Birding in Vietnam is hard work. At most sites, birds are few and far between and bird waves are not easy to come by. There is intense hunting pressure on large birds in most areas – e.g. at Cuc Phuong, Vietnam’s first national park, I did not see any hornbills or pigeons and only one large raptor in three days birding. Only at Cat Tien were such birds fairly numerous. We saw five Brown Hornbills at the newly opened-up Mang Canh area but I wonder how long they will survive. Song birds are also extensively trapped for the cage bird trade and this presumably accounts for why many species are so shy. Playback produced good results for some species but it is important to make the best use of the initial response as that is often the only chance you get. Several desired species offered only the briefest of views and about ten potential lifers wouldn’t show at all!
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