Holidays in Jilling with the Himalayan Griffons

Schools have closed & its holidays, all my cousins came from Bombay, then we went up the hills to Jilling. Really lovely place, all of us really enjoyed our walk uphill, except mom, whose fitness was been put to a test. Finally it was such a relief to reach our rooms & my older cousins who are big eaters were happy to realise it was just next to the Kitchen !!

I enjoyed the long walks, the birding & of course playing cricket in the one & only patch of flat land. And also in the night sitting near the fire place, hearing the metronomic calls of the Night Jar & while in bed all the scary ghost stories which Axe & Roms kept telling us !!

Got to see amazing sights of the Crested Serpent Eagle & the Black Eagle really up close. Once even seeing the Black Eagle with a catch in its talons. Early morning walks were really exciting, with the Pheasants just exploding out of now where, once we just saw something in the dark which to me & my father seemed a Blood Pheasant, but it vanished.

The walks to the ridge was also great fun. Though i used to feel a bit giddy. But all discomfort disappears when we see the majestic Himalayan Griffon or the Lammergier coming in at eye level. We used to have our breakfasts on the ridge !!

One day we could not see either the Griffon nor the Lammergier, we were quite disappointed even my brave little cousin played dead on the ridge to attract the great vultures.............

Then just as we we were leaving, Daya calls out here is the Griffon !! It made such a quiet appearance almost behind our backs. It was just amazing !!

We had heard of the Leopard stories from all, especially from Daya, who used to come with us to the ridge. Then one day while coming back my elder cousins who were walking in front of us suddenly came running back, panting, panting, gasping for breath etc. We asked them; what is it ?? ............. finally when they were able to speak.......... they blurted out.............Leopard !!

What.............. where ???? My father & Mom were really cool, they just said it can't be, then we saw what they imagined was a leopard................ it was a Langur !! hehe !!

But they kept insisting that they saw the Leopard. But none of us believed them either ! Whether it was their imaginations which ran wild after hearing the Leopard stories from Daya or whether it was just a pre planned prank they played on us.......... Well, that will always be an unsolved mystery fore ever !!

The birds we saw

1. Whiskered Yuhina
2. Black Eagle
3. Crested Serpent Eagle
4. Changeable Hawk Eagle
5. Red Billed Blue Magpie
6. Yellow Billed Blue Magpie
7. Grey Tree Pie
8. Black Headed Jay
9. Great Barbet
10. Lammergier
11. Himalayan Griffon
12. Lesser Kestrel
13. Scarlet Minnivet
14. Grey headed Woodpecker
15. Common Raven
16. Canary Fly Catcher
17. Verditer Fly Catcher
18. Himalayan Bulbul
19. Blue Whistling Thrush
20. Ultra Marine Fly Catcher
21. Black Bulbul
22. White Cheeked Bulbul
23. Racket Tail Drongo
24. Ashy Drongo
25. Common Drongo
26. Straited Laughing Thrush
27. Streaked Laughing Thrush
28. Black Throated Tit
29. Rufous Sebia
30. Straited Prinia
31. Hill Patridge
32. Jungle Fowl
33. Swifts/Swallows& Martins
34. Rosy Ringed Parakeets
35. Warblers
36. Oriental White eye
37. Lesser Cuckoo
38. Spotted Dove
39. Green Pigeon
40. Fantails
41. Hill Mynah

All the four days was really great fun.............. When my cousins come again next year, i would love to go to Jilling again !!