At the beginning of November 2022 I found myself with the opportunity to visit Bach Ma National Park, near Danang in Vietnam. While other sites in Vietnam could promise more new birds for me but I had limited time and so arranged a driver to take me from Danang to the national park and back, spending one night there. The cool weather, attractive forest and new location gave me exactly what I was looking for with a good selection of nice Southeast Asian birds including a few new ones, several distinct subspecies and also some birds that I seldom see in Thailand. Although the accommodation was a little “rustic” it was very enjoyable walking along quiet roads through pleasant forest, taking my time to watch and photograph the birds that interested me as well as some great views of one of the most attractive mammals I have ever seen!

If you would like to join me on a birding trip in Vietnam take a look at the dates, itinerary and all the details of my next tour - Vietnam Birding Tour.

My driver picked me up from Sun River Hotel in Danang in the early morning and we started our journey towards Bach Ma National Park, driving along the coast through the city, watching the locals doing their exercises, before weaving our way into the Vietnamese countryside. Shortly after leaving the city we threaded into a hillside tunnel before emerging into another world consisting of villages, coastline, wetlands and farmland; a nice view for the journey of around 1 hour 20 minutes. Shortly before reaching the entry to the national park we stopped in an area of rice fields adjacent to some tree plantations. The call of Masked Laughingthrush greeted me but these vocal birds were tricky to see within some thick undergrowth before they flew away to the next set of bushes. Open country species here included White-throated Kingfisher, Amur Stonechat, Long-tailed Shrike, Brown Shrike and a calling Radde’s warbler emerging from some tangles.

After buying tickets for the national park we began heading uphill into some very nice scenery and arrived in the upper areas of the forest; cool weather, lush forest and sweeping views greeted me but I was keen to see some birds so went walking along the quiet road. It didn’t take long before I came across what proved to be one of the commonest birds of the area: Mountain Fulvetta.

These garrulous little birds preceded a mixed flock of other birds, indeed, over the course of the two days I frequently saw these Fulvettas in mixed species flocks that included White-browed Shrike Babbler, Grey-chinned Minivet, Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher, White-bellied Erpornis, (Annam) Sultan Tit and (Grey-crowned) Black-throated Bushtit. One of the interesting things for me here was the fact that a number of the birds were quite different subspecies of ones that I am familiar with from Thailand.

The Sultan Tits at Bach Ma are quite different to the ones I frequently see in Thailand with all black forecrowns and crests. Some field guides suggest that this is a future split, with the name Annam Sultan Tit put forward. They undeniably look different and there were also some different aspects to the call of these birds. With so many former subspecies in Vietnam being split and regarded as endemic birds it surely cannot be long before Annam Sultan Tit joins them?

Another of these birds that I was very keen to see was the form of Black-throated Bushtit that occurs here. This is a really cute little bird and the subspecies that is present at Bach Ma is unique to a small area of Vietnam and Lao; it is quite different from the many other subspecies of this widespread bird. It turned out to be fairly common in the highland forests of Bach ma and present in most mixed flocks but, like most small birds in flocks, it took me some time to get any decent shots of it.

Eventually, when I was standing quietly I heard the subdued call of a small party of Bushtits in the nearby undergrowth and managed to locate them moving through at very close range. Despite their fast-moving nature I got close to the type of photo I wanted to really be able to study this bird in detail.

Walking quietly along the road a male Silver Pheasant showed itself in the dark of the forest, the strikingly white plumage creating the impression of a ghost gliding into the shadows, and a couple of colourful Red-headed Trogons sat quietly chuckling to themselves, frustratingly flying away just before I got a photo of either bird. Further up I came to the end of the road and the start of the trail to the highest point of the mountain.

Walking up this well-maintained trail, through stunted, elfen forest things were initially quiet but the call of a Collared Owlet had attracted the attention of a Fork-tailed Sunbird. I had not seen this attractive bird since birding in South East China a few years ago so it was nice to see this, the first of several I saw over the two days.

While photographing this little gem, I also spotted the Collared Owlet sitting among some tangles, hiding from the attention of the attacking sunbird.

A few more Red-headed Trogons showed themselves as I walked along before I spotted a male Mugimaki Flycatcher along with a pair of Puff-throated Bulbuls – I picked them up from their familiar call. Eventually the trail emerged onto a small grassy area with a temple at the top, revealing some fine views over the forest. Without the shade of the trees the late morning sunshine was quite hot but as I was about to leave and head for some lunch I heard a soft call from the grasses that I recognized from northern Thailand: Buff-throated Warbler.

As so often happens, I saw more birds on the way back than I saw on the way out with a nice flock of birds containing most of the previously seen flocking birds as well as a pair of endemic Necklaced Barbets – a lifer! After this success I walked back to the restaurant and enjoyed a tasty and much-needed lunch.

After lunch and a brief rest I spent the afternoon doing pretty much the same thing, walking up and down the road from the area I would spend the night in. As well as birding along the road I investigated some small side trails, creeks and the backs of some buildings finding a few interesting birds such as White-gorgetted Flycatcher, a nice male White-tailed Flycatcher, a calling Blue-rumped Pitta and a pair of  Streaked Wren Babblers. However, one of the main highlights was a pair of Indochinese Green Magpies. I have failed to see this species every time I have looked for them and this time seemed like it would be the same with a long wait, listening to them calling without any sign of them before they flew out of their hiding place and landed, briefly, in front of me.

I had more prolonged views of a flock of Indochinese Yuhinas feeding in a small tree, constantly making their contact calls before flying off in a mass to the next feeding place.

Olive-backed Pipit, Golden Babbler, Pin-striped Tit Babbler and a brief Siberian Thrush were all new for the list but as the skies started to cloud up a large raptor appeared before me: Black Eagle. This majestic bird then soared higher and higher above me allowing for some great views.

As I watched the eagle begin to disappear into the heights I noticed it was being harassed by another bird. Through the binoculars I could see it was a small falcon, and it looked like a male Amur Falcon. A few quick, but very bad photos later, I could see that indeed, it had been an Amur Falcon attacking the much larger Black Eagle.

While out birding, over the course of time one gets some interesting mammal sightings and today was one of those. In fact I saw several small groups of Red-shanked Douc, a regional endemic and one of the most attractive monkeys I have ever seen. It is not often that a monkey upstages the birds but this may have just been one occasion.

With so much walking and the light starting to fail it was time for a shower, a change of shoes and some dinner but there was time to add a sighting of the weird Ratchet-tailed Treepie, which from the number of calls that I heard throughout the day, is much more common here than it is at Kaeng Krachan in Thailand.

Chicken in lemongrass was a delicious dinner and there was some interesting entertainment with some of the loudest karaoke I have ever heard. Fortunately it was far away enough and I was tired enough for it not to disturb my sleep.

There was another species that was a potential lifer for me that I was keen to see: Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler. I had a tip off as to where to look so I decided to walk to that point as quickly as I could. However, I was distracted along the way by the morning’s birding activity. While waiting for some Streaked Wren Babblers to emerge from thick undergrowth my attention was drawn to a call I did not really recognize. Focussing on where it came from I quickly spotted a Grey-cheeked Warbler.

This is a bird I had only seen once before so it was really good to catch up with it again and get a good look at it and while I was watching it a second one turned up alongside it. Further up the road I came to an area where I suddenly got a phone signal and internet connection. It was at a very beautiful viewpoint and as I needed to talk to my wife I spent 20 minutes chatting with her and arranging to meet her back in Danang later in the day. While standing there I had one of those magic moments with White-browed Scimitar Babbler, Black-throated Laughingthrush and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush all coming to feed in a small berry bush close by.

However, my main target was Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler and the location I had been tipped off to was nearby. Frustratingly I spent an hour or so walking around this spot with ni luck whatsoever until finally I heard its call. Excitedly I walked quickly towards it and again heard the sound, really close this time. Despite this I spent around another 30 minutes or more searching for it until eventually I took a few steps down a steep slope and spotted it in the foliage of the undergrowth.

Success felt good. A slow walk back to the restaurant revealed Streaked Spiderhunter, Orange-bellied Leafbird and another Silver Pheasant before lunch and departure. The birding was not over though, with a number of stops along the road as we descended – Chinese Blue Flycatcher, Black-browed Fulvetta, Buff-breasted Babbler, Dark-throated Tailorbird and Black-naped Monarch were all new for the trip until we reached the park gate and began the drive to my hotel in Danang.

Although it was just a short trip I managed to find three lifers and several other new subspecies of birds, but most importantly, I really enjoyed just walking through peaceful, cool forest in a new location. It was also nice to explore the more touristic side of Danang and Hoi An over the course of the next few days with my wife.

If you would like to join me on a birding trip in Vietnam take a look at the dates, itinerary and all the details of my next tour - Vietnam Birding Tour.