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Trip to Pakistan - March 2014 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Himalaya
- Start date
The last instalment - Finally!
My next stop was a trip to see a friend who lived on the opposite side of the Indus, which was the Western bank in a district called Sawabi. Sawabi was one of the eastern most districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province which was previously known as North West Frontier Province. We crossed the Indus and from here bridge I spotted Coot, Little Grebe, Little Cormorant, Mallard and Tufted Duck. All barring the Mallard were new to the list. Once at the village we ate lunch and then I dragged him out. I hated being a guest at times over there because it often meant being trapped in a room with whoever you were visiting and whoever they invited. Sometimes it could actually feel like you were being imprisoned - they did not mean any harm by it but just that they had no concept the visitor might want to see the outside environment. The host felt it was more important the guest should eat. The guest felt it more important to birdwatch.
The fields and trees were a vibrant green and spring clearly had sprung. In the field and along the branches of the river we saw Grey Wagtails, Pied Wagtails, Green Sandpiper, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Hoopoe, House Crow, Roller, Common Myna, Bank Myna, House Sparrows, Black Drongo, Black-shouldered Kite, Indian Treepie, Sparrowhawk, Plain Prinia, Siberian Chiffchaff, Red Vented Bulbul, Laughing Dove, Red-collared Dove. I managed to add two life birds to the list - a pair of Siberian Stonechat (in fact Siberian Stonechat was added a few days ago and must have been seen on a previous visit) and Yellow Bellied Prinia. Both were perched on top of wheat stalks in the same field along with a Plain Prinia. Both Prinia species were singing. One area which was particularly marshy we decided not to visit because hunt was taking place and this would scare all the birds. New birds added to the yearly list included Great Grey Shrike, Brown Shrike and Green Bee-eaters - the latter another migrant which had recently started to arrive. In the distance we saw a Marsh Harrier.
The following day I was going to Peshawar to see friends. I did not expect to see much in relation to birds as it was not the greenest of cities but I was going to make my best effort to explore the few green spaces available. Peshawar was under constant attack by militants who wanted to take over the region and establish their version of Shariah Law. They viewed the Government and the Army as agents of the “Evil West”. Thousands of people have been killed and maybe hundreds of people working for the security services. It must have been hard to be a police officer or a security officer at an army check point here. They would have to be constantly alert.
I went to the Old City of Peshawar and the only birds seen were Black Kites, House Crows, Common Mynas, House Sparrows and a Brown Rock Chat. I have not heard of any records from this far west but I was not surprised as this species was advancing westwards at a very rapid rate. Would it cross over into Afghanistan? We visited the gardens of Ghor Khutree, an archaeological site. Spring was in bloom here.
I was going to meet another friend after and he was going to take me to the Peshawar Golf Course. I was not a fan of Golf but it was a green space and later I learned that it is the largest green space in Peshawar. Within minutes of entering I saw a much needed tick for the year - a pair of Spotted Owlets sat in a tree. A flock of Bank and Common Myna has congregated with some feeding on the floor - In the tees I noticed a pair of Asian Pied Starlings. Asian Pied Starlings were striking birds and even 10 years ago a very rare sight in Pakistan. However, like the Brown Rock Chat it was spreading westwards. I managed to see one more Pied Starling - this was another species new to this years list. Another new bird to this years list were 2 Alexandrine Parakeets. Other birds seen on the Golf Course included thousands of Black Kites which roost here, House Sparrows, House Crows, Ring-necked Parakeets, Siberian Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat, White Breasted Waterhens, Common Starling, Red Vented Bulbul, Laughing Dove, Hoopoe, Black Drongo and Indian Roller. I managed to visit Bagh-I-Naran, a public park in Hayatabd on the Western side of Peshawar. Here I saw Siberian Chiffchaffs, Hoopoe, Laughing Dove, House Crow and Common Myna. I never got a chance to do any more bird-watching in Peshawar sadly as the rest of the trip was spent with friends.
I managed to do a bit of bird-watching locally in a place near the Haro River. We wanted to bird-watch on the Haro River but the police man said we were not allowed because of security concerns. He was firm but polite and respectful so we decided to respect his “advice”. We headed to some nearby sand hills where we managed to add Common Buzzard to the trip list - a lifer for Ackram. It was soaring with a Black Kite. It was preceded by a dark Long Legged Buzzard. There were also Green Bee-eaters, Black Drongos, Prinias. We also caught side of a large Indian Grey Mongoose - I was surprised how large it was. Imagine how big a Leopard would have looked. A bird was singing across the sand hill and I decided to try to identify it. It was a Lark or Prinia species. As I walked along the ridge I came to a narrow point - I debated should I jump across or should I turn back. The decision was made for me. The ground below gave way and I began to slip down although trying to stop my fall I anchored my leg to the ridge but there was immense pain and I had to let go. I slid down maybe twenty metres and as I came to a stop I realised I was in a lot of pain. Ackram came over towards me and I tried to take my mind off the situation by asking him to identify the bird. I told him I was fine just a bit of pain. After ten or fifteen minutes I tried to stand up and I could hobble. It did not feel like anything was broken. After 30 minutes I had to try get out of here - the road was a 10 minute hobble. We boarded a taxi to a military hospital and within a few ours - after some waiting I was tended to. An x-ray revealed nothing broken which was a relief. I must have had a very severe sprain. We flagged another taxi and realised as the pain was not going away I had avoided to tell my wife, aunties and in-laws. I was flying back tomorrow morning and this was the last thing I needed but who knows what I would feel in the morning. The pain on the 30 minute journey appeared to increase and once near my aunties home I realised I was struggling to get onto the motorcycle my cousin was waiting for me on to take me on the last 30 metres. I could not walk it as I felt too much pain but the car could not travel right outside as the alley was not built for cars. With great difficulty I did the last stretch - the night was difficult as relatives worried gathered around me. I felt like a zoo specimen and I could not even escape. The pain increased but I do not know how I fell asleep - I woke feeling a lot better. Maybe it was the pain killers which kicked in. I decided to fly back as I could get a second opinion and the facilities were much better. On the way to the airport I caught site of one more bird to add to the year list - two Black-Winged Stilts near a road side pool.
I managed to fly out ok - I did show the airport staff the doctors note and I sat I n a wheelchair. I did get a second opinion - I t was a very severe sprain. I was out of action for 4 weeks. I could not believe I was out of action during the start of the spring migration period!
My next stop was a trip to see a friend who lived on the opposite side of the Indus, which was the Western bank in a district called Sawabi. Sawabi was one of the eastern most districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province which was previously known as North West Frontier Province. We crossed the Indus and from here bridge I spotted Coot, Little Grebe, Little Cormorant, Mallard and Tufted Duck. All barring the Mallard were new to the list. Once at the village we ate lunch and then I dragged him out. I hated being a guest at times over there because it often meant being trapped in a room with whoever you were visiting and whoever they invited. Sometimes it could actually feel like you were being imprisoned - they did not mean any harm by it but just that they had no concept the visitor might want to see the outside environment. The host felt it was more important the guest should eat. The guest felt it more important to birdwatch.
The fields and trees were a vibrant green and spring clearly had sprung. In the field and along the branches of the river we saw Grey Wagtails, Pied Wagtails, Green Sandpiper, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Hoopoe, House Crow, Roller, Common Myna, Bank Myna, House Sparrows, Black Drongo, Black-shouldered Kite, Indian Treepie, Sparrowhawk, Plain Prinia, Siberian Chiffchaff, Red Vented Bulbul, Laughing Dove, Red-collared Dove. I managed to add two life birds to the list - a pair of Siberian Stonechat (in fact Siberian Stonechat was added a few days ago and must have been seen on a previous visit) and Yellow Bellied Prinia. Both were perched on top of wheat stalks in the same field along with a Plain Prinia. Both Prinia species were singing. One area which was particularly marshy we decided not to visit because hunt was taking place and this would scare all the birds. New birds added to the yearly list included Great Grey Shrike, Brown Shrike and Green Bee-eaters - the latter another migrant which had recently started to arrive. In the distance we saw a Marsh Harrier.
The following day I was going to Peshawar to see friends. I did not expect to see much in relation to birds as it was not the greenest of cities but I was going to make my best effort to explore the few green spaces available. Peshawar was under constant attack by militants who wanted to take over the region and establish their version of Shariah Law. They viewed the Government and the Army as agents of the “Evil West”. Thousands of people have been killed and maybe hundreds of people working for the security services. It must have been hard to be a police officer or a security officer at an army check point here. They would have to be constantly alert.
I went to the Old City of Peshawar and the only birds seen were Black Kites, House Crows, Common Mynas, House Sparrows and a Brown Rock Chat. I have not heard of any records from this far west but I was not surprised as this species was advancing westwards at a very rapid rate. Would it cross over into Afghanistan? We visited the gardens of Ghor Khutree, an archaeological site. Spring was in bloom here.
I was going to meet another friend after and he was going to take me to the Peshawar Golf Course. I was not a fan of Golf but it was a green space and later I learned that it is the largest green space in Peshawar. Within minutes of entering I saw a much needed tick for the year - a pair of Spotted Owlets sat in a tree. A flock of Bank and Common Myna has congregated with some feeding on the floor - In the tees I noticed a pair of Asian Pied Starlings. Asian Pied Starlings were striking birds and even 10 years ago a very rare sight in Pakistan. However, like the Brown Rock Chat it was spreading westwards. I managed to see one more Pied Starling - this was another species new to this years list. Another new bird to this years list were 2 Alexandrine Parakeets. Other birds seen on the Golf Course included thousands of Black Kites which roost here, House Sparrows, House Crows, Ring-necked Parakeets, Siberian Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat, White Breasted Waterhens, Common Starling, Red Vented Bulbul, Laughing Dove, Hoopoe, Black Drongo and Indian Roller. I managed to visit Bagh-I-Naran, a public park in Hayatabd on the Western side of Peshawar. Here I saw Siberian Chiffchaffs, Hoopoe, Laughing Dove, House Crow and Common Myna. I never got a chance to do any more bird-watching in Peshawar sadly as the rest of the trip was spent with friends.
I managed to do a bit of bird-watching locally in a place near the Haro River. We wanted to bird-watch on the Haro River but the police man said we were not allowed because of security concerns. He was firm but polite and respectful so we decided to respect his “advice”. We headed to some nearby sand hills where we managed to add Common Buzzard to the trip list - a lifer for Ackram. It was soaring with a Black Kite. It was preceded by a dark Long Legged Buzzard. There were also Green Bee-eaters, Black Drongos, Prinias. We also caught side of a large Indian Grey Mongoose - I was surprised how large it was. Imagine how big a Leopard would have looked. A bird was singing across the sand hill and I decided to try to identify it. It was a Lark or Prinia species. As I walked along the ridge I came to a narrow point - I debated should I jump across or should I turn back. The decision was made for me. The ground below gave way and I began to slip down although trying to stop my fall I anchored my leg to the ridge but there was immense pain and I had to let go. I slid down maybe twenty metres and as I came to a stop I realised I was in a lot of pain. Ackram came over towards me and I tried to take my mind off the situation by asking him to identify the bird. I told him I was fine just a bit of pain. After ten or fifteen minutes I tried to stand up and I could hobble. It did not feel like anything was broken. After 30 minutes I had to try get out of here - the road was a 10 minute hobble. We boarded a taxi to a military hospital and within a few ours - after some waiting I was tended to. An x-ray revealed nothing broken which was a relief. I must have had a very severe sprain. We flagged another taxi and realised as the pain was not going away I had avoided to tell my wife, aunties and in-laws. I was flying back tomorrow morning and this was the last thing I needed but who knows what I would feel in the morning. The pain on the 30 minute journey appeared to increase and once near my aunties home I realised I was struggling to get onto the motorcycle my cousin was waiting for me on to take me on the last 30 metres. I could not walk it as I felt too much pain but the car could not travel right outside as the alley was not built for cars. With great difficulty I did the last stretch - the night was difficult as relatives worried gathered around me. I felt like a zoo specimen and I could not even escape. The pain increased but I do not know how I fell asleep - I woke feeling a lot better. Maybe it was the pain killers which kicked in. I decided to fly back as I could get a second opinion and the facilities were much better. On the way to the airport I caught site of one more bird to add to the year list - two Black-Winged Stilts near a road side pool.
I managed to fly out ok - I did show the airport staff the doctors note and I sat I n a wheelchair. I did get a second opinion - I t was a very severe sprain. I was out of action for 4 weeks. I could not believe I was out of action during the start of the spring migration period!
The Gardens of Gor Khutree in the Old City of Peshawar - one of the few green spots in the Old City.
Bazaars in Pesahwar
Peshawar Golf Club - the largest green area in Pesahwar.
Black Kite in Peshawar
The Old City of Pesahwar.
Bazaars in Pesahwar
Peshawar Golf Club - the largest green area in Pesahwar.
Black Kite in Peshawar
The Old City of Pesahwar.
Attachments
Spice Shop in Peshawar
Pashto Film Billboard
Pied Myna in Peshawar - first documented record and furtherest west record so far
Spotted Owlet and Hoopoe
Pashto Film Billboard
Pied Myna in Peshawar - first documented record and furtherest west record so far
Spotted Owlet and Hoopoe
Attachments
The last photos of the trip
White Breasted Waterhens at the Peshawar Golf Club
Black Kite at Peshawar Golf Club
Bagh-i-Naran in Hayatabad, Peshawar - one of the few large parks in Peshawar
Sunset in Peshawar.
White Breasted Waterhens at the Peshawar Golf Club
Black Kite at Peshawar Golf Club
Bagh-i-Naran in Hayatabad, Peshawar - one of the few large parks in Peshawar
Sunset in Peshawar.
