Winter India Part 2: The Lower Himalayas

After a very very long bus trip, we arrived in Nainital. As we got off the bus, it started to snow. This would be fine, except we spent about 2 hours looking for somewhere to stay which was open. Over the next day and a half, I found many of the more common Himalayan birds including Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Brown-fronted Woodpecker, Grey-hooded Warbler, Rufous Sibia, Plumbeous and White-capped Water Redstart, Blue Whistling Thrush, Dark-sided Flycatcher, Red-billed Blue Magpie and Blue-fronted Redstart.

On the third day, our guide, Diwan, picked us up from Nainital and we hiked to Mountain Quail Camp, Pangot (one of the best birding areas in northern India). Unfortunately for me, the snow meant that a lot of birds refused to show themselves, but I was still able to goggle at Eurasian and Black-headed Jays, Mountain Bulbuls, Striated, White-throated and Crested Laughingthrush, Spotted Forktail (one of my main target birds), Maroon Oriole, Yellow-breasted Greenfinch, Russet Sparrow and Altai Accentor.

After a rest day in Pangot, we headed out early in the morning for the start of our trek down to Ramnagar. As we descended into a valley, the snow disappeared, and the birds came out of nowhere! Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, Himalayan Woodpecker, Black-lored Tit, Black-throated Bushtit, and a hoard of unidentified warblers. I only ID’d one the whole trip, and I wasn’t allowed to slow down on the hike to look at these ones, or I might have risked being thrown off a cliff by the non-birders ;) After a quick tea break, we continued onwards, and I managed to spot the number one bird I was looking for – the Lammergeier. They truly are impressive birds. A bit further along, I spotted some pheasant tracks on the ground. I promptly remarked that if anyone spotted one to tell me. Straight after I said that, one flushed from the side of the track a few metres further on. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good look at it, and hence it has gone unidentified. That night we camped in the snow.

The following morning found us walking past Vinayak, a famed location in India for finding the elusive Cheer Pheasant. Unfortunately, this normally involves spending hours scanning grassy slopes, and I had to content myself with scanning for a few seconds every time I got the chance to stop! Needless to say, I dipped on the pheasant. Himalayan Griffon Vultures put on a show (possibly the only point in the trip that everyone was in awe of a bird), and Slaty-headed Parakeets flew over on occasion. A possible Hill Partridge kept me on my toes, but identifying the White-tailed Nuthatch turned out to be the trickiest part. Great Barbets were screeching all the time, and a Chestnut Thrush mixed in with a flock of Black Bulbuls was definitely the highlight of the day. We missed a leopard by 5 minutes (the porters ahead of us saw it), but we had to content ourselves with fresh footprints. Just before we got to the camp, it snowed heavily, so we camped in the snow again – but with a much nicer view this time.

I heard birds calling as I lay in my sleeping bag, so I got up very early (much to the annoyance of the others in my tent) and headed off. Firstly, I was rewarded with great views of a pair of Yellow-throated Martens (mammals, not birds). Also, Grey-winged and White-collared Blackbirds put on a show, including a few unidentified passerines. To avoid the -22 degree temperatures another group had experienced, we headed downhill rather than up to the 2700m peak. We camped on a ridgeline from which we had a clear view of the Himalayas, and I managed ot find a male Grey Bushchat, Blue-capped Redstart and Black Drongo.

Our last full day of walking was downhill again, through a few villages, and with some cool birds such as Grey Treepie and Long-tailed Minivet. We arrived at our campsite next to the Kosi River early in the afternoon.

 Mountain Bulbul

 Rufous Sibia

 Black-headed Jay

 Where the Lammergeier was

 Campground #2

 Himalayas

 Grey Bushchat

Himalayan Dusk