Stumblingpiper

What can I say here? Our total bird count was pretty good in Viet Nam: we saw 103 birds, 99 of which were new to us. However, we found the lack of birds amazing. Everywhere we went, whether in the mountains or suburbs, parks or cities, there were fewer birds than we expected; of any kind of bird. We asked a couple of our guides about this and they all said, “Well, the Vietnamese people either catch and eat them or catch and put them in bird cages, so there aren’t that many.”

We found this to be strange but understandable. We pressed on with our bird-watching. Of course, our largest haul was in Cat Tien National Park. We probably saw 80% of our Viet Nam total in Cat Tien and that was over the course of 2 days. Whew.

Striking the professional bird photographer pose.Lost in thought as I gaze in wonder.

We were fortunate to see several really nice birds … I’ll add a few of the better pictures here. Enjoy!

Stumbling Piper

Plain Prinia.A Great Tit.Black-crowned Night Heron.Common Kingfisher (doesn’t look common to me!)White Wagtail … Scarlet Minivet.Orange-breasted Trogon.Red Junglefowl (yes, I know it looks like a chicken, but it’s a wild chicken!)Green Peafowl (like a Peacock).Red-wattled Lapwing.Black and Red Broadbill.Ashy Drongo.Stripe-throated Bulbul.Asian Emerald Cuckoo.Bronzed Drongo.