Itinerary

Feb 7th. Day 1:
This morning we will meet in Hanoi and drive to Tam Dao for a three-night stay. Tam Dao is the old ‘French hill station’ about 90 Km west of Hanoi. We will have lunch at our hotel before heading for either the ‘Water Tank’ trail that has now become a short road, or the ‘Tower’ Trail, to start our birding.

Fork-tailed Sunbird © Uthai Treesucon

L,D. Overnight in Tam Dao.

Day 2-3:
A full two days Birdwatching in Tam Dao. The majority of our birding here will be done from the road and, in some cases from forest trails. The weather is always cool on this mountain. The new road, which is used now as a water tank trail offers us the chance to see a wide variety of species which can include Grey Laughingthrush, Rachet-tailed Treepie, the near-endemic Fujian Niltava, Purple & Green Cochoas, the ‘skulking’ Blue-naped Pitta, Indochinese Green Magpie, Streak-breasted, Coral-billed & Red-billed Scimitar Babblers, Striated & Black-chinned Yuhinas, Greater Rufous-headed Parrotbill and Short-tailed Parrotbill.

Aditional species to be found include Chestnut Bulbul, Golden-throated Barbet, Long-tailed Broadbill, Bay Woodpecker, Silver-eared Mesia and Large Niltava. Streaked & Eyebrowed Wren Babblers can be found foraging on the ground along this road. Spot-necked & White-hooded Babblers, Gray-cheeked Fulvetta, Slaty-bellied and Chestnut-headed Tesias, White-gorgeted Flycatcher and Fork-tailed Sunbird will also keep us busy. With luck we may even find the Red-tailed Laughingthrush in the more remote areas of the forest.

B,L,D. Overnight in Tam Dao

Day 4:
After a final morning on Tam Dao we will drive to Cuc Phuong National Park for a three-night stay. We will start birding in the park as soon as we have checked into our rooms at our lodging.

B,L,D. Overnight.

Asian Stubtail © Uthai Treesucon

Day 5-6:
We have two full days of birdwatching in Cuc Phuong. This national Park is a lowland to mid elevation forest about 120 Km south of Hanoi and it was the first national park in Vietnam. There are many birds for us to find here such as Chestnut-necklaced Partridge, Silver Pheasant, Grey Peacock Pheasant, Red-vented Barbet, Brown Hornbill, Spot-bellied Eagle Owl, Pied Falconet, Malayan Night Heron, Bar-bellied, Eared & Blue-rumped Pitta, Racket-tailed Treepie, White-winged Magpie, White-tailed Flycatcher, Spotted Forktail, Asian Stubtail, Puff-throated Bulbul, Limestone Wren- Babbler, Sulphur-breasted (Limestone) Warbler, Rufous-throated Fulvetta and Black-browed Fulvetta. Other birds such as Wedge-tailed Pigeon, Rufous Woodpecker, Greater Yellownape, Green Magpie, Crow-billed Drongo and Hainan Blue Flycatcher can also be seen along the road. Common birds such as Green-eared Barbet, White-rumped Shama, Great Iora, Green-billed Malkoha, Red-whiskered & Black-crested Bulbuls, Scarlet Minivet and Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike can be found in the more open areas. With luck we may find the rare Red-collared Woodpecker along the road.

B,L,D. Overnight.

Day 7:
We will bird the morning in the park, then take a late morning drive to Hanoi Airport for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City, (Saigon) where we will spend the night.

B,L,D. Overnight.

Day 8-9-10:
After breakfast we will drive to Nam Cat Tien National Park. Following lunch we will start our birdwatching around the head quarters of this famous park. Nam Cat Tien National Park has extensive lowland semi-evergreen forest, some mixed deciduous forest and areas of bamboo making this park a must for birdwatching. We should find some of the parks special birds such as the endemic Orange-necked Partridge, the Indochina endemic Germain's Peacock Pheasant, Pale-headed Woodpecker,

Black Baza © Uthai Treesucon

Grey-faced Tit Babbler and Siamese Fireback. Green Peafowl are found in this park. To see them we need to hike about 5 Km (one way) to Crocodile Lake where we will also bird the wetlands. Other birds we can find at the lake and along the trail to the lake are; Scaly-breasted Partridge, Banded Kingfisher, Red-vented & Green-eared Barbet, Red-headed and Orange-breasted Trogon, Great Slaty, Laced, & White-bellied Woodpeckers, Black Baza, Bar-bellied & Blue-rumped Pittas, Black and Red Broadbill, Golden-headed Myna, Asian Golden Weaver and Vinous-breasted Starling. Other species present here include; Collared Falconet, Thick-billed Pigeon, Banded-bay, Asian Emerald & Drongo Cuckoos, Green-billed Malkoha, Great & Wreathed Hornbills, Black-naped Oriole, Greater Flameback, Banded Broadbill, Rosy Minivet, Coppersmith Barbet, Ashy Drongo, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Racket-tailed Treepie, Oriental Magpie Robin, Blue-winged & Golden-fronted Leafbirds, Common Iora, Olive-backed Sunbird and Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker. With luck we may find Tawny Fish-Owl or Spot-bellied Eagle Owl.

B,L,D. Overnight.

On one of the evenings we will take a night walk and look for nocturnal birds such as Collared Scops Owl, Brown Hawk Owl and Javan Frogmouth. We will overnight for all three days in the air-conditioned park bungalows.

Day 11:
After a final mornings birding in Cat Tien, we will have lunch then drive to Bao Loc, for an overnight stay at the Seri Hotel.

B,L,D. Overnight at Seri Hotel.

Day 12:
This morning we will drive to Di Linh and bird on the Phan Thiet Road, which is about a one hour drive from our hotel. This well-surfaced road will offer us the chance to see many birds in comfort. Birds such as the endemic Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, the near-endemic Black-hooded Laughingthrush, White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Yellow-vented Green Pigeon, Cutia, Long-tailed Broadbill, Gray-eyed Bulbul, Bronzed & Lesser Racket-tailed Drongos are present along this road. We also have the chance to find Black-browed Barbet, Black-throated Tit, Indochinese Green Magpie, Vietnamese Greenfinch and the local forms of Gray-headed Parrotbill, Black-throated Sunbird and Streaked Spiderhunter.

Later in the afternoon we will drive to Da Lat for four-night stay at Novotel Hotel.

B,L,D. Overnight at Novotel Hotel.

Day 13:
The Da Lat Plateau is the home of Indochinese endemic species and some subspecies with Himalayan affinities. The town of Da Lat itself is a ‘traditional hill resort’ for the inhabitants of Saigon and was a major destination for bird collecting expeditions during French colonial times. Da Lat is the main town for the production of large quantities of fruit, vegetables and flowers. This morning we will drive to the Tanung Valley to search for endemic Grey-crowned Crocias and Orange-breasted Laughingthrush as well as the near-endemic Yellow-breasted Magpie and Black-hooded Laughingthrush. Other birds we may find here include Blue-throated Barbet, Orange-headed Thrush, Grey-bellied Tesia and Streak Spiderhunter. After noon we will spend time in the Da Lat area looking for Brown Prinia, Burmese Shrike, Mountain Imperial Pigeon and Vietnamese Greenfinch.

B,L,D. Overnight at Novotel Hotel.

Day 14:
Today we will spend most of our time on Mt. Lang Biang. After driving to about 1800 meters altitude we will walk to the Hill evergreen forest to search for the endemic Collared Laughingthrush, the near-endemic Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler, Cutia, White-spectacled Warbler, Gray-cheeked Warbler, Grey-bellied Tesia, Lesser Shortwing, Mountain Fulvetta, Maroon Oriole, Slender-billed Oriole, Little Pied Flycatcher, Green-backed Tit and the endemic Vietnamese Greenfinch. We will have lunch in town and will return to the mountain again in the late afternoon.

B,L,D. Overnight at Novotel Hotel.

Day15:
This morning we will take a boat across Ho Tuyen Lam to bird in forest above the lake. (Ho=Lake in Vietnamese). Our day here will involve birding in the mixed forest surrounding Ho Tuyen Lam where native pine forests abound with such species as Large & Indochinese Cuckoo-shrikes, Long-tailed Minivet, Ashy Drongo, Slender-billed Oriole, Gray Bushchat, White-tailed Leaf Warbler, Green-backed Tit, Chestnut-vented Nuthatch, the endemic Grey-crowned Crocias & Vietnamese Greenfinch and near-endemic Yellow-billed Nuthatch and Spotted Forktail. Interesting local forms of Eurasian Jay and Red Crossbill can also be found here. In the open areas we can see Black-collared Starling and such winter visitors as Gray-faced Buzzard, Blue Rock Thrush and Olive-backed Pipit. In the evergreen scrub running through the pine forest and along the evergreen forest edge we should see Chinese Francolin, Golden-throated Barbet, Burmese Shrike, Black-crested, Red-whiskered, Flavescent & Sooty-headed Bulbuls, Brown & Hill Prinias, Verditer Flycatcher and Scaly-breasted Munia. Regular scanning of the skyline may produce Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite, House Swift and Striated Swallow. Other birds such as Bay Woodpecker, Greater and Lesser Yellownapes, Greater Flameback, Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike, Gray-chinned Minivet, Ashy Bulbul, Rufous-capped Babbler, Silver-eared Mesia, Blue-winged Minla, Mountain Fulvetta, Yellow-browed, Blyth's Leaf, Grey-cheeked & Chestnut-crowned Warblers, Mountain Tailorbird, Little Pied & Mugimaki Flycatchers, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, White-throated Fantail, Brown-throated Treecreeper, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker and Mrs Gould's Sunbird are also possible. We will return to the town in the afternoon for a late lunch.

Following lunch we have free time for shopping, sightseeing or more birding as you wish.

B,L,D. Overnight at Novotel Hotel.

Feb. 22nd. Day 16:
This morning we will drive to Ho Chi Minh City to take our flight back to Bangkok or the USA.