Hi
Just returned from an exciting and adventurous birding tour to the hills of Paren-Jhalong-Bindu and the Buxa Tiger Reserve.
This time I went alone, but the trip was quite rewarding. I bagged many bird and butterfly species.
I spent three days in the hills of Paren, and then birded in the pristine forests of the vast Buxa Tiger Reserve.
On 8th June during my stay at Jainty, something happened that i hardly expected.
After a short nap, I went out for birding in the forests on the sides of the Jainty river. There were few River Lapwings on the river bed..they were calling loudly. It had rained in the hills...so the water current was strong. I had to cross many small streams on Jainty riverbed to reach the the otherside. Many tall dead trees were standing on the riverbed. It was late evening, and i was photographing a tiny Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker that was busy tapping on the dry bark.
Rain clouds started gathering in the sky, and so i decided to leave the place. Suddenly a huge black bird arrived from nowhere....it descended from the sky flapping its enormous wings, and perched atop a leafless Moina tree.
Light was very poor, but I started taking snaps of the hornbill. At first i thought it was a Great Indian Hornbill which is qutie common in Buxa. But when i looked at the images on the display screen, I was astonished to find that the bird was actually a male Wreathed Hornbill...with red eye-ring,black wings,yellow throat-sac, huge grey bill and very small casque. My hands were trembling with excitement.
The hornbill was sitting there, and playing with a dry twig. It was being disturbed constantly by pair of drongos...and so it flew away into the dense forest. I was so engrossed in taking pics...I didnt even realize how much time had passed. Water flow in the river has increased a lot by that time..and there was not a single person on the riverbed...I gathered courage, kept the camera inside my bag-pack and crossed the river safely.
There is record of the Wreathed Hornbill from the Buxa Tiger Reserve. but probably this species has not been photographed earlier from Buxa. Experts can throw more light on this matter...I showed the pics of the bird to few guides and car-drivers of Jainty. Even they were surprised to see this strange casque-less hornbill and they were equally excited to see the pictures.
There are many hidden treasures in the mysterious forests of the Buxa Tiger Reserve. This forest has given me something new everytime. I was anticipating to take photographs of hornbills in Buxa...and luckily I got the rarest of them.
regards
Shantanu.
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