Hi,
The rain gods had indulged in incessant showers on Saturday, dense clouds embraced the emerald hills, chilly winds at 11 mph smashed sleet as if in anger, dousing our spirits. By night all was spent and the morning opened it's gates to a speckled new dawn. The birds went astir in joy and excitement. The sun spread it's golden light on the hill-tops bringing cheer to all. As it inched towards it's zenith engulfing all in warmth, it gave us a day of fine birding. We covered Hathi-paon and adjacent hills, then managed to drive through the slithery, snow-clad, north faced road to Dhanaulti.
Hathi-paon brought fleeting glimpses of a pair of the elusive Common Hill Partridge, which got separated on seeing us. The male kept calling for it's mate in loud whistling Kwoooos..... from under the bushes close by. A pair of Golden Bush Robins, with the handsome male hopping around the undergrowth. Few mixed hunting parties of Tits, Bar-tailed Treecreepers, White-tailed nuthatches, Piculets and Goldcrests darting like mini missiles from tree to tree, in filtered sunlight. Plenty of Rock Buntings and a few Black-throated Thrushes amongst other commoners.
Dhanaulti as expected was low in activity, a tree trunk (species yet to be idied), was a hit with Woodpeckers, it oozed some sap, that found favor with them, and all, the Himalayan, Rufous-breasted, Scaly-bellied and Grey-headed showed up one by one. Altai Accentors and Plain Mountain Finches were aplenty. A pair of Mistle Thrush foraged at the edge of a snowy meadow, and a territorial Chestnut Thrush was sighted on the road side, throwing up leaves in search for food.
All-in-all it was decent birding on a sunny winter day of the western Himalayas.
The final checklist of birds sighted on Mussoorie-Dhanaulti circuit on 24th Feb. 2013 is attached.
Team:
Puja Sharma
Gunjan Arora
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