Danang Bird Club News

By Maurizio Saroli The wetlands around Danang have long been a refuge for migratory and resident birds. They provide food, shelter and breeding grounds in a landscape otherwise dominated by concrete and tarmac. Yet these habitats are now under severe pressure. Rapid urban expansion, driven by tourism and real estate development, is consuming the few remaining habitats left to birds. Wetlands are more than incidental patches of waterlogged ground. They are complex systems that regulate water flow, filter pollutants and support a wide range of species. For birds, they are indispensable. Waders, herons, kingfishers, and ducks rely on shallow pools and reed beds. Migrants crossing from northern Asia to southern wintering grounds stop here to rest and feed. Without these vital sites, their journeys become much more difficult. In Danang, the pace of construction has accelerated. Hotels, apartment blocks, shopping malls and recreational parks are spreading into areas once considered marginal....

Siberian Stonechat  (Photo credit: MS) By Maurizio Saroli The period between 21 December and 21 March was mostly dry, allowing for plenty of long-awaited birding after many weeks of near-interminable rain. Many notable species were recorded, including several firsts for Annam and Danang.  Speech marks indicate field/submission notes. Records (or a lack thereof) refer to eBird. Contributors: Maurizio Saroli, Choi Jin Young, Wes Blauvelt, Tam Do. Four  Cotton Pygmy-Goose Nettapus coromandelianus were seen at Hoi An Paddy Fields on 2 January (CJY). This species has been recorded only twice before, in December 2022. On 3 January at Cua Dai Beach three rare vagrants were photographed. A Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis  was observed feeding on the mudflats  (MS) . This is the first record from Annam. "Brown rump separates from Eurasian." Far Eastern Curlew  (Photo credit: MS) A Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris  was seen on the shore ...

G rey-streaked Flycatcher By Maurizio Saroli Admittedly a little late, but better late than never, this rare bird round-up is a brief summary of the most notable sightings contributed to Danang Bird Club during the period of 21 September 2025 to 20 December 2025. The winter 2026 round-up will follow next week. With extreme flooding in Central Vietnam and almost continuous rain from October through December, birding was all but impossible for most of the period. Nevertheless, autumn 2025 saw a handful of rare vagrants, passage migrants and winter visitors before the rainy season kicked in. Speech marks indicate field notes and/or submission notes. Records (or a lack thereof) refer to eBird. Contributors: Maurizio Saroli, Choi Jin Young, Michael Schulte. An Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria was photographed at New Embankment Wetlands on  24 September (MS) . This is the first record from DN/QN. This species is an uncommon resident of S Annam and Cochinchina. "Adult male; ...

Black-faced Spoonbill (left) and  Eurasian Spoonbill  (Photo credit: Tam Do) By Maurizio Saroli On 11 April 2026, while surveying the wetlands of Hoi An, 20 km south of Danang, I discovered two Black-faced Spoonbills Platalea minor  on a mudflat in an area of rice fields outside the old town. They were very well hidden amongst a flock of c. 100 Little, 20 Medium and 45 Great White Egrets and were only noticed due to careful scanning of the flock with a telescope.   Frustratingly I could not stay on site to observe them for very long due to my busy schedule.  I decided therefore to follow up the observation ASAP to see if, and how long, these birds remained and whether there were more of them. I arrived again in Hoi An two days later, on 13 April at 5:30 AM and was joined soon after by DBC member Tam Do. Together we located what were presumably the same two birds from Saturday, feeding in the same location. Half an hour later one more flew in from the south, poss...

By Wes Blauvelt On a recent trip to Vietnam I was able to break away from my tour group for a few hours to enjoy nighttime birding at a couple of hotspots in and around Danang and Hoi An. I live in a heavily forested area in upstate New York where Barred, Great-horned and Eastern Screech Owls are commonly heard throughout the night. And I have spent several years volunteering for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation tracking the presence and overwintering behaviors of winter raptors, including Short-eared Owls, Northern Harriers and Snowy Owls. With this background, I have spent many a winter night birding in the cold, dark landscape of New York. So it was with great joy that I learned when arriving in Danang that there are several species of owls and nightjars that are residents of the area. Nocturnal birding in a tropical environment and finding birds near impossible to see during the daylight hours…what’s not to like! ...