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Birding Ecotours Complete Northern India and Cultural Extension February/March 2009 By Duan Biggs


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Day 5, February 25th. Keoladeo Ghana National Park and Fatehpur Sikri

Another early start saw us searching for Indian Courser on a bare patch of land between our hotel and the entrance to Keoladeo National Park. No courser in sight – but we did manage to locate Yellow-wattled Lapwing and a group of Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Larks. Our group was also treated to lovely views of the attractive Oriental Magpie-Robin. We made our way to the entrance of Keoladeo Ghana National Park and then to the area around the nursery and the temple. At the start of our walk we had brilliant close-up views of nilgai. Bharatpur and Keoladeo Ghana National Park are our guide’s local patch, and he proudly and quickly located roosting Jungle and Large-tailed Nightjars and a Rufous Treepie in the trees above. Ashy Drongo, another Shikra, Hume’s Leaf, Greenish, and Blythe’s Reed Warblers and Lesser Whitethroat – a remarkably common species at this time of year – followed this. We strolled across to the paths at the opposite end of the entrance barrier and were delighted to pick up our first Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, as well as better sightings of Bluethroat. We had also entered raptor territory – within a short space of time we notched up Greater Spotted, Indian Spotted, Eastern Imperial, and Booted Eagles. We walked along to the famous wetland ponds, where we enjoyed flocks of Sarus Cranes, close-up views of Spotted Redshank, Knob-billed Duck, and Ruddy Shelduck. We returned to our hotel for lunch, and in the afternoon we visited Bharatpur Fort and the old town as well as the majestic Fatehpur Sikri palace and adjoining mosque. Fatehpur Sikri was built by the Mughal emperor Akbar – only to be deserted after only seven years of occupation.

Day 6, February 26th. Bharatpur and return to Delhi

At the crack of dawn we got onto our bicycle rickshaws and travelled once more to the entrance of Keoladeo Ghana National Park, in true Indian style. A stop on the main road between the entrance gate and the so-called centre-wheel allowed exquisite views of Orange-headed Thrush. Shortly thereafter we picked up Tickell’s Thrush (Indian Grey Thrush is a more apt name for this rather solemn-colored bird). As we neared the centre-wheel we were treated to another magnificent display of waterfowl, herons, storks, and waders. Productive ponds contained feeding frenzies of 100s of Painted Storks, Great Egrets, and Eurasian Spoonbills, among others. Indian birders are the best I know in the world at finding nocturnal birds in broad daylight. True to form, our guide located an Indian Scops Owl at a roost, shortly followed by Dusky Eagle-Owl on a nest. We all enjoyed the quintessential ‘spotted’ immature Greater Spotted Eagle perched nearby. At the tower at the centre-wheel we had a group of very distant Pelicans, either Dalmatian or Great White – but alas – they were too far away to identify. After enjoying the centre-wheel tower, there was some more acacia thicket birding – this time with Dusky Warbler as the highlight, in a party with Lesser Whitethroat, Greenish, and Hume’s Leaf Warblers and Common Chiffchaff. Our guide smiled with delight as he finally located a Black-necked Stork for us, which he had promised earlier in the morning. A large group of Common Cranes followed. We returned to our hotel for a scrumptious Indian lunch, before hitting the busy road back to Delhi.

Day 7, February 27th. From Delhi via the Ganges crossing to Sat Tal

An early start saw us departing Delhi at 6:30am, after an early breakfast, to beat the morning rush hour traffic. In Delhi’s eastern outskirts, we passed by a large dump. The skies over and around the dump and the nearby power station were filled with Black Kites – while many more were perched on the power pylons and cables against the rising sun. We estimated that there were at least 5 000 to 10 000. After three hours of traveling, we reached the impressive crossing of the Ganges River at Gajraula. This crossing epitomizes the true India – make-shift tractors, overcrowded busses, and sleek new SUVs cross the river above, while below people are engaged in timeless scenes of tradition. We reached the foothills of the Himalayas around mid-morning and started climbing our first of many steep mountain passes. The agricultural lands just below the foothills delivered brief sightings of Long-legged Buzzard. As we ascended we picked up our first Himalayan Vulture before passing through the picturesque mountain town of Nainital. We arrived at our lovely, safari-style, alpine lodge in Sat Tal for a late lunch. After lunch we walked on the road above the camp for a spectacular two hours of late afternoon birding, during which we notched up a whopping 18 new species for our trip list. A pair of grandiose Great Barbets started the show, and our afternoon list soon included Blue Rock Thrush, Grey Bush Chat, the gaudy Red-billed Leothrix, the outstandingly blue Verditer Flycatcher, White-throated Fantail, Aberrant Bush Warbler, Tickell’s Leaf Warbler, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, and Streaked Laughingthrush. Looking down a steep valley side we located a pair of Kalij Pheasants, much to everyone’s excitement. In the shrubs nearby Himalayan Bulbul and the colorful Grey-hooded Warbler entertained. We returned to our lodge, and after dinner I tried to locate a vocalizing Mountain Scops Owl with our guide’s help – but to no avail.

Day 8, February 28th. Sat Tal to Nainital

The first bird on our morning walk was the scarce (at least during the season of our visit) Black-throated Sunbird. Soon thereafter, we located a group of noisy White-throated Laughingthrushes, followed by the impressive Grey Treepie and a small of group of Tree Pipits. After some effort we were successful in luring a Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler from some thick mountain scrub. This bird’s name says it all. Our guide led us into the so-called “accentor fields”. Here, after a fair bit of effort from him, the group delighted in Bill Oddie’s quintessential CMF – Siberian Rubythroat, a pair - showing beautifully. Also in the “accentor fields” were Grey-breasted Prinia and Chestnut-eared Bunting. Our guide led us into the valley below the “accentor fields”. Here we notched up a male and female Slaty-blue Flycatcher, Green-crowned, Buff-barred, and Whistler’s Warblers, and our only Common Nightingale of the tour. Not far beyond a group of Rufous-breasted Accentors and Rock Buntings were feeding on a bare patch. A little further down still, our guide excitedly pointed us to a Chestnut-headed Tesia, hopping about in the open. Unfortunately, not everyone got onto it before it darted off, as tesias tend to – but for those who saw it, wow! Our guide delved deep into a thicket along the stream and flushed a Common Emerald Dove. On our way out of the valley we picked up a group of Black-chinned Babblers as well as another Aberrant Bush Warbler. After all this excitement we headed back to our lodge for coffee and breakfast. After breakfast it was down to the dam wall at the bottom of Sat Tal valley for a delightful birding feast. It started with a colorful Yellow-bellied Fantail and another group of White-throated Laughingthrushes. After some effort, we located a White-browed Scimitar Babbler in the growing bird party. More species kept appearing, and next up was the aptly-named Blue-winged Minla as well as Indian Nuthatch. In the trees above we all managed to get clear views of the Slaty-headed Parakeet. Our guide called us back up the path 200 meters. He had heard a group of White-crested Laughingthrushes. After a tad of searching, a large group of these wonderful birds noisily appeared. This species turned out to be the favourite of many on the tour. And more birds kept coming. Both Greater and Lesser Yellownape in the same tree provided a neat comparison of these two audaciously-colored woodpeckers. The excitement continued. Our guide shrieked with delight as a Coral-billed Scimitar Babbler flew over and landed in a nearby tree. After following the babbler for a little while, and everyone had had good views, we started walking back to our van. However, we were not yet done. We encountered another group of birders, who had picked up a Rufous-bellied Niltava – another exquisitely-colored species. The real surprise came in the form of a Eurasian Woodcock walking around in the open in the midday sun! Obscene! But it really was time now to head back for lunch. After lunch we traveled the mountain passes back through Nainital to the Jungle Lore Birding Lodge, situated above 2 000m in altitude. On the high ridges on the way to our lodge we had our first vista over the snow-capped high Himalayas in the distance. The mountain pass was still covered in patches of snow and ice from a snowstorm a few weeks prior to our visit.

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