And so the day began not at usual 4 AM but at 3 AM with 4 eager birders determined to find the Blyth's Tragopan in the Misty Mountains (I am a big fan of Lord of the Rings). Their whispers and muffled excitement made me turned green with envy but better sense prevailed. You are NOT a mountain goat I told myself for the 100th time. Determined to catch the last 40 winks I snuggled back into my blanket. When I woke up the sun was skimming the tips of the mountains, the sky was gloriously blue and our adventurers were not in sight. Taking advantage of the time, we decided to take a leisurely breakfast and Soma went down for another dekko of the Wedge Billed Babbler.
Soon enough the warriors returned having heard the faint calls of the Blyth's Tragopan and with bite marks from leeches to show for their courage. salt was found to rub on their wounds but this time to heal and not cause further pain. Since Sanjay had missed White Bellied Redstart the previous evening, his heart jumped with joy when Shashank announced the appearance of a female. It however turned out to be a Hodgson's Redstart - a lifer nonetheless. As we readied our stuff to load in cars for the return journey, Mr Murphy struck! If things are going great, they will eventually go wrong, and how. One of cars just wouldn't start. Someone said the battery had died as we had been charging our stuff in the car all along, then someone conjectured there was a problem with the fuel pump. Amidst the chaos I decided to take a bath and was immediately pierced with glares because every time I did that - well it poured. It was bright sunny day and no one wanted more rains. Nonetheless I pursued.
Our stuff was loaded in the service truck and was sent ahead while we in the spirit of brotherhood/sisterhood/ humanity (you get the picture) stuffed ourselves in one Bolero (even Mahindra guys didn't know how people can get into their vehicle in one go till we decided to test its limit). As we started out, you guess it, it started to rain! and it basically destroyed our birding opportunities on the return journey.
and yet Shashank walked in the rain accompanied by his valiant knights Bharati and Sanjay looking for Ward's Trogon. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Apart from the usual Green Tailed Sunbirds, only a solitary Blue Capped Rockthrush gave us any views.We stopped at Shashank's favourite waterfall and took some selfies and this time instead of Nigella, Mandakini was remembered. After reaching Lama camp we decided to do some birding and perhaps get another look at Baigan Enchilada which for the uninitiated was our name for Bugun Liocichila. At the appointed place, waiting for Bugun to sing, we spotted a Sapphire Flycatcher.
As we waited for Bugun to sing, having decided not to use the playback, Craig and his fellow birders appeared and passed us on their way to see the Purple Cochoa. While it may seems perverse, if we did not see our Bugun, they did not the Cochoa either aha! As the clouds threatened to break loose, we returned to camp with a determination to see the Bugun the next day. After all it was going to be our last day at Eaglenest. As we headed back, the group at the back had a couple of Grey Nightjars circling overhead while we merely heard its call.
The last day dawned bright and sunny and Common Rosefinches and Yellow Billed Blue Magpie came back to welcome the new day. A bronze Drongo was finally spotted and we were ready to begin. Today we spotted what we thought was the female of the Sapphire Flycatcher. The id is to be confirmed by Shashank. A Rufous Bellied Woodpecker added to our excitement and later we saw its female cleaning out a nest. How typical. A Tickell's Leaf Warbler gave us good glimpses and a group of female rose finches flitted from tree to tree. and yet no Bugun. We walked further ahead and then came back to the original spot. This time the Bugun acquiesced. Shashank got a shot. Not content to see it from distance, we decided to descend into the valley. After some trial and error, we found a way down, with Jassi following a more direct route and Soma deciding to stay back. You see I too had decided to test my not so goaty legs.
Ashy winged Blackbirds competed for our attention with Green tailed sunbirds and brown flanked bush warblers. Then a whole flock of white breasted parrotbiils descended. God they are tiny. For some reason I had always assumed them to be big. Mrs Gould's Sunbird, Whiskered Yuhinas, Rufuos Breasted Accentors kept us interested while Bugun stayed firmly out of sight. As we climbed back, Soma informed that she had seen a white tailed nuthatch that we too were fortunate enough to spot a little later.
All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Eaglenest. Many selfies later we headed off towards Nameri. Another car had been arranged for us. En route we spotted the Grey Bushchat - and extremely rare bird that had somehow managed to give us a slip this whole time lol! but what really made us happy was the appearance of a pair of Sooty or dark sided flycatcher that was building its nest. Upon reaching Ramlinga, we discovered - a) that we grow Kiwi in Arunachal Pradesh and b) the T shirts that we had bought at Lama camp were actually for 450/- while we had paid 500/- for them and that the boys at the camp had reported a much lower number than what we had bought! Poor Nema - who manages the camp - would had have to pay about 4000/- from his pocket, if we had not stopped by to exchange greetings. Why do we indulge is such petty dishonesty?
As soon as we reached Tenga, Shashank once again demonstrated his dedication to bird watching this time of the non feathered variety. He googled Nigella. Laying his eyes upon her visage for the first time, he remarked -she is 54? Doesn't look it! and paid proof that shot of botox, facelift and other sundry cosmetic procedures have the desired effect - on women and men! Nigella duly admired, we spotted Jackfruit (kathal) and Sanjay remembered his grandmother's cooking (how come kids think while their parents' may be step parents but the grandparents are real?) and so a kathal was bought to be cooked at Jia Bhoraili camp. We thought we'd try and see some Ibisbill in the Kameng river. Bharati wanted to see the Brown Dipper. Ask and thy prayers shall be responded. We saw not one but two Brown Dippers. We stopped next to a waterfall for lunch and my near white clothes made the White Winged duck take off again at Nameri (you see we too are antaryami). As we enjoyed our lunch a couple of Orange bellied leaf birds danced around in the nearby tree. At the Blyth Kingfisher point while the kingfisher was missing, we saw the Common Green Magpie and Shashank called out Fairy Bird Fairy Bird as two did frenzied spin over us before disappearing to the dark.
Since our driver was driving really fast and kept leaving Nripen behind, we asked him to follow Nripen, not a happy instruction by any stretch of imagination but he complied. As soon as we crossed the Assam border, where all manner of shopping was done, Nripen let loose and we arrived at Nameri well in time. A good meal of Kathal and arhar ki dal later, we retired early to bed with focus clearly on our last morning at Nameri.
Up at the crack of dawn, we were eager to catch the Hornbill this time. We waited, waited and waited. No Hornbill. Some said they would go to Nameri eco camp to try and catch the Ruddy Kingfisher while some of us wanted to wait. As we debated a whoosh was heard and the Great Hornbill sailed into view. What a magnificent bird it is. and so we waited and took our photographs . Much obliged we said and pushed off to get Jeetu for our journey to the eco camp. Crossing the river we could see that the rainfall had made some impact on the current. Vernal Hanging Parrots and Red Breasted Parakeets welcomed us and Jungle Myna hopped around us. A little later Lesser Coucal flew into our view and sat in front of us. Black Headed Bulbuls danced all around. The choice bird of the day was Ruddy Kingfisher but it turned out to be a Cuckoo day. Main dekhoon jis or sakhi ri samne mere Cuckoo cuckoo, we saw 3 different kinds and heard 6 different types. Since half the party had an early flight, they left around 8AM while Shashank, Bharati and I valiantly carried on. We were rewarded with the sights of Abbot's babbler, Striped Tit Babbler, Crested Goshawk but alas no Ruddy Kingfisher, we heard one but did not see one.
So a journey that began with a 11 km walk ended with a 6 km one. With a promise to come back for Amur season we bid Nameri adieu.
Final pearls of wisdom:
- Enjoy birds - whichever ones you see
- Prepare before you head out - learning bird calls helps immensely
- Excessive playback has adverse impact on birds, use it judiciously and if possible not at all
- It will cold and rainy
- Carry battery and camera back up (as i learnt the hard way)
- Be crazy and enjoy other people's craziness, after all you'll meet some of the nicest people while birding
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