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BIRDING GUIDE
IN VIETNAM
Considered to be the most ecologically important of Vietnam's four Ramsar sites, Ba Be is a five hour drive from the capital city of Hanoi. It is dominated by a large natural lake, surrounded by a mountanous karst ecosystem. While it does not have the greatest bird diversity of the many parks in the country, highlight species make this a can't-miss destination for serious birders.
Birding Highlights: One of the more reliable spots for the very difficult White-Eared Night Heron. Other highliths include the Pied Falconet, White-Winged Magpie, Limestone Warbler, Blue-Rumped Pitta and Streak Wren Babbler.
A Pied Falconet, one of the highlights of Ba Be National Park.
Ba Be National Park
A former hill station from the French colonial period, today Ba Vi National Park remains a cool and peaceful holiday escape from the noise and bustle of Hanoi. And at only 50 kilometers away from the capital city, it is also one of the most convenient birding destinations in Northern Vietnam! Nearly 250 species have have been recorded on e-bird, and a number of these are easily spottable from the road and numerous trails.
Birding Highlights: The annual raptor migration is a primary highlight, with many species from sparrow-hawks to eagles passing over the peaks. Other highlights include the beuatiful silver-eared mesia, great barbet, as well as niltavas and leafbirds.
The annual raptor migration is a highlight of Ba Vi National Park!
Ba Vi National Park
One of the most ecologically diverse and physicially beautiful parks in Vietnam, Bach Ma stands out as a premiere birding destination in the central region. It's proximity to the Da Nang airport, and the two can't miss cultural destinations of Hoi An and the Imperial city of Hue make it ideal both as a part of an extended birding trip or as an add-on to other tourism in Vietnam. The park itself sits on the southern end of the Annamite range, and is dotted with multiple peaks that exceed 1000m in elevation. While much of the forest is in recovery, over 330 species of birds can be found in this park, and a large portion of the park has been designated as an Important Bird Area.
Birding Highlights: Rufous-throated Partridge, Annam Partridge, Silver Pheasant, Crested Argus, Red-collared Woodpecker, Red-vented Barbet, Brown Hornbill, Blyth’s Kingfisher, Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, Blue-rumped Pitta, Bar-bellied Pitta, Long-tailed Broadbill, Silver-breasted Broadbill, White-winged Magpie, Indochinese Green Magpie, Ratchet-tailed Treepie, Masked Laughingthrush, Lesser-necklaced Laughingthrush, Black-throated Laughingthrush, Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler (Indochinese Wren Babbler), Grey-faced Tit Babbler, Black-browed Fulvetta.
A Brown Hornbill, among the many highlights of Bach Ma.
Bach Ma National Park
Located 150km by road from HCMC, Cat Tien is the largest remaining lowland rainforest in Vietnam, and one of the best birding destinations in the country. Birders have recorded over 400 species in the park, including many specialties that are easier to find in Cat Tien than in any other park in the region. This site also boasts a great deal of non-bird biodiversity, including numerous primate species. A large portion of the park itself is an IBA, and a lake within the park (named "Crocodile Lake" for the impressive siamese crocodiles that live there) has been designated a Ramsar site.
Birding Highlights: Good chances for specialties such as the Bar-bellied and Blue-rumped Pitta, as well as Germain’s Peacock-pheasant, Siamese Fireback, Green Peafowl. Also Orange-necked Partridge, Scaly-breasted Partridge; numerous woodpeckers (White-bellied, Great Slaty, Pale-headed, Black-and-buff, Heart-spotted); Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Orange-breasted Trogon, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Banded Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Blyth’s Frogmouth, Great-eared Nightjar, Grey-headed Fish-eagle, Lesser Fish-eagle, Black Baza, Collared Falconet, Woolly-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Black-and-red Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill, Golden-crested Myna, Grey-faced Tit-babbler.
With easy access from HCMC, Gan Gio is a good location for numerous waders.
Can Gio Mangrove Forest & Biosphere Reserve
Located 150km by road from HCMC, Cat Tien is the largest remaining lowland rainforest in Vietnam, and one of the best birding destinations in the country. Birders have recorded over 400 species in the park, including many specialties that are easier to find in Cat Tien than in any other park in the region. This site also boasts a great deal of non-bird biodiversity, including numerous primate species. A large portion of the park itself is an IBA, and a lake within the park (named "Crocodile Lake" for the impressive siamese crocodiles that live there) has been designated a Ramsar site.
Birding Highlights: Good chances for specialties such as the Bar-bellied and Blue-rumped Pitta, as well as Germain’s Peacock-pheasant, Siamese Fireback, Green Peafowl. Also Orange-necked Partridge, Scaly-breasted Partridge; numerous woodpeckers (White-bellied, Great Slaty, Pale-headed, Black-and-buff, Heart-spotted); Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Orange-breasted Trogon, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Banded Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Blyth’s Frogmouth, Great-eared Nightjar, Grey-headed Fish-eagle, Lesser Fish-eagle, Black Baza, Collared Falconet, Woolly-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Black-and-red Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill, Golden-crested Myna, Grey-faced Tit-babbler.
The Germain's Peacock-pheasant, endemic to southern Indochina, and a highlight in Cat Tien.
Cat Tien National Park
Just 2.5 hours from Hanoi by car, Cuc Phuong National Park is convenient both for short birding excursions and longer trips. More importantly, it is a premiere birding destination in Northern Vietnam, with over 320 species recorded. The majority of the park is composed of limestone forest, sitting on a range that rises up to 636 meters in evelation. In addition to excellent bird life, Cuc Phuong is also home to a critically endangered endemic primate, the Delacor's Langur. Not to be missed on any trip to the north!
Birding Highlights: Red-collared Woodpecker, Pied Falconet, Bar-bellied Pitta, Blue-rumped Pitta and Eared Pitta, White-winged Magpie, Limestone Wren Babbler, White-tailed Flycatcher, Black-browed Fulvetta, Silver Pheasant, Limestone Warbler, Rufous-throated Fulvetta, Fujian Nitava & Malaysian Nightheron. The Nearby Van Long Wetland also gives great opportunities for many bitterns, and the beautiful Pheasant-Tailed Jacana.
A Limestone Wren Babbler, photographed in Cuc Phuong.
Cuc Phuong National Park
Set upon the south-central highlands and easily accessible via the airport in Da Lat, this is among the best places to find endemic birds in Vietnam. The plateau reaches elevations of over 2,000 meters, making it much cooler than the surrounding countryside (this climate also helps explain the evergreen forests on the plateau, uncommon for Vietnam). The Bi-Dup Nui-Ba Nature Reserve is located here, and has been designated an IBA.
Birding Highlights: Silver Pheasant, Red-vented Barbet, Indochinese Barbet, Red-headed Trogon, Long-tailed Broadbill, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Black Eagle, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Rusty-naped Pitta, Blue Pitta, Burmese Shrike, Indochinese Green Magpie, Eurasian Jay, Slender-billed Oriole, Little Pied Flycatcher, Large Niltava, White-tailed Robin, Spotted Forktail, Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Grey-crowned Tit, White-spectacled Warbler, Grey-cheeked Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Black-hooded Laughingthrush, White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, Collared Laughingthrush, White-browed Scimitar Babbler, Rufous-capped Babbler, Vietnamese Cutia, Chestnut-fronted Shrike-Babbler, Vietnamese Shrike-Babbler, Blue-winged Minla, Black-crowned Fulvetta, Indochinese Fulvetta, Grey-crowned Crocias, Rufous-backed Sibia, Black-headed Sibia, Black-crowned Parrotbill, Mrs Gould’s Sunbird, Vietnamese Greenfinch, Red Crossbill.
An endemic Black-headed Parrotbill, one of many specialties in Da Lat.
Da Lat Plateau
Taking its name from the extensive Phong Nha cave system, this park is a UNESCO World Heratige site in central Vietnam. The large limestone karst landscape supports over 200 species of birds. Other highlightes include the cave system itself, where over a kilometer of passages can be accessed by tourists, as well as resident endemic primate species.
Birding Highlights: Chestnut-necklaced Partridge, Red-collared Woodpecker, Brown Hornbill, Sooty Babbler and Indochinese Wren Babbler, as well as records for the Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler and Crested Argus.
Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park
Accessible from Hanoi both by car (on a new, modern highway) and by overnight train, Sa Pa is one of the primary tourist draws in the north. Most tours will be based from Sa Pa town, a charming hill station with numerous accomodation and restaurant options, which offers visitors opportunities to experience some of the tremendous ethnic diversity of Vietnam. As a birding destination, Sa Pa is also superb. The nearby Hoang Lien Son National Park sits at the base of Mt. Fansipan, the highest peak in Vietnam, and has been designated as an IBA. Over 350 species have been recorded in the area, and the park and mountain slopes are home to numerous highland species found nowhere else in the country. Tourists can also hike up Mr. Fansipan, which takes two days and one night.
Birding Highlights: Gould's Shortwing, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Crested Finchbill, Beautiful Nuthatch, Red-tailed Laughingthrush, White-browed Laughingthrush and Black-faced Laughingthrushes, Spectacled Barwings, Blue-winged Siva, Bar-throated Minla and Red-tailed Minla, Black-headed Sibia, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Ashy-throated Parrotbill and Golden Parrotbill, Mrs Gould's Sunbird, Green-tailed Sunbird, Black-headed Greenfinch, Little Forktail, Sickle-billed Scimitar Babbler, Black-faced Warbler, Ashy-throated Warbler, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, White-browed Fulvetta, Whiskered Yuhina, White-collared Yuhina, Stripe-throated Yuhina
Nuthatches are among the highlights of the evergreen forests in Hoang Lien Son National Park.
Sa Pa - Mt. Fansipan - Hoang Lien Son National Park
At just over 80km from Hanoi (and even closer to Noi Bai airport), Tam Dao is the closest birding destination to the capital city. While it can be done in a day trip, this former French hill station is a popular weekend getaway among locals, and as such it offers a large number of hotels and restaurants. The birding here offers a mix of highland species and migrants, including several hard-to-find targets such as the blue-naped pitta. Nearly 400 species have been recorded here on e-bird.
Birding Highlights: Grey Laughingthrush, Black-throated Laughingthrush, Chestnut Bulbul, Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler, Collared Babbler, Black-chinned Yuhina, Chestnut-collared Yuhina, Indochinese Green Magpie, Spotted Forktail, Green and Purpple Cochoa, Short-tailed Parrotbill, Blue-napped Pitta, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Grey Treepie, Lesser Rufous-headed Parrotbill. Winter visitors that may turn up here between December and March include Black-breasted, Japanese, Eyebrowed and Grey-backed Thrush and Fujian Niltava.
The Blue-naped Pitta, photographed in Tam Dao National Park.
Tam Dao National Park
Accessible by car from HCMC, Tram Chim is a unique ecosystem located to the east of the Mekong River. The wetland landscape is a combination of seasonally inundated grasses and reeds, as well as Melaleuca forest. In the winter this IBA is also an excellent spot for numerous species of waterfowl, as well as the best spot in Vietnam to see the magnificent Saurus Crane.
Birding Highlights: Sarus Crane, Oriental Darter, Painted Stork and Asian Golden Weaver. Bengal Florican has been recorded, but is very rare. In the winter, numerous ducks and other waterfowl.
Three Blue-tailed Bee-eaters over open grassland.
Tram Chim National Park
Situated on the mouth of the Red River delta and surrounded by inundated shrimp farms, Xuan Thuy National Park is a paradise for waders and shorebirds. Like many of the parks in Northern Vietnam it can be accessed by car from Hanoi (the trip takes about 3.5 hours), but Xuan Thuy stands out by being designated as both a Ramsar site and an IBA. Visitors who come from late fall to early spring even have a good chance to see the endangered Black-faced Spoonbill, a highlight species in Vietnam and the larger region.
Birding Highlights: Black-faced Spoonbill, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Spotted Greenshank, Saunders's Gull and Asian Dowitcher, among many other more common waders. Also an important stopover for migrating passerines and cuckoos.
Three endangered Black-faced Spoonbills, flying into their feeding grounds in Xuan Thuy.
Xuan Thuy National Park
Sitting in the southern portion of Vietnam's central highlands, Yok Don is relatively unique in the country. The park borders Cambodia, and is home to numerouns species that can be found nowhere else in the country, including the critically endangered giant ibis. While only the eastern portion of the park is accessible to tourists, Yok Don makes an excellent addition to any birding itinerary, particularly when combined with the nearby Da Lat Plateau.
Birding Highlights: Green Peafowl, Lesser Adjutant, Woolly-necked Stork, woodpeckers and Mekong Wagtail, White-winged Duck, Masked Finfoot, Lesser and Grey-headed Fish Eagles. Yok Don is the only known site for the critically endangered Giant Ibis in Vietnam and supports the last known breeding Sarus Cranes in the country. It is also one of a handful of sites in Vietnam with recent records of White-rumped and Red-headed Vultures.
Yok Don National Park is home to a globally significant population of Green Peafowl, with an estimated 400 individuals.