This was a 1.5 week trip to some key sites in central and south Viet Nam. Having been to Viet Nam a few times before (e.g. the north and Da Lat), I was keen on cleaning up on certain key birds. Stig-Uno Svensson was also ready to set his first steps on Vietnamese ground. In order to arrange local logistics in the most efficient way, I contacted Nguyen Bao, one of the extremely few Vietnamese birders. Bao fortunately decided to also join us and just before the trip, the interest of a national TV channel was lso aroused. We were therefore a happy crew of seven people to go after those nice endemics (although on the trails the TV team kept their distance in order not to disturb the skulkers). All local arrangements worked out absolutely perfect and the time in the field was truly maximized.
All in all it was a very successful trip. We saw most of the target birds, heard a few of them (Crested Argus, Vietnam and Orange-necked Partridge) and missed completely only two (Red-collared Woodpecker and Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl). Favorite birds were Indochinese Wren-Babbler (former Short-tailed Scimitar-Babbler), Black-crowned Barwing, Blue-rumped Pitta, Germain’s Peacock Pheasant, Sooty Babbler, Pale-headed and Black-and-buff Woodpecker. We also encountered numerous endemic taxa, many of which are strikingly different from other taxa that they are currently included in.
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