Bird Walk in Swan Area

Dear Firends,

Work took me last evening to Una district. Stayed at Nagal, Satluj Sadan..a great place to stay.

It was nice of Prabhat Bhatti to take me and my wife for a bird walk in the Swan area towards Tahliwal. We had a good walk and sightings. Saw the following:

1. Honey Buzzard

2. Kestrel

3. Sand Larks

4. Grey Francolins

5. Black Ibis

6. Common Moorhens

7. Parakeets

8. Green Bee eaters

9. Pied Bushchats (they were busy nesting and had chosen mates)

10. Pied Kingfishers

11. White throated Kingfishers

12. Gargeny

13. Sarus Cranes

14. Munias

15. Laughing Doves

16. Collared Doves

17. Mynas

18. Pied Mynas

19. Grey herons

20. Purple heron

21. Cattle egret

22. Sunbird

23. Paddyfield Pipits

24. Drongos

25. Red Wattled

26.Long tailed shrike

27. Pied Wagtails

28. Bar headed geese in flight

29. Crested Lark

30. House Sparrow

31. Black Kite in flight

32. Oriental Skylarks

I think thats what I can remember. Hope Prabhat will jog my memory. Will post some pics tomoro.

Thanks Prabhat for the trouble.

World Sparrow Day Photo Exhibition, Gaiety Theatre, Shimla

Hi Friends!

The exhibition started with a lot of fanfare and the turn out of people and Eco Clubs of local schools of Shimla was overwhelming.

Hon'ble Chief Minister of HP, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal inaugurated the event and appreciated the efforts of Himac

hal Blogs in putting it together.

He also volunteered to be a member of the Himachal Birds!

We had more than 1000 footfalls on day one. We have been able to install 15 nest boxes in Shimla and the rest (25) will be installed in the next couple of days.

Enjoy the pics of the event:

Bird Walk Report - TaraDevi to Kaithlighat, Shimla

Dear Friends,

The landscape of charming hills, tunnels and bridges and valleys between Tara Devi and Kaithliighat (close to Shimla) provides a thrilling experience along with sightings of birds and sometimes animals. The 15 km trek leaves a lasting impression of ecstasy and joy.

On Sunday, 6th March, a party of four set out on the meandering trek through pine forests which at times breaks into a pure oak forest.

During this time of the year the Rhododendrons have started flowering. They produce a lot of pollen which attract good number of birds. We could see Himalayan Blue Whistling Thrush, White cheeked bulbuls, Variegated Laughing Thrushes, Green Backed Tits, White Eyes, Dark Grey Bush Chats and Grey headed Flycatcher Warbler. The raptors that we encountered were Black shouldered Kite, kestral, Himalayan Griffons, and Pariah Kites. The amazing fact that we came across near to the railway trek is that the Barbets make their nest in a tree hole very close to the railway line. We could see a few more nests along the trek.

May also see the trek of famous World Heritage Site Shimla Kalka Railways.

A very nice experience, indeed. I have a simple camera, so no bird pics.

Cheers,

Sanjeeva

Birding on Chakimor-Bhojpur-Timbertrail Hights Parwanoo Track

Hi Folks!

Mr Narbir Kahlon a keen birder and a regular contributor to Chandigarh Birds has posted a trip report on the above section:

Jagjit and self decided to do the Chakimor-Bhojpur-Timbertrail Hights Parwanoo Track. We left early (6 am) on 5/2/2011 and we were at the Chaki mor turnoff at first light.

One part of this range of the mountains had been covered by me on 29^th of Jan i.e Parwanoo Kasauli the idea was to cover this stretch with the intention of comparing the two sides. This stretch of the mountain has more streams a better forest cover and is basically facing the opposite side ie away from the plains.

The day started with the customary sighting of the Blue Whistling Thrush and as the day wore on it became obvious that there is a very healthy population of these birds in this section. This was followed by the sighting of a Spotted forktail foraging in a trickle stream flowing across the road.

I stopped at the bridge about 50m bellow the turn off from the national highway, to look for the Kalij that is normally seen in the area but was disappointed. We decided to scan the stream for Water redstarts and while we were doing so a typical call revealed the Grey-headed Woodpecker, I had missed this bird on my visit to the Kasauli road, in fact that day there were no woodpeckers on offer. Of the water redstarts the only one seen was the Plumbeous water redstart. A pair of Spotted Forktails did makeup for the absence of the White capped water redstart and after enjoying the antics of these unique birds we moved along.

There is a small settlement 500m down the road and we scanned the adjacent area because certain birds prefer staying around isolated settlements as they have developed a symbiotic relationship with man. We were rewarded with the sighting of the Russet sparrow, and White capped buntings, a Red Jungle Fowl could be heard on the slope above the road.

Not wanting to offend the human residents who by now were moving out of their homes to perform their morning ablutions, we drove on to the temple where we were greeted by a few Oriental white eyes. The mixed hunting party of which they were a part also included the Black chinned babblers. A Streaked laughing thrush was playing hide and seek in the thick undergrowth where it was busy trying to garner some breakfast. The area around the temple normally has more birds, maybe we were early. We spent ten minutes looking around but not finding anything to hold our flagging attention we moved on.

Red vented bulbuls could be seen moving around as we drove to a cluster of homes a Km from the temple. The farm houses were surrounded by terraced fields and a group of White crested Laughing thrush could be seen foraging near the stored hay. Not wanting to miss a good photo opportunity, I made my way up the path leading to the hay stacks and was able to click some nice pictures. ( for anyone who would like to see this species - More often than not one finds these birds on this stretch.) The farmers had planted wheat in some fields and mustard in the others. The flowering mustard fields had a mixed flock of Finches consisting of Yellow breasted Green Finch and Common Rose Finch. A Grey Treepie and the Great Barbet were also seen in the area.

The Road from this section on travels through a mixed forest which gives way to a pine forest, we made a few stops along the way, at one point we could hear the Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler at another we got to see the Fulvous Breasted Woodpecker and the Long-tailed Minivets, at yet another we came across Lemon-rumped Warblers. The drive is extremely scenic and Jagjit kept an eye out for what he felt would make excellent camping sites.

Just before Bhojpur we stopped to explore a stretch where on an earlier trip I had spotted the Rufous-bellied Niltava. The Niltava seems to be quite territorial because it did not disappoint us a brief sighting led to a short uphill trek at the end of which we only had a poor record shot of a beautiful male. A Grey-hooded Warbler and another Grey treepie were also seen the later obliged us by posing for a portrait.

I wanted to stop and take a walk into the fields (opposite the Private University being built across the valley) where I had seen the Rufous-chinned Laughing Thrush during my last visit to the area, unfortunately we were engaged in light banter and over shot the spot so much so that before we realized it we were at Bhojpur. Here we saw a few House Sparrows while washing down some rusks with a nice hot cup of tea at the local tea stall. We decided to go back via the Gorkha fort – Timber Trail Heights , the locals encouraged us to take this route and we decided to give a lift to a few of them. Well on the way we realized that the road was not in too good a shape and the reason we had been encouraged was because the local buss had not turned up in the morning. All the same we made it through with only a few rocks scraping the paint off from the underside of my car the only serious loss was that I could not bird and drive at the same time. (For those of you who attempt this track do not venture on it if it has rained in the recent past you could end up getting stuck). We did however stop to see a Pied Bush chat a Brown Fronted Woodpecker a few white capped buntings and amongst them a lone Humes Warbler. After dropping off our Co- passengers near Timber Trail Heights we started moving at birding pace again and were rewarded with the sighting of a Rock Chat, a tomato field full of Himalayan and red vented bulbuls, with Grey breasted Prinia providing the Chorus. This was followed by a flock of Fire Fronted Serins followed by more Fire-fronted Serins and then more Fire-fronted Serins.(now you know where to find them in winter)

At the Base of Parwanoo one has to cross a bridge over a mountain stream, (The same one we crossed at Chaki ka mor) the road, if you can call it that is in a bad shape and to top it, having a truck moving ahead of us brought out our preservation instinct to the fore, not wanting to be buried under dust or suffocated by the diesel exhaust we decided to stop near the bridge and let it trundle along till it got onto a tarmacked section of the road. Having stopped we walked along a short stretch of the stream and finally caught up with the Red-capped Water Redstart. There were a few Plumbeous water redstarts and a Little Cormorant on this section of the stream , a Blue Whistling Thrush stopped by to Quench it’s thirst presenting a nice photo opportunity. This would have been an excellent birding spot but for the fact that the resident homosapien population seems to use this area in the morning for defecation. Those who do venture down the bridge please mind your step.

We were back on the road after the short break and at Parwanoo we found birds having a feast on the flowering Bombax trees. One saw some Black Bulbuls a few Spangled Drongos , Himalayan and Redvented bulbuls and of course the House Crow and its cousin the Large-billed Crow. We heaved a sigh of relief when we reached the Main highway (a road better less traveled), and a flock of Rock Pigeons gave us a flypast bringing to an end a lovely morning of birding.

Bird Sightings

Yesterday while going back home after work, stopped to take pics of some birds. The following pics of Wall Creeper, Blue Whistling Thrush, Black throated tit and Jungle babbler will tell you how good birding is all around us provided we train our attention towards them. You will be surprised that also saw a leopard but was too far away for the camera to reach there.

Bird Walk Report - Potter's Hill, Shimla

Today, i.e., 6.2.2011 Himachal Bird went on its maiden bird walk to the Potter’s Hill, Shimla at the initiative of Mr. Somesh Goyal, founder of Himachal Birds. The walk had 12 birders from different walks of life.

The walk started from the University Chowk, Summer Hills as scheduled and terminated at Camp Potter’s Hill after two and a half hours. During the walk valuable tips on birds and trees were provided by Mr Sanjeeva Pandey a keen birder and a senior forest officer.

During the walk the following species were seen:

1. Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)

2. Blue Whistling Thrush (Myophonus caeruleus)

3.Variegated Laughing Thrush (Garrulax variegatus)

4.Bar Tailed Treecreeper (Certhia himalayana)

5.Yellow Browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)

6.Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)

7.Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)

8.Black Throated Tit (Aegithalos concinnus)

9.Himalayan Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucogenys)

10.Greay Hooded Warbler (Phylloscopus xanthoschistos)

11.Grey Bushchat (Saxicola ferreus)

12.Great Barbet ( Megalaima virens)

The Forest Department has made lovely walking trails in the Potter’s Hill forest for the visitors to go deep inside to enjoy the flora and fauna. It is truly remarkable to see such a thickly wooded and well preserved area right in the middle of Shimla city.

The weather was not really great but Himachal Birds was determined not to postpone its first Bird Walk. Sunshine played hide and seek making observation and photography difficult.

We missed seeing any birds of prey..but were adequately rewarded by the sight of freshly bloomed rhododendron trees. It was a treat for all of us to see a pair of great barbets feasting on rhododendron flowers.

Himachal Birds would like to thank Sh Nagesh Guleria, DFO for his support during the walk.

The date of the next visit will be announce shortly. All those who participated are requested to post their observations and pictures.

For more pictures, please visit: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1619911@N21/

Pope of Indian Ornithology

Hi Folks!

Yesterday visited Rothney Castle in Shimla which was home of AO Hume who earned the sobriquet of Pope of Indian Ornithology for his contribution to this field.

This Castle remained as the HQ of Theosophical Society of India as well.

Will be visiting the Castle again on Sunday after the Bird Walk and will post pictures and notes on the Castle and its illustrious occupant, AO Hume.