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India - Assam, Darjeeling & Bhutan India - Assam, Darjeeling & Bhutan With Sunderbans extension Naturetrek Tour Report 3 – 24 November 2019 Royal Bengal Tiger Indian Elephant Grey-chinned Minivet Black-necked Cranes Report & Images compiled by Sujan Chatterjee Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report India - Assam, Darjeeling & Bhutan Tour participants: Sujan Chatterjee (leader) with 12 Naturetrek clients Summary The India – Assam, Darjeeling & Bhutan tour has always been my favourite trip for Naturetrek. This trip covers perhaps, the greatest variety of cultures, habitats, of temperature and of altitude. Some of the highlights in Bhutan were the fantastic mountains, the superb Himalayan Monal pheasant on Chele La Pass, the trek to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, and some of the best Bhutanese hospitality. We also had unbeatable views of some of the most enigmatic birds like the White-bellied Heron which was seen on the Pho Chu River, and experienced the unique cold valley of Phojika with its migrating Black-necked Cranes, and the Crane Festival, held on the birthday of the former king. Darjeeling of course, has its own sense of time; the Kanchenjunga gave us a fantastic treat, but the Toy Train let us down a little by using a diesel engine instead of the traditional steam engine. Assam as usual, was fantastic: the grasslands of Kaziranga (a conservation success story) gave us lots of Indian One-horned Rhinos, Smooth- coated Otters and Asian Elephants, plus fantastic views of Asiatic Water Buffaloes, Capped Langurs, Hoolock Gibbons, Pallas’s Fish Eagles, Imperial Eagle and Greater and Lesser Adjutant Storks. And the last, but not least, was the Sundarbans extension. This vast mangrove is a home of six species of kingfisher; the glorious gems of Common Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Black-capped Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher and the fantastic Brown-winged Kingfisher were all seen. Amongst the reptiles, we saw a mega King Cobra from the Sudhanyakhali Watchtower, Spot-tailed Pit Viper, several Water Monitors and four Saltwater Crocodiles of varying sizes. And although we do not expect to see a Tiger on this trip, we were very lucky to have a fantastic Tiger sighting on the first day of our safari. Amazing! Day 1 Sunday 3rd November Most of the group were in flight to Kolkata. Day 2 Monday 4th November The group met up: 10 arrived today, while the other two had already arrived a day earlier. Thereafter we drove to our luxury Hotel Hyatt and a then everyone had a leisurely day. Day 3 Tuesday 5th November We left the hotel at 5.15am and headed for the airport. We boarded our Druk Airline flight and flew one-and-a- half hours to Paro in Bhutan. On the way we were thoroughly thrilled to see Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga. The craft nearly tilted when we all rushed to one side to get a glimpse of the rare sight! As we were about to touch down, the craft started to climb again. We went up, circled a few times over the mountain and eventually landed in Bagdogra (India) instead. We had to wait at the airport until the problem was solved. Eventually after a long wait, another craft arrived from Paro and flew us to our destination. We had the most amazing landing in Paro, when the aircraft flew along the valley to eventually touch down on the runway. © Naturetrek January 20 1 India - Assam, Darjeeling & Bhutan Tour Report We were received by Tshering, Namgay and our driver, Tenzing. After a few minutes’ drive, we checked into Hotel Olathang, which incidentally is the oldest hotel in Paro, with huge grounds. After the check-in and some rest, we had dinner and went to bed. Day 4 Wednesday 6th November An early start today: we left the hotel at 5am and drove up the Ha road towards Chele La Pass. It took us nearly two hours to reach a point where we saw a glorious sunrise on Mount Jumalhari. We were greeted by Nutcrackers as we got off the bus. A Himalayan Buzzard looked down at us from his lofty perch, and as the wind picked up at the pass, a flock Snow Pigeons graced the skies above us. Black-faced Laughingthrush and some Blue-fronted Redstarts showed well. As we walked down, we saw four female Himalayan Monals. We walked around the scree and eventually they flew over the hill. The field-kitchen team had camped overnight in the cold on the mountain; they cooked some superb breakfast and set it out on a road bend. We watched the Snow Pigeons sweep over our heads while we savoured our food in such an amazing location. On the way to the Paro, we stopped to pick up an Ibisbill, the star bird of the day, close to the airport. We then drove back to Paro and then drove to the base of the hill from where the Tiger’s Nest Monastery walk starts. After another super meal in the conifer forest, most of us headed for the Monastery hike. Two went up to the viewpoint and several others reached the café. Some of us loitered around, but birding was very slow here. We then headed back to collect the hikers and called it a day. Day 5 Thursday 7th November We left Paro for Punakha at 5am. The two-hour drive took us past Thimpu and up the beautiful Dochula Pass. The incredible mountain awaited us when we reached the car park. After a few photos we drove down to the botanical gardens. The kitchen team had yet again picked the right spot for the breakfast. As we had breakfast, a Mountain Hawk-Eagle graced the sky and the Blue-fronted Redstart came to say hello. We then visited the Botanical Gardens and added several birds to our list: Brown Parrotbills, Rufous-capped and Golden Babblers, loads of Yuhinas, a Gold-naped Finch and Hoary-throated Barwings, amongst others. We drove further and we saw a few Assam Macaques amongst the trees. After this we drove down to a roadside location for an outdoor lunch. Yet again, the guys chose the most scenic location. After lunch we headed for Punakha but on the way, we stopped at Sopsokha village to look around some handicrafts. We reached Punakha and headed straight for Mochu to look for the White-bellied Heron. After some searching, we found it sitting on a tree partly hidden from view. Rafting is a nuisance for this rare and shy species. After the last raft had passed, it glided down to the river to feed. It eventually caught a large fish which slid down its throat. Brown Dipper, Plumbeous Redstarts and Great Cormorants were seen on the river too, and in the rice fields were River Lapwings and Common Mynas. We finished off the day with a few Ruddy Shelducks in the river. Day 6 Friday 8th November We started early and headed for the Jigme Dorji National Park along the Pho River. The first birds we got were a flock of beautiful Grey-chinned Minivets. We carried on, stopping at various places, and saw large mixed feeding flocks of warblers, yuhinas and fulvettas. We then reached our breakfast location, where our field-kitchen crew 2 © Naturetrek January 20 India - Assam, Darjeeling & Bhutan Tour Report waited for us with another fabulous buffet breakfast. Close to the breakfast place, first we saw a large noisy flock of Nepal Fulvettas, Little Forktails, White-capped Redstarts, Striated Laughingthrush and Chestnut-crowned Warblers which fed their way through the scrub nearby, giving us great views. Later we walked more and ticked off two very skulking Scaly-breasted Cupwings (also known as Scaly-breasted Wren-Babblers). As we headed for lunch at the same location, we spotted a Tawny Fish Owl fly low over the water and disappear in the forest. After lunch we headed back to Punakha and visited the Dzong. Before we reached the Dzong we stopped near the river to pick some White-browed Wagtails, Green Sandpipers and more River Lapwings. Near the Dzong we spotted our only Crested Kingfisher. Punakha Dzong is set up in the most picturesque location. In the afternoon light, it gave us some great photos. After visiting the Dzong, some of us tried walking over the long suspension bridge. Day 7 Saturday 9th November This morning we left early for Phobjika valley. As usual, our kitchen crew found the most amazing place to serve us breakfast. We ticked off Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler, Grey-headed Canary-flycatchers and Blue-throated Barbets, amongst others, before breakfast. After some breakfast and some more birds, we carried onwards. We stopped to see a Yellow-rumped Honeyguide at a known location. It took us some time to locate it, and then it came down to feed on the wax on the rocky overhang. Eventually, it came down low to have a drink and we got the most amazing views. We then stopped for lunch at another beautiful location before heading for Phobjik valley. We then drove over the pass into Phobjika valley. The first stop was of course, for the shaggy Yaks. They sat on the slopes chewing cud and posed for photos. We then dropped down into the vast valley and reached a café, which had the best view of Black-necked Cranes. We counted about 48 of them, in the valley floor. We watched the small families of threes and fours feeding in the marshes, sometimes chasing off unwanted intruders. The large flocks of Red-billed Choughs flew over the valley formation in big clusters.
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