Cambodia & South Vietnam

Today we will visit Angkor Wat, one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, and together with neighbouring temples form the remains of different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. As we revel in the historical grandeur of these UNESCO World Heritage sites, we will also look for birds – moats and forest patches within the temple walls can hold special birds such as Oriental Darter, Alexandrine Parakeet, White-throated Rock-thrush, Forest Wagtail, and much more. Night in Siem Reap.

We start our day with some morning birding in the grasslands alongside Tonle Sap in search of Bengal Florican and a large number of wintering migrants. Possibilities include Eastern Marsh and Pied Harriers and we could even come across some waterbirds, including Sarus Crane, Lesser Adjutant and Painted Stork.

Mid-morning will see us heading north into the remote Preah Vihear province. This province is home to some of the rarest species in south-east Asia. The landscape is dominated by open, dry savanna interspersed with extensive tracts of deciduous forest along the waterways. We shall arrive into our comfortable guesthouse in the mid-afternoon in time for some late afternoon birding. Night at Tmatboey Ecolodge or similar.

We have a final morning birding this rich ecosystem of open woodlands, seasonally-wet grasslands, deciduous dipterocarp forest and scattered wetlands – some of the best remaining examples in Southeast Asia. We return to Siem Reap in the afternoon. Overnight in Siem Reap.

We will spend a full day exploring Ang Trapeang Thmor, a nature reserve dating from the Khmer Rouge era that is a patchwork of grasslands, dry forest and rice fields. The reserve is an important wintering site for the endangered eastern population of Sarus Crane.

Other highlights of Ang Trapeang Thmor are the breeding colonies of Spot-billed Pelican and Painted Stork, and often large numbers of waterfowl, including Spot-billed Duck, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Garganey, Black-backed Swamphen, and Pheasant-tailed and Bronze-winged Jacanas.

The wide-open spaces are also good for raptors such as Greater Spotted Eagle, rarely Imperial Eagle, Black Baza, and harriers while owls such as Spotted Owlet, Barn Owl and Spotted Wood-owl roost in the scattered copses. Overnight in Siem Reap.

We depart early in the morning to the Mekong coast for shorebirds and a special quest for the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper that winters in this area. After lunch we will begin our drive north towards the renowned Cat Tien National Park.

We will arrive in Cat Tien National Park in the late afternoon and will have a few hours to bird there before evening. We will spend the night at the Cat Tien National Park Headquarters Guesthouse.

The premier national park in South Vietnam, Cat Tien National Park is located in Cochinchina in the Da Lat foothills. As the largest remaining tract of lowland tropical forest in southern Vietnam, it boasts an impressive mosaic of forest and seasonal wetlands that largely escaped the defoliants used in the Vietnam War. We will spend the next two days birding this park including many different habitat types found within the park. We will bird the seasonal wetlands, mostly from the edge, as well as the many excellent forest trails. We will also enjoy birding from the roads throughout the national park.

We will seek out the endemic Germain’s Peacock-Pheasant on the park’s jeep tracks and forest trails, where we will also encounter other spectacular birds such as Siamese Fireback, Green Peafowl and Scaly-breasted Partridge, as well as the endemic Grey-faced Tit-Babbler. We will try a few reliable spots for Blue-rumped Pitta and Bar-bellied Pitta. We will also look for Orange-necked Partridge, Wreathed Hornbill, Pale-headed Woodpecker, Black-and-buff Woodpecker, Black-and-red Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill and Grey-faced Tit Babbler. We will really start to build our trip list with a host of other southeast Asian species including various broadbills, woodpeckers, barbets, hornbills.

When it is warm around midday, the birding will slow down. We will use this part of the day for the bulk of the driving between sites, but it will also be an opportunity to have lunch and to catch up on any needed sleep. Nights at the Cat Tien National Park Headquarters Guesthouse.

After a relatively short birding in the morning and then breakfast, we will drive to Di Linh to search for several species which are easier to locate here at the Nui San Pass. Our primary targets will be the impressive Blue Pitta and Rusty-naped Pitta. We will also look for Spotted Forktail, White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Black-hooded Laughingthrush, Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, Vietnamese Cutia and Black-crowned Parrotbill (split from the more widespread Grey-headed).
We will spend the night at Ivoryfalls Villa Resort (or similar) in Di Linh.

An early morning return to the Nui San Pass will give us a chance for the elusive Green Cochoa.
After we finish birding at Nui San Pass, we will drive up to the Langbian Plateau towards the evocative hill resort of Da Lat. We will stop en route to bird around some interesting patches of habitat, and to admire several attractive waterfalls. Da Lat is situated at a delightfully cool elevation of 1500 meters (about 4,500 feet) in a temperate region dotted with lakes and waterfalls. The cooler weather and the surrounding forest, including various native pine woodlands, offer a good opportunity for birding. If cooler weather holds for mid-day, we will be able to bird more of the day here.
We will spend the night in Da Lat.

Da Lat sits on a plateau at 1,475 m (4,921 ft) and is known as the “City of Eternal Spring” for its comfortable temperate climate. The region’s landscape is picturesque – dotted with lakes and surrounded by woodland full of native pines. The distinct weather and habitats make the Da Lat Plateau a biodiversity hotspot, recognized by Birdlife International as an Endemic Bird Area (EBA) – one of five in Vietnam.

We will spend the next two days exploring the Da Lat Plateau. The plateau includes the 2,169 meter (7,100 foot) Mount Langbian, cloaked with evergreen forest right up to its peak. The footpaths leading through the forest and other habitats here do get progressively steeper. Our efforts at birding the forests should reward us with views of the spectacular endemic Collared Laughingthrush, Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Vietnamese Cutia, Black-crowned Fulvetta (split from Rufous-winged Fulvetta) and the Grey-crowned Tit (split from Black-throated Tit). We will also find a number of other Asian and wintering birds as well.

Closer to Da Lat is the Ta Nung Valley, famous for the recently re-discovered Grey-crowned Crocias, which is regularly encountered here. Other endemics, such as Black-hooded Laughingthrush, Orange-breasted Laughingthrush and Vietnamese Greenfinch are possible as well.

Over the next two days, we will be able to put in quite a bit of birding, and the potential here for new trip birds is excellent. Some of the other species we hope to find here include Bar-backed Partridge, Silver Pheasant, Red-vented Barbet, Annam Barbet, Red-headed Trogon, Long-tailed Broadbill, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Jerdon’s Baza, Rusty-naped Pitta, Blue Pitta, Burmese Shrike, Indochinese Green Magpie, Eurasian Jay, Slender-billed Oriole, Maroon Oriole, White-throated Rock Thrush, Green Cochoa, Rufous-browed Flycatcher, Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Little Pied Flycatcher, Large Niltava, Lesser Shortwing, White-tailed Robin, Spotted Forktail, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Humes’s Treecreeper (split from Brown-throated Treecreeper), Grey-bellied Tesia, White-spectacled Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Black-hooded Laughingthrush, White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, White-browed Scimitar Babbler, Streaked Wren Babbler, Eyebrowed Wren Babbler, Pygmy Wren Babbler, Rufous-capped Babbler, Trilling Shrike-babbler (aka Chestnut-fronted Shrike-Babbler), Dalat Shrike-babbler (split from White-browed Shrike-babbler), Blue-winged Minla, Black-crowned Fulvetta, Indochinese Fulvetta (difficult here), Rufous-backed Sibia, Black-headed Sibia, Black-crowned Parrotbill, Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird, Streaked Spiderhunter, Red Crossbill. Nights in Da Lat.