One January afternoon drinking beers and overlooking Trúc Bạch Lake in Hanoi (where John McCain was shot down), while I was checking out some herons in the lake, my friend I was visiting asked if I wanted to go birdwatching at Cúc Phương National Park. He found a one-day birdwatching tour for us; he and his wife are both science teachers and enjoy being outdoors and would both enjoy the experience. I had not planned to do any birdwatching in Hanoi other than whatever city parks I could visit. I wanted to go but was a bit hesitant because I only had one more night in Vietnam. I did not want to try visiting a national park three hours outside of Hanoi before catching a red-eye flight. If we could organize the trip for the next day, I agreed that we should go. My friend emailed the tour operator and within an hour we received confirmation that they could arrange a guide and a Hanoi-based driver to take us to and from the park. We signed up, paid the tour operator, and headed back home to get some rest before the early morning pickup.
The driver picked us up at 6 AM for the three-hour drive to the park. At the park, we were created by a local park ranger who would guide us the entire day. The ranger spoke excellent English and was very helpful in finding and identifying the birds. The park also has primate and turtle rescue centers. Usually, visitors need to wait at the centers’ gates for a free ranger to allow them in, but because we had our personal ranger, we did not need to wait at all. On top of the driver and excellent guide, the tour cost included a solid and delicious lunch; there was more food than we could eat.
Because I had not planned on doing any real birdwatching I did not research any birds to see outside of what I might come across in downtown Hanoi. I did not have my camera and only brought my Outland binoculars. Even so, thanks to our guide, we saw plenty of birds. Some of the highlights were Annam Limestone Babbler, Pied Falconet, Fujian Niltava, Red-vented Barbet, Blue-winged Leafbird, and Scarlet and Long-tailed Minivet. We did not see any rare birds, but for a trip organized less than 24 hours earlier, we saw enough.
Here is the link to the tour we took. Birdwatchers that visit Hanoi ought to look into a tour. They certainly are worth your time.
The Keasy Depot 