Thung Nham - largest natural bird sanctuary in northern region

The Thung Nham bird sanctuary is located in the middle of Tien lake (Fairy lake), covering a total area of 18 hectares.

Clean water of the lake provides plenty of foods for birds while undulating limestone mountains create natural walls to protect them from wind. These are ideal conditions for different kinds of birds to inhabit.

Thung Nham is home to thousands of birds, belonging to 46 species, including stork, bittern, heron, egret, lesser whistling duck, common teal, white-rumped shama, and Asian starling. Many of them are listed in the Red Book of Vietnam, such as Lesser Flamingo and Oriental pied hornbill.

Birds in Thung Nham have their own "territories". Egrets and herons live on the high mountains, white storks live in bamboo bushes and herons build their nests at bulrushes near the waters. 

In the breeding season which lasts from the fourth month to the eighth month on the lunar calendar, there are millions of birds gathering at the sanctuary.

The sight of thousands of birds flapping in the sky of dawn or twilight mixing with their sounds and calls are wonderful natural wonders that leave a strong impression on visitors.

Tran Thi Thanh Lan, Head of the Business Division of the Thung Nham Ecological Tourism Site, said to date, Thung Nham's abundant floral and fauna ecsystem still is kept intact. The fresh and clean environment is an ideal habitat for birds. It is the largest natural bird sanctuary in the North of Vietnam.

In the past few years, the local administration and the Thung Nham management board have paid due attention to preserving the natural habitat for birds as well as other animal species.

The ideal time for birdwatching is the earlye morning or the late afternoon when hundreds of birds come out from their nests to look for foods or coming back to their nests after a long day, Lan added.

Translated by Nguyen Thuy