Danang Bird Club News

Words and pictures by Tam Do On 17 February I took a road trip from Vietnam to Phou Hin Poun National Biodiversity Conservation Area in Laos to learn about wildlife and birds there for the first time. It was still cold and sometimes rainy in my city but it was completely different in Phou Hin Poun - cold at night but sunny and hot in the daytime. The landscape and the low humidity makes the weather here extreme to humans and animals. After a day driving from the South of Laos, I finally arrived at a famous hotspot called The Rock View Point. Located in a limestone karst forest, the temperature felt cool, yet the heat from the limestone under the sun all day would not be easy, even for an outdoorsman like myself. The view of the landscape at this place is stunning, with jungle surrounding rocky mountains. There are zipline cables among the peaks, and almost everyone here comes for an adrenaline rush from rock climbing and ziplining. I soon realized this was probably not the best way to ...

Our friend Choi Jin Young of South Korea has once again been in Vietnam in search of rare and beautiful birds. This time he has visited Phuoc Binh National Park and Lang Biang in Dalat in the hope of finding as many birds as possible. Dalat is a renowned hotspot for birding as it encompasses an endemic bird area (EBA) with a high number of species and subspecies (many) found only on the high mountain plateau and the pine forests surrounding this holiday resort town. Hiking deep in the forest alone and with his trusty camera, Jin Young endured the heat and the mosquitoes to bring us back these fantastic photographs of some of the region's most amazing passerines. Male Blue Pitta Willoughbyi Male Burmese Shrike nigricapillus Male Crimson Sunbird mangini Black-headed Sibia  robinsoni Dark-sided Thrush Grey-throated Babbler rileyi Female Large Niltava decorata Mountain Fulvetta annamensis Male Orange-headed Thrush innonata Male Pied Bush-chat burmanicus Male Snowy-browed Flycatcher an...

                                          White-rumped Shama Bach Ma National Park is situated in the Annamite mountain range in Central Vietnam, midway between the cities of Danang and Hue. It's primary habitat is montane evergreen forest. Specialties include Vietnamese Crested Argus, Silver Pheasant, Blyth's Kingfisher, Bar-bellied Pitta and Blue-rumped Pitta.  Words and photos by Maurizio Saroli It's 5 o'clock in the morning on the fifth day of Tet. I've decided to ride my motorbike 70 km from Danang to Bach Ma National Park. A place of marvellous natural beauty, demanding terrain and of course exceptional birds. Today I'm going to do a short hike of 5 km from the base to Pheasant Trail which is about 500 m in altitude. It should be fairly easy going. The road is a gentle incline and the trail is not marked as 'difficult' on the park map. What could go wrong? As I chew on a p...