Trip to Pakistan - March 2014 (1 Viewer)

I managed to visit Pakistan for 3 weeks in March. My parents belong to the north-west of the country so I have some family there - 2 aunties. My wife's parents are in Pakistan along with her brothers and a sister. My children were of below school age and my wife felt this was the right time to visit. She wanted to stay a minimum of 6 weeks because when our son starts school in September she would only be able to manage whatever the school decided and that would be in the very expensive holiday period. Many British people of Pakistani origin would visit in the Christmas holidays but it could get quite cool and the days were short. Easter was also a popular time to visit but with exams around the corner maybe it was less suitable for some parents. For those wanting to stay for a long period with school age children the only option was the summer holidays but the temperatures could get very high on the Indus Plains. At this point in time Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting also fell in the summer holidays. A double reason not to go! fasting really took its toll on the people there in those hot months. We booked tickets from the end of the first week just before the end of March. The days would be longer than in mid-winter and on top of that it would be the end of winter and the start of spring and was hoping for some passage migration of some sorts. I had visited Pakistan before and knew where to look for wildlife. I had been lucky enough to visit a number of the National Parks and other Nature Reserves and had seen many different birds, mammals and reptiles. However, it was only in the last few years my bird-watching skills had improved although I was lucky enough to see some great wildlife.

There are direct flights from London, Manchester, Bradford and Birmingham and the only direct airline is Pakistan International Airlines abbreviated to PIA and commonly known as Prayers In the Air! Then there were a number of airlines which changed in Turkey, UAE, Qatar or Saudi. PIA flies from Manchester to Islamabad at least 5 times per week and at the time of departure it is almost like an event. Parking can be difficult at the airport as with some passengers large sections of the extended family would tag along to wave farewell. It can be a bit of a fancy dress show with all those beards of different colours, burqas and gaudy shalwar kameez (native dress) colours. The flight usually left Manchester from 8pm-10pm and arrived in Islamabad at 9am-10am. Before touching down I saw my first bird - Black Kites soaring and chasing each other. We were lucky to have someone to fast track us through customs. Once I had been told that they were checking through my luggage just in case I brought heroin into the country. I laughed and said why would I do that it is like burning money. All they wanted was bribery money of course.

Once out of the airport and into the car park House Sparrow, Common Myna and House Crows were all in attendance on the look out for food. I kept on eye on the birds as well as the beggars wanting Pounds not Rupees!


We had to head west from Islamabad to our ancestral area in the North of Attock district just 1-2 miles east of the Indus River. On the way I managed to see two Cattle Egrets on a pile of rubbish, a Red Wattled Lapwing flying through some spaced out trees in an urban wasteland site and Black Drongos just outside of the urban areas in trees and on wires. A flock of Martins over the Haro River were more likely to be Grey-throated Martins. We arrived at my father-in-laws and within minutes a pair of Brown Rock Chat appeared. I had noticed one bird at the house in 2010 but now there were two. At first I assumed the bird in 2010 was a vagrant as they were mainly found east of the Salt Range mountains in Punjab province. There were already reports of a westward expansion in range. I asked my father-in-law and he said that they have appeared over the last 5 years. First there was the occasional one but now they nest in the holes of buildings. I did wonder how far Brown Rock chats would be extending their range and what caused the trigger?

The following day I took a walk around my parents ancestral area in the agricultural lands. Various crops were planted such as rapeseed which was in bloom, wheat in spring and corn in the summer. The area was a flat fertile plain with quite a population. It fell east of the Indus and just south of the foothills which would eventally become the Himalayas much further north. I had once read the area was swamp which naturally dried out. There were a number of trees and in some patches small copses were formed. On this walk around with my cousins son I noticed Collared Dove, Bank Myna's, Common Myna's, Laughing Dove, Red Collared dove, Indian Roller, White-Breasted Kingfisher, Little Swift, White Breated Waterhen, Long Tailed Shrike, House Crow, Pied Wagtails, Red vented Bulbuls and a Black-Rumped Flameback. The next day a family excursion to the city of Rawalpindi and the only new bird added was a Crested Lark on the hard shoulder of the motorway. The motorway was becoming a haven for wildlife in the past i had seen Indian Partridges and Oriental Honey Buzzards. The area was fenced to stop the public crossing the carriageway wherever they felt like. The motorway police were very strict about how people drove as well as making sure it was run to an international standard. It was quite a pleasant and peaceful journey away from the hustle and bustle of South Asian daily life.

Look forward to hearing about more of your time in Pakistan

Looking forward as well to this trip report!
derek

I have made a number of business visits to Pakistan but always keep my binoculars and camera handy and have accumulated a reasonable list 'on the run'. Trips there have included being supplied with a personal armed guard with an AK47 for when I went wandering over some fields, threatened with being shot by a guard on a bridge who thought I was spying and nearly driving off a cliff when my driver took the wrong road: but I love the country! Most of my birding has been around Sialkot in the Punjab and along the roads from Lahore. A country that gets little coverage I would think

Thanks viator and Derek Charles! I will post some more soon!


@ Foxy - where did you have this armed guard supplied to you? Guards on bridges are very paranoid - they don't realise better technology exists than sending a man on a reconnaissance mission.

Have you ever been to Head Marala near Sialkot? An American Aid worker was not allowed to go there as it was too close to the Indian Border. If you go again do let me know - there is a small network of bird-watchers there and even more so bird photographers.

Hi, yes, I think Head Marala was where I was threatened by the guard: we drpve across the bridge and my hosts spoke to the guard and persuaded him to let me wander around and they drove back across and had a nap waiting for me. Trouble was they forgot to talk to the guard at the other end who didn't like someone wandering around with binoculars and camera!

Worth it for the ducks and Terns and a good tale for the grandchildren.

Moat of my other birding has consisted of asking my hosts to stop when I see something! Wouldbe happy to get on touch iwhen iI am there again. My e-mail [email protected]. You might be able to help me with some pictures?
Neil

Hi Neil,

Foreigners are not allowed near the border of India, which sadly where Head Marala is. There is paranoia around bridges and border areas - and everyone can be a spy belonging to a certain country! In the day and age of advances technology certain countries are more worried about bird-watchers with bins when there are satellites in space.

What ducks did you see? I am surprised you saw any as it is very heavily hunted or it was.

I will add more to the story report soon but for now photographs of common birds or some of them in early March around the North Western Plains of the country.



A female House Sparrow

House crow

Indian Roller

Black-Rumped Flameback - I wish I had seen it when it was lighter!

Brown Rock Chat - common visitor to the house and one expanding it's range westwards very fast. They have a beautiful song.

On the 4th day I decided to make a trip to the Swat Valley, a place I had not seen on my last few visits because of the insurgency. From 2006 there was growing Talibanisation and eventually by 2009 they controlled the district. What was once a popular holiday resort due to its milder weather in the summer and spectacular scenery had now become home to an austere interpretation of Islamic Law and cold blooded killing of any one who resisted. The Pakistan Army did eventually regain Swat although their role was questioned. We lived a five hour journey by public transport from Mingora, the main city in the Swat Valley. From Mardan the journey was northwards and upwards. Mingora was just under 1000 metres above sea level - maybe around 700 metres higher than Mardan. The journey through the Malakand hills was spectacular and here I added Ring Necked Parakeets, a Woodpigeon and Barn Swallows over the river. I had expected to see Ring Necked Parakeets on the first two days but they were on a decline and had begun to vanish from some areas. There were Barn Sawllows also present over the canal and further north into the valley in Swat. Were they passage birds? It was the 10th of March and the winter appeared to be a bit more extended than usual. Indian Pond herons and Asiatic House Martins were also present along the river. We passed a portion of the mountain which had been cut through to make the road, leaving a man made cliff almost and I picked up a bird creeping up with red markings. My cousin who was asleep on my shoulder was suddenly awakened by me jumping in the tightly crammed Hi-ace. He asked what was wrong? I got my book out and said I have just seen this. He muttered its beautiful rather indifferently. It was the most exciting bird I had seen from public transport. I had never seen a Wallcreeper before but had always wanted too. I just did not realise how easy I would see my first Wallcreeper. I had decided to catch a taxi from Mingora back to Mardan - a long journey but taxi's were fairly cheap in Pakistan. If I could get a photo of the Wallcreeper it would be worth the expenses. Another surprise was what could only have been two Jackdaws which were perched on a wire just before the main city. Two dark Corvids but with small bills completely unlike a House Crow in silhouette were perched. Jackdaws bred in a very restricted area within Pakistan, further to the east but at a similar elevation. However, winter visitors occured in the North and West in small numbers.

We did see House Crows, Common Mynas and House Sparrows as well. Once at the bus station we realised it was quite chilly. It was nice to see a Kestrel fly over. We stayed in the Pakistan Tourist Development Corporation (PTDC) Motel for the night. They had a reasonable green garden and within it we saw Jungle Mynas, not a life tick but new for the 2014 Pakistan list. There were also Long tailed Shrikes, Common Babblers, Pied Wagtails, few Ring-necked Parakeets and a roosting colony of Common Mynas and Red Vented Bulbuls, which were in excess of 100 each. In the distance I could see flocks of Jungle Crows also known as Thick-Biled Crows soar in the air.

The next morning we hired a taxi to take us to take us to Malam Jabba, a ski resort at over 2500 metres above sea level. It was approximately 40 kilometres from Saidu Sharif and a climb of over 1500 metres. There would be snow up there. We managed to get a taxi for 2500 Ruppees which would just have been around £15 for the day. I did wonder if the taxi driver knew what he had let himself in for. The first stop was the Swat River which gushed down and would eventually join the River Kabul further south. Within a minute I had seen Plumbeous Water Redstarts, White-Capped Water Redstarts, a Green Sandpiper, Grey Wagtails, Pied Wagtails, Barn Swallows, Cinerous Tits in the trees. We turned right which led us eastwards and climbed up the winding road. There were many security checkposts and we had to register. There was going to be a Skiing festival and such events could be prime targets for terror attacks. We handed our identity cards in. My cousin had a standard Pakistani ID card written in Urdu but I had a NICOP card, a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis which was in English. The guard looked at it and appeared very bemused. He kept turning it over but could not find anything that he could read on it, except the numbers. He took it inside and after a few minutes he came and handed it back. We were allowed to proceed. At another check post just a couples of miles away we were stopped again. I was asked why I had a camera and binoculars. I did feel like saying I will tell you why but promise you do not think I am strange? There was a level of paranoia and even though my complexion was similar and I was dressed how the locals dressed my body language was very different and when I opened my mouth my accent was different. There was a worry that I could be one of the foreign "guests" who had settled in some of the remoter areas to cause mayhem. Just past this checkpost was a good view of the river and here more Plumbeous Water Redstarts, White Capped Water Redstarts and a Grey Wagtail. I tried to take photographs but the weather was miserable and the birds kept playing musical stones. The road wound up and up and on either side were terraced fields for most of the journey. By this point the taxi driver named Ahmed was stopping and pointing at birds for me! He pointed out some Babblers, Red Vented Bulbuls and a much smaller bird which appeared quite yellow and was very small. He helped me get some close views and I had another lifer on my list - Grey Hooded Warbler. A few kilometres before the Malam Jabba Ski Resort and we decided to turn back as the snow was sticking to the road and we needed to put chains on to proceed. Visibility was greatly reduced. Driving in this country was bad enough as it is but with snow falling and poor visibility I thought it would be better not to take any risks. 50 metres after we turned back there were bird calls which sounded like some species of Tits and the familiar see-see-see sound of a Goldcrest. As in Britain various species would flock togethere here as well. I managed to spot Cinerous Tits, Rufous Naped Tits and a Goldcrest. There were other species in the flock but with snow falling I could not make out what they were. We drove on a head and after another 100 metres we stopped again. I wanted to record some video footage but I realised my digital video camera was missing! I had to get a clock and put it on and walked with the driver to the last place we stopped. I remember I had it here but could not see it. From the hillside a man came running down calling out to us. "Is this what you are looking for? My son found it and wondered what it was. I told him he should not have picked it up" I told him I was glad he did and gave his son a little cash gift. The father refused it but I said he is only a child he would be upset. As we dropped downwards the sun finally came out and patches of blue sky materialised. A small flock of Rock Buntings was another new bird to this years list. The Thick-billed Crows were out in force as well. Just as I was getting into the car a large raptor appeared - I managed to take a photograph of it and it matched a Long Legged Buzzard. I was happy to take a photograph of the bird as it soared over me. It was another new bird for the Pakistan 2014 list. We decided to stop at a confluence and hered I added a third lifer in the form of a Brown Dipper, which just flew like a bullet upstream. Even though I had spent a considerable amount of time near the Northern rivers in Pakistan, for some strange reason this species eluded me. Within the area were common Mynas, Long Tailed Shrikes and Cinerous Tits. Perched on a wire was a Himalayan Bulbul which I had to make my fourth lifer. I had almost certainly seen this species before however, I could not recall it. It was very similar to the White-Eared Bulbul and I also thought the Himalayan Bulbul was the darker and larger species. New birds to the Pakistan 2014 list here were a Blue Whistling Thrush, a Common Kingfisher and a Sparrowhawk chasing a small bird. White Capped Water Redstarts, Plumbeous Water Redstarts and a White Breasted Kingfisher were also present. I had to thank Ahmed our driver for the Common Kingfisher and also a displaying male Plumbeous Redstart. The latter was a dark blue bird with an almost red-orange tail. I had found it hard to photograph as I wanted light on the tail to make it contrast with the blue body. I looked where Ahmed was pointing and there was this bird singing with it's tail fanned out! I managed to take photographs and could not believe how lucky I was. Ahmed grinned "It is coming into sex" I laughed. After hello I think the second most commonly known word in the English language would have been sex. Pakistan always ranked very highly in the number of people searching Google using sexual words. There was an element of sexual frustration in the country. Having a girlfriend was considered socially unacceptable whilst both marriage and prostitutes could be very expensive. Porn was easily available especially with the advent on the internet.

It was after 5pm and we had to call it a day. It would be getting dark at 6.15pm. I had planned to go to Kalam, a resort less than 100km to the north but a journey of at least 3 hours. We could not go now so we decided to stay out of town on the bank of the Swat River. The area was known as Fiza Ghat. They were a number of hotels on the bank of the River but who often over charged. We found a hotel whose rate was 3000 ruppees for the night - around £20 for 2 beds. I did manage to tell them to drop it to 1500 ruppees as it was out of the tourist season, which ran from June to late August. Ahmed did it again. I had noticed a number of Little Egrets and Indian Pond Herons flying from the river in an easterly direction over us and on-wards. Ahmed had found their roost which was in a tree just outside of the hotel grounds. At least two Cattle Egrets which must have made their way first to the roost and dozens of Little Egrets and Pond Herons made their way. The latter two species were disruptive at the roost especially the Little Egrets which kept calling and flying in and out. I was a bit surprised to see these species so far north especially with the weather being colder than it usually was. As I watched the Egrets some of the workers at the hotel gathered round me to see what I was doing. The closest to me was one who appeared to be around the age of 15 and a cousin of the hotel receptionnist. As I looked took photographs I felt as if the load in my jacket pocket had increased. Was he attempting to put his hand in my pocket as i appeared engrossed and surrounded me a mini mob? I moved a little and felt the load in my pocket decrease. Within a couple of minutes the load was back. The young boy was once again the closest to that side of me and I decided to make a sudden movement again but this time i stepped forwards as if to get closer. I am sure he tried to put his hand in my pocket but I decided against saying anything just in case we created any problems for ourselves. Another new bird for the 2014 Pakistan list was the Tree Sparrow where a colony nested around the Hotel Suvastu, where we were staying. Around the hotel we saw Little Egrets, Pond herons, Cattle Egrets, Tree Sparrows, House Crows and Thick-billed Crows, Pied Wagtails, Common Mynas, Red Vented Bulbuls, a Blue Whistling Thrush, two White Capped Water Redstarts and a Long-Tailed Shrike just before the sun had set. I got out early and walked to the river bank. My visit paid off with a Wallcreeper flying on to the rocks around the river bed. It would scuttle over a rock and then peep over to have a look at me as I crept closer. I managed to take some photographs before it flew across to a rocky island in the middle of the river. I had very little knowledge about their behaviour but I was surprised to see it on the ground. This was my second sighting of a Wallcreeper in the last 24 hours. Other birds on the shoreline included Plumbeous water Redstarts, a Brown Dipper, Barn Swallows, Asiatic House Martins and Water Pipits. The latter were both new for the 2014 Pakistan list. Water Pipits were almost a lifer as the only one I had seen was a bird flying off in Jordan identified by a more experienced birder. I also counted 38 Little Egrets on the river bank, with the snow-capped peaks in the distance. I was back at the hotel grounds and was just overlooking a small marshy patch when I noticed a small dull looking Crake or a Rail running nearer to me and then into cover. I tried to take photographs but it was very fast. I should have got my video camera. I looked at the book to see what it could be. The only one that occasionally bred on the Northern rivers was the Baillon's Crake. It was clearly not a Moorhen or an adult Water Rail or even a White Breasted Water Hen. Whatever it was had got a way and my list of Rails and Crakes would be confined to Water Rail, Coot, Moorhen and White Breasted Water Hen for now at least.

We had decided to book a day out with Ahmed again to the Miandam valley which was slightly to the north-west. It was not going to be as difficult to get to as Malam Jabba as Miandam was lower yet he still wanted to charge us 2500 ruppees. Ahmed knew what I wanted and was good at finding it too so we decided not to get him to lower the price. Before we set off Ahmed said "did you spot the man talking to the hotel receptionnist just outside?" I said I did notice some one but why would have I paid attention? Ahmed said that he was in the army and he wanted to advise me that the binoculars I had were very dangerous and I should be careful where to use them. I felt like saying the binoculars are not going to explode at a security check post but had that got back I may have irritated them even more. I had no idea how the rather paranoid military staff had found out I had a pair of binoculars and who was worried about it's use here. The excessive checking and the fact that most locals complained the military and the Taliban were together made the locals resent these new green occupiers. Locals complained the army and the Taliban had checkposts within metres of each other. Once upon a time the Swat Valley was part of the hippy trail and saw many international tourists who could even slept outside safely on the streets. The region was peaceful and under the control of the Wali of Swat. Swat was a princely state and the Wali was the ruler. He was strict about the cutting of trees and hunting was controlled. However, in 1969 the State of Swat was dissolved and formed part of the North-West Frontier Province. With the transfer of power people started to cut down trees at a rapid rate to make money. Then in the early 1980's saw the most dramatic change the region had witnessed. The Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan made Pakistan a frontline state against the USSR and Communism. The Mujahideen, holy warriors were trained to fight the "infidel" Russians. They were indoctrinated with strict and aggressive forms of Islam which along with all the weaponry spilt into the Pashtun areas of North-Western Pakistan. Weapons meant for Afghanistan ended up all over Pakistan - wildlife populations were decimated. The rigid forms of Islam eventually influenced how people began to think and live and within Swat there were struggles for Islamic Law to be implemented. The region had seen a lot of bloodshed when the Taliban started taking control in 2007. There was shock within Pakistan when they had taken control and started to dictate terms and conditions to the Government. Eventually an Army operation was launched and the area was liberated.

On the way to Miadam Pied Wagtails, Red Vented Bulbuls, Common Mynas, Barn Swallows and Thick Billed crows were the usual suspects. As we drove up the valley a Common Buzzard appeared and after a few minutes a Long Legged Buzzard also appeared. Eurasian Crag Martins and Pale Martins were also present in the flocks of Barn Swallows. Once up in the valley of Miadam I could see the distant forest on the mountain slopes however, we would need to stay the night to visit these places. Lunch at the PTDC Hotel where there was a nice garden for me to birdwatch. There were of course Thick billed crows, Common Mynas, Cinerous Tits, Green Backed Tits as well as two Black-throated Tits, another lifer on the list. We decided to head to Kalam, which was 79km North and at 2400 metres above sea level. It was a long journey as so much of the road was damaged by the 2010 floods. We decided to half the fare of a shared Taxi. It took 2 hours to do the last 40 km. The damage to the road was bad. We could see how high the water had risen due to the heavy rains. We arrived at Kalam half an hour before sun set. There was an army checkpost before the start of the town-cum-resort. At the checkpost I was "advised" where to stay which I accepted as it was a cheap and decent place. It was at the start of the town so I was hoping more wildlife could be present. The room of the hotel was freezing. There was no heating just blankets of which 3 were needed to keep us warm. The beds themselves were also cold. We had to lay a blanket beneath us and warm the bed up by lying in it for an hour. From 10pm there would have been no electricity as well. On the grounds of the hotel were Cinerous Tit, Common Myna, Thick Billed crows, Plumbeous Water Redstart and a pair of Streaked Laughing Thrushes which were new for this years list. A bird which sounded familiar to for a moment looked very different. A grey headed, short billed, round yellow bird sat on the fence. I thought I had been lucky and added a new type of finch to my list but as I got closer the bird turned and bounced away with its long tail trailing. It was a Grey Wagtail but one that was looking very fine in the morning sun - the grey and the lemon yellow contrasting sharply. Kalam was a small town set at 2400 metres above sea level in an open valley with forested mountain sides. It was breathtaking - some of the peaks nearby were in excess of 5000 metres. The town had been devastated by the 2010 floods and many hotels built by the beautiful gushing River Ushu were swept away, revealing a dark side to the immense beauty. From here cars were limited how far they could travel but 4 x 4 were not. Kalam was a poor town but once opened upt to tourism the area had seen immense growth. The militancy had reduced tourism sharply to the area and then when security was established, floods came. As we drove north through the town a number of Thrushed appeared on the move? I thought they could be Fieldfare possibly but when I finally got a look there were at least one male Black-throated Thrush and two females. They were also winter visitors to the area but were they on their way back north now? We took a left turn, westwards and entered the Utrot Valley. Dissected by the River Utrort which joined the Ushu at Kalam, the valley was a tranquil paradise with a lot of forest cover. In some areas the valley narrowed down but mainly it was open. The wildlife here was spectacular. There were reports of Brown Bears, Black Bears, Wolves, Leopards, occasioanlly Snow Leopards, Ibex, Markhor, Musk Deer were some of the exotic larger species found here but none in great numbers sadly. Birds which occured here included Monal Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant, Himalayan Griffon, Golden Eagle and many others. On the way through the valley we travelled slowly as the road was not metalled, it was just a jeep track. The sun was rising but it was pale, nearly white and it's warmth was weak. Along the way we picked up Barn Swallows, Pied Wagtails, Grey Wagtails, Plumbeous Water Redstarts, Brown Dipper, Cinerous Tits, a Kestrel, Common Myna, Thick-billed Crows, Himalayan Bulbuls and another Wallcreeper! We turned back after arriving at the village of Gabral. On the way back Ahmed spotted a bird which he mentionned the local word for a Kite but I said it is a Sparrowhawk. It perched on the bottom branches of a Deodar and then dashed after a Pied wagtail, which then realised the danger it was in and turned towards me. The speed of both birds was was immense and I wwanted both birds to succeed in their aims. The Sparrowhawk flew back into a tree and began to wait patiently again. I turned around and scanned the ridges knowing full well a Lammergeier could appear and within one minute one did. First it gave a brief view and disappeared behind the ridge but it re-appeared, shape distinct, soaring with two mini-me's in the form of Ravens - there wedge shaped tails obsolete before that of the Lammergeier. Once near the town of Kalam we stopped in the forest and within a minute a Mistle Thrush appeared, a Scaly bellied Woodpecker called and a Himalayan Woodpecker drummed and flew on. Both Woodepckers would have been lifers but sadly I did not see the Scaly Bellied and the Mistle Thrush was new for the Pakistan 2014 list. We decided to head back to Lower Swat again for the night as tomorrow we wanted to be home earlier. On the way along the river two new birds fro the Pakistan list two female Mallards and a Eurasian Blackbird. The usual spects graced the riverside - both species of Water Redstarts and Wagtails - and a fourth Wallcreeper of the journey!

Back at Suvastu Hotel the Herons and Egrets were heading back to their roost. There were no new birds to add and the number appeared less than two nights ago. Watching Pakistani television you felt you were in a completely different country than in some areas of the country. A singer flirted with an actress on a guest show as they discussed one night stands! Here I was in an area where 99% of the females wore face veils and the nearly everybody dressed in traditional clothes unlike the urban areas. An early night was needed so I could get back on to the river bank. There was no sign of the Rail at the usual spot. Water Pipits, a Wallcreeper and the usual suspects were present on the river bank. The Wallcreeper flew across to a stony island in the middle obviously fed up of me trying to creep upon it to take a photograph. One more look for the Rail and within a minute I noticed something bobbing in the manner of a Moorhen. I managed to take photographs with my Panasonic Lumix and its 60x optical zoom. The bird was an olive brown from above and a dull grey beneath. One mandible of the bill appeared yellow, the other grey. Looking in the book it could only be a Brown Crake, which was a bit of a surprise! This was a very rare bird which was recorded around the Rawalpindi district, which in a straight line was still over 150km away if not much more and it was 500 metres lower than the altitude of this place. There was at the very most a very few records received from the Rawalpindi District. It was my 7th lifer and my most significant in the sense that it would be a vagrant here most likely. The bird did face some dangers - the smaller mongoose appeared and a number of stray dogs lazed around. The Brown Crake appeared again and not very far from it I saw something else moving! I was hoping it was not the mongoose sneaking up. There was a twist to this find - a second Brown Crake was present! Could it be a pair or a family group? How did two birds of the same species which had not been recorded anywhere near this region arrive at this irrelevant little spot? I was lucky to have photographed both birds together. After 10 minutes they both disappeared out of view. It was a great end to the trip to the Swat valley. I was hoping one day soon many people could visit the area free from threats and harm and enjoy the tranquil paradise as not so long ago many did. The people of Swat did not deserve the isolation that had fallen upon them. The state of Swat had many historical sites from the Buddhist period and one day I hoped they could explore their past here.

I have missed Carrion Crows from my Malam Jabba trip. Having a quick scan I had so far managed to see 63 different species on my trip so far

Red Vented Bulbuls and Long Tailed Shrikes in the Swat Valley.

Barn Swallow
Wallcreeper
Water Pipit

Like the Wallcreeper: one of my bogey birds and high on my 'must see' list. It has become a bit of an obsession to find one

Foxy said:

Like the Wallcreeper: one of my bogey birds and high on my 'must see' list. It has become a bit of an obsession to find one

Click to expand...

Likewise, despite many times in appropriate places in China never seen one. So next month trying Austria and surrounding countries!

Sorry for the late replies - I have been very lazy and disorganised.

I have attached some landscape photographs. The first two are of the area where my parents originate from and the next three are in the Swat Valley. The first one is Mount Ilam which was visible from our hotel and at around 3000 metres above sea level is the highest mountain the area.

All taken quite high up not too far from the Malam Jabba Ski Resort.

On the way back down the sun came out. It was clear that winter was giving way to spring here.

The Beauty of the Swat Valley - a peaceful heaven turned into a human slaughterhouse but hopefully seeing better days to come!

@ Viator and Foxy - any luck with the Wallcreeper yet?

Green Sandpiper, female Plumbeous Water Redstarts, Himalayan Bulbul and Long-legged Buzzard all from the Swat Valley, Pakistan March 2014.

Male Plumbeous Water Redstarts

White Throated Kingfisher

Himalayan Bulbul