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Western India Jan 2019 (1 Viewer)

Rgallardy

Well-known member
Hi all,

With a bit of time off from work, Melissa and I, along with a few friends headed to western India for Dec 28-Jan 12. The main goal of the trip was to see Great Indian Bustard, but with 15 day to bird, we covered the "standard" Western Indian itinerary plus an extra day south of Ahmadabad.

The first stop of the trip was Harike which is located in the far north west, quite a drive from Delhi. The main reason for visiting here is a few range restricted species, specifically Jerdon's Babbler ssp scindicum, Rufous-vented Prinia, Sind Sparrow, and Brooke's Leaf Warbler.

Check out the blog for more details on our time in Harike

https://budgetbirders.com/2019/01/22/india-harike-indian-beginnings/

Best,

Ross
 
After the successful time at Harike, we headed south towards the town of Tal Chappar. There's two main reasons to visit this area; 1. Indian Spotted Creeper 2. Blackbucks. We started the morning about 45 minutes southeast of Tal Chappar in an area with a decent supply of Khejri trees which is the favored tree of the creeper. Luckily it didn't take long to find our target so then we drove to the Blackbuck reserve next to Tal Chappar to see one of the best antelope in the world.

Check out the blog for more about the day including the evening visit to the Bikaner cattle dump for pigeons and vultures!

https://budgetbirders.com/2019/01/27/india-tal-chappar/

Best,

Ross
 
Great Indian Bustard!

Well after finishing up Tal Chappar and stopping by Bikaner and Khichan, we finally made it to Jaisalmer, the city on the outskirts of Desert National Park (DNP). We arrived midday on the 31st of Dec, stopping by Akhil Desert park where we picked up Striolated Bunting, Red-tailed Wheatear, Indina Eagle Owl, and a surprise Syke's Nightjar. Eventually we settled in to our hostel for the night and tried to get some sleep (it was NYE in a party town so things were a bit noisy!)

The next morning we met our local guide before light and headed in to DNP to where Urash had last seen the bustards. Our hopes were high as bustard sightings had been pretty numerous the past few weeks and to our surprise the FIRST bird of the year was a group of 5 Indian Bustards flying by! We tracked the birds to where they landed, but unfortunately they were quite distant. Still really crazy to get that bird as the first bird of the year, we hadn't even seen a lark or wheatear yet! The rest of the day was spent in DNP were we finally managed better looks at the bustards later in the afternoon which you can read more about on the blog!

https://budgetbirders.com/2019/02/04/india-jaisalmer-the-great-indian-bustard/

Best,

Ross
 
Surprised you didn't mention Yellow-eyed Stock Dove / Pigeon for Harike Ross, wasn't it the best place to get them at one point or am I increasing senile?
 
Harike you mean or Bikaner?
Harike has been on the birding map since long, but because of the range extension of Sind Sparrow in the direction of Delhi, most birding tours don't visit this site as it's a long drive (or a short flight) for only one site (nothing much of interest nearby).

Since Jerdon's (Sind) Babbler has been recognised as something special in taxonomy, and with a support cast of e.g. White-crowned Penduline-tit, Harike is making a come-back. Yellow-eyed (stock) Dove of Pale-backed Pigeon should winter there, but the carcass dump in Bikaner is by far the best place it seems. I don't remember many sightings of the dove in Harike.
 
Harike you mean or Bikaner?
Harike has been on the birding map since long, but because of the range extension of Sind Sparrow in the direction of Delhi, most birding tours don't visit this site as it's a long drive (or a short flight) for only one site (nothing much of interest nearby).

Since Jerdon's (Sind) Babbler has been recognised as something special in taxonomy, and with a support cast of e.g. White-crowned Penduline-tit, Harike is making a come-back. Yellow-eyed (stock) Dove of Pale-backed Pigeon should winter there, but the carcass dump in Bikaner is by far the best place it seems. I don't remember many sightings of the dove in Harike.

I'll see if I can find the article but I definitely know Harike from the article on the Stock Doves.

Edit: I'm confused now (seems to be a permanent state recently), I found the article (Vol 9-4 1996) but it only deals with seeing them in the WP so I now have no idea where I got the name Harike and it's association with the species?
 
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There was a large (as in hundreds) winter roost of the doves in the trees next to the Sikh temple at Harike, but as far as I am aware this disappeared some years ago. Certainly I didn't see any in 2011.

Harike is a great place, and in addition to the birds Temmie mentions also has Rufous--vented Prinia.
 
There was a large (as in hundreds) winter roost of the doves in the trees next to the Sikh temple at Harike, but as far as I am aware this disappeared some years ago. Certainly I didn't see any in 2011.

Harike is a great place, and in addition to the birds Temmie mentions also has Rufous--vented Prinia.

This is exactly what I recall but no idea now where I got that from?
 
This is exactly what I recall but no idea now where I got that from?

I think it was pretty much common knowledge among keen birders visiting India back in the day, and if I had to guess I suspect you might have heard from either posts on the OB forum, or from the OB journal. It might even be mentioned in KK's India birding guide.
 
This is exactly what I recall but no idea now where I got that from?

Harike and wintering Yellow-eyed Pigeons (up to 2000) are mentioned in Krys Kazmierczak ''A birdwatchers guide to India. It was published in 1998, but when I visited in March 2003 I didn't see a single one there (!)

Jens
 
I think it was pretty much common knowledge among keen birders visiting India back in the day, and if I had to guess I suspect you might have heard from either posts on the OB forum, or from the OB journal. It might even be mentioned in KK's India birding guide.

Thanks, probably the journal/s.
 
Nice report. Reminds me of the trips i made to Nanaj Sanctuary in Maharashtra to see the Great Indian Bustard. The last was in 2002. We did have good sightings then. I wonder what it will look like now ?
Cheers
Vaidya
 
Harike and wintering Yellow-eyed Pigeons (up to 2000) are mentioned in Krys Kazmierczak ''A birdwatchers guide to India. It was published in 1998, but when I visited in March 2003 I didn't see a single one there (!)

Jens

This was my experience behind the temple too....the trees were full of crows instead at roosting time, so I wondered if they had moved in at the expense of the doves.
 
Siana and Mt Abu

Yikes, I missed all the conversation. Sorry, been away birding south Florida for a few days!

Anyways, after the successful search for the bustard it was off to Siana, an area of dry thorn forest with rocky outcrops. We didn't have a ton of details on where to bird in this area, but luckily did have a few GPS points from friends so headed off in search of a few targets including a trifecta of buntings and White-bellied Minivet. Unfortunately, some in the group didn't want to leave at 0200 so the compromised departure of 0430 meant we didn't arrive until midday and it was hot. After a fairly unsuccessful hike, we tried to find accommodation for the night and ended up at the Siana Resort, an absolutely wonderful little place. It was a bit expensive, but we decided to stay there as the owner's son has good locations for all the birds and was willing to help out (plus there really isn't any other options in the area)

We spent the evening and next day cleaning up on the targets of the area and then headed off to Mt Abu to look for the range restricted Green Avadavat. Luckily that search was pretty uneventful and successful with great looks at a little group for avadavats.

Also at Siana I managed to pick up my 6,000th bird, Eastern Orphean Warbler, just a few short weeks before my 30th!

Check out the blog for more on the trip to Siana and Mt Abu.

https://budgetbirders.com/2019/02/12/india-siana-where-ross-hits-6000/

Best,

Ross
 
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