Day 4 – 13th March - Thimphu to Punakha
Another early morning start as we left Thimphu and headed
towards the Royal Botanic Gardens in the Lampelri area. On the way we went over
the Dochu La Pass at 3150 metres altitude. Here views were slightly hampered by
the mist and poor light but the sun came giving good views of the Bhutanese
Himalayas and the 108 Choetens and temple surrounded by prayer flags at the top
of the pass.
There was some good birding roadside birding to be had.
 |
| Green-tailed Sunbird - Frequently seen during the trip. |
 |
| Yellow-browed Tit |
 |
| White-tailed Nuthatch |
 |
| Crimson-browed Finch - A female. Another Himilayan species. |
We had a nice cooked breakfast just outside of the Botanical
Gardens, again provided by the Breakfast Boys and with a few Yaks wandering
past.
 |
| Blue Whistling-thrush |
We spent a couple of hours birding in the gardens which is
well known for its rhododendrons, however due to the very cold winter Bhutan
had just experienced most of them were yet to flower. There were plenty of birds present but many
hard to see in the undergrowth. The
birds seen included
Rufous-bellied Eagle, Hoary-throated Barwing, Dark-rumped
Rosefinch, Crimson-browed Finch, Red-billed Leiothrix, Hodgson’s Treecreeper and
Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher.
 |
| Dark-rumped Rosefinch - Another bird found at high altitudes in the Himalayas and parts of China. |
 |
| Hoary-throated Barwing |
 |
| Red-billed Leiothrix |
 |
| Rusty-flanked Treecreeper - A high altitude species only found in the Himalayas. |
 |
| Sambar Deer |
 |
| Grey-hooded Warbler - A Warbler species that is restricted to the Himalayas. |
Then on towards Punakha (1300 metres altitude), on the way
picking up
Mountain Hawk-eagle and
Black Eagle, the latter close to the road and below us.
 |
| Black Eagle - A few were seen during the trip. |
At Punakha we saw the impressive Punakha Dzong (an
administrative centre) and managed to see two
Black-tailed Crakes nearby. The rivers in this area used to hold the
critically endangered
White-bellied Heron but sadly none have been seen in the
area for many months. Fortunately the
Pallas's
Fish-eagles that breed in the area did a display high overhead, one carrying a
large fish. Other birds on note were
Crested Kingfisher again, a
Northern Pintail and a
Pallas’s Gull on the river,
a
Hen Harrier over some cultivated fields, a flock of
Speckled Wood-pigeons,
our only
Paddyfield Pipit of the trip, a
Buff-barred Warbler,
Striated
Laughingthrush and a nice
Rusty-cheeked
Scimitar-babbler which sang to us!
 |
| Punakha Dzong |
Day 5 – 14th March - Punakha To Trongsa
The target bird for today was the Black-necked Crane and our only opportunity to see this endangered species. It is regarded as one of the “Big Five” bird species of Bhutan so we were keen to get it on our list. It was no means certain that we would be successful as they leave the wintering ground in the Phobhjikha Valley in Bhutan and head into Tibet to breed. Part of the valley has become a conservation area for the species, with a visitor centre on hand to allow visitors to get a view and to publicise the plight of this magnificent bird.
Leaving Punakha we headed to Tangsibji village through the Black Mountain National Park. This produced some excellent early morning birding including great and
Golden-throated Barbets,
Speckled Piculet and
Great and
Lesser Yellownapes.
 |
Speckled Piculet
|
 |
| Greater Yellownape |
Continuing our journey a Tibetan-style chorten and prayer flags mark the pass at Pele La (3,430m), a pass in the Black Mountains that is largely considered the boundary between Western and central Bhutan. We then descended through the rhododendron forests and thickets of dwarf bamboo to the Phobjika Valley where the Black-necked Cranes spend the winter. On the way to the Crane site we stopped off (for breakfast of course) and picked up several nice birds including
Speckled Piculet, Rufous-capped Babbler, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Greater Yellownape.
 |
| Rufous-capped Babbler |
 |
| Grey-headed Woodpecker |
Further along the road we stopped to view some large bees nests precariously built under overhanging rocks and a
Yellow-rumped Honeyguide perched nearby. Feeding on the almost vertical slopes below us were a family of seven
Goral.
 |
| Yellow-rumped Honeyguide - Perched fairly close to a Bees nest. |
 |
| A large Bees nests nearby |
 |
| Goral - Two of the seven present. |
 |
| Ashy-throated Warbler - A very confiding individual. |
We arrived in the Phobjika Valley late morning and manged to see a few distant Cranes fairly quickly. We then drove further down the valley to the visitor centre and got further views, plus a close encounter with captive Crane (called “Karma”) which had been rescued following an injury. It turned out that only 16 of the 300+ flock of wintering Cranes remained. The adults had left for Tibet in the few weeks before we arrived, leaving some sub-adults. Nether the less it was great to see this superb bird in it’s natural habitat.
 |
| Black-necked Crane - The injured bird called "Karma". A bit closer! |
 |
| Black-necked Cranes - Very distant!!!! |
 |
| Black-necked Cranes - A few of the stragglers |
After leaving the valley we headed on towards Trongsa. On route we came across a flock of
Himalayan Griffons circling above the road, so we stopped to get a few photos.
 |
| Himalayan Griffon |
Further on we crossed a high pass where there was a stream and surrounding marshy area. Here we stopped and searched for Solitary Snipe and after a short time Sonam had located one which was living up to it’s name. Solitary.
 |
| Solitary Snipe - The bird remained stationary for much of the time. |
A little later a lucky spot by Sonam was a small family of Golden Langur, one of the most endangered primate species in the world and endemic to a small part of Bhutan and western Assam, India. Another highlight of this part of the journey was a smart Wallcreeper which crept across the road!
 |
| Wallcreeper - crossing the road! |
 |
| Back in a more typical pose. |
 |
| Nepal House Martins |
 |
| Nepal House Martin nests |
We eventually arrived at the Yangkhil Resort for the night.
Day 6 – 15th March - Trongsa to Chumey
This was a day from travelling from Trongsa to the Bumthang area with birding along the way. The journey was interesting at times with major roadworks taking place on the only road between these places! At times we had to stop and wait for rocks and or equipment to be moved out of the road, so we could pass!
 |
| A fairly typical bit of the main road on this part of the journey. |
 |
| An impressive archway left intact despite the road widening. |
On one of the high passes we our only sightings of the trip of
Himalayan (Altai) Accentor, Mrs Gould’s Sunbird, White-browed Rosefinch and Northern Goshawk. We also managed to see
Green Shrike-babbler, Sikkim Treecreeper, Rufous-vented Yuhina, Crimson-browed Finch, White-winged Grosbeak and aerial views of
Himalayan Griffon and
Himalayan Buzzard; plus many more of the commoner species.
 |
| Mrs Gould's Sunbird - A stunning bird. |
 |
| White-browed Rosefinch |
 |
| Himalayan (Altai) Accentor |
 |
| Green-backed Tit - A nice view of this common species. |
 |
| Northern Goshawk - A species that is found right around the globe but only in the northern hemisphere. |
In the afternoon we visited the Tharpaling Monastery which is situated high in the Chumey valley (3,600 metres altitude) in the hope of seeing
Himilayan Monal. The monks apparently feed them early evening so hopefully increasing the chances of seeing them. We waited some time and had excellent views of a large flock of
Snow Pigeon that were roosting on the cliffs just above one of the monastery buildings. We had a large raptor fly over at one point, which was initially thought to be a
Himalayan Griffon. However in studying the photos (after arriving home) it could be seen that the bird was in fact a
Steppe Eagle! We did manage to get some partially hidden views of a male Monal but later saw three females on a steep bank just outside one of the monastery buildings.
 |
| Snow Pigeon - on cliffs above the monastery |
 |
| The flock of Snow Pigeon |
 |
| Himilayan Monal |
 |
| Himilayan Monal - A female in the open approaching the monks feeding area. |
 |
| Steppe Eagle - Id'd from photos. |
We arrived at Chumey Nature Resort (2800 metres altitude) as it was getting dark. It was comfortable enough but there were a lot of steps! We appeared to be the only guests.
No comments:
Post a Comment