Mt Abu & Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat
Saturday 19th January
Up early again waking up to some noisy Peafowls above our lodge. We had an early morning jeep safari and headed out near to where we had our safari last night. The chosen location were some cultivated fields and hedgerows, unbeknown to us to hold the Rock Bush Quail. Surprisingly for me at least, we flushed maybe ten birds over a period of time, but trying to locate them once they had landed was another matter, and really only flight views were obtained.
Next site was a place for the Minivet, this being a large area of mainly acacia/savannah like habitat. We split up in all directions, with me and Chris sticking semi close together. We walked for maybe twenty minutes out towards the hills until we heard shouting presumably from the road so we could move onto another site. I did hear some shouting coming from inland but ignored these to be locals rather then us birders. Back at the road we were then waiting for Chris who (unbeknown again)had found a male White-bellied Minivet. We all rushed back into the scrub and bushes and after a while saw a female feeding actively. It was then time for the male to show and that is what it did, and showed superbly as well. Certainly one of the birds of the trip. It was then a hot sweltering walk back to the vehicles where we had one more target to see, and with ease we found a few Indian Vultures out on the rocky escarpments of the area, their dark heads and pale bills showing up very nicely, and another retrospective identification of a Himalayan Griffon Vulture, sat just underneath an Indian Vulture.
Our ride back to the lodge went back through the tinsel cladded streets preparing for the big wedding in a few weeks time. We chilled for a short while and then had lunch and said our farewells to the owners, these being a very important family of the area, a family that stretches back to the 12th century. As we had driven lots yesterday, the journey down to Mt Abu took no time at all. From turning off the expressway we started the ascent to the highest town on Abu, witnessing some fairly reckless driving along the way, which was no real surprise. Langurs were lining the walls on the way up and seemed interested in the various driving techniques some of the locals were attempting. As there was still plenty of light left, we stopped off at a spot to search for our main target in the area, this being the localised Green Avadavat. It took maybe two minutes to find a small flock, and further flocks were encountered with ease. The males were extremely nice but were also camera shy, whereas the females were opposites on both. Little else seen although it was relieving to come across plenty of habitat and more birds then what had been found throughout the trip so far.
This was our last day with our guide Dalveer who had been brilliant and a pleasure to go birding with. Our next guide Shami greeted us at our hotel and again was full of energy and will no doubt be a key attribute to the success of this trip.
Our hotel was a bit of a dive and the workers weren’t too impressed with us for some reason, and so it was actually nice to hear we would have to eat elsewhere as dinner was not an option. This worked very much in our favour as we dined at the Cha Cha resort, and the curry that was delivered was by far the best in country so far. We used the WiFi for a short time before retreating back to our dive of a hotel via a small shop to stock up on biscuits.
Highlights are as follows:
ROCK BUSH QUAIL – 10
Crested Honey Buzzard – 1
INDIAN VULTURE – 4
Short-toed Eagle – 1
Black-rumped Flameback – 1
Marshall’s Iora – 1
WHITE-BELLIED MINIVET – 3
Ashy Drongo – 1
INDIAN BLACK-LORED TIT – 2
Grey-breasted Prinia – 5
Jungle Prinia – 2
Oriental White-eye – 10
GREEN AVADAVAT - 20
Sunday 20th January
We met our guide Shami and headed out for the morning before breakfast. We had a few targets to see and between our efforts, we managed to find all of them, with the best being a skulky Red Spurfowl. Again it nice to be wandering around in good looking habitat with plenty of birds on offer including Indian Scimitar Babblers, some gorgeous male Crested Buntings and a Sulphur-bellied Warbler hopping about on the ground.
Back at the hotel for breakfast and the locals kindly showed us a lovely pair of Indian Scops Owls, and one watched my every move as I tried to position myself for a decent picture. We left the hotel and started what will be another long drive, this time to the Little Rann of Kutch. Along the way we got bombarded by guards trying to find alcohol in the vehicle. Gujurat is a dry state (along with one other in India), and with us being western it was no surprise our vehicle was checked thoroughly.
It was a long drive to Dasada and with a road closure and getting lost (and reversing down the road for a stationary White-eyed Buzzard) we eventually made it to the Sociable Plover location two hours before dark. It didn’t take long to find this sought after species, and a count of 34 was made. We managed to get close and get some decent pics, but rather disconcerting on the way back was finding a dead bird, or at least the feathers of a Sociable Plover. It was then a quick drive to our final stop to hopefully find some Coursers. As we were rushing we couldn’t stop to look at a Jungle Cat that most of the others saw, and upon arrival there were lots of photographers laying on the ground, but they were after an Indian Fox, which we later saw.
A prolonged search in the fading light failed to produce any Coursers, and only I managed to see a male Pallid Harrier presumably going to roost, whilst the sound of Common Cranes was always a delight.
So it was now a two hour journey to the hotel (Rann Riders) where we were being battered around as the roads chosen were close to useless, and unsurprisingly yet again the oncoming traffic were just as suicidal as our driver.
We arrived at Rann Riders and straight away had dinner along with our first whites for a while, but sadly they comprised of being American and Italian…..never good!
Highlights are as follows:
RED SPURFOWL – 1
Great White Pelican – 50
Great Spotted Eagle – 1
Pallid Harrier – 1
WHITE-EYED BUZZARD – 1
SOCIABLE LAPWING – 34
Oriental Turtle Dove – 2
Indian Scops Owl – 2
Plum-headed Parakeet – 20
WHITE-SPOTTED FANTAIL – 1
Red-rumped Swallow – 1
SULPHUR-BELLIED WARBLER – 1
MOUNTAIN CHIFFCHAFF – 1
INDIAN SCIMITAR-BABBLER – 2
GREEN AVADAVAT – 20
Crested Bunting – 2
White-capped Bunting - 2
Monday 21st January
We were up and ready to go before first light and a local guide was called in to help pin point the Coursers. He did just that and soon after day break we had a small flock of Indian Coursers in a roadside field that showed relatively well. A superb bird to see and one of the top ten of the trip.
We were then thinking we were going in search of the Sykes’s Lark, but after a couple of hours wandering around and scanning thousands of Short-toed Larks, it became apparent this wasn’t the Sykes’s site, and we were in fact here for Saker Falcon. This annoyed me somewhat, especially as I had missed out on two Red-headed Buntings as I was scanning fields and not the bushes. Another small flock of Coursers was relative compensation, and close quartering Pallid Harriers are always a treat.
We then did move onto the Sykes’s site now in the baking heat, and all the guides got excited when a Crested Lark came down and they rushed us all over, only for us to quickly recognise their mistake. Apart from winding up Dan about some Sandgrouse that weren’t actually present, it was another downer on the day. On the way back to the hotel we stopped off briefly at some town pools that held a lot of common birds. Back at the hotel, the lake held nothing and so we made the most of the WiFi.
The afternoon we had arranged for some jeeps to take us out on a search for Striped Hyenas and hopefully Sykes’s Nightjars. A couple of lakes were checked briefly, and excitedly for me a Dalmatian Pelican was on one of them, this being a grip back having dipped out at the Taj Mahal (I was probably in the toilet!!). The drive around on the eastern side of the lake was ok but not much was about, and even the Indian Wild Ass were not as wild as we thought they might as they allowed very close approach, but it seems they are the real deal.
As light faded quickly we made our way around to the western side where a Hyena den had been found and was situated in some dense acacia. All we had to do surely was to sit quietly and sure enough one would emerge. Frustratingly, our drivers and some other locals decided to speak loudly to each other, and our guide only after ten minutes thought enough was enough and told them to pipe down, though sadly this wasn’t prompt enough for the Hyenas and annoyingly we didn’t see any. Yet another downer for this day. A Desert Cat did however show off and was a firm highlight on the mammal front this trip. With it now being dark, we headed back over to the east side where surprisingly a thunder storm had emerged and we got a tad wet on the drive back, but thankfully it didn’t last otherwise that would’ve put an end to any Nightjar session.
Our drivers drove a small area and then wanted to go home which was clearly not going to happen, and as useless as they were they continued with the ‘safari’. After flushing many Larks out of their roost, we eventually found a Sykes’s Nightjar flying low over the ground, where upon it landed not too far away from us. I had nearly sliced my ribs open from the vehicles dodgy metal work, and when we had the Nightjar close to us the stupid driver decided it was best to drive right up to it, and of course it flew off, and we certainly made it clear how unhappy we were. We did get another view of another Nightjar, but again only in flight. Probably the highlight came at the end when a Jungle Cat was found and we enjoyed good views, but once again the drivers kept on flushing it despite being close enough. Karma then hit back with our driver as we got a flat tyre on the way back to the hotel, and so we clambered into the other vehicle and abandoned him on the side of the road.
Cotton Pygmy Goose – 4
Garganey – 1
Greater Flamingo – ca. 500
Lesser Flamingo – ca. 500
DALMATION PELICAN – 1
Pallid Harrier – 5
Montagu’s Harrier – 1
White-eyed Buzzard – 2
Demoiselle Crane – ca. 100
INDIAN COURSER – 9
Short-eared Owl – 1
SYKES’S NIGHTJAR – 2
Isabelline Shrike – 1
BAY-BACKED SHRIKE – 4
Oriental Skylark – 10
Greater Short-toed Lark – ca. 3000
STREAK-THROATED SWALLOW – 1
Asian Desert Warbler - 3
Saturday 19th January
Up early again waking up to some noisy Peafowls above our lodge. We had an early morning jeep safari and headed out near to where we had our safari last night. The chosen location were some cultivated fields and hedgerows, unbeknown to us to hold the Rock Bush Quail. Surprisingly for me at least, we flushed maybe ten birds over a period of time, but trying to locate them once they had landed was another matter, and really only flight views were obtained.
Next site was a place for the Minivet, this being a large area of mainly acacia/savannah like habitat. We split up in all directions, with me and Chris sticking semi close together. We walked for maybe twenty minutes out towards the hills until we heard shouting presumably from the road so we could move onto another site. I did hear some shouting coming from inland but ignored these to be locals rather then us birders. Back at the road we were then waiting for Chris who (unbeknown again)had found a male White-bellied Minivet. We all rushed back into the scrub and bushes and after a while saw a female feeding actively. It was then time for the male to show and that is what it did, and showed superbly as well. Certainly one of the birds of the trip. It was then a hot sweltering walk back to the vehicles where we had one more target to see, and with ease we found a few Indian Vultures out on the rocky escarpments of the area, their dark heads and pale bills showing up very nicely, and another retrospective identification of a Himalayan Griffon Vulture, sat just underneath an Indian Vulture.
Our ride back to the lodge went back through the tinsel cladded streets preparing for the big wedding in a few weeks time. We chilled for a short while and then had lunch and said our farewells to the owners, these being a very important family of the area, a family that stretches back to the 12th century. As we had driven lots yesterday, the journey down to Mt Abu took no time at all. From turning off the expressway we started the ascent to the highest town on Abu, witnessing some fairly reckless driving along the way, which was no real surprise. Langurs were lining the walls on the way up and seemed interested in the various driving techniques some of the locals were attempting. As there was still plenty of light left, we stopped off at a spot to search for our main target in the area, this being the localised Green Avadavat. It took maybe two minutes to find a small flock, and further flocks were encountered with ease. The males were extremely nice but were also camera shy, whereas the females were opposites on both. Little else seen although it was relieving to come across plenty of habitat and more birds then what had been found throughout the trip so far.
This was our last day with our guide Dalveer who had been brilliant and a pleasure to go birding with. Our next guide Shami greeted us at our hotel and again was full of energy and will no doubt be a key attribute to the success of this trip.
Our hotel was a bit of a dive and the workers weren’t too impressed with us for some reason, and so it was actually nice to hear we would have to eat elsewhere as dinner was not an option. This worked very much in our favour as we dined at the Cha Cha resort, and the curry that was delivered was by far the best in country so far. We used the WiFi for a short time before retreating back to our dive of a hotel via a small shop to stock up on biscuits.
Highlights are as follows:
ROCK BUSH QUAIL – 10
Crested Honey Buzzard – 1
INDIAN VULTURE – 4
Short-toed Eagle – 1
Black-rumped Flameback – 1
Marshall’s Iora – 1
WHITE-BELLIED MINIVET – 3
Ashy Drongo – 1
INDIAN BLACK-LORED TIT – 2
Grey-breasted Prinia – 5
Jungle Prinia – 2
Oriental White-eye – 10
GREEN AVADAVAT - 20
 |
| Rock Bush Quail |
 |
| White-bellied Minivet |
 |
| Indian Vulture |
 |
| Green Avadavat |
 |
Rock Bush Quail wintering habitat,
with their summer habitat in the
backround.
|
 |
The decorated streets ready
for the wedding.
|
 |
| The best curry in NW India. |
We met our guide Shami and headed out for the morning before breakfast. We had a few targets to see and between our efforts, we managed to find all of them, with the best being a skulky Red Spurfowl. Again it nice to be wandering around in good looking habitat with plenty of birds on offer including Indian Scimitar Babblers, some gorgeous male Crested Buntings and a Sulphur-bellied Warbler hopping about on the ground.
Back at the hotel for breakfast and the locals kindly showed us a lovely pair of Indian Scops Owls, and one watched my every move as I tried to position myself for a decent picture. We left the hotel and started what will be another long drive, this time to the Little Rann of Kutch. Along the way we got bombarded by guards trying to find alcohol in the vehicle. Gujurat is a dry state (along with one other in India), and with us being western it was no surprise our vehicle was checked thoroughly.
It was a long drive to Dasada and with a road closure and getting lost (and reversing down the road for a stationary White-eyed Buzzard) we eventually made it to the Sociable Plover location two hours before dark. It didn’t take long to find this sought after species, and a count of 34 was made. We managed to get close and get some decent pics, but rather disconcerting on the way back was finding a dead bird, or at least the feathers of a Sociable Plover. It was then a quick drive to our final stop to hopefully find some Coursers. As we were rushing we couldn’t stop to look at a Jungle Cat that most of the others saw, and upon arrival there were lots of photographers laying on the ground, but they were after an Indian Fox, which we later saw.
A prolonged search in the fading light failed to produce any Coursers, and only I managed to see a male Pallid Harrier presumably going to roost, whilst the sound of Common Cranes was always a delight.
So it was now a two hour journey to the hotel (Rann Riders) where we were being battered around as the roads chosen were close to useless, and unsurprisingly yet again the oncoming traffic were just as suicidal as our driver.
We arrived at Rann Riders and straight away had dinner along with our first whites for a while, but sadly they comprised of being American and Italian…..never good!
Highlights are as follows:
RED SPURFOWL – 1
Great White Pelican – 50
Great Spotted Eagle – 1
Pallid Harrier – 1
WHITE-EYED BUZZARD – 1
SOCIABLE LAPWING – 34
Oriental Turtle Dove – 2
Indian Scops Owl – 2
Plum-headed Parakeet – 20
WHITE-SPOTTED FANTAIL – 1
Red-rumped Swallow – 1
SULPHUR-BELLIED WARBLER – 1
MOUNTAIN CHIFFCHAFF – 1
INDIAN SCIMITAR-BABBLER – 2
GREEN AVADAVAT – 20
Crested Bunting – 2
White-capped Bunting - 2
 |
| Indian Scimitar-babbler |
 |
| Plum-headed Parakeet |
 |
| Crested Bunting |
 |
| Sulphur-bellied Warbler |
 |
| Indian Scops Owls |
 |
| White-eyed Buzzard |
 |
| Sociable Plovers |
 |
| Mt Abu |
 |
| Sunbathing cow dung. |
 |
| View from Mt Abu. |
 |
Breakfast outside our rooms
on Mt Abu.
|
Monday 21st January
We were up and ready to go before first light and a local guide was called in to help pin point the Coursers. He did just that and soon after day break we had a small flock of Indian Coursers in a roadside field that showed relatively well. A superb bird to see and one of the top ten of the trip.
We were then thinking we were going in search of the Sykes’s Lark, but after a couple of hours wandering around and scanning thousands of Short-toed Larks, it became apparent this wasn’t the Sykes’s site, and we were in fact here for Saker Falcon. This annoyed me somewhat, especially as I had missed out on two Red-headed Buntings as I was scanning fields and not the bushes. Another small flock of Coursers was relative compensation, and close quartering Pallid Harriers are always a treat.
We then did move onto the Sykes’s site now in the baking heat, and all the guides got excited when a Crested Lark came down and they rushed us all over, only for us to quickly recognise their mistake. Apart from winding up Dan about some Sandgrouse that weren’t actually present, it was another downer on the day. On the way back to the hotel we stopped off briefly at some town pools that held a lot of common birds. Back at the hotel, the lake held nothing and so we made the most of the WiFi.
The afternoon we had arranged for some jeeps to take us out on a search for Striped Hyenas and hopefully Sykes’s Nightjars. A couple of lakes were checked briefly, and excitedly for me a Dalmatian Pelican was on one of them, this being a grip back having dipped out at the Taj Mahal (I was probably in the toilet!!). The drive around on the eastern side of the lake was ok but not much was about, and even the Indian Wild Ass were not as wild as we thought they might as they allowed very close approach, but it seems they are the real deal.
As light faded quickly we made our way around to the western side where a Hyena den had been found and was situated in some dense acacia. All we had to do surely was to sit quietly and sure enough one would emerge. Frustratingly, our drivers and some other locals decided to speak loudly to each other, and our guide only after ten minutes thought enough was enough and told them to pipe down, though sadly this wasn’t prompt enough for the Hyenas and annoyingly we didn’t see any. Yet another downer for this day. A Desert Cat did however show off and was a firm highlight on the mammal front this trip. With it now being dark, we headed back over to the east side where surprisingly a thunder storm had emerged and we got a tad wet on the drive back, but thankfully it didn’t last otherwise that would’ve put an end to any Nightjar session.
Our drivers drove a small area and then wanted to go home which was clearly not going to happen, and as useless as they were they continued with the ‘safari’. After flushing many Larks out of their roost, we eventually found a Sykes’s Nightjar flying low over the ground, where upon it landed not too far away from us. I had nearly sliced my ribs open from the vehicles dodgy metal work, and when we had the Nightjar close to us the stupid driver decided it was best to drive right up to it, and of course it flew off, and we certainly made it clear how unhappy we were. We did get another view of another Nightjar, but again only in flight. Probably the highlight came at the end when a Jungle Cat was found and we enjoyed good views, but once again the drivers kept on flushing it despite being close enough. Karma then hit back with our driver as we got a flat tyre on the way back to the hotel, and so we clambered into the other vehicle and abandoned him on the side of the road.
Cotton Pygmy Goose – 4
Garganey – 1
Greater Flamingo – ca. 500
Lesser Flamingo – ca. 500
DALMATION PELICAN – 1
Pallid Harrier – 5
Montagu’s Harrier – 1
White-eyed Buzzard – 2
Demoiselle Crane – ca. 100
INDIAN COURSER – 9
Short-eared Owl – 1
SYKES’S NIGHTJAR – 2
Isabelline Shrike – 1
BAY-BACKED SHRIKE – 4
Oriental Skylark – 10
Greater Short-toed Lark – ca. 3000
STREAK-THROATED SWALLOW – 1
Asian Desert Warbler - 3
 |
| Eastern Cattle Egrets showing well |
 |
| Indian Courser |
 |
| A plague of Greater Short-toed Larks |
 |
| Pallid Harrier |
 |
| Indian Courser |
 |
| Dalmatian Pelican |
 |
| Indian Wild Ass |
 |
| Courser habitat in Little Rann of Kutch. |
 |
Our only flat tyre of the trip,
expertly and quickly fixed
by our driver, here in the white shirt.
|
 |
A typical living environment scene
in NW India.
|
