On a comperhensive 3-week tour covering sites across Vietnam, you could exprect to see upwards of 300 species, including most of the country endemics and regional specialities. The majority of Vietnam’s Endemics can be found in Dalat, Lam Dong province, place for Grey-crownded Crocias, Collared, Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, Vietnam Cutia and Greenfinch. The nearby Cat Tien National park is lowlands host for many species of Pittas, Phesant, Partridenges, including range-restricted Orange-breasted Patridge. 

Moving central Vietnam’s extensive mountains hold serval recent discoverries, including endemic Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush, Golden-winged Laughingthrush and near Endemic Black-crowned Barwing and many of sub-species compair to Thai and Malaysia. 

In the northern Vietnam is home for himalayan Bird with is similar to Southern China’s subtropical evergreen forests with specialities as Short-tailed Parrot-bill, white-eared NightHeron and very rare endemic White-throated Scimitar-Babbler. 

North-Vietnam weather for birding

Sa Pa, Ba Be Np., Tam Dao Np., Ba Vi Np., Xuan Thuy Np., Cuc Phuong Np,.

North Vietnam has a distinct winter and summer season. The cool but mostly dry in winter lasts from Nov to Apr when the temperatures average 17-22⁰ C with the coldest months being from Jan – Mar. Summer last from May to Oct when it’s hot, humid and the region experiences its highest rainfall. Jul to Sep are often the wettest months of the year.

So the best time for birding in the North-Vietnam is during the dry season from Oct to Apr, warm-clothing are recommended from Dec to Jan because it’s very cold when birding in cloudy.

Central-Vietnam weather for birding

Phong Nha-Ke Bang Np., Samu pass, Bach Ma Np,. Da Nang, Ngoc Linh Np., Kon-tum Pr.,

The weather in central is hot and dry weather from mid Jan to late Aug, with the temperature often reaching mid-30’s⁰ C. During the winter time the rainfall increases with Oct to Nov achieving peak levels, occasionally in the form of typhoons. In the central-highland the rainy time is from Jun to Oct and the peak of rainfall often in Jul to Sep.

At the far south of Central-Vietnam where benefits from a longer dry season (Jan to Sep), with the high temperatures and little rain. The rainy season runs from Oct to Mid of Dec with almost haft the annual rainfall in Oct and Nov.

So the best time for birding in the Central-Vietnam is from Dec to May, some place although it is rain but you still could birding from May to Oct like Son Tra near Da Nang city where rain not too long and after rain is good for birding.

South-Vietnam weather for birding

Dalat plateau, Cat Tien Np., Dinh Mountain, Can Gio mangrove forest, Mekong delta

With temperatures remaining constant year round the climate of the south is split into two simple seasons, wet and dry. The dry season begins in November and ends in April/early May with late February to May being slightly hotter and with higher humidity. The wet season lasts from May to early November with the months from June to August receiving the highest rainfall of the year. Throughout much of the wet season rainfall is generally heavy but short lasting, often occurring in a mid-afternoon heavy down-pour!

The average temperatures in the south range between 25 – 35°C year round.

Dalat is wet from June to October making outdoor pursuits problematic. From November to May it is far dryer although cold in December & January. In the Mekong Delta monsoon climate with two seasons; wet (late-July to late October) and dry (November to July).

Lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen forest

Characterised by a high diversity of broadleaf tree species and rich, diverse bird communities, lowland evergreen forest is the natural forest type over much of lowland Vietnam below c.900 m. This habitat type, one of the most threatened forest types in Asia, now covers just a fraction of what it once did, primarily due to its clearance for agricultural use. Semi evergreen, or mixed deciduous, forest is very similar in composition to lowland evergreen forest but with the addition of deciduous trees such as dipterocarps. Buttressed trees, bamboos, palms and vines are prevalent in this forest type. Typical birds species found in Vietnam’s lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen forest include cuckoos, trogons, hornbills, barbets, woodpeckers, pittas, broadbills, bulbuls, ground babblers, flowerpeckers and sunbirds.

Montane evergreen forest

Above c.900 m montane evergreen forest takes over from lowland evergreen with oaks, chestnuts, beeches, laurels and conifers dominating. Two distinct types of montane evergreen forest in Vietnam can be recognized, lower montane and upper montane evergreen forest. Above 1700 m there is a clearly defined transition to upper montane evergreen forest with tree species such as rhododendrons starting to dominate. Vietnam’s montane evergreen forests harbour a high density of bird species including skrike-babblers, tits, warblers, babblers, nuthatches, thrushes and flycatchers. Montane evergreen forest is of particular interest in Vietnam as it is in this habitat that many of the endemic and near-endemic babblers and laughingthrushes occur.

Deciduous forest

Deciduous forest is found in the drier low-lying areas of west-central and southern Vietnam, particularly those areas bordering eastern Cambodia. Deciduous forest in Vietnam can be subdivided into two types, dry dipterocarp forest and mixed deciduous forest. Dry dipterocarp forest grows in drier areas on poor soil and is characterised by a canopy of dipterocarp trees and an open grassy understorey. As there is no midstorey in this forest type it is not as rich in bird species as lowland evergreen or semi-evergreen forest. Woodpeckers and parakeets are among those species typical of this forest type.
Mixed deciduous forest occurs in areas with more nutrient-rich soil leading to more diverse vegetation with varied tree species, often some bamboo, and a middle storey making this forest type richer in bird species than dry dipterocarp. Bird communities are similar to those found in lowland evergreen forest.

Coniferous forest

Vietnam’s native coniferous forest on the Dalat Plateau, at the southern extremity of the Annamites, is dominated by Benguet pine, Pinus kesiya, also known as three-needled pine. Bird diversity in this forest type is low compared to most others, but some key species such as Slender-billed Oriole, Red Crossbill and the endemic Langbian Tit and Vietnamese Greenfinch are almost entirely restricted to this habitat. At higher elevations on the Dalat Plateau, conifer species including two endemic pines, Krempf’s pine Pinus krempfi and Dalat pine Pinus dalatensis, are mixed with montane evergreen forest, and bird communities here are very similar to those in montane evergreen forest. Conifer species such as the cypress Taiwania and the highly-prized Fokienia grow in montane forests of the Hoang Lien range in the far north-west of Vietnam.

Limestone forest

This forest type is an evergreen forest that grows in areas of limestone and on limestone outcrops, often sculpted into striking karst formations with sharp jagged peaks. It is found in parts of northern and central Vietnam, and is an important habitat for several limestone specialists such as Limestone Leaf-warbler, Greyish Limestone-babbler and the near endemics Sooty Babbler and Nonggang Babbler.

Freshwater wetlands

Freshwater wetlands in Vietnam include rivers, lakes and marshes. The bird communities of all these habitats have suffered as a result of human exploitation and encroachment. Typical riverine birds such as River Lapwing, Masked Finfoot, White-winged Duck and Blyth’s Kingfisher are rare, and some are on the verge of extinction in the country.
Many artificial lakes and reservoirs have been created throughout the country in recent years, but perhaps due to pressure from hunting or simply being unsuitable, they attract few birds. Several protected areas incorporating fresh water wetlands throughout Vietnam provide an important refuge for waterbirds such as crakes, rails, storks, ibises, bitterns, herons, egrets, cormorants and Oriental Darter, as well as small numbers of wintering ducks.

Seasonally inundated grasslands

One of the most threatened habitats in Vietnam, seasonally inundated grasslands, once covered large areas of southern Vietnam, particularly the Mekong Delta region bordering Cambodia. Much of the original grassland has been converted to agriculture and only a few fragments now remain. Bird species restricted to this habitat in Vietnam include dwindling numbers of wintering Sarus Cranes.

Coastal wetlands and other coastal habitats

Vietnam’s coastal wetlands include intertidal mudflats, and man-made habitats such as salt pans and shrimp ponds. In northern Vietnam, the Red River’s intertidal mudflats represent important habitat for migratory and wintering birds including globally threatened such as Black-faced Spoonbill, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Spotted Greenshank and Saunders’ Gull. In the south of the country parts of the Mekong Delta offer similar habitats, while saltpans and shrimp ponds along Vietnam’s central and southern coastline provide important feeding areas for migrant waders.
Much of Vietnam’s native mangrove forest has disappeared, but what remains or has been replanted in recent years provides habitat for bitterns, herons, egrets, cormorants and kingfishers as well as Golden-bellied Gerygone, Mangrove Whistler, Mangrove Blue-flycatcher and Copper-throated Sunbird.
Undisturbed beaches and coastal scrub along Vietnam’s long coastline provide suitable breeding habitat for a variety of species including plovers, terns, bee-eaters and kingfishers, while stands of beachside Casuarina trees are favoured by Plain-backed Sparrow and Oriental Greenfinch.
The rocky offshore islands and islets that comprise the Con Dao archipelago off Vietnam’s south-east coast offer important breeding sites for seabirds, several of which occur nowhere else in Vietnam. These include Red-billed Tropicbird, Brown Noddy, two species of booby and several species of tern. In addition to seabirds, Con Dao is also home to two pigeons adapted to island life, Nicobar Pigeon and Pied Imperial Pigeon.

Access: There are now 3 main international airport in Vietnam – Noi Bai airport, Hanoi Capital in the North, Danang airport in the central and Tan San Nhat airport in the South

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels/guesthouses are comfortable and of good or medium standard throughout.

Walking: The walking effort during our Vietnam birding tour is mostly easy, but there are some longer walks.

Climate: Most days at lower altitudes in the south will be warm or hot, dry and sunny. In the north and at higher altitudes in the south conditions range from warm to rather cool. Overcast weather is not infrequent and it may well rain.

Bird Photography: High opportunities for Photographer today

Health & Safe: Vaccinations for hepatitis A and B and Typhoid are recommended for visting birdwatcher. Leeches and ticks occur in lowland and submountane forests. While tichks are more likely to be encountedred during the dry season when most Birdwatcher visit. leeches are in greater abundance during the wetter season of the year.