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Eaglenest Trip Report April 2021

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Eaglenest Trip Report April 2021 Eaglenest is nestled in the eastern Himalayan foothills and derives its name from the Red Eagle Division of the Indian army which was posted there. Eaglenest’s isolation and its extreme altitude variations from 750m to 3500m+ are the main reasons for a plethora of flora and fauna recorded there. Little surprise that a bird was discovered there as late as 1995. Due to the bird’s small population and very restricted distribution, scientists were able to describe it only by 2006. Named after the ‘Bugun’ community which resides where the bird was discovered, the Bugun Liocichla is undoubtedly the star attraction of any Eaglenest birding trip. Along with the Bugun Liocichla there are many other birds which are best seen in Eaglenest. In April the winter migrants make their way back through Eaglenest at the same time the resident birds get vocal for their own breeding season. This makes the month of April one of the best times to visit this place. We spent a total of 8 days starting and ending our journey from Guwahati. A big thanks to Arka Sarkar who organized and led this trip. Our bird guide Dombe Pradhan knew his stuff and took real efforts to spot birds for us. Our group consisted of Chinmay Rahane, Ameya Mundle, Swati Jajal, Noopur Barve and Mihir Barve. 3rd April: Guwahati to Tenga One the first day we had a 5-6-hour drive to reach Tenga. We approached the tri- border area which was a sight to behold. Farmlands on the Assam side (where we were), thick forested area in Arunachal Pradesh ahead of us and the mountain ranges of Bhutan on our left. We crossed into Arunachal Pradesh after our permits were checked and started taking short halts as and when we saw any birds. Calls of Blue- Throated Barbets filled the air. The altitudinal ranges of birds first became apparent when calls of the Blue-Throated Barbets were replaced by calls of Great Barbets. We took another halt to get our first experience of a mixed hunting party. The term ‘skulkers’ is re-defined by the species in North-East India. The sheer speed at which these birds moved in the trees yet never showing up in the open was overwhelming. Ameya and Chinmay were spotting and identifying birds as if they were reading from a teleprompter. I could barely keep up with the movement to understand which bird I had seen. This drive yielded some great birds like Nepal Fulvetta, Bhutan Laughingthrush, Black-Tailed Crake, Blue-Winged Laughingthrush among many others. The Blue-Winged Laughingthrush was a big surprise especially as we saw it out in the open. Page 1 of 10 Our drive was taking longer than expected which was delayed further by a landslide which was being cleared. Another halt meant more birds which suited us just fine. All these halts meant we barely reached our hotel in time before we had to push off again for owling. Our targets were Hodgson’s Frogmouth, Grey Nightjar and Mountain Scops Owl. We heard the frogmouth and the owl but sadly did not see it. While driving back some of us got a glimpse of the nightjar flying in the car's headlights but no satisfactory views. Checklists for 3rd April: https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374830 https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374835 https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374841 https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374851 https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374854 Page 2 of 10 4th April: Tenga to Bompu camp via Eaglenest pass This drive would officially take us into Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. We started our birding at the coveted Alubari trail. This small area is the best place to see the Bugun Liocichla. Walking along the trail yielded some great birds like Spot-Winged Grosbeak, Himalayan Cutia, Scaly-Bellied Cupwing, a couple of treecreepers and the list goes on. We dipped on the Bugun Liocichla but saw its cousin the Red-Faced Liocichla. After breakfast we moved past Lama camp to go to Eaglenest pass but not before a halt at the ‘tragopanda’ trail. No guesses what the trail is named after. Sightings of the red panda are extremely rare in eaglenest. The tragopan though present throughout this area is quite shy so we did not have our hopes up for either of them. The halt here gave us another encounter with a mixed hunting party. Luckily, I was better prepared for it. As we reached Eaglenest pass, the conditions were overcast and windy. As we made our way down to Bompu camp we took frequent halts to bird along the way. Such halts gave us good sightings of Fire Tailed Myzornis, Snowy-Browed Flycatcher, Golden- Naped Finch, Red-Headed Bullfinches, Black-Headed Shrike-Babbler and a male Ward’s Trogon. Bompu camp is a heaven for all wildlife enthusiasts but it comes with its set of challenges. It is so isolated that there is no electricity. Each tent has a solar charged torch available for use. Charging camera batteries and phones were only possible when the staff switched on the generator for a few hours in the evening. Page 3 of 10 In the late afternoon, we did a short trail around Bompu camp where we were able to see Golden Babblers, Blackish-Breasted Babbler, Rufous-Throated Wren-Babbler, a lone Mountain Hawk-Eagle and an occasional Black Eagle. It was quite overcast and it seemed we brought the cloud cover with us from Eaglenest pass. It rained that night which played to our advantage the following day. Checklists for 4th April https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374859 https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374863 https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374866 5th April: Bompu camp to Sessni and back The sky had cleared up after the rains the previous evening. It played to our advantage as the bird activity was very high. We explored the lower altitudes from Bompu camp. We planned to have a full day birding down to Sessni and be back at Bompu for dinner. We started with some spectacular views of Yellow-Throated Fulvettas right outside Bompu camp. As we walked along, we heard and followed the calls of White-Breasted Parrotbills. This species was high on our wish-list, but we had to be content with a few glimpses. The flock of the Parrotbills moved in a direction the road did not follow. We waited for breakfast at 'Hornbill Point’ which was one of the few places we got a view of the valley below and the ridgeline on top. Living up to its name, we spotted a male Page 4 of 10 Rufous Necked Hornbill flying at the ridge level before it disappeared again. After breakfast we had reached the altitude and habitat fit for the Beautiful Nuthatch. Along the way, we saw a Rusty-fronted Barwing which usually moves in mixed flocks. We waited to scan the area to see which other birds could be seen when Dombe heard the calls of the Beautiful Nuthatch. We moved quickly down the road and saw a pair of the Beautiful Nuthatch. A ‘beautiful’ sight indeed. To add to that Dombe heard calls of another rarity not too far. A Rufous-Backed Sibia was making its way closer to us. It became hard to choose which species to track. For once the birds made it easier for us by perching a few feet from one another. Till our lunch halt, we were able to see some of the other target species like the Long-Billed Wren- Babbler, Pygmy Cupwing, Large and Small Niltavas etc. Our lunch halt yielded some unexpected surprises. The Eye-Browed Wren-Babbler and the Spotted Wren-Babbler were quite close to where we stopped. We also saw a Malayan Giant Squirrel moving through the canopy. Just as we were wrapping up, we had the good fortune to see a pair of Emerald Cuckoos. Making our way back we saw many of the same species with the addition of a White-Tailed Robin. Checklists for 5th April https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374870 https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374875 https://ebird.org/india/checklist/S85374879 6th April: Bompu to Khellong and back Khellong is at an altitude of about 750m so the bird life is distinctly different, and we wished to give ourselves maximum time for our birding to be productive. We left our camp in pitch darkness so we could reach close to Khellong at sunrise. Like all days, we would walk in patches where there was any activity or if Dombe was aware of specific spots for rarities. On one such occasion, we realised some Laughing Thrushes moving in the undergrowth and we got down to observe them. As soon as we did, we heard calls of White-Hooded Babblers, Pale-Billed Parrotbills, Red-Billed Scimitar-Babblers coming Page 5 of 10 from further down the valley. All three rarities were on our target list and before we knew it this mixed flock was all over the place. Like any self-respecting bird from North- East India, they did not settle on a perch for more than a second. We barely got good glimpses of them before the entire flock moved up the slope. Even if we had tried to race them up in the cars, we would not have been able to catch up. Just as we marvelled at our luck, a Pale-Headed Woodpecker graced us. He too did not settle, and we could not even get a record shot of it. All in all, we had a very successful session.
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