Xuan Thuy National Park is the biggest bird park in Vietnam with 200 bird species of which 150 species are migratory birds (pass-through, visiting birds), and 50 species are resident birds. Each year the number of individual birds spotted at Xuan Thuy may be above 30,000.
Bird-Watching Tour at Xuan Thuy National Park Overview
If you are an enthusiastic and avid birders, please join one of our bird-watching tours to learn about the avifauna at the Xuan Thuy National Park in Nam Dinh Province, in northern Vietnam.
Best time for birding is during the dry and cool season from late October through February. It is still busy in March and April but not as busy as during the winter months in northern Vietnam because several migratory birds have started migrating backwards to their residencial environment.
From May through July, there are birds which migrate northwards in the summer months. And these birds choose to stay at the Xuan Thuy National Park thanks to abundant food and temperature temperatures.
It is possible for birding tours in the summer and autumn if it is not the time the region is under impact of a typhoon: July-October.
Summer months (May - July)
- Spot-billed Pelican ( Pelecanus philippensis, Bồ nông chân xám);
- Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala, Giang sen);
Winter months (November through March)
- Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhynch, Vịt giời);
- Northern Pintail (Anas acut, Vịt mốc);
Accommodation at the park headquarters is clean and with en-suite bathroom and basic facilities. All meals on the tour are included.
{Inclusions
English speaking guide for bird-watching at Xuan Thuy National Park;
Transportation as on the itinerary;
Boat trips at the national park as per itinerary;
Accommodation as on the itinerary;
Meals as per itinerary: B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner;
Admission and permits during the guided times;}
{Exclusions
Insurance of any types;
Drinks, laundry, phone bills or others not clearly mentioned as included.}
Detailed itinerary
Day1 Hanoi - Xuan Thuy National Park (Giao Thuy, Nam Dinh)/Birding at Con Lu Island (specialist tour guide at Xuan Thuy included) (L/D)
0800 Our driver picks you up from your hotel and we travel to Xuan Thuy National Park. The road trip takes 3-4 hours.
1130 Arrive at Xuan Thuy, have some refreshment and easy stroll around the national park head quarters.
1200 Lunch.
1330-1700:
- The Vop River at the Xuan Thuy National Park has tidal water and on some days it is not possible to travel by boat in the afternoon in which case we will discover the core zone of the Xuan Thuy National Park on foot.
- In the case we could take a boat trip, then the whole afternoon is for bird watching at the Con Lu Island which teems with migratory bird species during the winter months (October through February). The Con Lu Island during the winter months teems with migratory shorebird species such as sandpiper (Scolopacidae), Black-faced spoonbill, spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis, or gray pelican, Pelecanidae), Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes), Indian spot-billed duck (Anas poecilorhyncha), Heuglin's gull or the Siberian gull (Larus fuscus heuglini)...
- When you send a booking request Paradissa will inform you of the exact itinerary after checking the tidal calendar. The cost is revised down without the boat trip in case we can not do it.
Overnight at Xuan Thuy.
Day2 Xuan Thuy-Hanoi (specialist tour guide at Xuan Thuy included)/Depart Xuan Thuy for Hanoi (B/L)
Breakfast at the park.
0630-0900 Take a boat trip to the Con Ngan Island and enjoy bird watching when early risers scavenging for food. The site is good for spotting both sedentary birds and migratory species: White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)...
If we can not take a boat trip to the Con Lu Island the previous day, then the trip to Con Ngan is replaced by a boat trip to the Con Lu on which more bird species are found.
0900 Arrive back at the guest house for breakfast.
1000-1130 Enjoy more bird-watching on the walking trails in the core zone of the national park.
1200-1300 Check out and lunch.
1300-1630 Travel back to Hanoi. We trust you had a wonderful birding tour at the Xuan Thuy National Park with Paradissa.
