India February 2024: Uttarakhand, Corbett, Birds and Mammals

[Kitsafari]

Gorgeous views. Gorgeous birds. Gorgeous photos. 

 

 

[Galana]

Oh, shoot! Vangat is the clincher for me. My kind of place.  I can see India climbing back up the stem of my marigold. Now I need to correlate it with my diary.

 

Great birds from my balcony ticks the final box.

[xelas]

If only there would be a bridge, of any type. I cannot imagine Zvezda would use a raft … maybe if Fred would give her moral support ?!

 

Fantastic place. Our naturalist from Tadoba supposed to become a manager there but has change his plans.

Edited May 26 by xelas

[TonyQ]

@Kitsafarithank you

@Galanago for it!

@xelasthe river is very shallow, and when we were there slow moving. You also must wear a helmet and lifejacket. The crossing was also very short. I you search YouTube I am sure you could find videos of the crossing.

 

So to continue.

We met up with JayP and our new driver "Gudoo" who would drive us for the rest of our trip. Again he was a safe careful driver.

 

Our first stop was to go to the Kosi River near Ramnagar.

We searched along the river - firstly seeing

A Little Ringed Plover

We were searching for a particular bird that is much prized. JayP said that the time of day wasn't ideal, but we would look along different parts of the river.

Kosi River

and then we (JayP) saw what we were looking for

The Ibisbill working along the rocks in the river

 

We were delighted to get such a good view of this bird. We know that it is not always seen, so this was a real pleasure.

A bit further along the river was a famous temple

Garjiya Devi Temple

It was much busier at that section of the rive, with pilgrims, worshippers and people bathing

 

It was getting quite hot now, so we stopped for a drink

 

We then carried on towards Ramnagar and enjoyed seeing some of the birds on the river

Great Cormorant, Little Egret and Ruddy Shelduck

Ruddy Shelduck

Red-nape Ibis

 

We then went to the house of Sumantha Ghosh, the owner of Rural Traveller and the man who organised our trip. He had invited us to lunch (home made Pakora and tea) and to meet his wife and family. That was a very nice touch and it was a pleasure to stop there.

 

After this we would head towards Sattal and The BIrder's Den

Edited May 30 by TonyQ

[Galana]

More lovely reminders of Corbett area for me. I remember the Temple and running the gauntlet of the Bazaar stall holders well.

Nice Ibisbill and Little Ringed Plover.

More please. My tastebuds are in training.

[janzin]

Ah we stopped at that same temple, but unfortunately missed the Ibisbill--not for lack of trying!

 

Really eager to hear of your Birder's Den experience, since ours (except for the hide) was so dismal!

[TonyQ]

@Galanathank you

@janzin  - you will now fond out

 

The drive from Ramnagar is 2 ½ to 3 hours  (the change in altitude is from 345m to about 1370m)

Birder's Den

http://harilamabirding.com/birders-den/

 

(I couldn’t find a website – this one is from one of the owners)

 

There are a number of different types of rooms, some in detached buildings, but we were in a first floor room in the main building. The room was simple, clean, the bed was comfortable. The bathroom was fine (hot water, bucket shower arrangement, flushing toilet). There was a small heater in the room – not very powerful but useful after showering. Our room had a balcony. JayP had the room next to ours.

 

There was wifi available in the restaurant and the reception area.

 

Food was enjoyable. Fairly simple Indian food, almost all vegetarian (though sometimes a chicken dish was available which was placed in a different area to the veggie food).  Typically, we would have a veg curry or two, a paneer curry, dal, and plenty of rice/chapatis. Food was plentiful.

We would have tea after a meal, though I think they did have beer. We drank bottled water – filtered is available – but I think Janzin became ill while here. (Vanghat was the only place we drank filtered water as it was clear where the source was)

 

We arranged our itinerary so that we would be here mid-week as we think it is quite popular with weekenders (particularly photographers)  from Delhi. There were other quests here but it was not full or crowded.

 

We had three nights here. One of the main attractions is the Birding Hide, where food is put out to bring birds in. There are also nice grounds to explore. We also wanted to spend time birding in the area.

 

ON arrival we had a quick look in the hide, and a quick walk around the grounds as the light was getting low

An Asian Barred Owlet

A Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher

 

After a good sleep (despite some local wedding music!), we set off to explore some of the local area. We visited an interesting stream in the Chafi (we would return to it a few times)

We would drive along the road, stop and get out to explore and then be picked up again by the car

Stream

We spent a while searching for Forktails - birds we were very keen to see

A pair of Spotted Forktails

And another ome from a later visit

A Crested Kingfisher looked down on us

A lovely Yellow-bellied Fantail

And in a field, A Red-billed Blue Magpie helped itself to some fruit

It started to rain (the only rain of the trip) so we headed back to the BIrder's Den to shelter in the hide

 

[TonyQ]

There were a few people in the hide, but it was not crowded. We sat on plastic chairs, and were sheltered from the rain. The hide is well set up, and you are much closer to the birds than out in the forest.

A stunning Common Green Magpie - the only time we saw one

A Wet Great Barbet

A White-throated Laughingthrush

A Rufous Sibia

Rusty-cheeked Scimitarbill

White-crested Laughingthrush

 

[TonyQ]

A few more from the hide

A Greater Yellownape

A Blue-winged Minla

A Lesser Yellownape

We then returned to our room before lunch. From the bedroom window we saw (through the glass)

A Striated Laughingthrush - we saw these from the hide also, but it is always a good bonus to see birds from the room!

 

Edited June 15 by TonyQ

[TonyQ]

The rain stopped over lunchtime, so after a good lunch and a cup of coffee, we headed out again, returning to the Chafi area. We really liked it here, bits of walking, seeing what we  (JayP!) could find.

We saw a Grey Langur

A Black-chinned Babbler

And then a couple of stunning birds that were very tolerant of people

A Rufous-bellied Niltava

 

and the wonderfully named Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher - which sat and looked at us

[TonyQ]

Looking further on, on a different section of the river

A Slaty Forktail

 

A beautiful Small Niltava

And yeat further on, near a small village, the river grew wider

 

A Wallcreeper - we had seen one at Vanghat, but it was much closer here

Showing the striking wing pattern

 

 

 

[TonyQ]

We returned back to BIrders Den and paid a brief visit to the hide

 

On the way (in the grounds)

A White-throated Fantail showing why it has that name

And in the hide

Red-billed Leiothrix

A Brown-fronted Woodpecker

A female Kalij Pheasant

It was beginning to get dark. JayP alerted us to ome movement in a bank and bushes on our left, and we surprised to see

A Yellow-throated Marten

Taking advantage of food put out for the birds.

So a thoroughly enjoyable first day.

[janzin]

Clearly they've improved Birder's Den since we visited right before the pandemic   Perhaps they took the pandemic time to renovate. As my report said, we had no heat, no heater, a barren room with beds like a rock, and inedible food (and I did get deathly ill there.) But, clearly the hide still delivers! We did love birding from the hide and the surrounding area (I remember that stream well, with all the Forktails!) On the basis of your report I might even chance a return stay in the future.

 

Anyway, wonderful photos and congratulations on the Marten, that's amazing!

 

 

[KaliCA]

Such wonderful pictures of a great variety of  colorful birds. All unknown to me. Not surprising, since I’m not a birder. But I appreciate each picture. 
I have seen Marten in Grand Tetons, but they were all  blown-black. What a great find!

thank you for sharing. 

 

Edited June 2 by KaliCA

[xelas]

Amazing location! I could survive on vegetarian food only for such amazing birds!

[Kitsafari]

wow such lovely birds! 

[TonyQ]

@janzinit is good that they have improved Birder's Den. I think the weather was colder when you were there (didn't you have a road closed by snow?) so that probably didn't help with comfort!

@KaliCAthank you. We have a Marten in the UK also, but I think it is smaller than this one.

@xelasthank you. We don't eat meat so we do not miss it!. A mumber of places do have meat (I think Dhikala and Vanghat do not). I think it is worth the sacrifice...

@Kitsafarithank you

 

Continuing - day 2 at Birder's Den

 

Next morning we visited the Birder’s Den Hide before breakfast. We would try to see some different birds that only come early in the morning

Our only sighting of this bird, Rufous-chinned Laughing Thrush

Rufous-chinned Laughing Thrush

 

It was very low light at this stage, ( iso10000)

A Grey-headed Woodpecker obligingly sat in some sunshine

A Rufous-throated Partridge also visited (again our only sighting)

 

Then A Black Francolin  male

And female.

 

 

That was our last visit to the hide. It is well set up and does give you a chance to see birds much more closely than you often would outside. It  gives a chance for good photographs of some difficult to see birds.

 

It was enjoyable, but we didn’t love the hide as much as we thought we would. For example, the Black Francolin sighting we had at Corbett was much more exciting than the one here, even though the view wasn’t as clear and the bird was a bit more distant. I am pleased with some of the photos taken here, but getting a decent photo of a bird out in the countryside we found more enjoyable and satisfying. We loved the time we spent in the Chafi area by the river, and in other parts of Sattal. Walking, searching and eventually finding interesting an beautiful birds.

 

JayP doesn’t really like the hide. He thinks that this one, and a number of others in the Sattal area distort bird behaviour and attract them in from the forest, making them harder to see in their more natural habitat.

 

HHowever, it is a good place for photography.

[TonyQ]

After breakfast we went to a different area in a forest, passing a local temple

near one of the lakes of Sattal and began to walk along various trails.

 

 

We spent some time searching some scrubby undergrowth until JayP was able to show us a tiny, beautiful bird. The Chestnut-headed Tesia is only 8cm (as a comparison, the Eurasian Wren is 9cm).

 

It jumped about in the undergrowth in very low light. It was a real treat to see it, and an example of the excitement (for us) of finding such a bird.

 

 

I should say that JayP does not use “playback” to attract birds, and doesn’t feed them.

He relies on knowledge of the environment, the bird’s behaviour, and the sounds they make. And very good eyesight! (4 skills I do not have)

[TonyQ]

We wandered through different areas.

 

While JayP was checking up a steep hill for owls,

 

a Barking Deer came down to the pool we were standing by

It came really close (this is at 100mm)

Lovely to see

 

 

As we walked further, a Common Kingfisher sat on a branch in the sun

 

Kalij Pheasant walks alongside the track

 

A Sparrowhawk sits in a tree watching us

[TonyQ]

Back to the Birder’s Den for lunch, and a bit of birding in the grounds

Black-throated Tit

 

Black-throated Sunbird

 

And from the bedroom window

Plum-headed Parakeet enjoying an Orange

[TonyQ]

After Lunch, we headed back to Chafi as JayP was determined to show us a particular bird

 

Firstly

A Crested Serpent Eagle near the road

Rufous-breasted Accentor on a dusty path

A cow cools off on the river

 

And then the bird we were looking for – the Brown Dipper

 

We watched it for a while as it moved from stone to stone. It had some small fish

and it flew into a nest.

Exciting to see, but we didn’t want to disturb a bird feeding chicks, so we moved a distance away and then left it alone.

 

 

 

[TonyQ]

On the way back towards Birder’s Den, we saw a couple of other very nice birds

Slaty-blue Flycatcher

Taiga Flycatcher

 

 

Back for a shower, dinner and packing as we would be leaving next morning.

[TonyQ]

We did a little pre-breakfast birding and did see one new bird

Whistler’s Warbler

 

Then breakfast, change into travelling clothes and head on the long drive towards Delhi. We dropped JayP off near Ramnagar and thanked him for making our trip so special.

 

We drove on. We stopped for our packed lunch, and later stopped for tea at a Dhaba. We had asked to be taken to a restaurant in Delhi – Dakshin at the Sheraton. We had eaten there on our last visit. We think it wasn’t quite as good as on the last visit, but as our flight was at about 01.00 it was a good use of time.

 

We were then dropped at the airport by our driver and we said our farewells.

 

Getting into the airport was a bit chaotic, but once in it was very good and efficient.

 

Overall view of the trip.

We loved it!

 

All of the arrangements made by Rural Traveller worked very well. They had improved the itinerary from the one we originally suggested, and we were very happy with it. Accommodation met or exceed expectations and we enjoyed the food at every place we stayed. We thought we spent the right amount of time at each place. We were glad that we were encouraged to go to Manila as we loved it there.

 

Corbett was better than we expected – a beautiful park. We said we didn’t want to concentrate on Tigers – but still had good sightings.

 

Going to Keoladeo at Bharatpur, and the Chambal River gave a good selection of birds that were largely different to those seen further north. Mr Bijendra Singh was our guide here – very experienced and knew the area well.

 

In the northern section, our guide was Jay Prakash Khulbey (known as JayP). He was from the area and was superb. We were lucky to have him. The Himalayan area has some really beautiful birds and stunning scenery.

 

Thank you for following along and offering encouragement.

[janzin]

Fantastic report and photos! You definitely saw a greater variety of birds at Birder's Den then we did. I can't blame it on the season as we also went in February, but it did seem colder (we did have snow, and an ice storm, above Nanital.)

 

I understand your take on the hide experience. I agree that it's more rewarding (as a birder) to find the birds in the forest, definitely more exciting especially when it's a rare or life bird. But as a photographer I found I really enjoyed the hides.  I wouldn't want to spend a trip only doing hides but a good mix of situations is nice, and also time to just sit and relax...not much different than sitting by a waterhole in Africa, really. As far as them changing bird behavior, it's basically bird feeding---that's another can of worms best not gotten into here

 

Thanks for the memories!!

 

 

[Zubbie15]

Great report, seeing the beauty and variety of birds makes me wish I could get into birds! It just never works. 

 

Thanks so much for sharing your trip, all of these India reports really make me want to get back sooner than later.