12 November 2007

Birding At Kaladhungi & the Chageable Hawk Eagle

List of Birds we saw at Kaladhungi, Uttarakhand
1. Plumbeous Water Redstart
2. White capped water Redstart
3. Himalayan Black Crested Bulbul
4. Himalayan White-cheeked Bulbul
5. Linneated Barbet
6. Brownheaded Barbet
7. Crimson breasted sunbird
8. Oriental white eye
9. Common blue kingfisher
10. Crested kingfisher
11. Greater Cormorant
12. Great tits
13. White wagtail
14. Black bittern
15. Pond heron
16. Paddy field pippit
17. Paddyfield warbler
18. Rufous lark
19. Plain prinia
20. Green shank

21. Greater grebe
22. Tufted duck
23. Black headed gull
24. Ruddy shellduck
25. River lapwing
26. Red wattled lapwing
27. Whitebreasted kingfisher
28. Greater Coucal
29. Pied kingfisher
30. Wooly necked stork
31. Osprey
32. Black ibis
33. Jungle crow
34. Common sandpiper
35. Cattle egret
36. Petronia
37. Crested serpent eagle
38. Grey hornbill
39. Fulvous woodpecker
40. Himalayan flameback woodpecker


41. Indian roller
42. White bellied drongo
43. Drongo
44. Rose ringed parakeets
45. Cormorants
46. Black kites
47. Stone chat
48. Jungle babbler
49. Greater racquet tailed drongo
50. Jungle fowl
51. Changeable Hawk eagle (juvenile)
52. Changeable Hawk eagle (adult)
53. Bush chat
54. Scarlet minivets
55. Velvetfronted nuthatch
56. Coots
57. Little egret
58. Steppe eagle
59. Grey headed woodpecker
60. Chestnut bellied nuthatch

61. Bonneli's Eagle
62. Red-billed magpie
63. Common green magpie
64. Chestnutbellied rockthrush
65. Russet sparrow
66. Yellowbreasted green finch
67. Striated prinia
68. Grey prinia
69. Grey bushchat
70. Common iora
71. Common wood shrike
72. Plover
73. Pied hornbill
74. White throated fantail
75. Northern shoveler
76. Blue whistling thrush
77. Grey capped warbler
78. Leaf warbler
79. White throat
80. Bluebearded bee-eater

81. Chestnut headed bee-eater
82. Green bee-eater
83. Lesser racquet tailed drongo
84. Canary fly catcher
85. Scaly breasted munia
86. Tickell's thrush
87. Rufous Tree Pie

We heard the Ruby Throat, White Rumped Shama and the Striated Laughing Thrush but did not manage to see them. We also saw a falcon flying by but could not identify it.
We saw two day old pug marks of the elephant and tiger and in the Corbett Park. Infact a tiger was hidden less than 20 feet away among the grass and scrub in a small nalla but the noise by over-excited visitors and jeep drivers intent of flushing it out through a elephant scared it away.
When we were walking in the forest we were startled by the sambar deer call- for a moment we thought it was the tusker warning us but our guide Surendra calmed us by saying it was just the deer startled by us!
Surendra also pointed out tiger dropping that were covered with white fungus and patches of tiger urine where the smell still lingered 2-3 days later. Lots of peacock droppings but no peacock in sight.
The one sight I longed for and went twice down to the River Boar (criss crossing over boulders and flowing water) but unfortunately i did not get to see the Brown Fish Owl and the Pallas' Fishing Eagle.