Birdwatching areas: Bach Ma National Park, Vietnam: 1

by Richard Craik, from OBC Bulletin 33, June 2001.

Introduction
Bach Ma National Park (BMNP) is situated in the narrow central region of Vietnam, just north of the Hai Van Pass where the Annamite Mountain Range meets the South China Sea. This location, sandwiched between the coast and the mountains gives Bach Ma and the immediate surrounding area a microclimate and the weather tends to be rather changeable, unpredictable and very wet. Indeed, Bach Ma has some of the wettest weather in Vietnam with around 8,000 mm of precipitation falling annually at the summit. Fortunately, most of this falls in just three months of the year, between September and November.

Following the discovery of Bach Ma in 1932 a road was built to the summit and the area just below was developed into a hill station. By the end of the 1930s there were 139 villas, a hotel and a general store and the area was a popular weekend getaway for members of the French colonial administration. During the thirties the first forest trails were opened and in 1934 a section of Bach Ma was classified as a forest reserve. Being an area of strategic importance, Bach Ma was the scene of heavy fighting in the early fifties and again through the sixties and seventies, during which time large tracts of forest were destroyed by chemical defoliants. In 1986 the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam embarked on a conservation programme creating 87 protected areas including Bach Ma. In 1991 Bach Ma was officially classified as a national park with 22,031 ha at its core and a buffer zone of 21,300 ha (1).

Bar-bellied Pitta
(Jonathan Eames)

Forming a green corridor from the Annamite Mountains to Vietnam's coastal plain, Bach Ma National Park is the only surviving area of forest extending from the South China Sea to the Laos border. The geology of the park is dominated by granite with areas of overlying sandstone. As is often the case in wet tropical regions the soil is generally rather poor but nevertheless supports a lush and diverse vegetation. The topography is steep and rugged with several peaks over 1,000 m, including Mount Bach Ma itself, the highest at 1,448 m. The lower slopes are much gentler and are characterised by numerous natural mountain springs which drain into rivers and lagoons along the alluvial coastal plain.

The tropical monsoon climate of this region of central Vietnam (usually referred to as Central Annam in field guides) is typified by two major weather patterns: a hot dry season caused by warm winds sweeping in from Laos between May to July and a monsoon season bringing heavy downpours and frequent typhoons on north-east winds from September until November.

Lowland evergreen forest is the dominant forest type below 900 m with montane evergreen forest taking over above this elevation. Due to human interference no undisturbed forest remains and scrub and grassland species such as Rhodomyrtus tomentosa, Melastoma candidum and Imperata cylindrica are the dominant forms of vegetation. While these areas of scrub and grassland are of little conservation value, the remaining forested areas are still rich in plant diversity.

The mammal fauna of the park has yet to be comprehensively surveyed and so far only 48 species of mammal have been confirmed to occur. Included in this figure however are some mammal species of particular conservation concern such as Red-shanked Douc Langur Pygathrix nemaeus nemaeus and Buff-cheeked or White-cheeked Gibbon Hylobates gabriellae/leucogenys.

Main characteristics of the avifauna of Bach Ma NP
Lying at the southern extent of the Annamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area, Bach Ma is known to support at least four of the restricted-range species found in this EBA: Annam Partridge Arborophila merlini, Crested Argus Rheinardia ocellata, Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler Jabouilleia danjoui and Grey-faced Tit Babbler Macronous kelleyi (1). The most characteristic feature of Bach Ma's avifauna is the large number of Galliformes living within its boundaries. Of the twelve species of pheasant recorded in Vietnam, seven occur, or have at one time occurred, in the park. An endemic subspecies of Silver Pheasant Lophura nycthemera beli (2) is found within the park and Edwards's Pheasant L. edwardsi, believed extinct until it was rediscovered in 1996 at Dakrong, was recorded just outside the park buffer zone in 1998 (3). Other specialities include Red-collared Woodpecker Picus rabieri, Red-vented Barbet Megalaima lagrandieri, Blyth's Kingfisher Alcedo hercules, Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo Carpococcyx renauldi, Blue-rumped Pitta Pitta soror, Bar-bellied Pitta Pitta elliotii, White-winged Magpie Urocissa whiteheadi and Ratchet-tailed Treepie Temnurus temnurus. A bird list of BMNP, available at the park headquarters, was compiled in 1996 by Roland Eve and contains 330 species (1).

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