Hot Weather for Birds

Sunday Feb 25, Saigon

Today was the 3rd day of the Horrors of War series with a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels, a crab walk through a section 60cm high, and bring your bug spray. The afternoon would be at leisure, so we decided to go birding instead. All through this trip we have been trying to see how Vietnam is today instead of reliving old times.

Unfortunately Alice was feeling a bit wasted so I went alone and let her luxuriate in our hotel. My guide looked as if he was fresh out of high school but of course he had passed beyond university some time ago. His name was Quy, pronounced “Oui!”.

We left the hotel at 5:20 a.m. and arrived by ferry on a major island in the Mekong Delta. Our first stop was just by the road, it seemed. Two hours later we had 28 species, some of which I sort of photographed.

The super-exciting Brown Shrike.

Just as if we were in Huntington Central Park, except for the heat. Our friends the Scaly-breasted Munias.

Yellow-bellied Prinia. Very widely distributed but not yet, as far as we know, in Huntington Beach. Attractive song.

Next, on to the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, home of an immense mangrove forest. These are White-eyes, either Swinhoe’s or Indian, and those brave enough are welcome to ponder the recent reshuffling of the White-eye families.

Female Ornate Sunbird (the male has a large purple throat).

For me, the hit of the day, an Asian Green Bee-eater.

The beach. Tide was out at least half a mile. The beach itself was about 30 meters of solid shells from tiny to an inch across. Then it was mud with crab holes, then mud with bigger crab holes. It was about 95 degrees by then but the sea breeze made it almost fun. Not many shorebirds within our reach and half of them were Malibu Lagoon birds.

Common Kingfisher at the salt and fish ponds we were passing.

My guide Quy. I did not fall into any of the ponds, but it was close.

And what may be the prize of the day, a kingfisher from a long ways away that Quy could not identify. He talked on the phone as we returned and said it may be a new species for Vietnam. I sent him this and he’ll get back to me. The odds are it is just an immature native, but we’ll see. I’m guessing we saw about 45 species today, list to follow.

For dinner I forgot my camera. Also my wallet, but tonight one drink was on the house. The restaurant was Hoa Tuc (Opium Flower) because the buildings used to house certain facilities where people smoked certain things back in the French days.

• Crispy featherback fish cakes (9/10). Surprisingly tasty!
• Chicken salad with banana blossom and crushed peanut (9/10). Finally someone figured out how to cook chicken!
• Grilled shrimp and pork paste on fine rice vermicelli (6/10). Not much taste except for the basil that had a strong anise touch. The ‘paste’ was shrimp and pork food-processed and then formed into a sausage. Alice disagrees (9/10).
• Grilled seabass filet with lemongrass pickled shallot (10/10). Exceptional. Looked like the bottom of an old boot but tasted great. That they made it for 24 people on a busy night was remarkable. Served with watercress salad and fried rice.
• Seasonal fruit platter (6/10). Only one fruit – a star apple. OK I guess.

Tomorrow photos of the breakfast buffet which is the best yet.