BHUTAN: Birding In “Shangri-La” A Tropical Birding Custom Tour March 20-31, 2016 Guide: Ken Behrens All photos by Ken Behrens TOUR SUMMARY Bhutan is a small and entirely mountainous kingdom in the Himalayas, sandwiched between mighty neighbors India and China. It was closed to outsiders for most of its history, and has only opened up to tourists in recent decades. Bhutan is best known as a treasury of relatively untouched Buddhist culture, historical sites, and artifacts. Although tourists visit year-round, the biggest cultural “draw card” is the Tshechu festivals, which feature dances by masked performers. These dances were created by Buddhist monks 100s of years ago, and were meant for moral instruction. Although these colorful festivals in picturesque settings do attract many foreign visitors, the vast majority of attendees at any Tshechu is local people, who flock in from the surrounding mountains and villages for a once-a-year chance to socialize and show off beautiful traditional costumes. This tour was timed to catch a couple days of the five-day Paro Tshechu. Bhutan’s second major attraction is its vast and unspoiled forests, which still cover nearly three quarters of the country. It boasts the best-preserved forest habitat in perhaps the whole of the Himalayas, and supports a rich assortment of eastern Himalayan specialty birds. A select subset of these birds were the second major reason for this custom tour. Although the participants Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 had already made a thorough birding trip to Bhutan nearly ten years earlier, they had missed several key species, and had also not been able to attend a Tshechu festival. We were very successful in achieving our goals, both on the cultural and avian fronts. The Paro Tshechu was colorful and fascinating, and a bit like stepping back in time, with only the modern sneakers poking out from under traditional costumes to remind us that it was the 21st century! On the cultural front, we also visited three dzongs, in Paro, Trongsa, and Punakha. For 100s of years, these massive fortresses combined the functions of defensive castle, monastery, and center of local government. They resemble medieval castles in many respects, but are still actively functioning as monasteries and government buildings, giving them a vibrancy that has long departed from Europe’s citadels. Bhutan’s dzongs are replete with fascinating details, from carved wooden gargoyles to ancient metal work to windows with expansive views of snow- capped mountains in the distance. Although the dzongs Local people flock to Bhutan’s Tshechu “masked dance” festivals, showing off traditional costumes which are sometimes made from and festivals are the focal silk and worth a fortune. point, every corner of Bhutan is full of cultural interest. Even the tiny and remote village of Zhemgang, where we spent three Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 nights in order to bird the surrounding area, features prayer wheels, beautiful hand-crafted wooden homes with lovingly painted decorations, and even a small dzong. The people of Bhutan are wonderfully kind and welcoming, though in a discreet way that never makes you feel conspicuously foreign. The king famously says that “gross national happiness” is the country’s aim rather than “gross national product,” which may sound a bit ingenuous, but the evidence of that philosophy is actually on display throughout A masked dancer whirls across the ancient paving stones at the Paro Tshechu. the country. Our birding mission was undeniably a tough one, as we were chasing the handful of tough species that had been missed on an earlier tour. But with hard work and perseverance, we enjoyed good success. The top target was the Spotted Elachura, formerly known as Spotted Wren-Babbler, and perhaps better called simply “Elachura” as it has recently been recognized as forming a monotypic family. We heard this bird easily, but it was only with hours of effort that the stars finally aligned for great views of this cryptic little beauty. Another major target was the Satyr Tragopan, a gorgeous orange-red pheasant with a galaxy of brilliant spots. This bird has become The Spotted Elachura can be incredibly elusive, and increasingly difficult as road construction was this trip’s top avian target. So great views after much effort were heartily appreciated. Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 has created disturbance across the country. On top of that, we weren’t visiting the best site for this Tragopan, which was farther east than it was practical to venture on this short trip. Despite these obstacles, we eventually managed to enjoy incredible views of a male Satyr Tragopan at Pelela, on a fine, crisp morning. There are only five tragopans in the world, and they surely count among its best birds. The glorious Satyr Tragopan, undoubtedly one of Asia’s most beautiful and sought-after birds. The third major target was the Beautiful Nuthatch, which is why we spent three nights in the village of Zhemgang, in the middle elevations of south / central Bhutan. Despite a huge effort, we never managed to see this devilishly beautiful beast, though we did hear it once. The traditional stakeouts for Beautiful Nuthatch have suffered heavily at the hands of local timber cutters, and along the road, most of the large mossy trees that they prefer have been cut. My guess is that this bird will be increasingly difficult in coming years, if it doesn’t disappear from the roadside habitat altogether. Major targets aside, we enjoyed wonderful general birding throughout western and central Bhutan. A trip to the frigid heights of Chelela turned up Himalayan Monal, Blood Pheasant, Snow Pigeon, Eurasian Nutcracker, Spotted Laughingthrush, a mixed flock of Red-throated and Black- Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 throated Thrushes, and Rusty-flanked Treecreeper. Around our perfectly situated and luxurious hotel above Paro were Yellow-billed Blue Magpie and Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler. We birded Dochula on a cold and misty morning, and failed to find tragopan there, but did turn up Rufous-vented and Gray-crested Tits, Stripe-throated and Rufous-vented Yuhhinas, Plain-backed Thrush, Golden-naped Finch, and a few other prizes. Although Trongsa didn’t hold the wished-for Spotted Elachura, which would come later in the trip, it did give us Pygmy Cupwing, Speckled Woodpigeon, and Russet Bush-Warbler. The massive Rufous-necked Hornbill, with its beautifully “engraved” bill is one of Bhutan’s marquee birds. It is more common in Bhutan than anywhere else on Earth due to lack of hunting. The Zhemgang area was by far the highest-diversity forest that we birded, lying at lower elevations than the other sites. Birding in this peaceful area, away from the noise and dust of the road construction that has enveloped most of the country’s main roads, was a real pleasure. A few of the highlights were Kalij Pheasant, lots of Rufous-necked Hornbills, hefty Blue-bearded Bee- eater, gorgeous Sultan Tit, skulking Slaty-bellied Tesia, Rufous-faced Warbler, Gray-headed and Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 Pale-billed Parrotbills, scarce White-naped Yuhina, Himalayan Cutia (sadly not in a flock with a Beautiful Nuthatch!), Rufous-necked and Blue-winged Laughingthrushes, Silver-eared Mesia, incredibly shy White-gorgeted Flycatcher, Pygmy Blue-Flycatcher, Sapphire Flycatcher, Tickell’s Thrush (a bit of a surprise), Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker, unpredictable Brown Bullfinch, Scarlet Finch, Yellow-breasted Greenfinch, and Spot-winged Grosbeak. Our stop in Punakha on the way back to Paro was mainly intended to allow a visit to the dzong there, but we did squeeze in a little birding. There was a Pallas’s Fish-Eagle on the adjacent river, and a Wallcreeper creeping along the walls of a temple within the dzong complex! Before flying out of Paro, we had one final mission: to find an Ibisbill. Despite having travelled extensively, and amassed an impressive world list, the participants had only seen this handsome bird once before. Finding the “boulder with a beak” took a bit of searching, but great scope views were eventually enjoyed. The amazing Ibisbill. Many birders see them in winter plumage in northern India, but they are even more striking in breeding plumage. Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 ITINERARY March 20 Arrival in Paro. Afternoon at Paro Tshechu and dzong March 21 Day trip to Chelela March 22 Paro Tshechu (festival with masked dances). Afternoon to Thimpu March 23 Thimpu to Dochula to Phobjikha Valley March 24 Phobjikha to Pelela to Trongsa. Visit Trongsa dzong March 25 Trongsa to Zhemgang March 26 Zhemgang and surrounds March 27 Zhemgang and surrounds March 28 Zhemgang to Tingtibi to Trongsa March 29 Trongsa to Punakha. Visit Punakha dzong March 30 Punakha to Paro March 31 Departure from Paro Spotted Laughingthrush, a big and boldly marked high-elevation beauty that we enjoyed at Chelela. Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 PHOTO GALLERY Bhutan’s rhododendrons burst into color in spring and early summer, while its prayer flags bloom year-round. Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 Brown Dipper. Everybody loves a good dipper. Yellow-browed Tit (left) is a high-elevation bird, while Yellow-vented Warbler (right) is found at low to moderate elevations. Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 Blue-fronted Redstart, quite a beauty when seen in good light. Spinning prayer wheels in the Trongsa dzong. Bhutan: Birding in “Shangri-La” March 20-31, 2016 “Tiger’s Nest” Monastery is one of Bhutan’s best-known cultural treasures, and for good reason.