Ramit Singal's Trip Report
My dad (Dr. Dinesh Singal) and I made a pleasant short
2 day trip to Sat Tal on the 28th and 29th of December
2010. We took the overnight train to Kathgodam from Delhi,
and then took a cab from there onwards to the Sat Tal
Birding Camp. As for the return, we again took a cab down
to Kathgodam, from where the overnight train got us to
Delhi.
All our birding was done in the Sat Tal region and we
took it easy during the car rides.
Below are the highlights of the trip:
28 December 2010
Trek to Mehragaon @ 0900 hrs:
Speckled Piculet, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker.
Several mixed flocks also fetched us the four Tits we
saw time and again, Lemon-rumped Warblers, Leothrix, Red-billed
Blue Magpies, Grey Treepies, Bar-tailed Treecreepers,
Chestnut-bellied and White-tailed Nuthatch etc. These
birds were almost always constant in the region and we
saw plenty of such flocks throughout.
Steppe Eagles were commonly seen soaring overhead throughout
the trip.
Eureka Forbes Field and adjoining temple
and scrub @ 0945 hrs: Black-throated Accentor,
Himalayan Griffon, Ashy-throated Warbler, Buff-barred
Warbler, Asian Barred Owlet.
Despite a stringent search, we dipped on the Rubythroats
but my only clear views of the Ashy-throated Warbler and
Buff-barred Warbler individuals came from the scrub next
to the stream that runs down from the temple near the
Eureka Forbes factory.
Flower Mead Cottage @ 1200 hrs : Eurasian
Treecreeper, Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike, Emerald Dove,
Black-faced Warbler, fantastic and close views of a very
patient White-throated Fantail.
An old 1886 cottage with a nice field in front of it and
some woods next to it proved to be a nice spot. Lots of
Treecreepers and Nuthatches were present here apart from
our first of several Blue-winged Minlas and Long-tailed
Minivets. A couple of very shy Barking Deer scampered
up the hillside. A mixed flock had a Balck0faced Warbler
as well.
Trek to Hanuman Tal from Birding Camp
@ 1530 hrs: Banded Bay Cuckoo, many Greater Flamebacks
and other woodpeckers, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush
An interesting trail which got us brilliant views of the
Banded Bay Cuckoo, apart from playing host to a large
number woodpeckers and also Bronzed Drongos. It passed
through a lot of open fields, which as with many other
open fields in the region, had a good number of Olive-backed
Pipits.
Along the main lake @ 1615 hrs:
Great Slaty Woodpecker, Greater Yellownape, Kaleej Pheasant,
Water Redstarts - Plumbeous and White-capped
It was getting dark and just moved along the main lake's
boundary and it fetched us fantastic views of a pair of
Greater Yellownapes which flew in and just hung around
on the trees over the lake for over ten minutes at eye
level! Later, as it got darker, our attention was drawn
to the trees on the hillside thanks to very peculiar and
loud calls. The source was identified as two HUGE woodpeckers
which then came closer and, although quite silhouetted,
proved to be Great Slaty Woodpeckers. Following them,
a male Kaleej was perched fairly high up on one of the
trees as well.
A Green Sandpiper and Grey Wagtail were present by the
lake shore.
Trek back to Camp @ 1715 hrs:
White-crested Laughingthrush, Eurasian Hobby, Nepal House
Martins
29 December 2010
Trail down the temple stream + Eureka
Forbes @ 0700 hrs: Chestnut-headed Tesia, Rusty-cheeked
Scimitar Babblers, Rufous Sibias in the open, Yellow-breasted
Greenfinch, Blue-capped Redstart, Chestnut-tailed Minla,
Grey-headed Woodpecker
A 2 second glimpse of the Tesia as it came out of undergrowth
alongside a flock of Leothrix and a large mixed flock
which also gave us nice views of many Lemon-rumped Warblers
was excellent. Also a Whistler's Warbler, Chestnut-tailed
Minla and a Blue-capped Redstart amongst the flock. Later,
Rufous Sibias and Greenfinch on a bare tree and several
Olive-backed Pipits and Russet Sparrows in the field with
Scimitar Babblers in the scrub were nice. Another hunt
for the Rubythroats was unsuccessful.
* The only birds of note/new birds as we moved towards
the lakes from the camp were Common Rosefinches, of which
a flock of 6 sat on a bare tree but moved up the hill
upon seeing us. Also, a very large flock of White-throated
Laughingthrush was spotted.
A Mountain Hawk Eagle soared high up in the sky.
Trail ahead of Bharat/Arjun Tal @ 1100
hrs: Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush, Fulvous-breasted
Woodpecker, Grey-sided Bush Warblers, mixed flocks with
lots of species, White-bellied Drongo, Ashy and Black
Bulbuls
The Laughingthrush was just seen as it came out of the
undergrowth to catch some food. This was followed by a
female Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker with the entirely black
cap high up in a tree. Several Nuthatches - Velvet-fronted,
Chestnut-bellied, and White-tailed were seen here as were
lots of Blue-winged Minlas and Black-chinned Babblers.
I had been trying to see skulking and unIDed Bush Warblers
at every stage of the trip but it was here I got my first
views of a couple of adult Grey-sided Bush Warblers.
The Bharat Tal itself was host to several Common Kingfishers,
confiding Whistling Thrushes, and Bronzed Drongos and
Red-billed Blue Magpies by the shore. A single White-bellied
Drongo in the trees was nice too. A Banded Bay Cuckoo
was calling continuously.
Feeder stream for Bharat/arjun Tal
@ 1300 hrs: Rufous-bellied Niltava, Yellow-bellied
Fantail, Green-tailed Sunbird, several tits and excellent
views of bathing Scimitar Babbler, Lemon-rumped Warblers,
Canary Flycatcher, etc.
As advised by Satyendra Sharma, we sat by the rocks and
waited for some action to happen. It wasn't long before
a Niltava appeared, followed by several Leothrix, Blue-winged
Minla, Scimitar Babbler, Lemon-rumped Warbler, Black-lored,
Green-backed, Great, and Balck-throated Tits, along with
Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, Black-chinned Babblers,
Yellow-bellied and White-throated Fantail, etc.
Panna Tal @ 1530 hrs: A small
lake a little detour away from the trail to the Camp was
devoid of activity as such but it scored with the sighting
of a single male Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher.
Later, along the trail back to the camp - we got excellent
views of a pair of Greater Flamebacks as well as a female
Red-breasted Flycatcher. Another mixed flock was seen
with more Black-chinned Babblers and Bar-winged Flycatcher
Shrikes too.
---
The Camp has a little area with undergrowth that attracts
a lot of Leothrix and Grey Treepies every morning. It
was excellent, especially to see the latter numbering
around 10-11 feeding within a meter's radius.
All in all, a fantastic trip. Although the Rubythroats
will have to wait another day - we were very pleased with
what we saw and some of the moments will be etched into
my memory.
I want to specially thank Satyendra Sharma for some excellent
tips as well as Abhijit Menon-Sen for help with the Eureka
Fields spot.
The trip list:
1. Black Kite
2. Mountain Hawk Eagle
3. Steppe Eagle
4. Himalayan Griffon
5. Eurasian Hobby
6. Kaleej Pheasant
7. Red-wattled Lapwing
8. Green Sandpiper
9. Emerald Dove
10. Rock Pigeon
11. Slaty-headed Parakeet
12. Banded Bay Cuckoo
13. Asian Barred Owlet
14. House Swift
15. Common Kingfisher
16. Great Barbet
17. Greater Yellownape
18. Great Slaty Woodpecker
19. Grey-headed Woodpecker
20. Greater Flameback
21. Brown-fronted Woodpecker
22. Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker
23. Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
24. Speckled Piculet
25. Nepal House Martin
26. Bronzed Drongo
27. White-bellied Drongo
28. Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike
29. Long-tailed Shrike
30. Jungle Myna
31. Black-headed Jay
32. Grey Treepie
33. Red-billed Blue Magpie
34. Jungle Crow
35. Black Bulbul
36. Ashy Bulbul
37. Red-vented Bulbul
38. Himalayan Bulbul
39. Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler
40. Black-chinned Babbler
41. Jungle Babbler
42. Red-billed Leothrix
43. Blue-winged Minla
44. Chestnut-tailed Minla
45. Rufous Sibia
46. Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush
47. Streaked Laughingthrush
48. White-throated Laughingthrush
49. White-crested Laughingthrush
50. Red-breasted Flycatcher
51. Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher
52. Rufous-bellied Niltava
53. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher
54. White-throated Fantail 55. Yellow-bellied Fantail
56. Chestnut-headed Tesia
57. Black-faced Warbler
58. Grey-hooded Warbler
59. Whistler's Warbler
60. Grey-sided Bush Warbler
61. Hume's Leaf Warbler
62. Lemon-rumped Warbler
63. Ashy-throated Warbler
64. Buff-barred Warbler
65. Blue-capped Redstart
66. White-capped Water Redstart
67. Plumbeous Water Redstart
68. Oriental Magpie Robin
69. Siberian Stonechat
70. Grey Bushchat 71. Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush
72. Blue Whistling Thrush
73. Great Tit
74. Green-backed Tit
75. Black-lored Tit
76. Black-throated Tit
77. Bar-tailed Treecreeper
78. Eurasian Treecreeper
79. Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch
80. White-tailed Nuthatch
81. Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
82. Olive-backed Pipit
83. White-browed Wagtail
84. Grey Wagtail
85. Oriental White-eye
86. Green-tailed Sunbird
87. House Sparrow
88. Russet Sparrow
89. Scaly-breasted Munia
90. Black-throated Accentor
91. Yellow-breasted Greenfinch
92. Common Rosefinch
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