Birding at Pangot in Uttrakhand

 Located at 1400 MSL 14 km from Nainital Resort Pangot is a paradise for bird watchers. During the harsh winters when it snows in the Himalayas, birds descend to Pangot for residence in a warmer climate. Though the destination is not as cold as we presume up there in the Himalayas it is much colder.

Pangot is not a hill resort and only a few birders frequent the place. At 2100 MSL Vinyak Hill is the highest point where you can see the Chir Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant, and the Ultramarine flycatcher. The climb from Pangot township is steep and is manageable only by trained drivers.

Birders make frequent stops to watch the avian species and the Himalayan Mountain Range on a clear day.  There are frequent stops on the way like the Woodpeckers Point where woodpeckers and many interesting species are seen.

• Greater Yellow-naped Woodpecker                       
• Streak-throated Woodpecker                   
• Grey-headed Woodpecker                        
• Scaly-bellied Woodpecker                          
• Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker                          
• Stripe-breasted Woodpecker                    
• Brown-fronted Woodpecker                     
• Himalayan Woodpecker               
• Rufous-bellied Woodpecker      

 Avian species are seen all along the climb from the township. The township is small with few hutments and a store. There are a few resorts in the township that cater to the birders. Nothing Else!   The forest comprises Oak, Deodar, Pine, Cedar, and Juniper Bushes. The species inhabit this vegetation and are not hard to find by ornithologists. 

Birds of Pangot:

• Chir Pheasant
• Koklass Pheasant
• Himalayan Vultures
• Bearded Vulture
• Peregrine Falcon
• Eurasian Vulture
• Bearded Vulture
• Spot Winged Tit
• Brown-fronted woodpecker
• Himalayan Woodpecker
• Rufus bellied woodpecker, Black Eagle 
• Upland Pipit
• Mountain Bulbul,
• Hill partridge
• Lesser racket-tailed drongo
• Pink-browed rosefinch
• Mistle thrush,
• Dark-breasted rosefinch
• Yellow-browed tit
• Blue-winged thrush
• Brown Fronted Woodpecker
• Alpine Accentor
• Himalayan Quail
• Asian Barred Owlet
• Hill Partridge
• Kalij Pheasant
• Asian Palm Swift
• Little Swift
• Large Hawk-Cuckoo
• Himalayan Cuckoo
• Mountain Scops Owl
• Speckled Piculet
• Coal Tit
• Chestnut Crowned Laughing Thrush
• Maroon Oriole
• Fire Breasted Flycatcher
• Green Tailed Sunbird

The list of avain species found at Pangot is endless. If you wish to see Himalayan Birds Pangot is the right place to do so. Birders arrive here to spot birds of Pangot throughout the season. This lone isolated town does not attract general tourists but only ornithologists.

Some Birds of Kanha in Pictures & Checklist

Julien Gonin Birder France & Guests at Courtyard House Kanha

Though the surprise find was the crimson sunbird at Kanha National Park, I could not photograph it. My guests did perhaps?  I managed to photograph the Malabar Pied Hornbill and White Cheeked Orange Headed Ground Thrush. We saw many other species like:

1. Crimson Sunbird
2. Verditor Flycatcher
3. Blue Capped Rock Thrush
4. White Cheeked Orange Headed Ground Thrush
5. Chestnut Bellied Nuthatch
6. Brown Capped Pygmy Woodpecker
7. Black Naped Monarch
8. Black Rumped Flameback
9. White Naped Woodpecker
10. Blyth's Leaf Warbler 
11. Greenish Warbler
12. Hume's Warbler
13. White Browed Flycatcher
14. Puff Throated Warbler
15. Barred Jungle Owlet
16. Indian Scops Owl
17. Honey Buzzard
18. Grey Francolin
19. Brown Cheeked Fulvetta
20. Brown Headed Barbet
21. Alexandrine Parakeet
22. Plum Headed Parakeet
23. Rose Ringed Parakeet
24. Large Grey Cuckooshrike
25. Common Hawk Cuckoo
26. Shikra
27. Crested Serpent Eagle
28. Wooly Necked Stork
29. Black Stork
30. Lesser Whistling Teal
31. Common Teal
32. Green Sandpiper
33. Eurasian Thicknee
34. Yellow Wattled Lapwing
35. Red Wattled Lapwing
36. White Bellied Drongo
37. Racket Tailed Drongo
38. Common Kestrel
39. Crested Serpent Eagle
40. Crested Hawk Eagle
41. Plain Prinia
42. Ashy Prinia
43. Magpie Robin
44. Red Rumped Swallow
45. Barn Swallow
46. Wire Tailed Swallow
47. Streak Throated Swallow
48. Plain Martin
49. Dusky Crag Martin
50. Crested Treeswift
51. Black Headed Oriole
52. Golden Oriole
53. Coucal
54. Indian Roller
55. Paradise Flycatcher
56. Common Woodshrike
57. White Rumped Shama
58. Large Billed Crow
59. Gray Headed Canary Flycatcher
60. Brahminy Myna
61. Thick Billed Flowerpecker
62. White Eye
63. Golden Fronted Leafbird
64. Pied Starling
65. Rufus treepie
66. Great Tit
67.  Black Lored Tit
68.  Red Naped Ibis 
69. Little Egret
70. Black Redstart
71. Scarlet Minivet
72. Sirkeer Malkoha
73. Green Pigeon
74. Oriental Turtle Dove
75. Spotted Dove
76. Indian Silver Bill
77. Peacock
78. Red Spurfowl
79. Red Jungle Fowl
80. Black Shouldered Kite
81. Common Kingfisher
82. Whitethroated Kingfisher
83. Grey Breasted Prinia
84. Paddyfield Pipit
85. Crimson Barbet
86. Brown Shrike
87. Long Tailed Shrike
88. Little Grebe

Malabar Pied Hornbill

Orange Headed Ground Thrush

Sirkeer Malkoha 

Green Pigeon

Wooly necked Stork

White Backed Vulture

Scarlet Minivet

We head a good bird watching trip at Kanha but we also spent lot of time searching for tigers and other enchanting mammals.

Julien Gonin is a professional birder and organises tours for bird watching and wildlife.

Uday Works as Sr. Naturalist at Kanha National Park. He can be reached at pateluday90@hotmail.com

Birding At Tadoba Tiger Reserve

The birds abound but the search is for the tiger. This is a mistake most of the wildlife lovers make whence they visit a tiger reserve in Central India. This happens everywhere even at Tadoba which has recently become most popular destination for tourism.    

The tiger is enchanting and everybody wishes to see one. But if you are solely concentrating on one animal you miss many other species especially the birds at Tadoba. The place abounds with avian species and they are everywhere. They can be found in the forests, amidst bamboo clumps, grasslands, rivers, ponds and lakes and also in the surroundings outside the National Park.  

Albeit in the tiger reserves most of the species found are those that dwell amidst the trees and grasslands. But if there are sufficient water bodies, rivers and other wetlands the chances of migratory shore and deep diving species being sighted is very high.  Hence for birders the mix of habitats results in checklisting a vast number of species during a safari or a nature walks in the precincts of the reserve. 

Hence this is the way a bird tour is organised at Tadoba. A few rounds of tiger safari in the park is mixed with nature walks in the forest periphery, village fields and a drive to a large wetland. This way the trip is sure to result in high number of sightings of avian species. If you have a good birding guide your trip is going to be big success.    

Some of the species seen while touring this reserve are shown in the photographs below: 

Black Shouldered Kite 

Blue Bearded Beeeater

Brown Fish Owl 

Spotted Owlet 

Serpent Eagle

Lesser Whistling Teal 

Red Jungle Fowl 

Racket Tailed Drongo

Ashy Sparrow Finch Lark 

Ashy Prinia

Yellow Eyed Babbler

Banded Bay Cuckoo

Coppersmith Barbet

Bar Headed Geese

Baya

Black Francolin  

Black Headed Bunting  

Bhamani Myna

Black Ibis

Black Headed Oriole 

Black Lored Tit 

Black Naped Flycatcher 

Black Stork 

Black Rumped Flameback 

Female Redstart 

Indian Vulture

The best season for birding at Tadoba is the winter time. This is the period whence most of the migratory species arrive here. But in summer with the canopy reducing down it becomes the place to find the resident species in open. Hence for resident bird photography early summer is the best time. Bird photographers should take note of this. 

For excursions in the core zone a permit is required which can be arranged by the hotel you are staying at. 

Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is near Chandrapur which is about one hundred fifty km from Nagpur Airport in the State of Maharashtra in India. 

Birding At Bandhavgarh in Central India

Known popularly as a tiger safari destination Bandhavgarh is a birder's heaven. With more than two hundred and fifty species of avian the reserve is a paradise. All the birding tours that I have conducted here have been a big success. 

Francolin

Black Rumped Flameback 

Grey Headed Fish Eagle

Lesser Adjutant Stork

Indian Vulture

The diverse terrain is home to many forest birding species, while one has to scour a larger confine to target wetland and shore birds. The added advantage of birding in Bandhavgarh is the presence of the tiger. Wherever you are birding a chance appearance of tiger or that matter a leopard is possible. That is why birding tours here are so exciting and rewarding. 

Wildlife photographers who seek the tiger invariably end up photographing many of these enchanting avian species. The exotic surrounds of the forests and swampy grasslands hook up the birder no end.  The ancient ruins and architectural splendours are a treat to the eye. To seek avian friends in such esoteric surroundings is an opportunity of a life time. 

Bandhavgarh geography comprises of low lying hills and cliffs with steep edges, marshy grasslands, Sal and mixed forest and bamboo with intervening mountain rivers, lakes and small water bodies.  These are excellent nesting grounds for resident species. The Bandhavgarh Hillock rising 800 MSl proves ideal for nesting Malabar Pied and Grey Hornbills besides the Indian Vulture. Since there are many steep cliffs Indian Vultures nest here in large numbers.     

Paradise flycatchers prefer the shore of the rivulets with dense thickets as breeding grounds. Other flycatchers seen here are the Black Naped, Taiga, Tickell's blue and the winter migrant verditer flycatcher. 

Pigmy Cotton Goose

Silverbill

Peacock

Red Avadavat

Yellow Eyed Babbler

Other targeted species are the painted francolin, Indian Pitta, orange headed thrush, racket tailed drongo, golden and black headed oriole, crested serpent and hawk eagle, honey buzzard, grey headed fish eagle, white rumped and king vulture, barred buttonquail, lesser adjutant and open billed storks, spangled drongo, Tickell's Thrush, Iora, minivets, warblers, parakeets, brown fish owl, brown wood owl, mottled wood owl, Alexendrine parakeet, peregrine falcon, black rumped flameback, white naped and yellow crowned woodpeckers, brown headed pigmy and streak throated woodpeckers, rufus woodpecker, blue bearded bee eater, to name a few...         

Barred Jungle Owlet

Common Kingfisher

Common Woodshrike

Indian Eagle Owl

Indian Bushlark

Small Minivet

White Eyed Buzzard

Verditor Flycatcher

The best season is during the winters from October onwards however the strain is reduced whence the canopy thins out in summers but by that time migrants have departed. Summer birding in Bandhavgarh is excellent with hordes of resident birds to checklist. The best period for summer activity is March and April while May and June are very hot. But the heat not withstanding the period is excellent for bird photography. 

All Images By John Matthai