Birding in Sattal & Corbett

It was about some time back that a bird enthusiast and photographer from Auckland NZ wrote to me. He wanted me to accompany me to Sattal & Corbett in Nainital District in Northern India. This was a surprise but that we had a stint together at Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary earlier.     

We landed at Sattal after a long drive at dinner time. It was cold as usual but I was expecting some good birding in the morning. I instructed the Mountain Club manager to wake us up early and be ready with breakfast. 

Well somehow we managed things in time and headed for Christian Ashram in outskirts. This is an isolated place with a tranquil lake and surrounding forests on the slopes. The evening was spent at Kainchi Dham these are the two places all birders visiting that region are familiar with. Next day we headed for Corbett Tiger Reserve.      

In a short trip some of the avian species we saw were:

Blue Throated Barbet
Crimson Breasted Barbet
Chestnut Shoulderd Petronia
Chestnut Bellied Thrush
Great Tit
Slaty Headed Parakeets
Great Barbet
Golden Spectacled Warbler
Black Faced Warbler
Lemon Rumped Warbler
Grey Headed Warbler
Himalayan Bulbul
Black Bulbul
White Throated Laughing Thrush
Striated Laughing Thrush
White Crested Laughing Thrush
Spotted Forktail 

Greater Yellownape

Bartailed Creeper
Chestnut Bellied Nuthatch
White Tailed Nuthatch

Red Billed Blue Magpie
Scarlet Minivet
Grey Treepie
Red Jungle Fowl
Peafowl
Painted Spurfowl
Blue Whistling Trush
Green Backed Tit
Black Lored Tit
Orintal White Eye
Streaked Throated Woodpecker
Gray Faced Woodpecker
Brown Headed Pygmy Woodpecker
Blue Winged Minla
Streaked Laughing Trush

Russet Sparrow
Common Rosefinch
Large Gray Babbler
Jungle Babbler
Bronze Winged Jacana
Brown Dipper
Yellow Bellied Fantail Flycatcher
Kaleej Pheasant
Blue Fronted Redstart
Long Billed Thrush
Blue Whistling Thrush
Small Niltava
Steppe Eagle
Indian Roller
Asian Koel
Nepal House Martin
Streaked Throated Swallows
Alexandrine Parakeet
Yellow Footed Green Pigeon
Emerald Dove
Coucal
Shikra
Black Drongo
Olive Backed Pipit
White Throated Fantail Flycatcher
Ashy Prinia
Plain Prinia
Blue Capped Water Redstart
Plumbeous Redstart
White Capped Water Redstart
Black Shouldered Kite
Gray Headed Canary Flycatcher
Rufous Bellied Niltava 

Verditor Flycatcher
Lineated Barbet
Brown Headed Barbet
Gray Breasted Prinia
Purple Sunbird
Himalayan Griffon
Pariah Kite
Ruddy Shelduck
River Terns
River Lapwing
Rusty Cheeked Scimitar Babbler
Gray Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Bank Myna
Common Tailorbird
Oriental Turtle Dove
Spotted Dove
Red Billed Lieothrix
Crested Kingfisher
Rufous Sibia
Magpie Robin
Great Cormorant
Little Cormorant

Orange Headed Ground Thrush

Black Throated Tits 

Red Wattled Lapwing
Little Blue Kingfisher
Barred Jungle Owlet

At Corbett we saw a tigress on the very first round. Besides we also saw sambar, barking deer, hare, wild elephant, spotted deer, gray mongoose and jackal.