Vietnam ~ Cat Tien, Di Linh & DaLat ~ 21st Dec '25 -- 2nd Jan '26

 ~ Vietnam ~

Cat Tien, Di Linh & DaLat

21st Dec - '25 / 2nd Jan - '26

I spent 6 days in Cat Tien, staying in the national park at Forest Floor Lodge before moving to a better cheaper room by the park headquarters I did a morning in the Pitta Hide and an afternoon in the Pheasant Hide also spent a night at Crocodile Lake, the birding in the park is great but definitely needed the hides for some of the species as I didn't see them except in the hides ..

Both hides were arranged the day before going and were only 1 million Dong per session that's only £28 excellent value, well set-up with natural looking perches as well as rocks and logs and best of all I was on my own ..

Best value hides I've ever paid for and it makes seeing the Pittas, Fireback and Pheasants easy .. 

Stripe-throated Bulbul

Once inside the national park that is where I did all my birding going to ...

HQ track to Ben Cu rapids, Tai Lai track and grasslands, HQ and Tung Tree area, Crocodile Lake, Radio Mast ponds and Swamp Tower platform at the grassland ..

The following images are all from hides ..

Blue-rumped Pitta

Abbott's Babbler

Siberian Blue Robin

Siberian Blue Robin

Bar-bellied Pitta

Bar-bellied Pitta

Bar-bellied Pitta

Bar-bellied Pitta

Indochinese Blue Flycatcher

Bar-bellied Pitta

Siamese Fireback

Slaty-legged Crake

Stork-billed Kingfisher

 Then 2 days in Di Linh doing two different hides with different species coming to each hide here I stayed at Ivory Falls Villa and the birding around the Villa was also fantastic ..

These hides were booked with Vietbirds which is priced per day so both hides, morning hide then an afternoon hide, picked up & dropped back by a driver plus a brilliant guide that maintains the hide and had thought about the set-up with photography in mind .. 

Now these hides are $250 per day ..

Let me explain what you get for your money !!

Quality birds, up close and not seen elsewhere.. The guide stays with you and keeps putting out the mealworms when they are gone, and they need topping up quite often. Hearing birds which you didn't hear and calling them in and if your busy photographing one bird and another good one is coming in you get told the info ..

So you do get a lot for your money ..   

    

Burmese Shrike

Blue Pitta

White-throated Rock Thrush

Indochinese Green-Magpie

Silver-breasted Broadbill

Scaly Thrush

Mugimaki Flycatcher

Orange-headed Thrush

Scaly Thrush

Silver-breasted Broadbill

Mugimaki Flycatcher

Mugimaki Flycatcher

Siberian Blue Flycatcher

Mugimaki Flycatcher

White-throated Rock Thrush

Orange-headed Thrush

Blue Pitta

Mugimaki Flycatcher

Ashy Bulbul

Verditer Flycatcher

Little Pied Flycatcher

Siberian Thrush

Scaly Thrush

Scaly Thrush

Siberian Blue Rock

Hainan Blue Flycatcher

White-browed Scimitar Babbler

Barred Cuckoo-Dove

Dark-sided Thrush

Streaked Wren-Babbler

Asian Stubtail

White-throated Rock Thrush

Then 5 days in DaLat ..

I stayed at the Du Park Hotel, DaLat using Grab taxi for transport when on my own to get to locations and was picked up by Vietbirds for the days I had a guide for hides and a days birding for remaining targets.

Some good sites I reached with the Grab were ..

Datanla Waterfall the car park area and restaurant overlooking the gardens with flowering trees.

Tuyen Lam Lake around the dam and the forest and trails.

Tuyen Lam Lake--western shore and trails.

Tuyen Lam Lake--forested ravine and trails.

DaLat Flower Garden around the flowering trees and pools.

I arranged two days with Vietbirds for hide photography using three different hides in the Bidoup Nui Ba NP, with target birds from each hide and not seen elsewhere.

  

Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

Grey Bushchat

Large Niltava

Large Niltava

Grey-throated Babbler

Grey-bellied Tesia

Black-headed Sibia

Mountain Fulvetta

 Rufous-throated Partridge

White-cheeked Laughingthrush

Mugimaki Flycatcher

Dalat shrike-babbler

Alström's Warbler 

Yellow-billed Nuthatch

Yellow-billed Nuthatch

Dalat shrike-babbler .. (f)

Dalat shrike-babbler

Rufous-browed Flycatcher

Lesser Shortwing

Little Pied Flycatcher

Rusty-naped Pitta

Mountain Fulvetta

Large Niltava

Rufous-backed Sibia

I arranged a days birding again via Vietbirds with the remaining target birds as the main focus, local knowledge and call id makes such a difference even though this was another $250 for a full day it was worth it, a great guide plus driver and car.

Visited the following sites ...

Datanla Waterfall, Ta Nung Valley, Strawberry Farm Trail and a site on the way back to the hotel for Oriental Scops Owl seeing 3 birds .. 

Vietnamese Cutia

Streaked Spiderhunter

Rufous-tailed Robin

Siberian Rubythroat

Oriental Scops Owl

Last full day birding and a Grab Taxi to Tuyen Lam Lake--western shore, then the forested ravine walking using google maps but ended up in a military zone and they wasn't happy when I came walking down the hill,  from here I got a Grab to DaLat Flower Garden for the final last few species to make the numbers up .. 

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch

Common Crossbill

The morning of January 2nd was all about going home starting with a Grab to DaLat airport for a flight to HCMC then back to Gatwick via Dubai ..

The trip total ended at 248 species for Vietnam with 98 lifers ..

Plus 1 lifer in Dubai ..