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Indian Days ...a wander to the east (1 Viewer)

New Year's Eve with Flying Foxes

Some days back arrived in the Great Rann of Kutch - hot semi-desert, home to a few specials. Key target was Grey Hypocolius. Took a bus out to Moti Viram to a centre set up by an Indian birder, here accommodation and transport was available. Unfortunately the guy was out - so back to the footwork! Hiked and hitched 30 km up a maze of country roads, guessing at which direction to take, hoping I would somehow get to the correct place by dark. Somehow got there two hours before sunset, then had another problem - had no idea where the roost was, other than it should be in a 'toothbrush tree', whatever that might be. All directions looked the same - endless plains of bush scrub, so took a random guess again and headed off. Walked not so far when a villager found me, seemed to understand I was looking for a bird, then started yelling into the distance, whilst happily walking along beside me ...hmm, not going to help my quest to find this elusive bird I thought. Then the reason of his yelling materialised - another guy who uttered a few words of English, but pretty good words ... "Grey Hypocolius, this bush". Somehow, against all odds, I had stumbled to exactly the right spot! So I sat and waited ...15 minutes in flew a pair - what corkers, a mix of Waxwing, shrike and starling all thrown in together! Soon they dropped into the bush and went to sleep. Little later, a female popped in, then another. Wonderful. As the sun began to set, only one lingering doubt remained - how I was going to find my way back through the darkness to where I had dumped my bags 30 km back!

Next day, in this somewhat surreal landscape, bumped into Houbara Bustard, flocks of Indian Coursers and stacks more. Then, in the comfort of a jeep, returned to the Grey Hypocolius site for an eagle extravaganza - in the parched grasslands beyond the hycocolius roost, huge numbers of Steppe Eagles roost on the ground ...and really is huge numbers - drove out onto the open plain and just saw eagles everywhere. Ten sat there, a dozen in that direction, a scan that way another 30 or so. At a very conservative count, there were perhaps 150 scattered about, quite probably double that. Task was to find the few Tawny Eagles in with them - drive up to each one, check it out, then drive onto the next one. Big mighty eagles staring you out at just 10 or 15 metres away is something fantastic. In the evening, tried again for the Grey Hypocolius, but 'only' had a single female this time ...mind you, spent most of the time watching a cracking Cream-coloured Courser that came strutting up and put on a good show. A few Indian Nightjars finished the day off.

So to New Year's Eve, started the day with a twitch - two days before I had found a Red-tailed Wheatear, a particularly good bird, and later bumped into a British birder who was rather keen to get this one. So, hoping I would relocate which patch of arid rocks it was by, today we hiked the several kilometres back into the desert and I slightly surprised myself by refinding the spot, then was further surprised to fing the Red-tailed Wheatear was now two Red-tailed Wheatears! On the way back, ran into a darn good flock of Marchell's Ioras, easily 25 strong, so celebrated back in the village with a good cup of tea (Gujarat is dry in many a respect!).

Now returned to Bhuj, a small town on the edge of the Great Rann to prepare for the next leg of my trip ...but the last animals of 2005 were another of my favourites - flying foxes, hundreds of them. Emerging from a roost, these giant bats were coming over in waves, decending into a fruiting tree that hours before had supported a dozen or so Koels.

Happy New Year all!
 
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Dear Jos;

I'm Arpit who met you in the bhuj and guided you for the grey hypocolius site and other birding hot spot i was also there but sorry we couldn't met. But i can see that you had really great birding in kutch and great rann area. I would really like to join you in the fields but as i told you earlier i had a group from uk for birding and i was their official guide for this region. if you can show me the place for red-tailed wheater it will indeed a great thing. I had seen this bird only once. But on 30th dec, 1st and 2nd jan, we got 3 white-naped tit, they give us the great view. i got some great footage of this bird on my video camera.

Great birding ahead ......
 
jurek said:
Happy New Year, Jos!

I see you have a good time - lucky to find hypocolius without a guide!
Click to expand...
Not a guide-type of person, much prefer to set out out on my own and hope for the best - always seems to work out. A few good trip reports is all you need (and yours Jurek was very a good one). :) Actually, having now left Gujarat and back in Rajasthan, there is no need to use guides at almost any sites.

The trip continues...

Having seen all I wanted in the Great Rann, it was time to begin the great trek back eastward! Adding Gujarat to a birding trip to India equals one heck of a lot of hours on bus or train or both! On the way back, but before finally departing Gujarat, there was one more port of call - the Little Rann, a vast area of thousands of square kilometres that is, depending on the monsoon, either an enormous inland lake, teeming in countless thousand waterbirds, or a dust bowl and salt-crusted pan not very rich in waterbirds! Rains were poor this year, consequently it was dust option on offer this year, but not to matter the big attraction here are the Asiatic Wild Ass, the entire worls population of 3000 or so are here and it was them I was off to see. I did consider doing the standard method of renting jeep and guide, but legwork had been doing pretty good up to then, so struck off out again - took a local bus to a village of the edge of the Rann near Bajana, the only part of the Little Rann holding much water this year. From there, started to walk ...fantastic stuff again, huge lark flocks everywhere, hundreds strong (most Short-toed Larks, but also Crested Larks, Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark and a few Syke's Larks). Also thousands upon thousands of Common Cranes and on the saltpans, huge numbers too of Lesser Flamingoes, some trailing youngsters. Pelicans of both species, a good variety of herons and wildfowl, then after about two hours of walking, I spotted two things - a Peregrine hurtling over and a a mound from an excavated saltpool. Now that mound proved very useful - from sat atop, whilst having a nice cuppa from my flask, I spotted the Wild Ass, wonderful! Took me the best part of the next 40 minutes to get to then - I'm not exactly a fast walker when surrounded by oodles of Desert Wheatears, Isabelline Shrikes and other assorted goodies! Anyhow, eventually there I was, sat out in the middle of nowhere, the sun beating down, not a soul anywhere to be seen, but about 35 Wild Ass in three small herds scattered around me, a backdrop of Cranes and a few Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse here and there to provide the added extra. Another great moment on a trip that has been full of great moments.
Next day wasn't such a great moment - one six hour bus, then stuck in a grotty city for too many hours (only enlivened by hundreds of Black Kites overhead), then another fourteen hour overnight bus, followed by a quick breather to do a bit of birding, then a four hour train ...and now back at Bharatpur.
 
19 skimmers and a dead body!

Today was the day of the Chambal River. Took a bus out from Agra Fort station, managed a brief distant of a glimpse Taj Mahel, then trundled off south-west for three hours or so.

Nearing the river, the last couple of kilometres descend through semi-desert and 'wild-west' style ravines before a broad sparkling Chambal River opens before you with wide sand banks and a pontoon bridge crossing. Jumped out at the pontoon and was immediately impressed by 24 Egyptian Vultures huddled round together, a good size flock. Then I noticed what they were feeding on ...a dead body washed up just below the pontoon! Fairly disgusting I have to say.

Next up, a guide from the rather expensive Chambal Safari Company rolled up and first said it was impossible to see anything without their boat, then tried to say tourists were not allowed to walk. Ignored them and set off, initially choosing downriver. Excellent birding - walked a total of 3 km and within minutes was seeing the first River Lapwings, three Sand Larks and plenty of River terns. Continuing, I came across a small sand island which, in addition to the River Terns, held an exquisite pair of Black-bellied Terns - what fab little birds! Just at this point, a Saker Falcon made a dramatic entrance, storming in across the sand banks, causing not little commotion amongst the River Lapwings. As it passed over the river, the Black-bellied Terns got narked too and the last sight I had of all was the Saker heading upriver with the two terns hot on its tail! Not much further up, a slightly larger island held some 'white blobs' - in the haze I was hoping they would be skimmers, but closer it turned out they were 'just' Great Black-headed Gulls! Pretty happy with these as prior to the six on that island I had only seen a single on this trip. Osprey and Pied Kingfisher also here. With no sign of skimmers, I decided to cut back and try the other direction, so returned to the start point (flushing a Black Francolin on route and seeing a good few Desert Wheatears and Rufous-tailed Prinias).

At the pontoon, a dog and some crows had joined the feast on the corpse.

My walk upriver was even better. More wildfowl up this way - large flocks of Bar-headed Geese and, first of the trip, Red-crested Pochards. A Silkeer Malkoha in riverside scrub was a good find, shortly followed by the first crocodile of the day - a Mugger. About 2km up, the Chambal Safari guides went by in a boat, stopped and tried to tell me it was too dangerous to walk 'due to crocodiles'. Told them I was a South African and crocodiles weren't so bad! Then they told me that there were only two skimmers on the river that day and that they were 10 km upriver, far too far to walk, but naturally they would be happy to take me in their boat! I declined their offer and continued my walk ...not much more than 500 metres further and there were my birds! Nineteen Indian Skimmers lined up on a sand bar, complete with perhaps 35 River Terns. Brilliant birds - sat and watched them for a good half hour. Every so often, something would spook them and they'd give a nice flight back and fro across the river before resettling. A little Garial Crocodile was up on the bank just opposite.

By now, afternoon was dragging on, so walked back to the pontoon, seeing an enormous Garial en route, by far the biggest one I have ever encountered. Arrived back to met the Chambal Safari guys again. Having now finished my walk and seen the skimmers, they seemed eager to chat, said it 'was good' to meet an independant birder in these parts, blah blah. Offered me a free lift back up to the village, but politely declined once again and all too soon I was on the back of a passing motorbike, zooming back towards Agra. Vultures were back on the man.

Maybe tomorrow I will actually get to see that Taj Mahal from a bit closer!
 
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The Shadow of the Taj

My second trip to India and nigh on the last day, finally made it to see the Taj Mahal. Can't see what all the fuss is myself ...mind you those Egyptian Vultures roosting on the domes don't half look good! Okay I have to confess, it is one pretty impressive building, but the birding is pretty good too - if you can hold your nose, the Yamuna River behind the Taj, for all its stink, teems with birds - best were three Great Black-headed Gulls, a dozen or so River lapwings, scores of waders, mostly Temminck's Stints, Black-winged Stilts, Avocets and Ruff, plus a few Pied Kingfishers, plenty of Great White Egrets and an assortment of other herons and cormorants. As well as the river, within minutes of the East Gate and you're in scrub, woodland and farmland, with all its many common birds. Great views of the Taj between the forest and especially from the river a few hundred metres east, it is certainly a rather plush birding locality! The scrub knocked up nothing out of the ordinary, but proved a great wander - birding rural India just a couple of hundred metres from the country's number one tourist attraction! Main things seen Greater Coucal, Hoopoe, Great Grey and Jungle Babblers, Ashy Prinias, several Grey Francolins. ...and not a single tourist!

With that, took a stroll into the busy bazaar just south of the Taj, found a rooftop restaurant and soaked in the gaze of clouds of Black Kites and occasional Egyptian Vultures circling above the Taj Mahal. Birding almost over for this trip, did the obligatory bit of shopping, then caught the late afternoon train to Delhi.
 
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And then it was all over...

Had planned a dawn trip to the Yamuna River at Okhla, a good four or five new birds could have been on offer, but frankly I couldn't be bothered and given Delhi's traffic medlam the chances of making it to the airport for 10.30 a.m. wouldn't have been so good! So, instead had breakfast in the city and headed out. Last birds of the trip were the many Black Kites over the city and, as the plane thundered down the runway for take-off, a Black-shouldered Kite hovering just by the side.

Nine hours later back under the gloomy skies of London and not many more back in the snow and sub-zero of Lithuania. Dug my car out of the snow drift it had sat under for over five weeks, finally managed to open the frozen doors and was dead impressed that old wreck of a car started first time!

Got home and 55 Waxwings in the garden, welcome back to Lithuania!
 
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You had to finish your Indian Trip with my blocker bird abroad, Black Shouldered Kite. lol

Excellent reports of your trip Jos. Thoroughly enjoyed them. I can also picture the Waxwings in your garden, you lucky s*d.

I hope you have plenty of photos to add to the gallery and this thread. Some of them sound like they could be very interesting images.
 
gripped

Hi Joss,

Thanks for your report. I've spent more than a year and a half in the Indian Subcontinent and still need Hypocolius, Saker, Black-bellied Tern and Indian Spotted Eagle. Particularly useful to hear of your sites for the Hypocolius and B-b Terns as I too generally just bird on public transport with no guides. Good luck on your next trip.
 
Will be a full trip report available soon, let me know if anybody wants a copy. Might get round to posting up some pics too soon.

Only a week ago, but seems yonks ago already ...it's heading for minus 32 C here tonight and I think I'm gonna die!
 
India and Corbett

Anyone got any advice for watching a few of our feathered friends at Corbett NP? I'm off there in March for a few days after a work conference. Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks everyone.

Jos Stratford said:
The UK bit

Sure turned out to be a good choice to decide on a flight via London - with three precious daylight hours spare between my flight from Vilnius and my outbound to Delhi, it gave me just enough chance to get my first eastern bird of the trip - the Rainham Sociable Plover!
Now what ever happened to British twitching? Being necessarily short of time, I had expected to turn up, find the assembled scopes and get told 'there it is'! Hmm, nothing like that - after legging it through customs at Stansted, racing round the M25, parking up by the burger stand just up from the reserve, made a brisk stroll up to the seawall to find not a single other birder there! Plenty of Lapwings though, in fact more than plenty - all over the foreshore and a good few round the pool too. Started the search and after an hour, with not the slight flash of that distinctive wing pattern, I began to think it was not going to be. Sent a message to Mr H to ask if the pagers were saying anything, but then almost like a miracle, just as the afternoon sun came out, suddenly I picked it up! A flock of Lapwings had got into the air, I had scoped through and now it was right in the middle of my scope – flew straight towards me, almost overhead, then circled back to land by the pool. On the ground a mere blob in the distance, but what a bird in the air! Waited some time and was treated to it again in the air, but by now the sun was setting and it was time to head off.

First stop, Bharatpur

After a night in South Wales, was up early for the zoom down the motorway for my flight from Heathrow. Departed the cool gloomy London at midday and arrived in the warm airs of Delhi at 2.00 a.m. local time. Not wishing to hit the hellhole that is Delhi, jumped straight in a taxi, went to sleep on the backseat and some hours later woke to the wonders of Bharatpur! The birding was about to begin!

Though sense would say a sleep was in order, Keoladeo National Park was just a five minute walk away …so off I went. Not long after, a first Spotted Owlet was peering down at me, sharing a tree with Black-rumped Flamebacks, Rufous Treepie and few other stonky colourful bids – a good start. Following a good monsoon, the park is enjoying plentiful waters, so it is close to its best again this year. Hundreds of pairs of Painted Storks drap the branches of submerged trees, a goos scattering of Openbill Storks too. Add the thousands of cormorants (Great, Indian and Little) and hundreds of various herons and egrets, not to forget the flocks of Spoonbills and Glossy Ibis and the hordes of palearctic ducks and geese, and you begin to get the picture of what I was seeing. One bit sad to see moment, a turtle grabbed a Coot by its leg and over the course of almost twenty minutes slowly pulled the bird under, the Coot fighting the whole time - have to admit, I did contempate wading out and saving it, but I guess its just the course of nature ...besides it was quite far out and not sure how deep, plus maybe I would become the first case where a pissed off turtle took a fancy to my toes :bounce:

Though I was now getting decidedly sleepy, I decided to take a mid-afternoon wander round to a marsh I knew from a prior trip. Got there and took a quick nap under a tree, opening my eyes every few moments to enjoy the White-tailed Lapwings prancing about, a nice pair of Sarus Cranes with two chicks in tow and also a couple of pairs of mighty Black-necked Storks. Raptors were ever present and on this first day, in no particular order, included several Greater Spotted Eagles, Indian Lesser Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle and ‘lesser’ raptors such as Black-shouldered Kite Marsh Harrier. Finished off by taking a wander to the Ranbund – plenty here, including two races of Citrine Wagtail, a Striated Heron, a flock of Yellow-footed Green Pigeons and yet more nesting Painted Storks. Wildfowl in big abundance too - Bar-headed Geese do look smart in focks of their hundreds.
By now the need for sleep was catching up with me, so staggering off, past a bunch of Jackals and two Wild Boars arguing over a dead cow, I finally returned to the hotel and hit the pillow!

Next day was even better – but that is to come :t:
Click to expand...
 
Tim Allwood said:
watcha mate

glad u got the gen and the hypo...

send us a copy some time

looking forward to the pix

Tim
Click to expand...

I am realy looking forward to those pics. Come on Jos, get posting.

John
 
Sussex bird man said:
Anyone got any advice for watching a few of our feathered friends at Corbett NP? I'm off there in March for a few days after a work conference. Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you would want to book bird guide with jeep in advance.

Otherwise, birding inside national park is impossible on foot (tigers), you can bird very well outside around Ramangar and Kumeria.
 
Corbett is ace ...and in there immediate area around the main camp, you can bird on foot (this means round the camp itself and on a short walk to an observation tower). However, even better than that, the camp overlooks a lake, river and adjacent grassland and from the comfort of a deckchair (should you so wish) you can get Lesser Fish Eagles to the left, Pied Harriers back and fro in front, a good bunch of vultures loafing about and stacks more. Also usually elephants by the river and tiger quite regularly seen from the camp and observation tower too. However, a jeep is needed for the rest - you can book in advance as Jurek suggested, but it is easy to do in Ramnagar when you arrive. Totally fabulous birding at Ramnagar and even better at Kumeria - send your e-mail to me (by PM) and I'll send you a trip report from my last time to Corbett.
 
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