India (Rajasthan and Kashmir) Trip - 1st August - Day 8

After much um'ing and ar'ing we decided to head back to Yousmarg today and bird the area of woodland to the west of the restaurant. The toss-up was between here and Gulmarg, the latter is a higher elevation site where Black-and-yellow Grosbeak sounds relatively easy and other species such as Pink-browed Rosefinch, Rufous-breasted Accentor and White-tailed Rubythroat can be seen. However, given that this site was around a two hour drive and we had to get an internal flight back in Shrinigar for 16:15 we decided against it and went back to Yousmarg. We were in the woodland by around 07:00 and fairly quickly picked up the distinctive two tone note of Spectacled Finch but saw we walked towards the call we picked up a finch like bird which flew high overhead and disappeared from site - that was our bird. After playing the tape for a while longer there was no response and so we wandered onwards. A short way further into the woodland we heard the Spectacled Finch again and there, perched on top of one of the tallest trees, was the male - brilliant and then as we played the tape two birds flew towards us and perched in a pine high above us. We could at last make out the red spectacles of the male and the yellow ones of the female and the big white greater covert and tertial spots present in both sexes - result! Four White-cheeked Nuthatch showed well in the same clearing, much better views than previously. We then dropped down towards a river and birded along the river and through scattered trees before climbing back up the hill and into the pines. A pair of Plumbeous Water-redstart showed very well along the river dipping and flashing their white tails in the case of the females and red tails in the case of the males, the latter remarkably Black Redstart like.

As we climbed through the forest it started to rain just as we bumped into a big bird flock, we donned our rain-jackets and opened the umbrellas and scanned the flock, Spot-winged Tit, Rufous-vented Tit, White-cheeked Nuthatch, Western Crowned Leaf Warbler, Lemon-rumped Leaf Warbler, Tytler's Leaf Warbler, Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Himalayan Woodpecker, Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, Kashmir Nutcracker and Long-tailed Minivet were all present.

It was 10:00 and the rain was getting heavier so we decided to make a bit of a dash for cover i.e back to the car and the restaurant so Ian, using his GPS, guided us in more or less a straight line back, via valley and ridge, through mud and scrub, it seemed to be a lot further than I had remembered as the rain got progressively heavier. By the time we got back to the restaurant we were soaked so we took cover and changed into drier clothes before deciding it would be an idea to make a move down the mountain. As we began the drive the severity of the rain became obvious with flooded roads and woodland and the relatively gentle mountain river now a torrent of mud and rocks washing away houses and eroding the river banks. The roads were awash with water, mud and rocks, having been stranded for two days in Colombia because of washed out roads I was feeling particularly nervous about the drive but as we descended conditions slowly improved.

We got to the airport in good time, battled the intense security and pushing and shoving throngs of people and got to the relative tranquility of the departure lounge. Our flight left at around 17:00 and we landed in Delhi at around 18:30. Martin's flight back to Singapore was a little before ours so we said our goodbyes while Andy, Ian and I went back to the Hotel Shanti Palace where a final Indian was enjoyed while listening to a live Indian band. Andy and Ian left the hotel at around 22:30 for their midnight flight back to the UK while I chilled out in the hotel for a little longer before leaving at around 23:30 for my flight back to the UK at 01:50. I was upgraded to business class and had a bed for the journey - mega bonus!! I landed back in the UK at 06:30 and was home by 08:30. What a great trip, some fantastic birds and great to be travelling with my old friends again.

Dawn in the pine forest at Yousmarg

The pines in Yousmarg are particularly tall and many of the birds stay high due to the 

generally sparse understory

Oriental Turtle-dove - Yousmarg

Oriental Turtle-dove - Yousmarg

Spectacled Finch, the female is to the left and the male to the right, very high in pine tree. The type specimen of this species comes from Shrinigar. Once classified with the Carduelis (Greenfinches, Siskins, Goldfinch etc) the species is now placed in the monotypic genus Callacanthis - Yousmarg

White-cheeked Nuthatch - Okay, its a shitty photo but these birds always seem to be at the tops of dark pine trees and today was a particularly gloomy one - Yousmarg

Andy had had enough of the fungi twitching

Twayblade species - Yousmarg

Fungi and cranesbill - Yousmarg

Fungi and slug - Yousmarg

Plumbeous Water-redstart (female) - Yousmarg

Plumbeous Water-redstart (male) - Yousmarg

Yellow-billed Blue-magpie of race cucullata - Yousarg

The rain starts, we were still smiling at this point - Yousmarg

Road back at the restaurant - Yousmarg

Driving down the mountain at Yousmarg

Repacking some rather soggy bags before the flight back to Delhi

Links to the other Days of the Trip:
Day 1 - Background and Travel day
Day 2 - Surajpur Wetland and Nahargah Biological Park
Day 3 - Sonkhaliya
Day 4 - Ajmer Thorn Forest and drive back to Delhi
Day 5 - Fly Delhi to Shrinigar (Kashmir) then Yousmarg
Day 6 - Yousmarg
Day 7 - Dachigam National Park, Shankarachariya Temple and Dal Lake

If you have any comments or queries on this post then please do not hesitate to contact me at simon@ecosa.co.uk

India (Rajasthan and Kashmir) Trip - 30th July - Day 6

We were up at 04:30 and headed back to Yousmarg at 05:15 and spent the entire day in the park. We first birded a stretch of road where the pines were mature and the ground flora and scrub layer looked well developed and we hoped looked productive for Black and Yellow Grosbeak and Orange Bullfinch but failed on both. We added Brown-flanked Bush-warbler, Tytler’s Warbler, Yellow-breasted Greenfinch and enjoyed good views of the rather odd looking caniceps race of Goldfinch and more Kashmir Woodpecker and Scaly-bellied Woodpecker After around two hours we headed to a patch of forest that we had seen from the roadside yesterday across the river from the park tollgate. Large areas of the park have been fenced against livestock and these areas have developed a rich ground flora containing many species familiar in the UK such as Foxglove, Meadow and Creeping Buttercup, Yarrow, Red Clover and Ox-eye Daisy and while the species/races may be different to those in the UK the overall appearance of the sward is very English meadow like. We figured that these ‘natural’ and less grazed areas would be better for birds. We climbed a small valley, following a tumbling mountain stream where White-capped Redstart and Grey Wagtail were new for the trip. We then headed ‘off-piste’ and cut through the scrub and pine forest seeing more Tytler’s Warbler, Kashmir Nuthatch, White-bellied Nuthatch, Oriental Turtle Dove, Lemon-rumped Leaf Warbler and Western Crowned Leaf Warbler but things were pretty slow going and we decided to head for lunch at 12:00 seeing a Himalayan Griffon Vulture while we waited for our lift.

After lunch we again birded the forest opposite the reservoir until 16:00 walking a loop away from the road, and back down the hill to rejoin the road but it was very slow going and we added nothing new to the list although we had great views of a Common Cuckoo feeding on caterpillars alongside the trail and a pair of Ultramarine Flycatcher. Much time was spent messing around with fungi, butterflies and dragonflies. We then spent the final hour or so walking down the road birding as we went, again it was pretty slow-going with Oriental Honey Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Mountain Bulbul and a Long-tailed Shrike being the highlights.

We headed back to the boat house after a pretty slow day in the field and hoping for  better day tomorrow, a day arranged via Ibrahim and the house boat in the Dachigam National Park. We had been informed that the park was closed but Ibrahim new the head-ranger and so we had high hopes of getting to a known site for both the Bullfinch and the Grosbeak. Beers, curry and bed!!

Goldfinch of sub-species caniceps - Yousmarg

Himalayan Woodpecker (Juvenile) - Yousmarg.

Grey Bush-chat

Western Crowned Leaf Warbler with bush-cricket - Yousmarg

Pine Bunting - Yousmarg

Blue Whistling Thrush - Yousmarg

Oriental Turtle Dove of sub-species orientalis - Yousmarg

Tytler's Warbler - Yousmarg

White-capped Redstart - Yousmarg

White-capped Redstart - Yousmarg

Common Cuckoo of race bakeri - Yousmarg

Ultramarine Flycatcher (male) - Yousmarg

Queen-of-Spain Fritillary - Yousmarg

Butterfly resembling Grayling - Yousmarg

Ladies-tresses species, a type of Orchid - Yousmarg

Skink species, one of only two reptiles seen during the entire trip - Yousmarg

Oriental Honey-buzzard of sub-species ruficollis. The six primary fingers (versus five for European Honey-buzzard) can be clearly seen - Yousmarg

Booted eagle - Yousmarg

Himalayan Bulbul - Yousmarg

Long-tailed Shrike of race erythronotus with Cockchafer - Yousmarg

View from Marco Polo Boat House at sunset

Links to the other Days of the Trip:
Day 1 - Background and Travel day
Day 2 - Surajpur Wetland and Nahargah Biological Park
Day 3 - Sonkhaliya
Day 4 - Ajmer Thorn Forest and drive back to Delhi
Day 5 - Fly Delhi to Shrinigar (Kashmir) then Yousmarg
Day 7 - Dachigam National Park, Shankarachariya Temple and Dal Lake
Day 8 - Yousmarg then return to Delhi and flights home

If you have any comments or queries on this post then please do not hesitate to contact me at simon@ecosa.co.uk

India (Rajasthan and Kashmir) Trip - 29th July - Day 5

We were up at 03:00 for 03:30 departure from our hotel to Delhi Airport for a 05:45 flight to Sringigar. The flight was on time and after a 1.20 minute flight, during which we enjoyed views of the Himalayas, we landed and were very soon waiting for our bags at, what seemed, a very low key, low fuss airport. We were picked up by our guide Farooq and our driver and were soon on our way to Yousmarg, a journey of two hours or so. We drove through the hectic streets of the outskirts of Sringigar where dogs and children played alongside one another on the road sides and wild Marijuana grew in thickets along the roadside filling the air with a sweet fragrance. We climbed from Sringigar to Yousmarg via Chadoora and Jeroha, through winding mountain roads, rice paddies and pastures, through broad-leaved scrub and into tall pine forest and flower rich alpine meadows.

Our first stop was adjacent to the reservoir a kilometre or two below the main restaurant and main carpark at Yousmarg, we climbed up the hill through the tall pine forest and walked a short loop up the slope and back to the road – energy levels were low due to the very early start and thinner air at higher altitude. There were singing Western Crowned Leaf Warbler, Himalayan Woodpecker, Spot-winged Tit and a single singing Brook’s Leaf Warbler while a Booted Eagle soared overhead. Then we hit a small feeding flock and added Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Rufous-naped Tit, Lemon-rumped Warbler and our first Kashmir Nuthatch. I had a brief view of a female Spectacled Finch but by the time the others had found the spot the bird had dropped out of view and we didn’t see it again. We then headed to the main visitor centre restaurant for a much needed sit down with a couple of Cokes and a nice spicy Dal.

After a bit of a chill we headed into the forest to the west of the restaurant with its tall pine trees but rather overgrazed understorey. By now we were shattered and birding was tough going in the heat of the afternoon but we did see a few new species including Kashmir Nutcracker, Hodgson’s Treecreeper, White-cheeked Nuthatch, Ultramarine Flycatcher and Rusty-tailed Flycatcher. The birding was generally pretty slow going with occasional bursts of activity as a flock moved through led by Spot-winged Tit and Rufous-naped Tit. This low level of activity was no doubt due to the time of year which appeared to be in-sync with the UK with birds now longer singing, young birds fledged and adults in moult.

We birded this area until 17:00 before heading back to Shrinigar. The traffic through town was appalling and despite the dodging and weaving of the car we remained stationary for some time before progressing through the town bumper to bumper through dusty streets, past a massive stone quarry that appeared to have sprung up amongst houses, past army checkpoints and a captured Pakistani tank. Beer was a must after a hard day in the field but little did we know that nowhere in Shrinigar sells it and so our guide took us to a hotel where a ‘black market’ in beer is operated and Ian and guide smuggled our stash of 16 Kingfisher into the car. After the one hour or so beer diversion we checked into our accommodation for the next three nights, the Marco Polo Houseboat on the edge of Nigeen Lake. We had a rather bland dinner amongst the wood clad, colonial settings and crashed at 23:00.

View of the Himalaya's from the plane

Jhelum River, Chadoora and House Crow

Himalayan Woodpecker sunning - Yousmarg

Large-billed Crow - Yousmarg

Brook's Leaf Warbler - This was the only definite Brook's that I saw, Lemon-rumped seemed to far out number this species - Yousmarg

Silver-washed Fritillary - Many of the butterflies we saw were familiar or were certainly very similar to British and European species including Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell, Queen of Spain Fritillary and Painted Lady - Yousmarg

Lichen on pines at Yousmarg

Puffball - We got a bit distracted by the amazing variety of fungi - Yousmarg

Fungi- Yousmarg

Earth-star - Yousmarg

Coral Fungus - Yousmarg

Pine Forest to West of Restaurant. The pines are very high and subsequently many birds are high in the treetops - Yousmarg

Spot-winged Tit. Formerly lumped with Coal Tit, this really is quite a distinctive looking bird differing from that species in many respects - Yousmarg

Grey Bush-chat - Yousmarg

Rock Bunting of race stracheyi which extends from China to Kashmir- Yousmarg

Dark-sided Flycatcher, adult and juvenile (right bird) - Yousmarg

Kashmir Nutcracker also known as Large-spotted Nuthatch this species was once lumped with Spotted Nutcracker but Kashmir replaces that species abruptly in the NW Himalayas and hybrids are little known  - Yousmarg

Kashmir Nutcracker - Yousmarg

Rusty-tailed Flycatcher - Yousmarg

Kashmir Nuthatch, once treated as a race of European Nuthatch but differs in more extensive rufous underparts and vocalisations - Yousmarg

Greenish Warbler of race trochiloides (Two-barred Greenish) - Yousmarg

Scaly-bellied Woodpecker - Yousmarg

Temple Repairs

Streaked Laughingthrush - Yousmarg

Kashmir Nuthatch - Yousmarg

Links to the other Days of the Trip:
Day 1 - Background and Travel day
Day 2 - Surajpur Wetland and Nahargah Biological Park
Day 3 - Sonkhaliya
Day 4 - Ajmer Thorn Forest and drive back to Delhi
Day 6 - Yousmarg
Day 7 - Dachigam National Park, Shankarachariya Temple and Dal Lake
Day 8 - Yousmarg then return to Delhi and flights home

If you have any comments or queries on this post then please do not hesitate to contact me at simon@ecosa.co.uk