Pakistan Mountains (1 Viewer)

[orni82]

Hello,
I will be birdwatching in Pakistan mountains in July. This is my first birdwatching focused visit in the high mountains (I did some trekking years ago in Nepal and India). The closest I have been is in Kazakhstan in the Tien Shan mountains near Almaty (Big Almaty Lake/ Observatory etc.) where I managed to pick up all the specialties (there are a few high altitude species in common with Pakistan). As the area is new to me I would like to ideally pick up a variety of maybe even more common species plus some specialties if possible.
Starting in Islamabad I will be visiting Margalla Hills, Kaghan Valley, Naran, Rama, Chilum, Gilgit, Naltar Valley.
If anyone has any tips and tricks on how to find birds in this type of setting as well as suggestions of some concrete good birding spots along the route/ near locations mentioned above, please share.
The local guide I have is more general wildlife/ sightseeing oriented - hence my inquiry

 

[orni82]

Also do you think it is worthwhile to visit Astore (Rama Lake/ Meadows, Tarishing Valley) and Challam (Deosai NP) for birdwatching?

 

[pbjosh]

I was in PK just about this time last year. It was only a shortish trip with a few primary objectives (White-cheeked Tit, Sind Woodpecker, Orange Bullfinch, Long-billed Bush-Warbler). I wrote up a brief / logistics focused trip report here:

https://www.cloudbirders.com/be4/download?filename=BECK_Pakistan_06_2023.pdf

There's also a brief thread that discusses my trip and recently DMW mentioned that Long-billed Bush-Warbler is scarcer this year than last in Naltar Valley:

Pakistan for Long-billed Bush-Warbler, June 2023

A bit late with this one but at least I wrote a report. Anyways, Andrew Spencer was wrapping up a long trip in Central Asia with a quick visit to Pakistan and the timing worked for me so off we went. We both loved it and it was honestly logistically quite an easy trip and the birding, food, and...

www.birdforum.net

Good luck!

 

[DMW]

I birded some of these areas last month.

1. Margalla Hills - a short taxi ride from Islamabad. Trail 5 is good for birding, especially at the spring which attracts a lot of birds coming in to drink. Trail 4 is less busy and the lower part is nice forest, but higher up it goes through dense shrubs and not so good. The main target is White-cheeked Tit, but the mostly broad-leaved forests here are very good for a variety of more common species.

2. Kaghan Valley - most birders concentrate on the forest and sub-alpine area above Shogran, mostly the jeep track up to Seri Paye Meadows. The best area is the mixed forest and shrubs between the roadside pond and Seri Paye. Most of the specialities are here (Orange Bullfinch, White-throated Tit etc), but Kashmir Nuthatch is easier in the Deodar forest lower down the track. Go early morning as the track gets very busy with jeeps after 10am.

3. Naltar Valley - there's good birding around Naltar Village. The main target here is Long-billed Bush Warbler. Check ebird for precise locations, all within easy walking distance.

I didn't visit Deosai but I've been told it's a beautiful area but has very low bird diversity. It's famous for Brown Bear but I'm not sure how easy it is to see here.

Most of Northern Pakistan is extremely under-birded and ripe for exploration. You're never going to see a high number of species in the higher parts of the Western Himalayas, but the scenery is spectacular and there's plenty to discover. The main determinant of where you go will depend on the amount of time you have and whether you have your own transport. Public transport in remote areas is limited and travel can be slow.

 

[DMW]

I was in PK just about this time last year. It was only a shortish trip with a few primary objectives (White-cheeked Tit, Sind Woodpecker, Orange Bullfinch, Long-billed Bush-Warbler). I wrote up a brief / logistics focused trip report here:

https://www.cloudbirders.com/be4/download?filename=BECK_Pakistan_06_2023.pdf

There's also a brief thread that discusses my trip and recently DMW mentioned that Long-billed Bush-Warbler is scarcer this year than last in Naltar Valley:

Pakistan for Long-billed Bush-Warbler, June 2023

A bit late with this one but at least I wrote a report. Anyways, Andrew Spencer was wrapping up a long trip in Central Asia with a quick visit to Pakistan and the timing worked for me so off we went. We both loved it and it was honestly logistically quite an easy trip and the birding, food, and...

www.birdforum.net

Good luck!

Josh's report is excellent and has a lot of very useful specific information.

 

[orni82]

I was in PK just about this time last year. It was only a shortish trip with a few primary objectives (White-cheeked Tit, Sind Woodpecker, Orange Bullfinch, Long-billed Bush-Warbler). I wrote up a brief / logistics focused trip report here:

https://www.cloudbirders.com/be4/download?filename=BECK_Pakistan_06_2023.pdf

There's also a brief thread that discusses my trip and recently DMW mentioned that Long-billed Bush-Warbler is scarcer this year than last in Naltar Valley:

Pakistan for Long-billed Bush-Warbler, June 2023

A bit late with this one but at least I wrote a report. Anyways, Andrew Spencer was wrapping up a long trip in Central Asia with a quick visit to Pakistan and the timing worked for me so off we went. We both loved it and it was honestly logistically quite an easy trip and the birding, food, and...

www.birdforum.net

Good luck!

Hi Josh! Thanks for linking and putting together this trip report in the first place. A lot of useful information

 

[Orioluskundoo]

Hello,
I will be birdwatching in Pakistan mountains in July. This is my first birdwatching focused visit in the high mountains (I did some trekking years ago in Nepal and India). The closest I have been is in Kazakhstan in the Tien Shan mountains near Almaty (Big Almaty Lake/ Observatory etc.) where I managed to pick up all the specialties (there are a few high altitude species in common with Pakistan). As the area is new to me I would like to ideally pick up a variety of maybe even more common species plus some specialties if possible.
Starting in Islamabad I will be visiting Margalla Hills, Kaghan Valley, Naran, Rama, Chilum, Gilgit, Naltar Valley.
If anyone has any tips and tricks on how to find birds in this type of setting as well as suggestions of some concrete good birding spots along the route/ near locations mentioned above, please share.
The local guide I have is more general wildlife/ sightseeing oriented - hence my inquiry

Hello there, glad to see interest in birdwatching here!

I am a resident birdwatcher from Karachi and connected with the birding community here. Your locations for Pakistan are perfect to get all those specialties such as Orange Bullfinch, White-cheeked and throated bushtits, Blyth's Rosefinch, Kashmir Nutcracker, and the best of them all, as mentioned above, Long-billed Bush-Warbler.

I myself just came back from a week long survey in Naltar valley to ascertain status of Long-billed Bush-Warblers in the valley and adjoining valleys with suitable habitat. We only found a single, non-calling bird in a week of extensive surveying. We are very worried about the species as is.
You will love Naltar, I can not seem to add the photos here but do check out ebird for updated information.

As mentioned above, Deosai does not have a lot to offer but Himalayan Brown bears are a treat and you can hire local guides for the bears which are reliable and easy to see on the open meadows. Rama lake forested areas are excellent for Nutcrackers and more.

Remember to get a SCOM simcard in Gilgit, that is the best performing one Up North.

Anyways, if you need help, guidance or support from a local birdwatcher, feel free to contact anytime!
I am putting down some relevant links for your help:

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Pakistan - eBird

ebird.org

My contact details are as follows if you need any on-ground local help;
[email protected]
+92 3243278922

 

[Orioluskundoo]

 

[orni82]

Guys thanks for all the intel! I land tomorrow and start with Margalla Hills on Monday and Tuesday morning.

 

[Orioluskundoo]

Goodluck with White-cheeked Bushtits, it is my nemesis!

 

[orni82]

Just a very short wrap up from my side. Over 12 days we have visited most of the key sites (Margalla Hills, Naran, Shogran (plus Sharan Forest), Babusar Pass, Gilgit, Naltar Valley as well as Rama Meadows, Tarishing, and Dao Sai. We have seen over 150 species but unfortunately we dipped all the main targets (White-cheeked Tit, Orange Bullfinch, Long-billed Bush-Warbler).
I prepared a trip report on ebird: https://ebird.org/tripreport/263054
If anyone wants to know more about the itinerary, logistics etc. please write me a message. I will not prepare the trip report soon.

 

[Orioluskundoo]

Excellent work! Some really good finds in the trip report. Just one question, were you able to get a good clear view of the carrion crows from Naltar? or any photos? For some reason we only saw Large-billeds there and well, dismissed all other 'black crows' as such which I now regret