Spread your wings

As a leisure pursuit bird watching is quite new to Vietnamese people, but the country’s rich biological diversity boasts nearly 850 species of birds throughout the country, making it an ideal location for birding. Just over 100 of these species are globally threatened or near-threatened.

Birders might not be outdoor sports people in the usual sense, or ornithologists, but these intrepid folk do take their outdoor activity very seriously, spending hours out in the field and dedicating themselves to identifying different species.

In Vietnam, there are hundreds of bird-watching tours available. According to Birdlife International there are 15 bird watching sites in Vietnam. Among them national parks such as Cuc Phuong, Xuan Thuy or Cat Tien and around Dalat are excellent starting points.

More amateur birders are perhaps just happy to take a walk through the countryside, listening to the sounds of nature. Of course, they are happy to spot colourful birds and enjoy the birdsongs but their interest is far from pedantic.

“They can hardly distinguish the species. I’d tell them the name of a popular species we saw but they’d forget it by the time we finished the tour,” said Long, a tour guide for Duong Xanh tour company. “The favourite species for new birders is the common kingfisher. This colourful bird is easily found in Cuc Phuong and Xuan Thuy.”

The more professional birders whether at home or travelling abroad are searching for rare species, in hope of spotting that once in a lifetime species.

Sebastian Bonner and his family spent nearly a month in Dalat. This wonderful city perched up in the mountains of Lam Dong province is an ideal a family trip.

While his wife and kids enjoyed the landscape and the resort, he satisfied himself looking for species such as the Black-hooded Laughing thrush, Collared Laughing thrush and the Vietnamese Greenfinch.

The concept of bird watching is entirely new to most Vietnamese people (except tour operators). However a group of young Vietnamese birders recently formed the Vietnam Birdwatching Club (VBC) in 2006.

VBC is still a fairly modest outfit, organising short trips to Ba Vi, Xuan Thuy and Cuc Phuong.

“Bird-watching is a useful and entertaining activity for people of all ages. We welcome everybody to our club, the only condition is that you love birds,” says Le Manh Hung. “In the future we hope to broaden our sphere of action to the south and cooperate with Birdlife Indochina and other NGOs to launch campaigns for bird protection.”

Want to find out more?

Check out VBC’s website – www.birdwatchingvn.com, which is in Vietnamese and English.

Plenty of tour companies offer extensive bird watching tours. Here’s a few to get you started: Lamdong Tourist Co., info@dalattourist.com.vn, www.dalattourist.com.vn, Sinh Café, www.sinhcafe.com.vn, 04 828 9283, Handspan Adventure Travel www.handspan.com, 04 926 0581.

Source VIR