3rd & 4th Apr
3rd April - Koshi Tappu reserve, northern section a.m., then southern section p.m.
4th April - transfer to Chitwan NP
4th April - transfer to Chitwan NP
Very early start today, rising at 05:30 for coffee at 6:00 then immediate departure to drive to the northern end of the reserve, with exploration similar to yesterday. This time we were much closer to the Koshi river, and also explored quite extensive sandy areas of the river's floodplain. Temperatures were similar to yesterday except that the humidity was at most 64%.
The first new birds were a couple of Ruddy Shelduck. Two Black-necked Storks and 2 Black Storks featured again as did Red-naped Ibis, only this time, a group of 30 - very impressive. Another raptor soon joined the growing list, in the form of Crested Honey-buzzard. The extensive sandy areas with shallow pools and inlets meant we had a successful time finding smaller wading birds and the resulting list is pretty impressive - plovers comprised Yellow-wattled and Red-wattled Lapwings, Little Ringed Plover and Kentish Plover, and sandpiper types comprised Temminck's Stint, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, and Greenshank. Indian Courser and delightful little Small Pratincoles completed the set.
It was soon breakfast time, which we took on a raised bank with good views across the river. Breakfast over, we carried on in the jeeps for a while, then walked across an extensive open sandy area with scattered bushes. One of these had a new bird perched up nicely on a distant bush - a Bay-backed Shrike. Paul and I crept up as close as we dare without flushing it to try and get some photos, but even then it was pretty small in the viewfinder. As before, the sandy areas were good for larks and the like and we soon found a Tawny Pipit and Richard's Pipit, but the pipits were out-done by the larks! First up were 4 Ashy-crowned Sparrow-larks, and a males at that, then {Greater} Short-toed Lark, and then Suchit pointed out two similar but much paler looking larks - Hume's Short-toed Lark, and then finally 4 Oriental Skylarks and a couple of diminutive Sand Larks. A true lark-fest! Isabelline Wheatear, and Siberian Stonechat were also good finds out here. A couple of us who had lagged behind before reaching the flat sandy area, were lucky enough to find a Thick-billed Warbler in some scrubby bushes by the main track.
The first new birds were a couple of Ruddy Shelduck. Two Black-necked Storks and 2 Black Storks featured again as did Red-naped Ibis, only this time, a group of 30 - very impressive. Another raptor soon joined the growing list, in the form of Crested Honey-buzzard. The extensive sandy areas with shallow pools and inlets meant we had a successful time finding smaller wading birds and the resulting list is pretty impressive - plovers comprised Yellow-wattled and Red-wattled Lapwings, Little Ringed Plover and Kentish Plover, and sandpiper types comprised Temminck's Stint, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, and Greenshank. Indian Courser and delightful little Small Pratincoles completed the set.
It was soon breakfast time, which we took on a raised bank with good views across the river. Breakfast over, we carried on in the jeeps for a while, then walked across an extensive open sandy area with scattered bushes. One of these had a new bird perched up nicely on a distant bush - a Bay-backed Shrike. Paul and I crept up as close as we dare without flushing it to try and get some photos, but even then it was pretty small in the viewfinder. As before, the sandy areas were good for larks and the like and we soon found a Tawny Pipit and Richard's Pipit, but the pipits were out-done by the larks! First up were 4 Ashy-crowned Sparrow-larks, and a males at that, then {Greater} Short-toed Lark, and then Suchit pointed out two similar but much paler looking larks - Hume's Short-toed Lark, and then finally 4 Oriental Skylarks and a couple of diminutive Sand Larks. A true lark-fest! Isabelline Wheatear, and Siberian Stonechat were also good finds out here. A couple of us who had lagged behind before reaching the flat sandy area, were lucky enough to find a Thick-billed Warbler in some scrubby bushes by the main track.
We ended up on a sandy beach quite near the river, and farther up the river it was possible to pick out a Little Tern flying around over the water. We were bemused by a large truck that had driven out onto the sand and was being loaded with long bamboo poles which were piled up on the beach. These had apparently been cut much farther upstream and floated down the river for collection. They are used in construction, the commonest use being for scaffolding, which we had seen in action in Kathmandu. The odd thing about the truck was the large painting of a Kangaroo on the side! A rather odd logo for a Nepalese trucking firm, we thought!
It was now time to start heading back for lunch, so we drove off the sand and up onto the raised track that overlooked the area. One of the sharp eyed guides spotted something in a a grassy enclosure and we were soon looking at an Indian Thick-knee, with its huge glaring yellow eye. It was in this same raised bank on the way out that we saw a beautiful, tiny Bengal Fox. We couldn't drive too close for fear of scaring it off but those of us with cameras took lots of shots. I have some where there is a Collared Dove sitting nearby, which truly shows just how small this delightful little animal is.
We eventually made our way back to camp and had a very nice lunch and time for a siesta or birding the grounds. I opted to have a little walk around and was lucky enough to find a Siberian Rubythroat in thick vegetation quite near the buildings, but the only shot I managed to get was a partial head shot. There was also a fairly obliging Taiga Flycatcher, Jungle Babbler, and a couple of Olive-backed Pipits too. The pools by the hide at the camp had Bronze-winged Jacanas, Asian Openbills, Indian Pond Heron, Wood Sandpiper and a superb male Citrine Wagtail. Anne & Rachel opted for a short walk into the local village where they took some photos.
It was now time to start heading back for lunch, so we drove off the sand and up onto the raised track that overlooked the area. One of the sharp eyed guides spotted something in a a grassy enclosure and we were soon looking at an Indian Thick-knee, with its huge glaring yellow eye. It was in this same raised bank on the way out that we saw a beautiful, tiny Bengal Fox. We couldn't drive too close for fear of scaring it off but those of us with cameras took lots of shots. I have some where there is a Collared Dove sitting nearby, which truly shows just how small this delightful little animal is.
We eventually made our way back to camp and had a very nice lunch and time for a siesta or birding the grounds. I opted to have a little walk around and was lucky enough to find a Siberian Rubythroat in thick vegetation quite near the buildings, but the only shot I managed to get was a partial head shot. There was also a fairly obliging Taiga Flycatcher, Jungle Babbler, and a couple of Olive-backed Pipits too. The pools by the hide at the camp had Bronze-winged Jacanas, Asian Openbills, Indian Pond Heron, Wood Sandpiper and a superb male Citrine Wagtail. Anne & Rachel opted for a short walk into the local village where they took some photos.
We set off again at about 3 p.m. driving along the raised road to the southern section, which has more vegetation and wooded areas. Emphasis here was more on land-based birds and the undoubted highlight was a huge Brown Fish Owl staring down at us from its perch in a tall tree. To top that, it was being 'bombed' incessantly by 4 spectacular Black Baza, a small but impressive raptor if ever there was one. By now, many species were becoming pretty familiar to us, but new ones for the trip included Orange-breasted Green Pigeon and Indian Grey Hornbill. Other species, some of which we had already seen, were Asian Koel, Greater Coucal, Black-hooded Oriole, Black Drongo, Rufous Treepie and Black-throated Thrush. Yesterday we had seen just the head of an immature White-rumped Vulture over the edge of a nest in a trackside tree, but today we had decent views of the adult perched up in the same tree. We did see two Asiatic Golden Jackals and Wild Water Buffalo, and some Rhesus Macaques along the track but the highlight was feline. The leading jeep contained sharp-eyed Suchit, and a Jungle Cat was spotted right by the track. The first couple of jeeps had pretty good views but by the time the other two had crept forward it was slinking off into the undergrowth, and although we did see it pretty well it was all too fleeting to be able to grab any decent images. Nevertheless a great end to a very successful day. We got back to the camp at 6:30. 'The list' was undertaken at 7:30 and we ate at 8:00 p.m. It was then time to pack as we had along day ahead of us for tomorrow, for the road transfer to Chitwan NP.
The 4th was just a transfer day. We rose at 5:45 a.m. for breakfast at 6:30. We had a brief period to have a quick look around, which turned up trumps as Suchi and a couple of others had found a Greater Painted Snipe in one of the pools in the grounds, which we duly saw and added to the list. The speed at which Ken got round to the lagoon from the other side of the grounds was gold medal class! (Sorry Ken, couldn't resist that!). We left Koshi Camp promptly at 7:30 in a bus, having thanked the staff at the camp for a lovely stay - if only we could have stayed there longer. The route took us back over the Koshi Barrage and as we approached the far side Suchit noticed some birds on a sand bank in the river so we stopped for a look. Immediately obvious were 12 Avocet, but then some terns were seen and a few gulls. I went back to the bus and got my scope, and we were soon looking at a group of 20 Gull-billed Terns. For once we were able to call the ID as Suchit admitted not being quite so familiar with sea birds as we avid sea-watching Europeans [at least some of us are]. The three large gulls in view turned out to be immature Great Black-headed Gulls [Ichtyhaetus ichthyaetus], formerly known as Pallas's Gull. A productive little stop. We had a quick loo stop at around 09:30 and then stopped at 1:15 p.m. by a dried up river bed for our picnic lunch - it was very hot at this location but fortunately there was some shade to be had under the trees. It was then go go go until we reached Tigerland Safari Lodge. It was an interesting journey during which we crossed numerous bridges over dry river beds which are no doubt raging torrents during the monsoon season, and passed through many villages and small towns. It was interesting to see the small dwellings each with its own cow and/or goat tethered outside, by its own feeding trough. I took no photos this day though. Tigerland Lodge was a delight, with well spaced out, well appointed wooden cabins with views into the bush. Before dinner we had time for a quick look round, and found some Plum-headed Parakeets. A quick list summary, dinner and bed, were well-earned.