Nha Trang, Hoi An and My Son Sanctuary

The 22-23rd January were travelling days. With our travelling companions Carol & Phil we took a taxi into Dalat and caught another day sleeping bus on the slightly queasy, but extremely scenic winding mountain road to Nha Trang, taking a little over three hours. There we parted company again as they were flying on north, but we were to fulfil another dream and take the sleeper train. Sometimes unavoidable but we prefer not to use air travel where ever possible. We dropped off our luggage at the station and took a taxi to the beach to await the evening departure. Birdlife was sparse both on the journey and at the coast.

News of the virus sweeping Wuhan in China had been reaching us for a while now and from now on it would be ever present in our minds. This was the first time we were temperature checked and masks were becoming ever more prevalent. The packed train left at around 8pm and we were sharing a 6 berth compartment with a young family who soon settled down and we had a pretty good night.

Red-billed Starling Sturnus sericeus

A 6:30am arrival in Da Nang meant plenty of time to find a cafe and have a leisurely breakfast before sharing a cab with a couple from Denmark for the 45 minute drive to the historic city of Hoi An. It was still quite early so we dropped off bags at the hotel and went to explore the old town. Among the old building and small parks were the odd Plaintive Cuckoo, Blue Rock Thrush, Asian Brown Flycatcher and a small flock of Red-billed Starlings, with the usual Coppersmith Barbets, Red Collared Doves, Common Tailorbirds, Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers, Barn Swallows, Tree Sparrows and Grey Wagtail.

Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius

We liked Hoi An a lot and stayed a full week, much of it in the company of Phil & Carol, right through the impressive Chinese New Year celebrations. There were two main areas of interest from a wildlife point of view. The first a small patch of dune habitat and farmland across a frankly alarming metal scooter bridge on the northern edge of Cam Kim island south of the town and a region of rice paddies on the northern edge. There was a third area visited by an America birder I met but I failed to find a way past the security guard on the only entrance. It's an area partially cleared for development on the SW of the island of Cam Nam and he reported a 300 strong flock of Yellow-breasted Buntings there - probably international significant numbers! He also had Watercock and an Indian Nightjar here among other things and it was probably the best habitat close to the town. I recommend using a bicycle to reach all three areas.

Black-faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala

The Cau Cam Kim dunes were on an undeveloped finger just across the metal bridge and produced one of the best birds of the trip; a Black-faced Bunting. Tantalising views of a skulking Luscinia/Calliope turned out to be a Bluethroat. Other good birds here included Lesser Coucal, Racket-tailed Treepie, Yellow Bittern, Long-tailed Shrike and Stejneger's Stonechat. A Quail or Buttonquail species flushed from short grass here remained stubbornly impossible to relocate.

Bluethroat Luscinia svecica

Lesser Coucal Centropus bengalensis

Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach

White-browed Crake Amaurornis cinerea

The paddies were very active with many waterbirds. As well as the expected Yellow Bittern, Pond Herons and all four Egrets there were Pin-tailed Snipe, Little Ringed Plover, Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, White-browed Crake, Racket-tailed Treepie, Black-browed Reed Warbler and with some effort managed to get brief views of the Pallas' Grasshopper Warblers wintering there but not the reported Lanceolated Warblers.

While there we took one organised excursion; a rare treat for budget travellers like us. We were bussed for just over an hour out to my 74th UNESCO World Heritage site; My Son Sanctuary (pronounced "mee son" to rhyme with "gone" as our effusive guide was at pains to point out). Occupied by the Champa Kingdom for about 1000 years (4th-14th century AD), at one time it was a complex of 70 Hindu temples but was mostly destroyed during one week of the Vietnam war.

Orange-headed Thrush Geokichla citrina

Being well out in the countryside there was the potential for some good birding and sure enough I found an Orange-headed thrush almost straight away on a track close to the toilets near the entrance and got a terrible photo in the gloomy conditions. Unfortunately, despite having some time to explore away from the party, that was just about it apart from common birds. 2 Green-eared Barbets showing well and a couple of Swinhoe's White-eyes were just about the only things of note. By 1pm we had all been herded back on the bus for a half hour drive to a dock where we took a leisurely boat ride including a basic lunch. Another half hour along the river and we were back in the old town of Hoi An. Birdlife was also fairly limited on the river with some Grey Herons and Greenshanks providing the only distraction. A very wet day but actually not a bad trip, with a very entertaining guide, costing about £10 a head including the entry fee and lunch.

Green-eared Barbet Megalaima faiostricta

Yellow-bellied Prinia Prinia flaviventris

Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola (maurus) stejnegeri

Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus

The total combined list for this week came to 59 species including four lifers.

Rock Dove
Red Collared Dove
Spotted Dove
Zebra Dove
Greater Coucal
Lesser Coucal
Plaintive Cuckoo
Germain's Swiftlet
Asian Palm-Swift
White-browed Crake
Black-winged Stilt
Little Ringed Plover
Pin-tailed Snipe
Common Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Wood Sandpiper
Yellow Bittern
Grey Heron
Great White Egret
Intermediate Egret
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Chinese Pond Heron
White-throated Kingfisher
Green Bee-eater
Coppersmith Barbet
Green-eared Barbet
Common Iora
Black Drongo
Brown Shrike
Long-tailed Shrike
Racket-tailed Treepie
Common Tailorbird
Yellow-bellied Prinia
Plain Prinia
Zitting Cisticola
Black-browed Reed Warbler
Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler
Barn Swallow
Sooty-headed Bulbul
Stripe-throated Bulbul
Streak-eared Bulbul
Yellow-browed Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Swinhoe's White-eye
Red-billed Starling
Orange-headed Thrush
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Bluethroat
Blue Rock Thrush
Siberian Stonechat
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
Scaly-breasted Munia
House Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Grey Wagtail
Paddyfield Pipit
Black-faced Bunting