Bhutan Part 7

Friday 27^th

We went out at 5.45 and before heading off, saw a Brown Boobook calling and perched in the treetop across the road. We then drove a short distance to some fields and had coffee and biscuits before going for a walk down to the local sewage ponds. The open grassland and settling tanks gave us a whole new range of birds. Although many of them are widespread across Asia, this is the only place you can find them in Bhutan as they frequent lowlands. We were right next to the border of India, being only half a kilometre away across the river.

New birds for the trip came thick and fast with large birds such as Asian Openbill, Lineated Barbet, Red-naped Ibis, Indian Peafowl  and Black Baza for starters and plenty of small birds including Jungle Babbler, Black Redstart (of the Eastern red-bellied race), Alexandrine and Ring-necked Parakeets, Asian Pied Starling and Eastern Red-rumped Swallow.

Puff-throated Babbler

Black Baza

'Eastern' Black Redstart

We walked through the gates by the settling tanks where there were some egrets and Indian Pond Herons as well as a few waders. Greenshank and Little Ringed Plover were new as was a flock of 15 Grey-headed Lapwing. There were a few Little Grebes, some Lesser Whistling Ducks and a Pintail Snipe flew from one of the causeways.

Rosy Minivet

Greater Flameback

In the adjacent scrub were Pin-striped Tit-Babbler and Puff-throated Babbler along with several Dusky Warblers. We drove back to the start of the area and had another filling breakfast.

Red shieldbug

We went down the track again, past the sewage works to a river that required a careful balancing act on large stones to cross. Fortunately no one fell in. Asian Palm Swifts flew over while up in the trees were Oriental Cuckooshrike, Rosy Minivet and Indochinese Roller.

Woodpeckers included Greater Flameback, Lesser Yellownape and Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker. A White-throated Needletail zipped over and a Bar-headed Goose flew north towards the taller peaks of the Himalayas which they habitually cross on their migration earning them a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest flying birds.

Great Myna aboard cattle

Asian Pied Starlings

Our last Golden Langur

We drove back for lunch and then had a three hour break as the bird activity had quietened down even though it was overcast and occasionally drizzly.

Our hotel, it wasn't the best nor exotic

We met up at 4pm for a wander around the park opposite the hotel. Just before we headed out there was a Red-breasted Parakeet feeding in the hotel garden. 

Red-breasted Parakeet

The town is scheduled for a massive redevelopment over the next few years as a 'Mindfulness City' and although this park will be retained the area we visited in the morning is likely to be built on.

The park is mostly woodland and held a nice selection of birds including Grey-headed Woodpecker, Green Imperial Pigeon, Common Iora, Lineated and Coppersmith Barbets.

Lineated Barbet

Black-rumped Flameback

After dinner we had a drive around town to look for owls: we saw three Brown Boobook, Spotted Owlet and Oriental Scops-Owl.

Brown Boobook

Oriental Scops-Owl

Saturday 28^th

We packed up and left the hotel at 5.45, leaving the lowlands behind as we slowly climbed back up into the mountains. The first part of the morning was mostly seeing birds while driving with Brown Shrike being the only new addition. We made our first stop after an hour where we saw Wreathed Hornbill, Black-crested Bulbul and Mountain Imperial Pigeon (which was soon shortened to MIMP to go along with GIMP for Green Imperial Pigeon). We stopped along the road for another one of our fine breakfasts although the hoped for porridge didn’t materialise.

Exotic fruit

Breakfast under canvas

It rained for quite a lot of the morning so we did miss out on a few birds but we did eventually manage to catch up with one of the Green Pigeons – Pin-tailed as a nonet perched up in a distant tree. Asian Pied and Wreathed Hornbills were also seen. As we neared the pass we made another stop and added a couple of Mountain Bulbul.

Wreathed Hornbill

Pin-tailed Green-Pigeons

Asian Pied Hornbill

A wet Indochinese Roller

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Passing the road to India

Border stone between Bhutan and India

Striated Laughingthrush

Mountain Bulbul

Green-tailed Sunbird

Lunch was taken at the pass at 1,900m where we also had good views of Large Niltava and Grey Bushchat. 

Lunch among the flags

Large Niltava

A distant MIMP (Mountain Imperial Pigeon)

Grey Bushchat

We started to drop down and made a few stops along the way, seeing Hume’s Bush-Warbler and Rufous-throated Wren-Babbler but failing to see a Spotted Elachura that sang for 20 minutes just in front of us.

Bhutan Laughingthrush

Cloud coming up the valley

All dressed up for a local festival

We arrived at our hotel at 5pm and had a bit of time before dinner and log. Paul had purchased a bottle of Bhutanese peach wine which we sampled over dinner. Most of us managed to complete the e-arrivals card for our return to India in a few days’ time before we walked down the road for some owling. We heard Collared Scops-Owl calling from a dense patch of bamboo but there was no chance of us seeing it.