Vietnam Bird Watching and Bird Photography Tours

The dry season in Southern Vietnam lasts from late November to the end of April next year, which is the best time for bird-watching in Vietnam. It is also very easy to take birds photograph with many endemic, migratory birds... Because this time is when many birds migrate from the north to warm southern countries for winter coming.

Most of the breeding season for native birds is from January to April each year. This is the time when they boast and pair, then nest. After the early rains in late April and early May is also the time for the youngster to hatch, the bird watching season in Vietnam will end.

Birding locations in Vietnam, Some of the "hot-spot" bird watching sites in Vietnam, in addition to special places to conserve rare and endemic birds area (EBA), we also have unique destinations, as listed below:

• Can Gio Coast
• Go Cong Coast
• Dong Nai Nature Reserve
• Cat Tien National Park
• Di Linh Plateau
• Bidoup Nuiba National Park
• Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve
• Bach Ma National Park
• Sa Mu Pass
• Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park
• Van Long Nature Reserve
• Cuc Phuong National Park
• Cat Ba Island
• Sapa Town
• Fansipan Mountain

My recommendations and CHECKLIST for the best birding gear

• Binoculars - Camera. A good set of binocularsis or telescopes/ cameras an absolute requirement for birdwatching. ...
• Field Guide. There is nothing more frustrating for the novice birdwatcher than seeing a tree full of beautifully colored birds and not being able to identify any of them. ...
• Tour leaders who are proffesional when it comes to bird-watching.
• Checklists are very useful for keeping track of the birds you encounter during a birding trip.
• Hat: Good for keeping the sun off your head during birding trips.
• Good Shoes or Boots: Many birdwatchers have uttered the phrase; “We’ll just stick to the trail”. Very few birdwatchers have actually followed that advice.

• Daypack: Good for carrying your field guide, extra checklists, hat, dry socks and water bottle.

• Notebookand Pen: Not every birder carries a notebook but novice birdwatchers find it useful to record their observations

Criteria for choosing a camera? It can be summed up as:

• Must have good light sensitivity
• Shoot far ability
• Most importantly must be compact, easy to carry when walking in the forest.

Some tips on equipment on bird-watching tours in Vietnam:

• Focal length >= 400mm
• Large aperture, preferably from f5.6 to f2.8. In some cases many photographers choose to use f8 for photography. But in low light conditions under a forest canopy, focusing will be very slow and you will "miss" the best moment of the bird. Not to mention the image will be "blurred" because the aperture closed will reduce the shutter speed
• Controlling the ISO speed in a low range. The maximum current the camera can support (to create acceptable images without noise "noise") is ISO below 12800.
• Some cheap lenses, suitable for carrying and traveling for birding in Vietnam, can be listed as:
  • Canon 400mm f5.6
  • Sigma 150-600mm f5.6-6.3
  • Tamron 150-500mm
  • Nikon 200-500mm f5.6
  • Nikon 500mmf5.6 PF ...

Cat Tien National Park is only 160km away from Ho Chi Minh City, so travel time is just over 3 hours, you will save time traveling from the airport to this National Park for bird watching and wildlife exploration.

There are 3 bird-hides available here so the time to watch birds besides walking in the forest trails, we have time at the bird-hides to have beautiful pictures of many beautiful and endemic birds such as : Bar-bellied Pitta, Blue-rumped Pitta, Germain's peacock pheasant, Orange-necked Partridge .... You need at least 3 days to explore Cat Tien. If you want to explore further routes such as walking into Crocodile lake, you need 4 days to plan.

Cat Tien National Park, as well as many other tourist areas in Vietnam, has not allowed tourists to go to the forest at night. To do this, tourists must go through a professional tourism organization, special permission from the park management. Such tours, in addition to experienced guides, tourism organizers also combine with forest rangers in the Park to ensure safety for visitors.

Vietnambirds.net is a company that can assure customers of the night forest experience in Cat Tien National Park as well as other national parks in Vietnam.

Dalat city is a famous tourist attraction in Vietnam. Finding an overnight stay here is easy. Many 4-star hotels right in the city center. There are also many restaurants catering to every visitor's needs. The choice to stay in the city center to spend the night and daytime will take a little more time to move into the forest, which is the choice of most birder and tour operators.

However, an ordinary tourist will sleep very late and often wandering to explore the city at night, with curiosities and interests in the night market or many small cafes on the banks of the lake. On the contrary, bird watching tourists, birders, usually sleep very early and will also wake up early to go to the forest. So regularly, hotels will not be able to serve them breakfast like regular tourists. This is a note for you. You will prepare breakfast to bring or find a few addresses that serve breakfast at 5:00 am.