just returned from a birding trip where we watched the sun rise with
the Himalayan Monal and Blood Pheasants, had breakfast with the Satyr
Tragopan and lunch with Black-throated Parrotbills - yes, happiness is
a place, and its name is Druk Yul- land of the Thunder Dragon, or
Bhutan.
(While I am trying to keep this report down to the memorable
highlights, you can probably deduce from the Part 1 in the heading
that it will be a long rambling one. If you would like to cut to the
chase, please scroll down to the end and the bird list)
When you fly in to Paro, you already get a feeling that you are going
somewhere very special, a kingdom guarded by no other than the mighty
Himalayas. The peaks reach out to you, Mt Everest breaking through the
thick cloud cover and showing its summit, the vast timeless range
inspiring awe and putting into perspective our small problems and
everyday struggles. The very geography of Bhutan invites one to step
out of our petty concerns and become a part of the larger whole, just
as the Buddhist Bhutanese people attempt to. They strive for and
measure their success with an index of Gross National Happiness over
Gross National Product. They look elegant and dignified in their
traditional clothes and their towns and villages have beautiful homes
with traditional facades, painted with good luck symbols. Mountain
streams automatically turn prayer wheels as the waters flow and the
winds blow the prayer flags in the five colours of the elements,
showering blessings upon the land. Shopkeepers offer products and
receive payment with two cupped hands, much in the same way as we
distribute and receive prashad. Extra food is shared with people
working on the roads and leftovers are served to the stray dog who
visited you at lunch time. This is a people that are trying to
modernise and yet retain their core values and traditions, and
conserve their cultural and natural heritage. This is a land that
still has seventy-two percent forest cover and hence it is possible
for you to watch the sun rise with the Himalayan Monal..............
Our arrival was dependant on the largess of the Thunder Dragon, would
he lift the cloud cover and permit our plane to land on the small
airstrip in the valley between the mountains? After half an hour of
circling our pilot dextrously brought us down. We reached our hotel,
unpacked and donned a few more warm layers and set about to explore.
In the compound, the House Sparrows had been replaced by Russet and
Eurasian Tree Sparrows, House Crows by the Large billed Crows and Red
billed Choughs. A White collared Blackbird greeted us as we drove to
the quaint town centre where we were delighted to find that the Indian
Rupee and Hindi both worked wonderfully well. An afternoon stroll by
the river gave us a glimpse of an Ibisbill flying past, a pair of
Goosanders (Common Mergansers) tried to sleep as the wind ruffled
their feathers, River Terns and White Wagtails walked on the stones
while Rufous breasted Accentors sat in the bushes. We drove through
roads dotted with blossoming trees, shades of pink and white, to an
apple orchard, the favourite haunt of the Black-tailed Crake. It being
Day 1, we were on our best birding behaviour and waited patiently for
some sign of the crake. At last, his call was heard. More waiting, and
in true crake-like fashion, he emerged briefly and disappeared back
into the grasses. More waiting, and finally in the fading light, he
came out and walked in the water channel giving us time to see his
fluorescent yellow-green beak and black tail. A 3 am wake up meant
that we got into bed early only to arise again the next morning at 3
am to drive to Chele la.
Chele La @ 3988 mts
We set out in darkness, winding up the mountain roads, half asleep,
until a Spotted Nutcracker called and the first light revealed an
enchanted alpine forest. Conifers stood tall, their branches weighed
down by freshly fallen snow. Lichen hung from the trees like beards of
wispy green spider's webs. Icicles gleamed under overhanging roots and
in this pristine white, green and brown landscape a few shrubs added
colour with red stems. As we walked the snow crackled beneath our feet
while fresh flakes fell gently from above. This was a charmed forest
reminding one of fairy tales and wizards and only magical creatures
could live here. And sure enough, the first among them moved behind
the shrubs giving tantalising glimpses of iridescent colours - green,
copper, purple, cinnamon brown- all packaged to make the most amazing
pheasant, the Himalayan Monal. He tantalised by moving under cover and
we followed his every movement, hoping for a clear view. He left us
then, wanting more, and fortunately for us we did get to see at least
five more male Monals, as well as a few females, in flight, walking
and climbing out in the open, so that we could admire them to our
hearts content. At one gully we had the Monals, a yellow throated
marten, black faced Laughing Thrushes and a few large billed crows all
performing and putting up a show and vying for our attention and Nik's
camera lens! As we drove further, scrambling movements on the side
turned out to be a group of Blood Pheasants. We scrambled out of the
van, held our breaths, and tried to get a good look. But we need not
have worried. One male in the group decided to visibly and
vociferously claim his territory - he clambered onto a stump and
announced his presence and challenge while we stood mesmerised by his
display. The illustrations in the books fall far short of the real
thing. The colours of this bird - blood red, lime green, grey - set
against a white snow backdrop, have to be seen to be believed. This
truly was an enchanted forest and we were truly fortunate to have been
able to visit it.
It was time to head for Thimpu - that and more in Part 2
As they say in Bhutan -
Happiness,
Sheila
Bird List - 21st March to 30th March
1. Great Cormorant
2. Cattle Egret
3. Ruddy Shelduck
4. Common Merganser
5. Red-crested Pochard
6. Himalayan Griffon
7. Crested Serpent Eagle
8. Black Eagle
9. Mountain Hawk Eagle
10. Eurasian Kestrel
11. Common Buzzard
12. Blood Pheasant
13. Satyr Tragopan
14. Himalayan Monal
15. Kalij Pheasant
16. Black-necked Crane
17. Black-tailed Crake
18. Ibisbill
19. River Lapwing
20. Common Sandpiper
21. Rock Pigeon
22. Snow Pigeon
23. Oriental Turtle Dove
24. Spotted Dove
25. Barred Cuckoo-Dove
26. Mountain Imperial Pigeon
27. Common Hawk Cuckoo - Heard
28. Indian Cuckoo - Heard
29. Mountain Scops Owl - Heard
30. Asian Barred Owlet
31. Grey Nightjar - Heard
32. Large-tailed Nightjar - Heard
33. Himalayan Swiftlet
34. Fork-tailed Swift
35. White-throated Kingfisher
36. Blue-bearded Bee-eater
37. Common Hoopoe
38. Rufous-necked Hornbill - Heard
39. Great Barbet
40. Blue-throated Barbet
41. Yellow-rumped Honeyguide
42. Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
43. Rufous-bellied Woodpecker
44. Crimson-breasted Woodpecker
45. Lesser Yellownape
46. Grey-headed Woodpecker
47. Nepal House Martin
48. White Wagtail
49. White-browed Wagtail
50. Citrine Wagtail
51. Olive-backed Pipit
52. Rosy Pipit
53. Rosy Minivet
54. Short-billed Minivet
55. Scarlet Minivet
56. Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike
57. Striated Bulbul
58. Himalayan Bulbul
59. Red-vented Bulbul
60. Mountain Bulbul
61. Black Bulbul
62. Brown Dipper
63. Alpine Accentor
64. Altai Accentor
65. Rufous-breasted Accentor
66. Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush
67. Blue Whistling Thrush
68. Scaly Thrush
69. White-collared Blackbird
70. Grey-winged Blackbird
71. Ashy-throated Warbler
72. Lemon-rumped Warbler
73. Grey-hooded Warbler
74. Chestnut-crowned Warbler
75. Black-faced Warbler
76. Broad-billed Warbler
77. Whistler's Warbler
78. Rufous-gorgetted Flycatcher
79. Verditer Flycatcher
80. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher
81. Golden Bush Robin
82. Oriental Magpie Robin
83. Black Redstart
84. Hodgson's Redstart
85. White-throated Redstart
86. Blue-fronted Redstart
87. White-capped Water Redstart
88. Plumbeous Water Redstart
89. Pied Bushchat
90. Grey Bushchat
91. Yellow-bellied Fantail
92. White-throated Fantail
93. White-throated Laughingthrush
94. White-crested Laughingthrush
95. Striated Laughingthrush
96. Rufous-necked Laughingthrush
97. Bhutan Laughingthrush
98. Black-faced Laughingthrush
99. Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush
100. Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler
101. Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler
102. Rufous-throated Wren Babbler
103. Rufous-capped Babbler
104. Golden Babbler
105. Green Shrike Babbler
106. Black-eared Shrike Babbler
107. Hoary-throated Barwing
108. Bar-throated Siva
109. Golden-breasted Fulvetta
110. Yellow-throated Fulvetta
111. Rufous-winged Fulvetta
112. White-browed Fulvetta
113. Rufous Sibia
114. White-naped Yuhina
115. Stripe-throated Yuhina
116. Rufous-vented Yuhina
117. Black-throated Parrotbill
118. Black-throated Tit
119. Coal Tit
120. Rufous-vented Tit
121. Rufous-fronted Tit
122. Green-backed Tit
123. Yellow-cheeked Tit
124. Yellow-browed Tit
125. White-tailed Nuthatch
126. Eurasian Treecreeper
127. Rusty-flanked Treecreeper
128. Green-tailed Sunbird
129. Black-throated Sunbird
130. Fire-tailed Sunbird
131. Streaked Spiderhunter
132. Fire-breasted Flowerpecker
133. Oriental White-eye
134. Long-tailed Shrike
135. Grey-backed Shrike
136. Black Drongo
137. Ashy Drongo
138. Yellow-billed Blue Magpie
139. Grey Treepie
140. Black-billed Magpie
141. Spotted Nutcracker
142. Red-billed Chough
143. Large-billed Crow
144. Great Myna
145. Common Myna
146. Chestnut-tailed starling
147. Little Bunting
148. Plain Mountain Finch
149. Dark-breasted Rosefinch
150. White-browed Rosefinch
151. Red Crossbill
152. Brown Bullfinch
153. White-winged Grossbeak
154. Golden-naped Finch
155. Scarlet Finch
156. Russet Sparrow
157. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
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