Introduction
Back in 2017, I got asked along on this very same trip, to trek to the famous Everest Basecamp. Sadly, other commitments meant that the 2018 trip wasn't possible for me, neither was 2019 due to being in northern India. Thankfully, my ex-work colleague was attempting the trek for his third and last time, and this was enough for me to join him and eight others.
The other participants were mostly ex-work colleagues, whilst others were friends of a friend, etc. All turned out to be excellent trekking companions, and over the course of the trek, we all got along very well. All were very accommodating to my birding obsession, with some even expressing considerable interest - especially when a Himalayan Monal showed itself.
Over the next few blog posts, I'll be outlining the individual days, and of course the birds and other interesting aspects that occurred along the way.
Wednesday 12th February
I landed into Kathmandu in the early morning and cleared the new and 'improved' visa for immigration. Once I had collected my bags, I waited half an hour to be picked up by our trekking leader, and of course my old work mates. The rest of the day was mainly spent chilling, eating, and gathering all of my gear ready for days ahead.
Thursday 13th February (Lukla to Phakding)
An early awakening and we were off to the airport for our short flight to Lukla. Before this trip commenced, I was very much aware of this airstrip and its ranking in the 'world's most dangerous airports' category. Thankfully, it all went according to plan, and we had landed at Lukla airport and began our mission.
Our target for today was to reach the settlement of Phakding, roughly a four to six hour walk depending on the speed, or how many birds there were. The views from the off were incredible, and a slow pace was appreciated to witness some excellent birds. By far the highlight (and within the first hour), was a brief encounter with a stunning Fire-tailed Myzornis - a species that in theory I shouldn't have seen so easily, and it turned out to be my only sighting.
Once we had reached Phakding, I wandered off to the river, searching in vain for an Ibisbill, but all I could muster were some White-capped Redstarts.
Highlights for today (Lifers capitalised):
SNOW PIGEON - 50
YELLOW-BILLED BLUE MAGPIE - 2
Alpine Chough - 2
Yellow-browed Tit - 5
BUFF BARRED WARBLER - 2
Ashy-throated Warbler - 1
BLACK-FACED LAUGHINGTHRUSH - 10
CHESTNUT-CROWNED LAUGHINGTHRUSH - 10
WHITE-BROWED FULVETTA - 6
RUFOUS SIBIA - 4
FIRE-TAILED MYZORNIS - 1
WHITE-TAILED NUTHATCH - 1
White-browed Scrub-Robin - 1
Himalayan Bluetail - 4
BLUE-FRONTED REDSTART - 5
White-capped Redstart - 2
Brown Dipper - 4
PLAIN MOUNTAIN FINCH - 4
RUFOUS-BREASTED ACCENTOR - 3
Friday 14th February (Phakding (2610m) to Namche Bazar (3440m))
Today was an extremely long trek, mainly due to the fact that the altitude difference from start to finish was significant. We crossed the river on many occasions on the trusty swinging bridges, and once lunch was had, we took on the arduous climb into the clouds towards the town of Namche.
Before lunch, the lower altitude birds similar to yesterday performed nicely, but when a Wallcreeper popped out of nowhere I raced towards it uphill, and out of breath, I admired this overdue new bird. The snow-covered peaks above revealed the first of many Himalayan Griffon Vultures, with the single sighting of a Lammergeier providing the most excitement. The long climb had taken us straight into the pine forests, and this is where I encountered my first male Himalayan Monal - the national bird of Nepal. Being fitter than everyone else, I raced up the hill creating a large gap and therefore was able to enjoy not only the monal, but also a tame party of Kalij Pheasants.
It was nearly dark when we arrived into Namche, but the accommodation was welcoming with its heaters.
Highlights for today:
HIMALAYAN MONAL - 4
Kalij Pheasant - 5
Lammergeier - 1
Himalayan Griffon Vulture - 10
Oriental Turtle Dove - 2
Spotted Nutcracker - 4
STREAKED LAUGHINGTHRUSH - 2
Black-faced Laughingthrush - 15
Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush - 5
WALLCREEPER - 1
Blue Whistling Thrush - 2
Himalayan Bluetail - 3
Grey Wagtail - 1
BEAUTIFUL ROSEFINCH - 3
Saturday 15th February - acclimatisation day at Namche (3700m)
I was up nice and early and walked a valley to the west of Namche, later returning for breakfast. Despite the seriously cold temperatures, I notched up a decent species tally. For the bulk of the day, as a group, we ascended 1000ft and finally laid eyes on Mt. Everest that appeared many miles away, though at least gave us inspiration for the gruelling days ahead. The remaining hours were spent in a bakery eating chocolate banana cake, and then walking the same valley as I did this morning.
Highlights for today:
Himalayan Monal - 2
Snow Pigeon - 25
Oriental Turtle Dove - 1
Red-billed Chough - 30
Streaked Laughingthrush - 2
WHITE-COLLARED BLACKBIRD - 1
Black-throated Thrush - 2
WHITE-THROATED REDSTART - 1
Plain Mountain Finch - 50
ALTAI ACCENTOR - 10
Rufous-breasted Accentor - 2
Beautiful Rosefinch - 4
WHITE-BROWED ROSEFINCH - 3
WHITE-WINGED GROSBEAK - 15
Back in 2017, I got asked along on this very same trip, to trek to the famous Everest Basecamp. Sadly, other commitments meant that the 2018 trip wasn't possible for me, neither was 2019 due to being in northern India. Thankfully, my ex-work colleague was attempting the trek for his third and last time, and this was enough for me to join him and eight others.
The other participants were mostly ex-work colleagues, whilst others were friends of a friend, etc. All turned out to be excellent trekking companions, and over the course of the trek, we all got along very well. All were very accommodating to my birding obsession, with some even expressing considerable interest - especially when a Himalayan Monal showed itself.
Over the next few blog posts, I'll be outlining the individual days, and of course the birds and other interesting aspects that occurred along the way.
Wednesday 12th February
I landed into Kathmandu in the early morning and cleared the new and 'improved' visa for immigration. Once I had collected my bags, I waited half an hour to be picked up by our trekking leader, and of course my old work mates. The rest of the day was mainly spent chilling, eating, and gathering all of my gear ready for days ahead.
Thursday 13th February (Lukla to Phakding)
An early awakening and we were off to the airport for our short flight to Lukla. Before this trip commenced, I was very much aware of this airstrip and its ranking in the 'world's most dangerous airports' category. Thankfully, it all went according to plan, and we had landed at Lukla airport and began our mission.
Our target for today was to reach the settlement of Phakding, roughly a four to six hour walk depending on the speed, or how many birds there were. The views from the off were incredible, and a slow pace was appreciated to witness some excellent birds. By far the highlight (and within the first hour), was a brief encounter with a stunning Fire-tailed Myzornis - a species that in theory I shouldn't have seen so easily, and it turned out to be my only sighting.
Once we had reached Phakding, I wandered off to the river, searching in vain for an Ibisbill, but all I could muster were some White-capped Redstarts.
Highlights for today (Lifers capitalised):
SNOW PIGEON - 50
YELLOW-BILLED BLUE MAGPIE - 2
Alpine Chough - 2
Yellow-browed Tit - 5
BUFF BARRED WARBLER - 2
Ashy-throated Warbler - 1
BLACK-FACED LAUGHINGTHRUSH - 10
CHESTNUT-CROWNED LAUGHINGTHRUSH - 10
WHITE-BROWED FULVETTA - 6
RUFOUS SIBIA - 4
FIRE-TAILED MYZORNIS - 1
WHITE-TAILED NUTHATCH - 1
White-browed Scrub-Robin - 1
Himalayan Bluetail - 4
BLUE-FRONTED REDSTART - 5
White-capped Redstart - 2
Brown Dipper - 4
PLAIN MOUNTAIN FINCH - 4
RUFOUS-BREASTED ACCENTOR - 3
 |
| Olive-backed Pipit |
 |
| Blue Whistling Thrush |
 |
| Rufous Sibia |
 |
| Fire-tailed Myzornis |
 |
| Rufous-breasted Accentor |
 |
| Brown Dipper |
 |
| White-capped Redstart |
Friday 14th February (Phakding (2610m) to Namche Bazar (3440m))
Today was an extremely long trek, mainly due to the fact that the altitude difference from start to finish was significant. We crossed the river on many occasions on the trusty swinging bridges, and once lunch was had, we took on the arduous climb into the clouds towards the town of Namche.
Before lunch, the lower altitude birds similar to yesterday performed nicely, but when a Wallcreeper popped out of nowhere I raced towards it uphill, and out of breath, I admired this overdue new bird. The snow-covered peaks above revealed the first of many Himalayan Griffon Vultures, with the single sighting of a Lammergeier providing the most excitement. The long climb had taken us straight into the pine forests, and this is where I encountered my first male Himalayan Monal - the national bird of Nepal. Being fitter than everyone else, I raced up the hill creating a large gap and therefore was able to enjoy not only the monal, but also a tame party of Kalij Pheasants.
It was nearly dark when we arrived into Namche, but the accommodation was welcoming with its heaters.
Highlights for today:
HIMALAYAN MONAL - 4
Kalij Pheasant - 5
Lammergeier - 1
Himalayan Griffon Vulture - 10
Oriental Turtle Dove - 2
Spotted Nutcracker - 4
STREAKED LAUGHINGTHRUSH - 2
Black-faced Laughingthrush - 15
Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush - 5
WALLCREEPER - 1
Blue Whistling Thrush - 2
Himalayan Bluetail - 3
Grey Wagtail - 1
BEAUTIFUL ROSEFINCH - 3
 |
| Blue-fronted Redstart |
 |
| Wallcreeper |
 |
| Streaked Laughingthrush |
 |
| Black-faced Laughingthrush |
 |
| Mountain Goat |
 |
| Kalij Pheasant |
 |
Himalayan Monal with a
frustrating background.
|
 |
| Our bags hitching a lift |
Saturday 15th February - acclimatisation day at Namche (3700m)
I was up nice and early and walked a valley to the west of Namche, later returning for breakfast. Despite the seriously cold temperatures, I notched up a decent species tally. For the bulk of the day, as a group, we ascended 1000ft and finally laid eyes on Mt. Everest that appeared many miles away, though at least gave us inspiration for the gruelling days ahead. The remaining hours were spent in a bakery eating chocolate banana cake, and then walking the same valley as I did this morning.
Highlights for today:
Himalayan Monal - 2
Snow Pigeon - 25
Oriental Turtle Dove - 1
Red-billed Chough - 30
Streaked Laughingthrush - 2
WHITE-COLLARED BLACKBIRD - 1
Black-throated Thrush - 2
WHITE-THROATED REDSTART - 1
Plain Mountain Finch - 50
ALTAI ACCENTOR - 10
Rufous-breasted Accentor - 2
Beautiful Rosefinch - 4
WHITE-BROWED ROSEFINCH - 3
WHITE-WINGED GROSBEAK - 15
 |
| White-winged Grosbeak |
 |
| Altai Accentor |
 |
| Mt. Everest |
 |
| Namche Bazar |
