VIETNAMESE ORNITHOLOGISTS' PARADISE

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*TRAVELER'S GUIDE*

 

http://www.saigontimes.com.vn/daily/detail.asp?muc=11 & Sobao=2756 & SoTT=15

*An ornithologists and nature lovers paradise*

 

 

Cuc Phuong National Park in northern Vietnam

 

Members of the Hanoi Bird watching Club are busily polishing their

binoculars and telescopes for their forthcoming ornithological expedition in

northern Vietnam this weekend. The club's chairman Le Manh Hung says that

the two-day trip will not only be open to club members but anybody who

fancies a bit of piece and quite in the countryside with a difference.

 

Hung, who has been bird watching for nearly 10 years, emphasizes that the

club is organizing the trip for anybody who wants to share in their love for

nature, as well as for those who already have a particular interest in

watching different varieties of birds at home in their natural habitats. Of

course, the songbirds are always a favorite, and the club are expert at

finding and identifying the different sounds.

 

Hung said that the tour will depart Hanoi on Saturday morning for Van Long

National Reserve in Ninh Binh Province, where they will enjoy watching the

birds looking for their morning breakfast, before traveling 20 kilometers

onto the Cuc Phuong National Park, that spans Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh

Hoa provinces.

 

After lunch among the limestone forests of the park, that is only about a

three-hour drive from Hanoi, Hung and the other participants will begin

their afternoon bird watching adventure from the park's headquarters, close

to Mac Lake, which is always a good spot to see a white-winged magpie and

other such exotic feathered vertebrates.

 

The expedition will then silently creep along to next destination, Bong

Ranger Station hidden in the very depths of the park that covers over 20,000

hectares.

 

This is an excellent vantage point, and it is normally possible to see

communities of blue-rumped and eared pittas, silver pheasants, gray peacock

pheasants, red-collared woodpeckers, brown hornbills, white-winged magpies,

ratchet-tailed treepies, red-vented and green-eared barbets, mynas,

starlings, corvids and flycatchers in abundance.

 

Actually, scientists have recorded bird fauna in excess of 300 species,

including many endemic Southeast Asian mammals such as the red-vented

barbet, the bar-bellied pitta and the limestone wren babbler.

 

Hung says that the best time to watch birds is in the early morning when the

feathery crooners leave their nests to look for food or in the late

afternoon when they return home to retire under the stars. So, the best

ornithological hours are not necessarily the most convenient, unless one

stays overnight, which is why the trip will last for two days.

 

Hung adds that since the number of binoculars and telescopes is limited,

members of the group are encouraged to share their own or the bird watching

equipment provided by the Van Long Nature Reserve and Cuc Phuong National

Park. The most important thing is to have a good time together and enjoy

sightings of rare or beautiful birds in the lap of nature, deep in the

tropical forest.

 

The expedition's equipment expenses will be shared out between the group,

and trips cost ranges from VND250,000 to VND300,000 each. Non-members will

also have to pay an additional premium of US$30 to the club to help cover

their overhead expenses in arranging the two-day trip.

 

The Van Long Nature Reserve and Cuc Phuong National Park bird watching tour

is being organized following on from the club's last successful

ornithological adventure to Xuan Thuy National Park in Nam Dinh Province,

organized over the April 30 and May 1 holiday, which also marked the

inauguration of the club.

 

Hung says that the club plans to arrange bird watching tours periodically,

every three months or so, with future targets being lined up including

visits to Tam Dao, Ba Vi and Sapa, which are equally famous for their

Southeast Asian ornithological treasures, and that include many rare,

beautiful, even endangered, species.

 

Other future plans include Cat Tien National Park, located in Dong Nai, Lam

Dong and Binh Phuoc provinces, in the southern tropical rainforests 180km

from HCMC, which Hung describes as a bird-watchers dream because of its many

extremely rare species. What's more, Cat Tien is one of the national parks

that are able to provide overnight accommodation, deep in the heart of the

forest, which provides the opportunity to see some of the nocturnal animals

in the wild.

 

Vietnam is slowly emerging as a destination for foreign ornithologists and

eco-tourists as better facilities are being provided for them, which is

unsurprising since the country is home to one of the richest arrays of flora

and fauna in the whole of Southeast Asia. The country is also home to nearly

40 threatened bird species out of the approximately 850 species that have so

far been recorded.

 

There are at least 15 ornithological sites in Vietnam, including Sapa-Hoang

Lien, Tam Dao, Cat Ba, Cuc Phuong, Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Bach Ma, Yok Don, Tram

Chim and U Minh Thuong national parks, the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, and Ca

Mau and Bac Lieu sanctuaries. Much more information about these sites can be

found at BirdLife's website at www.birdlifeindochina.org/birdwatch.

 

For the organized ornithological tour to Cuc Phuong National Park this

weekend, contact Le Manh Hung on 0903294862 or hanoibirdclub2006.

 

Binh Nguyen