distinguish between Yellow-billed and Velvet-fronted amongst all the rain and leaf patter.
Ho Tuyen Lam (Left branch) 17/11/2010
Grey-headed Woodpecker, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Rufescent Prinia, Verditer Flycatcher, Grey Bushchat, Black-collared Starling and Scaly-breasted Munia.
Nam Cat Tien 18, 19, 20, 21, 22/11/2010
HQ and tar road towards Heavens Rapids Trail: Crested Serpent Eagle, Asian Drongo-Cuckoo, Brown Boobook, Great Eared Nightjar, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Dollarbird (at least 30 flying over head at intervals), Oriental Pied Hornbill, Lineated Barbet, Laced Woodpecker, Stripe-throated Bulbul, Streak-eared Bulbul, Siberian Thrush, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, White-rumped Shama, White-crested Laughingthrush, Little Spiderhunter, Bronzed Drongo, Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo and Vinous-breasted Starling, White-shouldered Ibis (single individual that flew over near to HQ towards dusk), Besra, Red-breasted Parakeet, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Green-billed Malkoha, Silver-backed Needletail, Crested Tree Swift, Blue-eared Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, Greater Yellownape, Back-and-red Broadbill, Swinhoe’s Minivet, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Blue-winged Leafbird, Grey-breasted Prinia, Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Siberian Rubythroat, Puff-throated Babbler, Pin-striped Tit-babbler, Crimson Sunbird, Yellow-vented Flowerpecker, Black Drongo, Hair-crested Drongo, Crow-billed Drongo, Racket-tailed Treepie and White-rumped Munia, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Red Jungelfowl, White-browed Piculet, Lesser Yellownape, Greater Yellownape, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Black-hooded Oriole, White-shouldered Starling, Blue-throated Flycatcher,
Uncle Dong and Lagerstroemia Trail :
Pompadour Green Pigeon, Great Hornbill, Common Iora, Great Iora, Black-naped Monarch and Abbot’s Babbler.
Grasslands: Red-breasted Parakeet, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Green-eared Barbet, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Purple-throated Sunbird, Purple Sunbird, Olive-backed Sunbird, Ashy Woodswallow, Hill Myna.
Night Drive: Large-tailed Nightjar and Spot-bellied Eagle Owl.
Crocodile Lake and Trail: Purple Heron, Javan Pond Heron, Wooly-necked Stork, White-breasted Water-hen, Watercock, Purple Swamphen, Bronze-winged Jacana, Grey-headed Lapwing, Emerald Dove, Germain’s Swiftlet, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Bar-bellied Pitta, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Greenish Warbler, Pale-legged Leaf Warbler, Two-barred Greenish Warbler.
Heaven’s Rapids: Germain’s Peacock Pheasant, Scaly-breasted Partridge, Peregrine Falcon, Oriental Hobby, Violet Cuckoo, Orange-vented Green Pigeon, Orange-breasted Trogon, Rufous Woodpecker, Common Flameback, Greater Flameback, Ashy Minivet, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Blue-winged Leafbird, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Dusky Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Dark-sided Flycatcher, White-tailed Flycatcher, Pale Blue Flycatcher, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Buff-breasted Babbler, Scaly-crowned Babbler, Chestnut-capped Babbler, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Black-naped Oriole.
Major Dips and other misses :
Da Lat
Bar-backed Partridge, Silver Pheasant, Grey-headed Parakeet, Moustached Barbet, White-spectacled Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Black-hooded Laughingthrush, Collared Laughingthrush, Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, Red-billed Scimitar-babbler, Cutia, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Black-backed Sibia, Black-eared Sibia, Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Common Crossbill.
Cat Tien
Siamese Fireback, Collared Falconet, Brown-backed Needletail, Red-headed Trogon, Black-backed Kingfisher, Pale-headed Woodpecker, Bay Woodpecker, Black-and-buff Woodpecker, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Blue-rumped Pitta, Forest Wagtail, Baya Weaver, Asian Golden Weaver.
See the full trip report at : DIY Twitching