A pre-dawn start to arrive at the Deo Nui Sand tea shop cafe for dawn where it was overcast but remained dry. We walked the road back towards Di Linh for c.3km through broad-leaved forest that produced a number of new birds being our first introduction to some of the Dalat plateau species. First-up was a vocalising male Dalat Shrike-babbler and whilst watching it a female Yellow-vented Green-Pigeon flew across the road and helpfully landed nearby albeit then viewed not from its best angle. We were soon surrounded by calling Indochinese Barbets that didn't take long to track down. A bird wave passed by containing several Grey-crowned Bushtits and a little later a single-species flock of Black-chinned Yuhinas flew through the roadside scrub. Despite nice habitat prevailing along the road the birding was unfortunately set against the backdrop of chainsaws clearing the forest from the lower slopes. Just short of returning to the tea shop we took a forest trail that provided three encounters with a male Blue Pitta as it hopped around the undergrowth. We then walked the road south beyond the tea shop that soon entered pine forest adding a couple of flocks of White-cheeked Laughingthrush the latter with their attendant Black-headed Parrotbills. We then tried the trail commencing immediately behind the tea shop, but it was now 2pm, and the activity had quietened so we soon called it a day and headed for Dalat where we were checked into a nice hotel shortly before dark being greeted by House Swifts and calling Large-tailed Nightjars.
Chinese Pond Heron 2
Eastern Cattle Egret 3
Great Egret 1
Black Eagle 2
Green-Pigeon 1
YELLOW-VENTED GREEN-PIGEON 1
Mountain Imperial-Pigeon 10
Spotted Dove 2
Green-billed Malkoha 1
Large-tailed Nightjar h
House Swift 10
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater 6
Green-eared Barbet 1
INDOCHINESE BARBET 10
Speckled Piculet 1
Blue Pitta 1 male +5h
Swallow 6
Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike 4
Swinhoe's Minivet 6
Grey-chinned Minivet 4
Black-crested Bulbul 1
Flavescent Bulbul 4
Streak-eared Bulbul 2
Grey-eyed Bulbul 1
Ashy Bulbul 2
Ashy Drongo 6
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo 1
Maroon Oriole 3
Asian Fairy-Bluebird 8
GREY-CROWNED BUSHTIT 8
Pin-striped Tit-Babbler 2
WHITE-CHEEKED LAUGHINGTHRUSH 12
DALAT SHRIKE-BABBLER 1 male
Blue-winged Minla 1
BLACK-CHINNED YUHINA 6
White-bellied Erpornis 2
BLACK-HEADED PARROTBILL 8
Asian Brown Flycatcher 3
Long-tailed Shrike 2
Black-throated Sunbird 4
Crimson Sunbird 1
Streaked Spiderhunter 2
Tree Sparrow 6
View of the road from the Deo Nui San Tea Shop Cafe
Male Maroon Oriole at Deo Nui San
Female Grey-chinned Minivet at Deo Nui San
presumably in first-winter plumage
Grey-crowned Bushtit at Deo Nui San
Dark-necked Tailorbird at Deo Nui San
Black Eagle at Deo Nui San
Black-chinned Yuhinas at Deo Nui San
Blue-winged Minla at Deo Nui San
Butterflies at Deo Nui San
White-cheeked Laughingthrushes at Deo Nui San
Black-crowned Parrotbill at Deo Nui San
