(delhibirdpix) Re: Uttarakhand Trip, Aug 2010 (Trip Report Long)

Hi all,

Here is the full trip report (rather late!) accompanying
Sachin's photographs....

best rgds
Praveen

Birding in North India (Aug 2010)

Dipu Karuthedathu, Praveen J, Sachin Shurpali, Vinay Das

We were all set to start our dream trip to Ladakh when the news of
calamity flashed on the TV screens. As the cloud-burst hit the Leh and
washed away men, houses and bridges, it also took away a month long
preparation we had done for the Ladakh trip. Frantic consultations
followed over phone, mail, chat and in person to decide the fate of
the trip. If not Ladakh, what else? It was tough to find an equivalent
alternative. Atul Jain and Raveendra H decided to cancel the trip,
their sole focus being Ladakh. But doing the same and cancelling the
hard earned vacation from the office (and from Home!) was not an easy
option for the rest of us. So, with the help of Atul and other birding
"networks" we had, alternative options were enquired. By the middle of
the day, we decided on a tentative plan to bird in Delhi for the first
2 days and to decide the later course from there, possibly somewhere
in the Himalayas not far from Delhi. Late in the night, we sat in the
flight staring into the incomprehensible and "insufficient" maps in
the field guides to see what is in store for us. First round of
listing ensured that we will miss on almost all the birds that we were
prepared to see in Ladakh!

Arrangements in Delhi were so perfectly managed by Atul that we hardly
thought about anything but birding. After a few hours of landing in
Delhi, we were already on our way to Dadri Wetlands, guided by the
"young at heart" veteran Anand Arya (Salute to the energy he packs
in). Soon we were seeing birds like Brown Crake, Black-breasted Weaver
and Bristled Grassbird. The male Bristled Grassbird entertained us
with the beautiful display flight and the female gave some nice poses
as well. Other key birds for us (South Indian birders) included Black
Francolin and Bengal Bushlark. On the way back, we ventured deep into
the marshes to pick a lovely pair of Sarus Cranes, single Black Necked
stork and a Comb Duck. Second day birding (& breakfast!) was planned
along with Delhibird outing headed by K.B. Singh to Najafgraph. Later
in the day, Gautam Surya from delhibirds accompanied us to Basai where
we could see some more lifers. The day produced an excellent list (see
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/delhibird/message/15135), important
birds for us including the 3 bitterns (Chestnut, Black and Yellow),
European Roller, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Plain Martin, Greater
Flamingo, Pied Avocet, Curlew Sandpiper in breeding plumage and Sarus
Crane again.

Based on inputs from various sources, Nainital was picked up as our
base for the next few days. After an overnight journey to Nainital,
morning was spent in fixing the birding plans around Nainital along
with DFOs Biju Lal and Amit Verma who helped us with logistics and
up-to-date and accurate ground situations. A small but fruitful
birding session in the Nainital Zoo ensured that we bagged the
commoner birds like White-tailed Nuthatches, Green-backed Tits, Russet
Sparrows, Oriental Turtle Dove and Brown-fronted Woodpeckers. Shaheen
Falcon and Mountain Hawk Eagle sat on tree tops, giving us astounding
views. An afternoon stroll on the Pangot road added nice views of
species like Slaty-headed Parakeet, Whiskered Yuhina, Bar-tailed
Tree-Creeper and plenty of Rufous Sibias.

By the end of the day, we reached the Forest Rest House in Vinayak
with the provisions for the next 2 days. The targets for the area were
the pheasants, including the elusive Cheer. The Vinayak Forest Rest
House is located along a beautiful hill slope with nice forest all
around. The surroundings of the rest House itself provided nice
birding opportunities, giving us many firsts like Rufous-bellied
Niltava, White-browed Shrike Babbler, Rufous-naped Tit,
Chestnut-bellied Rockthrush and also once again a juvenile Mountain
Hawk Eagle on perch. The birding around Pangot was also not bad,
yielding Striated Prinia, Black-throated Tit, Spot-winged Tit, Upland
Pipit and Blue-capped Redstart. Efforts to locate pheasants failed on
the first day, hence we started early the next day to the rocky slopes
to try our luck. On the way, we saw our first phesant - a female
Koklass, but the rest of the day did not yield any more. But the day's
birding did give few other good birds including Rufous Woodpecker,
nice views of Chestnut-crowned Laughing Thrush, Black-faced Warbler
etc. With Vinayak and Pangot not yielding much, we decided to hit back
to Nainital and try our luck at Sattal the next day. A short trip to
the Nainital Botanical garden the same day did give us some cheer
providing the first Khaleej of the trip, a Small Niltava pair and a
glimpse of Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babber.

Morning session in Sattal was a huge success compared to misty
mornings we had the previous 2 days. It yielded us almost all the
Bulbuls in the trip, Black-chinned Warbler, Crimson Sunbird,
Blue-winged Minla, Nepal House Martin, White-crested Lauhging Thrush ,
Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch, Tickell's Thrush and Red-billed Leiothrix.
But the good time ended soon, with the rest of the day washed off due
to rain. Later in the evening, we tried our luck again in the
Botanical Garden, got slightly better views of Rusty-cheeked Scimitar
Babber and excellent views of the beautiful Green-tailed Sunbird. Next
days destination was Kherni Village, off Ranikhet road for possible
Chukar. On the way we picked up two Lammergiers on the sky which
happened to be our only sighting. The area appeared to be a
rain-shadow region and the bird life resembled us of Bangalore
outskirts, giving birds like Grey tits, Laughing Doves, Ashy, Jungle
and Grey-breasted Prinias, Purple Sunbirds etc. While a Himalayan
Griffon and Crested Bunting gave nice views, the Chukar made a single
frame appearance. But the day gave us some beauties like Wedge Tailed
Green Pigeon, Striated Laughing Thrush, Brown Dipper, Spotted
Forktail, Rufous-chinned Laughing Thrush, and a large soaring flock
of Griffons.

Almost exhausting our luck in Nainital, we decided to head to Corbett
National Park to give a boost to our trip list! Though the park was
closed, with the help of Manoj Sharma, we fixed our base and chartered
our birding trails in the surrounding forests. Just after settling in
the hotel, the dying hours of the day gave us our first Dark-sided
Flycatcher, lucky indeed! Next day, we birded on the Garjia-Kumeria
road and around Mohaan. Birds which showed up included Greater and
Lesser Yellownapes, Grey-capped and Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker,
Lesser Fish-eagle, Crested Kingfisher, Collared Falconet, Rosy Minivet
and a Pitta which turned out be Indian! On the last day in Corbett, we
went on Sitavani road. Birds were sparse, occasional stops yielding a
Blue-throated Flycatcher and an Orange-headed Thrush. Suddenly a
cacophony on the side of the road caught our attention giving us a
majestic Forest-eagle Owl. And later in the day, the same area gave
our bird of the trip - Hooded Pitta –giving beautiful views for a good
few minutes! OK, enough of birding, we thought!

Done with tireless( and for some really tiring ) birding in forests,
the last day of our trip was planned with just a short birding walk in
Okhla with the intention of seeing some missed Delhi specialities.
Though we dipped on most, we were rewarded with Yellow-bellied Prinia
and first Blyth's Reed and Clamorous Warblers of this year. And this
was followed by a sumptuous breakfast in Atul's house who just floored
us with his hospitality! And thus ended one of the memorable and most
unplanned trip we ever had in our life with a satisfying overall list
of 283 birds, lots of lifers and some beautiful and unbelievable views
of some prized birds.

$~$~$~$~$~$~$~$~$~$~$~$

Acknowledgements

Overall Planning & Direction,
Delhi logistics, pep talk,
spirit and food! Atul Jain

Dadri Show Anand Arya
Dinner in Delhi & Najafgarh Leader K. B. Singh
Leader in Basai Gautam Surya
Research & Contacts (Nainital) Manoj V Nair IFS.
Logistics and guiding in Nainital Amit Verma & Biju Lal (DFOs, Nainital)
Support in Vinayak Arya (Chowkidar)
Guiding in Botanical Garden Aravind (Forester)
Logistics and guiding in Corbett Manoj Sharma
Transport, errands and spotting & stopping! Babuddin (Driver)

And not to forget, the most enjoyed breakfast of the trip
Atul Jain & Aparna Jain

Itenary :

Aug 6th: Landed at midnight in Delhi
Aug 7th: Dadri Wetlands
Aug 8th: Najafgarh, Basai & Tughlaqabad Fort. Overnight drive to Nainital
Aug 9th: Nainital Zoo, Pangot road. Driver to Vinayak in the evening
Aug 10th: Vinayak & Pangot
Aug 11th: Vinayak & Pangot. Drive back to Nainital in the afternoon.
Nainital Botanical Garden in the evening
Aug 12th: Sat tal. Botanical Garden.
Aug 13th: Kherni, drive to Corbett in the afternoon, Corbett
Aug 14th: Mohaan, Kumeria, Marchula road
Aug 15th: Bandarpani-Sitavani, Mohaan-Marchula. Drive to Delhi overnight.
Aug 16th: Okhla
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Checklist: See xls attached
Map: See kmz attached

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