Paul Matson's Birding Blog: North East India

April 8th - May 4th

It seemed to be a last minute rush to get everything ready for this trip to India. Even though it was booked last year, when I returned from Senegal at the beginning of February this trip was not going ahead as the Covid restrictions still hadn't been lifted in India. Then a dramatic change and by the end of February, we had the green light to go and then needed to sort out our flights and visas with only 5 weeks before departure. The India tourist visa for British citizens still requires you to book an in-person appointment at the Indian High Commission in London and then they say up to 4 weeks to issue, we needed this in good time to get the permits required in India to visit the states we were travelling to in advance as they still have certain restrictions, so it all felt a bit tight.

In short, it all worked out and on the 8th April, Gary Howard and I met at Heathrow for our flight to Delhi and onward flight to Guwahati in the state of Assam in the far North East of India.

The tour, arranged by Birdquest, was visiting the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh in the far North East of India, almost completely annexed from the rest of the country and adjoining Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh, an area which unsurprisingly has its fair share of border disputes.

The trip focusses on the Himalayan foothills in Arunachal Pradesh to the North, the mighty Brahmaputra River valley running through the middle of Assam and the border hills of Nagaland and Meghalaya to the south and the many specialist species in these areas.

this picture shows the far North East corner which is still India

Almost annexed from India and bordered by other countries

April 9th - Arriving in Guwahati

It was only when we arrived in our airport hotel in Guwahati in the morning of the 9th, did we actually relax and realise this trip was really happening. After a deserved nap, the view from the hotel window was fairly limited, looking back towards the airport but there were a couple of trees in view and to the calls of bulbuls we excitedly started our list from the bedroom window with some commoner species such as Eastern Cattle Egret, Black Kite, Common Myna, Red-vented Bulbul and Indian Pied Myna but we did add birds with a bit more interest, including Cinereous Tit, Taiga Flycatcher, Blue-throated Barbet and Hair-crested Drongo.

We met with our Finnish leader, Hannu and the rest of the group (2 more Brits, 1 Swede, 1 American) and Palab our excellent local guide and found out we were leaving at 3am the next morning to drive to the state of Meghalaya to the south for a days birding in the Khasi Hills area the other side of Shillong.

View from our Guwahati hotel window

April 10th - Meghalaya

Our journey started in the dark and only interrupted by a state border check for Covid vaccinations as we exited Assam and entered Meghalaya. We passed through Shillong, which apparently is officially the wettest place on earth and it was indeed raining, but when we reached our first stop near the Duwan Sing Syiem viewpoint around 7am it was at least dry.

More than a little anticipation at the beginning of any tour with the first foray into the habitat, we descended a track which lead down to a stony stream bed surrounded by vegetation and start our birding list with Whiskered Yuhina, Crested Finchbill, Golden Babbler, the first of many Buff-barred Warblers and a decent bird in a Red-faced Liochicla. A White-capped Redstart was in the stream with a Plumbeous Water Redstart and a Rusty-capped Fulvetta was another good bird to get and several Himlayan Swiftlets flew over.

A decent first stop, back in to the vehicles and to the next. One of our key targets was the local endemic Tawny-breasted Wren Babbler, one of the main reason we took this long detour to this area and we were keeping our ears open for a bird calling. At our next stop we added Blyth's Leaf Warbler, Short-billed Minivet, Black-throated Prinia, Red-billed Leiothrix, Spot-breasted and Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler and Grey Bushchat.

A further stop at a canyon we found several of the very localised Dark-rumped Swifts and Himalayan Prinias, and stopping again we added Grey Sibia, Blue-winged Minla, Flavescent Babbler. It was getting to the early afternoon and we hadn't yet found a Tawny-breasted Wren-babbler, but were persevering. We came across a Sichuan Leaf Warbler, then shortly afterwards we heard the calls of the Wren-babbler and after some patience got some good views of our main target the Tawny-breasted Wren Babbler. Having secured this and seen our other targets for the area we had some lunch adding a Rosy Pipit near the car park and then slowly made our way back to Guwahati to the airport hotel for a final night also seeing Black Bulbul and Little Bunting on the way.

Our first foray of the trip ...into a rocky streambed

Rusty-capped Fulvetta

Blyth's Leaf Warbler

Short-billed Minivet

Dark-rumped Swift

Himalayan Prinia

Grey Bushchat

Tawny-breasted Wren-Babbler

Khasi Hills habitat

numerous valleys to search

Ferns to attention

important to finish the day with a cold Beer !!

April 11th - Travel to Dirang.

Today was a travel day with a long drive North to the town of Dirang in the Arunachal Pradesh Himalayas. They are called foothills but range from 8-14000 ft in altitude.

A 5am start soon had us crossing the Brahmaputra, we had a number of stops on the way for some roadside birding, before we crossed the state border from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh late morning. We had a prolonged stop for around 25 minutes at Bhaluk Pong in some open rice paddies and managed to see Asian Koel, Asian Openbill, Lineated Barbet, Ashy Woodswallow, Brown Shrike, Jungle Myna, Black-hooded Oriole, Great Myna, and Striated Grassbird.

Our fleet of Vehicles

Our psychedelic Breakfast stop

Tuktuks were everywhere

Typical Assam scenery with low lying rice paddies

Once we had entered Arunachal Pradesh the scenery and birding all became much more interesting and we gradually started climb higher.

Our first sighting of Himalayan Vulture and Black Stork was the start of several good sightings. For much of the time the road ran on the edge of a river valley which allowed for stops overlooking the valley. both scanning the river and surrounding vegetation. We had lunch around 13.20 at Sessa then continued gradually upwards.

We saw Brown-backed Needletail, Black Eagle, Slaty-backed Forktail. Thrushes included Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Blue Whistling Thrush, and Blue-capped Rock Thrush we had 2 species of Laughingthrush with Striated Laughingthrush and Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Tickell's Leaf Warbler, Tibetan Serin and my favourite was Rufous-breasted Accentor.

We arrived in the dark to our hotel in the middle of the small hillside town of Dirang around 7pm. It was a new hotel, but a few things didn't quite work, but the food was pretty good once it eventually arrived.

On the basis that today was a travel day, we end up with a pretty good bird list.

River valley from roadside

fast flowing clear rivers

our lunch stop - the Sunrise Hotel -despite the bold plastic colours the food was pretty decent

Black Eagle

Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush (female)

April 12th - Mandala Road

In order to arrive at first light we left the hotel at 4am. The Mandala Road is a well know area for birding at an altitude of 3,000m (10,000ft). It was quite cool and a little misty with a lush but open habitat of oak, rhododendron and coniferous trees we slowly walked through the morning at various stops.

We started half way up the road, whilst waiting for one of the vehicles to catch up with a White-collared Blackbird, Green-tailed Sunbird, the exquisite Fire-tailed Sunbird and a Dark-breasted Rosefinch. A White-throated Needletail was an early addition as was a very smart Rufous-bellied Woodpecker. A couple of Spotted Nutcrackers were seen along Rufous-fronted Bushtit, Grey-crested Tit and the local race of Coal Tit. Ashy-throated Warbler and Whistler's Warbler were new birds as were Stripe-throated, Rufous-vented Yuhina, Red-headed Bullfinch and Russet Sparrow.

A Rufous-winged Fulvetta and a Black-faced Laughingthrush were soon found and a Beautiful Sibia was the first of many we would see.

As we ventured in to different areas we kept adding to our list. Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Brown-throated Fulvetta and Streak-throated Barwing were early additions then small bird flocks held Bar-throated Minla, Red-tailed Minla, Slaty-blue Flycatcher, Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler and a Spotted Laughingthrush was an unexpected addition at a roadside stop.

In the afternoon we moved further down the road where a large clearing with some scrub produced a Golden Bush Robin, Grey-sided Bush Warbler, Himalayan Beautiful Rosefinch and a Mountain Hawk Eagle. We finished the day in a Bamboo zone, which can often be quiet but saw the incredible looking Golden-breasted Fulvettas and a flock of Black-throated Parrotbills with a Collared Owlet causing chaos with the smaller birds. It was back to Dirang again arriving after dark.

Roadside breakfast on the Mandala Road

Views on Mandala Road

Ashy-throated Warbler

Beautiful Sibia

White-Collared Blackbird

Green-tailed Sunbird

Spotted Nutcracker

Rufous-bellied Woodpecker

Red-tailed Minla

Himalayan Vulture

Stripe-throated Yuhina

Grey-sided Bush Warbler

Brown-throated Fulvetta

Spotted Laughingthrush

Whistler's Warbler

From our hotel in the town that we only saw in the dark

April 13th - Se La Pass

Another very early 3am start to head towards the high point of the Se La Pass at 4,170m (13,700ft). The altitude definitely slows you down, but the first part of the day had lovely clear skies. and we thoroughly enjoyed the hard work that is birding at altitude.

Our first roadside stop on our way up to the pass had us in search of the Fire-tailed Myzornis, but to no avail, we did see our first Snow Pigeons and Fire-tailed Sunbird. A little further on a group of Dark-breasted Rosefinches also held a Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch and nearby a White-browed Bush Robin. At the top of the pass we set out on a track into the mountain and before long had good views of the magnificent Himalayan Monal, a large mountain pheasant with incredible irridescent colours but so difficult to pick out, this was one of the key species we were looking for at this altitude. Also seeing an Alpine Thrush, Alpine Accentor, Himalayan Buzzard, Red-billed Choughs, Black Redstart, Blue-fronted Redstart, Rufous-vented Tit and Himalayan Bluetail.

We had lunch at a small 'cafe' having failed to find the Swinhoe's Snipe and any Grandala and slowly headed down the pass, just beyond the highest point we found a group of six Snow Partridge which gave excellent views then further down whilst watching a Hodgson's Treecreeper we heard the call of a Blood Pheasant, which we saw quite well. We stopped again to look for the Myzornis without any luck so headed back to the hotel for dinner and some oxygen.

Dawn breaking on the way up to the Sela Pass

Rufous-vented Tit

White-browed Bush Robin

Himalayan Bluetail

Russet Sparrow

Dark-breasted Rosefinch

Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch

amazing views near the top ...

At the top

Pictures of the view

Patches of snow in the shaded corners

Our lunch stop

...bottled water and snacks kept us going.

The clouds descended as we did

Alpine Thrush

Himalayan Monal

Snow Partridge

Blood Pheasant

Blue-fronted Redstart

14th April - Se La Pass / Sangti Pass

Despite our successes yesterday and the excellent sightings we had there were a couple of key species we missed out on that the Se La Pass would be our only opportunity to see them so we headed back in the same direction in the morning. A quick return to 13,500ft where we were adjusting quickly to the altitude.

Looking for a stand of Rhododendrons, we found a large patch we had briefly tried the previous day, but within minutes we were having excellent views of a stunning Fire-tailed Myzornis, a bird that had thwarted us until now a small bird like a chunky sunbird with amazing plumage. We also added Plain Mountain Finch. Unlike yesterday, the Pass itself was shrouded in low cloud with poor visibility which ironically was hopeful for the Grandala (a bird we missed yesterday) as they often descend from much higher altitudes in poor visibility. The theory proved correct as very quickly we saw a number of birds around the edge of the high lake and managed to get quite close to a male and female bird, the male with an astonishing electric blue colour. With these key species in the bag and the poor visibility we headed back to Dirang late morning adding a few birds on-route at a couple of stops including Brown Dipper, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, White-throated Laughingthrush, White-tailed Nuthatch, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Mrs Gould's Sunbird, and a Brown-flanked Bush Warbler.

In the afternoon we headed to a different pass in the Sangti Valley at a much lower altitude where we had good views of Long-billed Plover, with some Red-Wattled Lapwing, Oriental Turtle Dove, Common Sandpiper, Long-tailed Shrike and the alboides sub-species of the White Wagtail. We returned to Dirang for our last night at the hotel.

Fire-tailed Myzornis

Black-faced Warbler

Chestnut-crowned Warbler

Mrs Gould's Sunbird

Grandala

Brown-flanked Bush Warbler

Long-billed Plover

Towards the Sangti Pass

Sangti Valley

Sangti River for Long-billed Plover

15th April - Mandala Road to Lamacamp

The 4.15am start had as bags packed and leaving the hotel in the dark as we found it, we headed to the lower slopes of the Mandala Road birding up to 2,000m. Our first stop was at a small marsh next to a village where we sat quietly until eventually a Black-tailed Crake obliged and gave good views a Plaintive Cuckoo was in the same area. Other stops along the road gave us Russet Bush Warbler, Grey-hooded Warbler, Indian White-Eye, Pale Blue Flycatcher, Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher, Little Pied Flycatcher, White-browed Shrike Babbler, White-throated Fantail, a large mixed flock of Grey-headed and Red-headed Bullfinches and in the same place a migrating flock of c50 Plain Mountain Finches.

Our drive then took us to Lamacamp in the infamous Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary a brief stop at a large cliff-face on the way their secured us a Yellow-rumped Honeyguide and we arrived near the camp just in time for a quick walk on the Bugun trail.

One of the remarkable stories of Lamacamp and it's proximity to an area called Aloo Bari or the 'potato fields', an area of secondary growth forest, was the fairly recent discovery of a new bird Species named the Bugun Liochicla, only described in 2006 and named after the local indigenous 'Bugun' people, it is estimated its entire world population is between 50-250 birds based on a known population of 14 individuals all restricted to this one valley in the Eaglenest sanctuary area. Obviously for us this would be a key bird to see in our time in the area.

Unfortunately, even though we bumped into a group leaving the trail who had seen the famous Bugun Liochicla that afternoon, we had no sight or sound of the famous bird and had a limited offering of a Maroon Oriole, Bhutan Laughingthrush and White-breasted Parrotbill, before we needed to get to Lamacamp and find our tents before meeting in the dining hall up the hill for dinner.

A polite way of saying 'Don't shit in the street'

The small marsh we found the Crake in.

Black-tailed Crake

Plaintive Cuckoo

Russet Bush Warbler

Grey-headed Bullfinch

The entry into Eaglenest

View back to Tenga from the Eaglenest entry gate

Our tents on arrival at Lamacamp

April 16th - Lamacamp

The main focus for our stay at Lamacamp was to try and see the Bugun Liochicla, so we started the day at the main area ' Aloo Bari' walking the trails amongst the dense vegetation the bird is said to inhabit. It became a little frustrating as the bird was heard to call and our group split into two positioning on a higher and lower path, only two of the group on the lower path managed brief views of the bird and we had no further sight or sound for the rest of the day despite our efforts.

We did see other birds including Yellow-cheeked tit, Striated Bulbul, Grey-cheeked Warbler, Yellow-throated Fulvetta, Himalayan Cutia, Rusty-fronted Barwing, Spotted Elachure, Sikkim Treecreeper, Grey-winged Blackbird, Lesser Shortwing , Himalayan Cuckoo, Bay Woodpecker, Golden-naped Finch and Scarlet Finch. We also saw Grey Nightjar on the road on the way back to camp. Despite all these good birds the overwhelming thought was one of being frustrated by the Bugun Liochicla, but its no good being one of the rarest birds in the world if your easy to find !.

More views of our tents

My tent second from the left.

Walking the Bugun Trail

Grey Nightjar

Striated Laughingthrush

Bhutan Laughingthrush

White-tailed Nuthatch

17th April Lamacamp to Bompu Camp

We had another try first thing in the morning on the Bugun trail, but with the same result with no Bugun Liochicla, only adding a Grey-sided Laughingthrush, a Crested Goshawk and better view of Lesser Shortwing and Yellow-cheeked Tit. We had to leave the trail by 8am to make our way up over the pass towards Bompu Camp, the peak of the pass was at 2,680m and the camp at 1,870m. We knew we would be returning for one more night at Lamacamp after our next 2 nights at Bompu Camp, so may have a last attempt, although the plan was to already have the Bugun in the bag, so we could focus on other species.

We added an unexpected Mongolian Short-toed Lark on-route along with a Sapphire Flycatcher and an afternoon walk on trails from Bompu gave us good flyover views of 2 Rufous-necked Hornbill, Slaty-bellied Tesia, White-spectacled Warbler, a very vocal Rufous-throated Wren-Babbler, a pair of skulking Sikkim Wedge-billed Babblers which took a while to get views of and an Orange-bellied Leafbird.

Our equally comfortable tents at Bompu and dining tent where the food was great, especially given the remote location.

The top of the pass towards Bompu Camp

having found a small bird flock

From our camp at Bompu

The tents at Bompu

Grey-sided Laughingthrush

Mongolian Short-toed Lark

Rufus-throated Wren-Babbler

Rufous-throated Wren Babbler

White-throated Fantail

18th April - Bompu Camp

We were up at 4am for an early start on the slopes above the camp and had a successful morning. One of the key targets in the area was Ward's Trogon, where we had excellent views of a pair. We also found a Broad-billed Warbler , Blue-fronted Robin a flock of Mountain Bulbuls a Ferruginous Flycatcher, Streaked Spiderhunter and 3 Brown Bullfinches. Perhaps the surprise was an overhead flock of 10 migrating Bar-headed Geese, known as some of the highest flyers as they route over the Himalayas we were seeing this in action, although a little out of place flying above a forest.

In the afternoon and evening we went down from the camp to the lower slopes at around 700m towards Khelong, mainly in search of Beautiful Nuthatch on which we drew a blank. We did end with a good list of other birds which included Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo, Pin-tailed Green Pigeon, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Lesser Yellownape, Sultan Tit, Striated Yuhina, White-naped Yuhina, Long-tailed Sibia, Rufous-backed Sibia, a group of Silver-eared Mesias, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Kalij Pheasant, Long-tailed Broadbill, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, White-hooded Babbler and a close view of a Rufous-necked Hornbill. After dark we had a close calling Hodgson's Frogmouth that we managed to glimpse as it shot overhead.

Returning to camp after dark for our last night under canvas.

A typical view

Palab, our guide, knew where all the birds were hiding.

Ward's Trogon

Rufous-necked Hornbill

Ferruginous Flycatcher

19th April - Bompu and return to Lamacamp

Another early start and we still needed to find the Beautiful Nuthatch, so we headed down the road as we did yesterday afternoon, as with any tour with multiple vehicles the tour etiquette is to rotate you position each day so everyone gets an equal shot. This morning I happened to be in the front vehicle and as well as the early Kalij Pheasants, one of the first birds we had that flew across the road was a Blue-winged Laughingthrush that alighted briefly in a roadside bush before continuing deeper into vegetation. Very quickly a Beautiful Nuthatch was heard calling out of the window of the car, so after a few frantic moments the bird was found and seen well by all. We also saw a Great Barbet and Eye-browed Wren Babbler in the same area.

Further down the road we eventually found the Large Blue Flycatcher which was another key species. Others birds seen included Red-headed Trogon, Speckled Piculet, White-throated Bulbul and White-browed Scimitar Babbler.

We returned to Bompu camp for lunch, packed up and left heading back to Lamacamp, stopping a few times on the way where we found Yellow-browed Tit, Scaly-breasted Cupwing, Rufous-faced Warbler, Yellow-vented Warbler, Spot-throated Babbler good views of Hill Partridge and Himalayan Shortwing.

We arrived back at Lamacamp and re-settled in our tents for the night.

Inside the tents at Bompu were comfortable enough

right idea, but think they need a bit of work on their slogans

An early morning Kalij Pheasant out of a moving vehicle

Beautiful Nuthatch

Malabar Imperial Pigeon

Yellow-vented Warbler

Large Blue Flycatcher

Rufous-faced Warbler (wearing a ring!)

Lamacamp dining room

April 20th - Lamacamp to Kaziranga

Not only did today involve another long drive, but we had our very important last attempt to find the Bugun Liochicla. So we were at the start of the Bugun trail at Aloo Bari at first light. Somehow the birding gods deemed to smile on us once more as no sooner had we arrived in the first area on the trail that the Bugun had previously be seen, did we encounter a fair bit of bird activity and a calling Bugun Liochicla. With a short wait the Bugun Liochicla appeared popping up briefly above the undergrowth to prove to us that the mythical bird exists. A mixture of joy and relief ensued and a few other birds were seen on the trail including Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush and a Pygmy Cupwing that showed itself for once.

Our success in short order meant we had enough time for a walk further up the road on the Tragopan trail, although no Tragopans were going to greet us this morning, we did see Darjeeling Woodpecker, Black-eared Shrike Babbler, Yellow-browed Tit, Rufous-bellied Niltava and both Grey-bellied and Chestnut-crowned Tesias. We left the trail at 9.20am and returned to the camp to load our bags into the vehicles and set off on the long journey to Kaziranga.

On route we stopped at the River Tenga near Jamiri and found a Crested Kingfisher and had a lunch stop at the Sunrise Hotel again, before continuing on to arrive at our comfortable hotel in Kazaringa around 7pm.

Bugun Liochicla

Pygmy Cupwing

Chestnut-headed Tesia

Fresh veg stall in Tenga

Our second lunch at the Sunrise Hotel - A typical lunch plate

Journeys took a while as random cows had priority on the roads

21st April - Kazaringa National Park

We had the next day and a half in the Kazaringa National Park, known as a World Heritage site it has a particular focus on large mammals with strong populations of Indian Elephant, Indian Rhinoceros, Asian Buffalo and Swamp Deer all of which we saw plenty of.

There were two daily slots for the open top jeeps we would be using, a morning slot and an afternoon slot and you chose which area to go into, we covered Central and Western zones.

An Indian Cuckoo was singing away outside our rooms this morning, then after breakfast we boarded our jeeps and firstly drove to the park office to get entry tickets and then to the park gate in a queue waiting for the park to open. We drove out slowly into the open areas already with Asian Elephant and Indian Rhinoceros visible Citrine Wagtails were in the near marshy areas and were of two forms the grey-backed (nominate) and black backed (calcarata)and a Hog Badger was an early surprise.

The morning added a number of new species. Black-necked Storks were seen close to the Rhinos, Alexandrine Parakeets were helpfully noisy as they flew. Greater and Lesser Coucals were seen along with Rufous Treepie and Green-billed Malkoha. Spot-billed Pelicans flew over and the colourful birds continued with Blue-bearded, Asian Green and Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters and plenty of Indochinese Rollers. Great Hornbills were seen with numerous Grey-headed Fish Eagles and of a more skulky nature a Chestnut-capped Babbler and Dusky Warbler gave reasonable views.

We went back to the hotel later morning for lunch and to wait for the afternoon jeep trip. Where we repeated the drive to the park gate but this time went to a different area of the park with a tower platform which overlooked a vast area of grassland and wetland. Key species here were the Greater and Lesser Adjutants, River Terns a distant Pied Harrier, Pallas's Fish Eagles, a large number of Himalayan Vultures, Changeable Hawk Eagles, a Streak-throated Woodpecker, Red-breasted Parakeets, Grey-backed Shrike, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon and later in the afternoon, Swamp Francolins, Bronze-winged Jacanas and a Brown Crake ended an extremely bird-filled day.

Tea plantation near the park office

Park entrance

Hog Badger

young Asian elephant

Indian Rhino and Black-necked Stork

An aquatic Indian Rhino

Indochinese Roller

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Blue-bearded Bee-eater

Chestnut-capped Babbler

Pallas's Fish Eagles

Greater Adjutants

Greater Adjutant

Shikra

Indian Rhinoceros

Green-billed Malkoha

Grey-headed Fish Eagle

Wild Boar

April 22nd - Kazaringa to Nagaland

We still had some key species to find around Kazaringa this morning, so had a final park drive booked, but we had to leave the hotel by 11am for a 7 hour drive to Khonoma in Nagaland.

We started early at 5am outside the park behind the park offices, creeping into the undergrowth for what felt like a long shot at a Blue-naped Pitta, after stealthily edging forward something shot across the path in front of us, but after a few minutes nothing appeared, as we turned around the Blue-naped Pitta was seen on the ground about 20ft away, motionless and almost out of view, which allowed everyone a look before it vanished. Back on the track we had better views of Great Hornbill, found an Asian Barred Owlet, Chestnut Bellied Nuthatch, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Pin-striped Tit-Babbler, and a Crimson Sunbird. As it was still too early to enter the park we returned to the hotel for breakfast and wandered just up the street to see Baya Weaver nests.

We had our couple of hours booked for the park, so reloaded into the jeeps for the last time and throught the park entrance. Shortly after entering we saw a family of Smooth-coated Otters, then the first stretch of open grassland, Palab found a distant Bengal Florican, one of the key species to find here, everyone was elated. We managed some views through the scope of a bird wandering through the distant grassland. Another bird we were lucky to find was the Slender-billed Babbler. We also saw Plain Prinia, Ashy Prinia, Striated Babbler and Purple Heron, before our time was up and we headed back to the hotel, bags packed and long journey to Nagaland to our homestay accommodation.

Barely visible Blue-naped Pitta

Baya Weaver

Slender-billed Babblers

Slender-billed babblers

Grey-headed Fish Eagle

Surprised I managed anything but the 'head' is of a Bengal Florican - looks like a Brent Goose

Swamp Deer

Lunch stop on way to Nagaland

Our view from accommodation in Khonoma

This was our Accommodation - comfortable enough

.. and another view

April 23rd - Tragopan Sanctuary

This morning we went along the Dzuleki Road to an area called the Tragopan Sanctuary, we climbed a steep trail ascending 400m to a height of 2,345m. It was misty and windy at the top of the ridge where we saw very little let alone any Tragopans. but our main target was actually on the way up, the very restricted range Naga Wren-Babbler, where we managed reasonable views of an individual. We also saw Lesser Cuckoo, Black-headed Shrike Babbler, Crested Finchbills. Many Nepal House Martins, Grey-crowned Warblers and Rusty-fronted Barwing.

In the afternoon we moved to different areas along the road and saw Indian Blue Robin, Plumbeous Water Redstart, White-capped Redstart and Rufous-crowned Prinia next to a stream. Some Mountain Bamboo Partridge nearby crossing the road and Mountain Hawk Eagle and Silver-eared Mesias.

The homestay prepared food for us which we ate downstairs, which all worked reasonably well.

Indian Blue Robin

Black-throated Prinia khasiana (now rufous-crowned)

Plumbeous Water Redstart

The start of the Tragopan trail

Uphill for a few miles

24th April - Khonoma to Pfutsero

The morning was spent back near the Tragopan Sanctuary, successfully looking for Laughingthrushes, we managed to find Brown-capped Laughingthrush, Striped Laughingthrush and Assam Laughingthrush. We also saw several Mountain Bamboo Partridge a Little Pied Flycatcher, White-tailed Robin and a Common Rosefinch.

We left ourselves little time to get back to our accommodation to pack bags and then spend the rest of the day journeying further on to Pfutsero, to a fairly basic hilltop hotel, although I'm loathed to call it a hotel.

Mountain Bamboo Partridge

Striped Laughingthrush

Little Pied Flycatcher

Valley views near Khonoma

Bees nests

on-route to Pfutsero

Important to know where to get your standard coffins next to the famous bakery

The dining room was pretty basic !!!

25th April - Drive to Meluri

The idea of basing ourselves in Pfutsero was to be in a location to reach the Meluri area, which is close to the area where the very restricted Yellow-throated Laughingthrush can be found, in fact this is the only known area in the world it exists. The biggest problem was the major roadworks between Pfutsro and Meluri which turned the journey into 5+ hours rather than 3 hours, which meant our start was at 1am !!. It truly was an awful journey but we made it by daylight and started the birding on a 10km stretch of the road before Meluri. The habitat was different to what we have had before and it was dry secondary forest with Eucalypt-type trees.

We spent the morning birding this stretch of road adding various species including Black-naped Monarch, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Grey Treepie, Ashy, Black-crested and Red Whiskered Bulbuls, Rufescent Prinia, Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher, Crimson Sunbird and Crested Honey Buzzard, but the only Laughingthrush we found was Rufous Necked Laughingthrush.

We continued to bird the area into the afternoon but knew that we had to leave by 4.30pm, given it was a 5+ hour journey back. It wasn't until 3.45pm that we found a flock of birds that included several Greater-necklaced Laughingthrushes and we became a little more excited as the birds started moving , we were looking down into the valley and the we saw at least one Yellow-throated Laughingthrush, which gave a good but brief sighting. It was with some relief that we endured our journey back.

Ashy Woodswallow

Crimson Sunbird

Rufescent Prinia

Whiskered Yuhina

The area near Meluri

26th April Pfutsero to Dimapur

We did try this morning to go to an area of forest on the road out of Pfutsero through some of the roadworks we encountered yesterday but after about 30 minutes we came across a landslip that was blocking the route so we had to retrace our steps and instead decided to try an area the other side of town on the Chezami to Thetsumi Road.

We only added a few more species with a Small Niltava, Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker, Mountain Tailorbird, Flavescent Bulbul and some Common Hill Myna and were amused to bump into the local equivalent of a stag party with the lads out on their motorbikes dressed in traditional waistcoats armed with a mixture of rifles and spears !, but we had word that one of the local farmers had caught a Blyth's Tragopan and had it in a cage waiting for the park authority to some along and release the bird, so we went and saw it - although it was in a cage and we didn't officially count the bird it was good to catch up with a bird that continued to elude us out in the forests.

The rest of the day was spent driving to Dimapur to our hotel - The Seb Towers for one night.

Mountain Tailorbird

Small Niltava

Roadside birding area near Pfutsero

The stag party !!!!

Presuming this pig was dead before they started to barbecue it.

The elusive Blyth's Tragopan

The Pfutsero 'hotel' - we did wonder whether the bars were intended to keep us in.

27th April- Dimapur to Digboi to Tinsukia

Again a long day of driving, a couple of stops on-route produced Fulvous Whistling Duck, Grey-headed Swamphen, White-breasted Waterhen, Lesser Adjutant, Greater Flameback, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush, Common, Indian and Jungle Myna.

We arrived in the Digboi area in the late afternoon, apparently the main birding site was shut due to a rogue Elephant, so we birded a side-track near to the village, where we found a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Blue-throated Barbet, Lineated Barbet, Grey-headed Woodpecker and Rufous-necked Laughingthrush.

Our hotel in the middle of town in Tinsukia was above shops, but served up some of the best food we had all trip.

Blue-throated Barbet

Rufous-necked Laughingthrush

This was our morning breakfast place, did great pastries

morning food market

28th April Brahmaputra trip and Digboi area

Next morning saw us driving to the shores of the Brahmaputra for what we were told was a ferry to an island in the middle of the river to look for specialist grassland birds. On arriving at the small village and walking towards the edge of the river, it was a case of 'where's the ferry ?' - not realising that the 2 dugout canoes in front of us comprised 'the ferry' and suddenly our nerves were shot to pieces. A little daunting but it was a still, sunny morning, the river was flowing nicely and with a deep breath and remaining rigid all the way across we did make it the approximate 400m there and back in one piece.

On the way down to the river through some farmland there was a pool by the side of the track which held some Citrine Wagtails, Eastern Yellow Wagtails, Temmincks Stints and Little Ringed Plover.

It turned out to be quite a good morning. Both Cinnamon Bittern and Yellow Bittern were seen as a couple of Striated Herons, Baikal Bush Warbler, Bluethroat, Delicate, Yellow-bellied and Plain Prinias, and after a bit of work we saw several of the speciality birds including Jerdon's Babbler, Black-breasted Parrotbill and Swamp Grass Babbler. There was also a Ganges River Dolphin as we crossed the river on the boats.

In the afternoon we did some roadside birding near the Dihing-Patkai National Park seeing Red-headed Trogon, Hooded Pitta, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch.

We then went to the similar area of the Digboi as the previous day to look for the Chestnut-backed Laughingthrush. We started with Collared Treepie but with no birds calling we moved further along the track into dense scrub, firstly a Cobra shot across the path a few feet away and then we found a bird flock, but just as some-one called Chestnut-backed Laughing Thrush we heard the trumpeting of an angry Indian Elephant and breaking vegetation, it was very close as it appeared over the top of the bushes moving towards us waving it's trunk and flapping its ears. Palab just shouted 'run'. Whether that was the right thing to do we all obeyed and made separate bee-lines very quickly through the undergrowth until we gathered again about 50m further on - the Elephant did not follow and we understood that we had been given a stern warning to get out of his patch of forest. So the Laughingthrush remained off the list. A heart-pumping moment that we had a good laugh about later over a cold beer.

Cinnamon Bittern

Jerdon's Babbler

Citrine Wagtail

All a bit nervous about the 'ferry'

It was further than it looked !

Temminck's Stint

29th April - Tinsukia to Mishmi Hills

After leaving Tinsukia early in the morning we headed back to the Brahmaputra for another trip to the same island, enduring the Ferry crossing once more. We didn't add anything in terms of species seen but had better views of the Black-breasted Parrotbills. We then headed towards Mishmi Hills in the far North East of the country crossing the border again into Arunachal Pradesh, we firstly went through the border town of Roing, stocking up o supplies and completing formalities before we crossed the Brahmaputra once more and started our ascent, firstly going through an area of Bamboo Forest ,where we found a Pale-headed Woodpecker and Collared Treepie and further along a Grey-breasted Prinia. Then we entered the forest areas and were successful at one of the roadside stops seeing a Cachar Wedge-billed Babbler.

We arrived at our accommodation for 4 nights at around 2,500m near the Mayodia Pass. We were expecting a simple guesthouse, perhaps not quite the look of the building that we found, but actually it was comfortable enough and they managed to feed us reasonably well in our time there.

Black-breasted Parrotbill

Black-breasted Parrotbill

Black-Breasted Parrotbill

Waiting on the island for the return ferry

The return ferry

Halfway to safety.

30th April - Mishmi Hills and the Mayodia Pass

It was almost certain in the Mishmi Hills that we would have some wet weather and potentially a substantial amount. The forests in the area were extensive and our birding range would be between 600m and 3000m in altitude and we would have to be flexible with our plans according to the weather.

We started this morning going up and over the pass, it was raining and the top of the pass was covered in low cloud, so we had to descend before we could see anything. Or first sighting was a Scaly Laughingthrush followed by a Yellow-browed Tit then a Red Serow (a small deer). It wasn't too long before we found our first major target a Gould's Shortwing which gave good views. Lots of Warblers were flitting through the trees, Ashy-throated, Buff Barred our first Large-billed Leaf Warbler and Yellow-cheeked Tit, Green-tailed Sunbird. As we moved slightly further down we found a Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Manipur Fulvetta, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Streak-throated Barwing and Rufous-winged Fulvetta.

Surprisingly we found somewhere to have lunch at a place called the Old Hotel - Old yes, hotel I'm not sure, but it was welcome to be inside for a while out of the damp and cold weather. Our afternoon saw us back over the pass and descending beyond our accommodation.

We continued to find new birds in the different area, a Darjeeling Woodpecker, and another key species in Rusty-bellied Shortwing where a pair of birds gave good views. We heard calling Blyth's Tragopans and on more than one occasion positioned ourselves overlooking good areas but they failed to materialise from the vegetation. We saw Black-faced Warbler, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie and Yellow throated Fulvetta and tried for the Mishmi Wren-Babbler that we heard without success.

We returned to our accommodation just after dark.

The welcoming entrance to our guesthouse !!

Our rooms were on the side of the building where the supporting pillars seemed to have become detached !

The roof terrace gave great views

The lounge area had recently been upgraded

This was the front building where we had breakfast, the rooms were up the hill

.. but when the clouds lifted the views were pretty spectacular

Golden-breasted Fulvetta

Manipur Fulvetta

Gould's Shortwing

Darjeeling Woodpecker

Rusty-bellied Shortwing (female)

Rusty-bellied Shortwing (male)

Our lunch stop

1st May -Mishmi Hills

Our morning started heading down the hill from the accommodation, with an early try for the Tragopans, unfortunately with the same result of heard but not seen. We had Black-throated Parrotbill, Crimson-naped Woodpecker, Common Cuckoo, Speckled Woodpigeon, Long-tailed Broadbills, Pygmy Cupwing, Grey-bellied Tesia, Scaly Laughingthrush, Rusty-fronted Barwing, White-tailed Nuthatch and Slaty-Blue Flycatcher. We also had a roadside view of a Golden-naped Finch and tracked down a calling Green Cochoa although the scope views were limited as it sat in the wrong side of the tree. We thought we heard Purple Cochoa but had no sighting.

Near to lunchtime we saw an Asian Emerald Cuckoo and managed good views of a Long-billed Wren-Babbler in one of the gulleys but our attempts at Mishmi Wren-Babbler were not working. We returned to our accommodation for lunch and before we boarded the vehicles a Dark-rumped Rosefinch was seen in the local litter pile. As we again worked our way down the hill with particular focus on Mishmi Wren-Babbler, we watched Grey-sided Bush Warbler, Striated yuhina, Black-faced Laughingthrush, Sapphire Flycatcher. Eventually approaching late afternoon we tracked down and saw a Mishmi Wren-Babbler, which was quite a relief to all.

Dark-rumped Rosefinch

Golden-naped Finch

Streak-throated Barwing

Asian Emerald Cuckoo

Long-billed Wren-Babbler

A rare clear sky view

Stunning scenery

These are Mithun - descendents of the Gaur

2nd May - Mishmi Hills

This was our last full day in the hills and again we started but descending the road and again could not persuade the calling Blyth's Tragopans to make an appearance, we did however, track down a calling Purple Cochoa which gave excellent views perched up on a dead tree in the middle of the valley.

We also added Brown Bullfinch, Brown Dipper and Yellow-rumped Warbler and had really good views of Beautiful Nuthatch at a viewpoint. At a lower elevation we saw a small flock with Pale-headed Parrotbills, Red-billed Scimitar Babbler, Blyth's Paradise Flycatcher, with Grey-backed Shrike and Grey-throated babbler.

In the afternoon as we headed back up the mountain the rain came in really heavily which rather curtailed any plans.

Beautiful Nuthatch

Purple Cochoa

Striated Laughingthrush

Grey-backed Shrike

This must be what they do in Finland after lunch

unusual Moth - to be i'dd

3rd May - Mishmi to Tinsukia

Since yesterday afternoon the rain had been pretty unrelenting, so it was a good time to head down off the mountain and when we reached the lower slopes it gave a little time to do some birding we found another Cachar Wedge-billed Babbler, Black-backed Forktail and Pale-headed Woodpecker and Hooded Pitta. After we crossed the Brahmaputra again we headed to some more grassland in the floodplain near Jia and saw a Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler, more Black-breasted Parrotbills, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird and Chestnut Munia.

We returned to Tinsukia to the same hotel for our last night.

Near to where we crossed the Brahmaputra

A very skulky Cachar Wedge-billed babbler

Black-breasted Parrotbill

Grey backed Shrike

4th May - Tinsukia - Dimapur - London

Our final morning we had a couple of hours before departing where we revisited the Dihing-Patkai National Park. We couldn't get into the park due to a fallen tree so had to make do with some roadside birding just adding Thick-billed Green Pigeon, Large Woodshrike, Sutan Tit, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Large Cuckooshrike. A small troop of Hoolock Gibbons passed through the trees.

We returned to the hotel packed our bags and headed for Dimapur airport for a connecting flight in Delhi to London. The Dimapur to Delhi leg was fine but we ended up sat on the tarmac for 4 hours waiting for our London flight to take off which madee for a rather painful last leg home !

The trip was fantastic with a bird list of nearly 450 species, some great Mammals, wonderful scenery, good food, an excellent group, great locals and unusual accommodation.... Lovin India 💕

Hoolock Gibbon

Paul Matson's Birding Blog

North East India - April 2022

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