[Type text] Northeast India: March 2011 Northeast India 14-29 March 2011 Guide: Josh Engel All photos taken on this tour by the guide. Bar-winged Wren-Babbler at left. INTRODUCTION Northeast India has been gaining quickly in popularity as a birding destination in recent years. With elevations ranging from 100m along the Brahmaputra River to high Himalayan peaks, this region harbors a diversity of birds unrivaled anywhere else in Asia. Our tour covers elevations ranging from the lowlands of Nameri National Park to Sela Pass at 4200m, though the real focal point of the tour is the area in between, the remote forests of Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. The tour extension to Kaziranga National Park not only adds over 100 additional species of birds, including a wide variety of waterbirds, raptors, and grassland rarities, but gives the opportunity to visit Asia’s best mammal-viewing park, with its abundance of elephants, rhinoceros, wild buffalo, and deer. (See separate trip report for the Kaziranga extension.) We recorded over 400 species between the main tour and the extension, plus an excellent diversity of mammals. Bird highlights included White-winged Wood Duck, Pied Falconet, Oriental Hobby eating its avian breakfast, Ibisbill, Long-billed Plover, Black-tailed Crake, six owls seen, Slender-billed and Coral-billed Scimitar-Babbler, Blackish-breasted Babbler, Wing- barred and Rufous-breasted Wren-Babblers, Black-headed Shrike-Babbler, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Green Cochoa, spectacular views of Beautiful Nuthatch, male Blyth’s Tragopan, and a Rufous- breasted Partridge feeding calmly on the track in front of our vehicle. We were also lucky enough to see a wild elephant cooling itself in the Jia Bhareli River and to scope a Himalayan palm civet on a night drive in Eaglenest. TOUR REPORT Straight from the airport in Guwahati we were on our way to our first birding destination, Nameri National Park. The drive took a little longer than expected as we had to detour around a district-wide protest; we arrived at the eco-camp to the calls of Brown Hawk-Owl. The next morning we were up early to start birding in earnest. We picked up a few birds around camp, like Common Hill Myna and Red-breasted Parakeet, but we didn’t linger as we had a date with White-winged Duck to keep. As soon as we crossed the Jia Bhareli River into the park proper, new birds started coming at a rapid pace. Among them were Ruddy Shelducks and Pallas’ Fish- www.tropicalbirding.com 1 [Type text] Northeast India: March 2011 Eagle along the river’s edge and Greater Flameback, Lesser Yellownape, and Golden-fronted Leafbird in the woodlands. Carefully checking secluded ponds for the park’s most alluring avian denizen, the rare White-winged Duck, we flushed a pair from a secluded spot and had great views of their distinctive wing pattern as they flew on to another pond. A young Lesser Adjutant in the same pond was more cooperative. Checking another pond to try for sitting views of the duck, we came across a stunning Pied Falconet which gave us leisurely scope views. Further pond checks yielded one more fleeting glimpse of the duck, as well as a wild boar. The other main attraction at Nameri is a leisurely boat ride down the river. Besides being great for birds, it’s simply a very pleasant trip down a beautiful tributary of the Brahmaputra. Our main target here was the iconic Ibisbill, and after getting only very distant looks at the site where they had been seen regularly, it was a great relief to get point-blank looks further downriver. Small Pratincole was abundant, a few River Terns showed nicely, and we had great views of both Indian and Great Thick-knees. Sand Lark was elusive¸ but we managed nice views of a bird flying past. A wild elephant enjoying the cool river water was a real bonus. Pied Falconet (left)—a striking, rare, and diminutive falcon—was a highlight of our visit to Nameri. Small Pratincoles (right) were abundant on our raft trip down the Jia Bhareli River. We also spent a productive early morning and an afternoon birding around the eco-camp. Owls were definite highlights, including good views of Asian Barred Owlet, Brown Hawk-Owl, and Spotted Owlet. The famous Oriental Hobby pair was conspicuous throughout the day; on two mornings we watched them eat their breakfast—one morning an Olive-backed Pipit, the other an Asian Pied Starling. A Gray-headed Lapwing in the fields behind the lodge was a nice surprise. We departed early on our final morning to head into the mountains. We did little birding along the busy road to Dirang (though Long-tailed Sibia and Black Eagle put in appearances), but made it in time to slip into the more secluded Sangti Valley for the afternoon. We quickly picked up three new redstarts, including Blue-fronted. We played hide-and-seek with three calling Black-tailed Crakes, but unfortunately they hid better than we sought. Likewise, the Long-billed Plovers that reside nearby were nowhere to be found, but great eye-level views of a Himalayan Buzzard was nice consolation. The time for the crake and the plover would come in a few days time. www.tropicalbirding.com 2 [Type text] Northeast India: March 2011 Our first full day in Dirang was spent going to--and quickly retreating from—the tour’s highest elevation, the 4200m Sela Pass. Unfortunately, the weather scuttled our plans; the wind, fog, and snow drove us to lower elevations. We spent the remainder of the day working our way down from the pass, trying to bird on the lee side of ridges to avoid the day’s strong winds. Given the difficult conditions, the birding was actually pretty good. We picked up some excellent birds, including a mixed flock of (Himalayan) White-browed and (Himalayan) Beautiful Rosefinches, some very cooperative Black-faced Laughingthrushes and Streak-chested Scimitar-Babblers, White-winged Grosbeak, and Ludlow’s Fulvetta. A group of four Tibetan Blackbirds was somewhat of a surprise, although there had been recent sightings in the area. Lower down the mountain the sun was actually shining (though that didn’t stop snow from falling occasionally). There we picked up a number of new birds, including Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird, Black-throated Tit, and Rufous-breasted Accentor, but a calling Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler wouldn’t show. Re-entering the Dirang Valley, a stop along the river produced Brown Dipper and Hodgson’s Redstart. Our day’s last stop in a grove of trees in the valley held our first White-collared Blackbird, Russet Sparrow, and Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher. Rafting is a good way to get close looks at waterbirds along the Jia Bhareli River. Besides our main target of Ibisbill, we saw Great Thick-Knee (left) and Ruddy Shelduck (right). For our second full day in Dirang, we ascended the nearby Mandala Road, reaching an altitude of 3500m. Of course, reaching those heights took some time as we made several productive stops along the way. Our first one, in scrub and agriculture, yielded great looks at Bhutan Laughingthrush, Black-throated (Hill) Prinia, Red-flanked (Himalayan) Bluetail, Brownish- flanked Bush-Warbler, and Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush. Our next stop yielded two new Turdus , both of which posed in the scope, Gray-collared Blackbird and Black-throated Thrush. A mixed flock was also in the area, and among the many birds that responded strongly to a Collared Owlet tape was a brilliant male Fire-capped Tit that gave us great views. Further short stops yielded our first Gold-naped Finch, Rusty-flanked and Hodgson’s (Eurasian) Treecreepers, and an extremely showy Gray-flanked Bush-Warbler. We soon reached the village of Mandala, where our high-altitude birding began with some brilliant White-throated Redstarts on the edge of the settlement. We were soon racking up a number of other great birds, including Red-headed Bullfinch, Gold-billed Magpie, Spotted Nutcracker, and typical mixed flock birds like Ashy- www.tropicalbirding.com 3 [Type text] Northeast India: March 2011 throated Leaf-Warbler and Rufous-vented Yuhina. Just before taking a tea break Lakpa called in a pair of Slender-billed Scimitar-Babblers, showing off why they are among my favorite Himalayan birds as they used their remarkable bill to probe for insects right out in the open. Unfortunately Spotted Laughingthrush singing in the same area remained unseen far down the valley. On our return to Mandala, a pair of Bar-winged Wren- Babblers showed off why they are one of the few wren-babblers suitably described as exquisite, sitting in the open at close range while we admired (and photographed) their stunning (and often unseen) plumage. After lunch we slowly started working our way back down the road. It was soon clear that there were many more good birds to be had in this area. A Darjeeling Woodpecker posed for the scope, and just as I was scoping two cooperative Beautiful Sibias, a female Crimson-browed Finch hopped up to join them in the field of view. A small party of Golden-breasted Fulvettas passed through some dense roadside rhododendrons, giving us enough glimpses to piece them together. We finally made it back to the hotel, tired and satiated. The wintery scene we encountered at Sela Pass (left). Right: Two of a flock of about twenty Tibetan Serins. For our final day in the Dirang area, we decided to forego the dust and drive, wind and cold of Sela Pass for another day in the peace and mixed flocks of the Mandala Road.