From
the lowlands of Assam to the ornithologically unexplored
forests of the Mishmi Hills in the north-eastern Himalayas
in ArunachalPradesh – Kaziranga, Nameri, Dibru-Saikhowa
and Mishmi Hills
The tour offers not only the extraordinary rich floodplains
of the Brahmaputra but also the eastern Himalayas. In addition
to the remote Mishmi Hills in ArunachalPradesh, we’ll
visit three national parks in Assam, Kaziranga and Dibru-Saikhowa
with their extensive grasslands, beels (wetlands) and riverine
forests and Nameri on the northern edge of the Assam plains.
Suitable time: November to early April
Kaziranga National Park
Kaziranga National Park is situated in the floodplains
of the river Brahmaputra and is known for its three big
mammals, Indian Rhinoceros, Wild Water Buffalo and Asian
Elephant. Other speciality mammals of Kaziranga are Swamp
Deer and Hoolock Gibbon. Birdlife is diverse and we will
be looking for Bengal Florican, Grey-headed Fish Eagle,
Pied Falconet, Finn’s Weaver, White-throated Bulbul,
and Black-backed Forktail. We will be birding from jeep
or elephant (one ride mainly to watch BengalFlorican).
During our stay we will be visiting various ranges of the
park and forest of Panbari so that different habitats in
the park – grasslands, marshes, jheels and forests
are well covered.
Nameri National Park
Nestled on the foot of the eastern Himalayas on the northern
edge of Assam plains are the beautiful forests of Nameri
National Park, accessible only after crossing the riverJia
Bhareli. This underestimated birding site has an impressive
bird list of more than 375 species. We will visit a part
of the park after a boat ride across the river and explore
this interesting area on foot. Specialties that we will
be looking for include rarities like White-winged Duck,
White-cheeked Partridge, Blyth’s Kingfisher, Oriental
Hobby, Black Baza and Blue-naped Pitta. Nameri and Kaziranga
share some birds but many forest birds are easily seen
in Nameri. Ibisbill is quite regular between November and
early April. We will take a rafting trip on the river to
check up this interesting wader. The rafting also gives
opportunity to see Great Thick-knee, Wreathed Hornbill,
White-capped River-chat and the rare Long-billed Plover.
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
With its extensive grasslands, wetlands, and patches of
riverine forests it is home to three specialities - Marsh
and Jerdon’s Babblers and Rufous-vented (Swamp Prinia).
We will take a boat ride in the park and search for Jerdon’s
Bushchat, Black-breasted Parrotbill, Rufous-rumped Grassbird.
We can also find Lesser Adjutant, Sand Lark, Rosy and Buff-bellied
Pipits, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Smoky and Dusky Warblers
and Striated and Chestnut-capped Babblers. Some other birds
we may see are Slender-billed Vulture, Wreathed Hornbill,
Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker and Rufous-necked Laughingthrush.
Mishmi Hills
The Mishmi Hills in the extreme north-east of Arunachal
Pradesh, bounded on the south by the Lohit river and on
the west by the great Brahmaputra are relatively unexplored.
This area has one of the highest annual rainfalls in the
Indian subcontinent resulting in luxurious vegetation and
high diversity of mountain birds. The area was out of bound
for foreigners and has been opened recently by the Indian
government. It is home to some of the rarest endemics and
sought after birds of the Indian subcontinent. The enigmatic
Rusty-throated Wren-Babbler (Mishmi Wren-Babbler) was rediscovered
here in 2004, known previously from a specimen collected
in 1947 by Salim Ali and S.D. Ripley. We will explore the
selection of habitats from the Dibang river (150 m) to
Mayodia pass (2655 m ). Expect a wide selection of typical
east Himalayan specialities including Black-faced and Streak-throated
Laughingthrush, Fulvous Parrotbill, Grey Bullfinch and
Spot-winged Rosefinch.
Day 1 Delhi to Guwahati and Nameri
Depart from Delhi in the morning and arrive Guwahati in
the state of Assam. Drive straight to Nameri from the airport.
Nightstay Eco-Camp, comfortable tented camp situated close
to Nameri National Park.
Day 2 Nameri
There will be good birding in the morning on the grounds
of the camp. Oriental Hobby, Lineated Barbet, Red-breasted
Parakeet, Greater Yellownape, Orange-belliedLeafbird and
Daurian Redstart are not uncommonly seen at Eco-Camp. After
crossing the Jia Bhareli river in a small boat in the morning
we will walk in the forest and woodland habitats. Our main
target would be White-winged Duck. In the open areas of
the park we will look for the threatened Pallas’s
Fish-Eagle and widespread species like Oriental Honey-Buzzard,
Crested Serpent Eagle, Common Kestrel and Peregrine Falcon.
Nameri is a good place to look for raptor specialities
like Oriental Hobby and Pied Falconet. Forest species we
are likely to encounter include Red-breasted Parakeet,
Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, GreaterYellownape,
Lineated and Blue-throated Barbets, Great Pied Hornbill,
Lesser Coucal, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Maroon Oriole,
Streaked Spiderhunter and Scarlet-backedFlowerpecker. There
will also be variety of doves and pigeons - Barred Cuckoo-Dove,
Oriental Turtle, Spotted and Emerald Doves, Wedge-tailed,
Pin-tailed, Ashy-headed Green (split from Pompadour) and
Green Imperial Pigeons. In mixed hunting parties we would
see Black-winged Cuckooshrike, Pied Flycatcher-Shrike,
Long-tailed and Scarlet Minivets, Large Woodshrike, White-throated
Fantail, Common Iora, Sultan Tit, Yellow-browed, Greenish
and Grey-hooded Warblers and Chestnut-bellied and Velvet-fronted
Nuthatches. Other species that we should find include Himalayan
Swiftlet, Asian Palm-Swift, Himalayan Black Bulbuls, Asian
Fairy Bluebird and Ashy and Spangled Drongos. We will take
a rafting trip on the river Jia Bhareli to look for the
elegant Ibisbill and Great Thick-knee.
Nightstay Eco-Camp
Day 3 Nameri to Kaziranga
Drive to Kaziranga after breakfast. After four hours drive
we’ll reach Kaziranga in time for lunch. In the evening
we will go to the park for open-top jeep drive to see birds
and mammals (walking is restricted). The low-lying grassland
is a superb place to see plenty of fascinating mammals.
We will surely see Indian One-horned Rhinoceros, Indian
Elephant, Wid Boar and Wild Buffalo. The deer of the park
include Swamp and Hog Deer.
Nightstay at a wildlife lodge at Kaziranga.
Day 4-5 Kaziranga
We will go for open-top jeep drive to see the birds and
mammals in the park in the morning and evening. One morning
we will walk in the Panbari forest and adjacent tea plantation
to find woodland birds. To watch the rare Bengal Florican
we will use an elephant to find the bustard in the grassland.
Indian Rhinoceros, Indian Elephant, Wild Water Buffalo,
Swamp and Hog Deer can not be missed in the park. Hoolock
Gibbon, Capped Langur and Smooth Indian Otter are the other
mammals of the park. There are good numbers of Tigers in
the reserve but due to high grasses one generally needs
a good amount of luck to come across one. We will look
for Grey-headed Lapwing, Kaleej Pheasent, Swamp Francolin,
Pied Harrier, Pallas’s Fish-Eagle, Banded Bay Cuckoo,
Green-billed Malkoha, Lesser Coucal, Oriental Pied Hornbill,
Lesser Necklaced Laughingthush, Chestnut-capped Babbler,
Pale-chinned Flycatcher, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Green Magpie
and more birds during two full days.
Night stay at a wildlife lodge at Kaziranga.
Day 6 Kaziranga to Tinsukhia
Long drive to Tinsukhia after breakfast. We will stop
for lunch on the way and to watch birds as there are good
opportunities to see Slender-billed Vulture and Lesser
Adjutant Stork at some sites.
Nighstay at a comfortable city hotel.
Day 7 Tinsukhia (Assam) to Debang Valley (Arunachal Pradesh)
Early in the moning we will go to Dhola to take ferry
across the Lohit river. While on the river quite a few
birds can be seen – Lesser Pied Kingfisher, Peregrine
Falconand Ruddy Shelduck.
After crossing the river we will drive to the Mishmi Hills
and explore the whole area up to Mayodia Pass.
Nightstay in basic resthouses
Day 8-12 The Mishmi Hills
We will spend five days in these remote ranges of the
Himalayas from the flood plains at 150 m to Mayodia Pass
at 2655 m. There are still patches of good forest and thereare
lot of birds! We will look for the endemic Mishmi Wren-Babbler
which is relatively common in some areas. We will spend
most of our time birding the lush primary forested hillsides
from the roadsides which are home to a very interesting
East Himalayan specialities.
We are likely to see Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Black Eagle,
Rufous-bellied Eagle, Mountain Hawk Eagle, Pin-tailed and
Wedge-tailed Pigeons, Red-headed and Ward’s Trogons,
Great and Golden-throated Barbets, Darjeeling, Paleheaded
and Bay Woodpeckers and White-browed and Streaked Piculets,
Nepal House Martin, Rosy Pipit, White-throated and Ashy
Mountain Bulbuls, White-browed and Rufous-breasted Bush-Robins,
Hodgson’s and Daurian Redstarts, Slaty-backed Forktail,
Plain-backed, Long-tailed, Scaly, Long-billed, Chestnut-bellied,
Plain-backed and Scaly Thrushes, Grey-winged Blackbird,
Golden and Spot-throated Babblers, Red-billed, Coral-billed,
Slender-billed and Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babblers, Wedge-billed
Scimitar-Babbler, Rufous-vented, Rufous-chinned, Spotted,
Grey-sideded, Blue-winged, Scaly, Blackfaced and Striated
Laughingthrushes, Red-faced Liocichla, Silver-eared Mesia,
Black-headed and Black-eared Shrike-Babblers, HimalayanCutia,White-hooded
Babbler, Streak-throated Rusty-fronted Barwings, Red-tailed,
Blue-winged, Chestnut-tailed and Long-tailed Minlas, Yelow-thraoted,
Golden-breasted, Streak-throated, Brown-headed Fulvettas,
Long-tailed and Beautiful Sibias, White-naped, Black-chinned,
Striated and Stripe-throated Yuhinas, Fire-tailedMyzornis,
Rufous-headed, Lesser Rufous-headed, Brown and Grey-headed
Parrotbills, Chestnut-headed, Grey-bellied, Slaty-bellied
and Chestnut-headed Tesias,severalbush-warblers including
Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, a good selection of leaf
warblers- Ashy-throated, Buff-barred and Black-faced Leaf-Warblers,
Bar-winged and Long-biled Wren-Babblers, Vivid, Pale Blue
and White-gorgeted Flycatchers, Yellow-bellied Fantail,
Yellow-browed, Sultan, Rufous-vented and Rufous fronted
Tits, White-tailed and Beautiful Nuthatches, Dark-rumped
and Spotwinged Rosefinches, Collared Grosbeak, Crimson
and Gold-naped Finches, Green Magpie, CollaredTreepie,
Yellow-biled Blue Magpie and Large-billed Crow.
With luck, we might see Sclater’s Monal, Rufous-throated
Hill Partridge, Blyth’s Tragopan Gould’s or
Rusty-bellied Shortwing, Purple Cochoa and Spot-throated
Parrotbill.
Nightstay in basic resthouses
Day 13 Mishmi Hills to Tinsukhia
After a final morning’s birding in the Mishmi Hills
we’ll make our way back across the Lohit river and
return to our hotel in Tinsukhia for a two night stay.
Nighstay at a comfortable city hotel.
Day 14 Dibru-Saikhowa
We will spend morning visiting Dibru-Saikhowa National
Park, 11 km north of Tinsukhia, encompassing a patchwork
of seasonally flooded forests, beels (wetlands) and grassy
areas between the rivers Dibru and Brahmaputra. We will
look for three Indian endemics- Jerdon’s and Marsh
Babblers and Rufous-vented (Swamp) Prinia. Our time will
also be spent in looking for Black-breasted Parrotbill.
Day 15 Fly to Delhi/Kolkata
Drive to Dibrugarh and fly to Delhi / Kolkata.
Accomodation
We will be using a mix of comfortable city hotels, luxury
camps, jungle lodges and rustic resthouse in the Mishmi
Hills.
Transport
Transport used on the tour will be car or mini coach.
Most of the birding in the Mishmi Hills is on foot along
the road and trails leading away from the road. The walks
are easy and vehicles are kept handy for comfort.
Climate
Typically the winter is dry and sunny in this part of
India but some rain can be expected. Snow is also possible
near Mayodia Pass. It is warm in the lowlands and cool
to cold at higher elevations.
Photography
Photographic opportunities are good overall, most of the
time with good light conditions.
Extension
The tour can be extended for three or four nights to Namdapha,
one of the most biologically diverse parts of the Indian
subcontinent.
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