Birding Tour India: The Northeast – Spectacular Birds and Mammals

Birding Tour India: The Northeast – Spectacular Birds and Mammals
April 2026/2027

This small-group birding tour of northeast India visits some spectacular scenery in the eastern Himalayas and the floodplain of the mighty (and extremely lengthy) Brahmaputra River, long before it joins the River Ganges in Bangladesh. The mountains and floodplains here are two of the most biologically diverse places in India, and our tour will focus on these areas.

Temminck’s Tragopan is one of our stunning target birds on this trip (photo Summer Wong).

We start this exciting tour in the largest city in Assam, Guwahati, situated on the bank of the Brahmaputra River. From here, we will head into the undisturbed wilderness of the Himalayan foothills of Nameri National Park. This area protects numerous species, and we will look for special birds including at least two that are classified as Endangered by IUCN, Greater Adjutant and White-winged Duck (a secretive forest duck). Nameri also hosts many other interesting birds, such as Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Red-breasted Parakeet, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Great Stone-curlew, River Tern, Small Pratincole, Bengal Bush Lark, and Sand Lark.

The shy, secretive, and rare White-winged Duck can be found, with luck, in swampy forest areas in Nameri National Park.

After our stop at Nameri, we will climb into the incredibly beautiful mountains and spend almost a week birding within and around the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh, one of the best-known and highly regarded mountain birding sites in the whole of Asia. This is one of our favorite birding destinations in the world. The scenery, forests, and birding here are all spectacular, and we will be looking for some amazing birds such as Temminck’s Tragopan, Blyth’s Tragopan, Blood Pheasant, Snow Partridge, Himalayan Monal, Spotted Elachura, Bugun Liocichla, Ward’s Trogon, Beautiful Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Himalayan Cutia, and Fire-tailed Myzornis. We will also look for plenty more gorgeous laughingthrushes, parrotbills, rosefinches, barwings, and related species, with species such as Spotted Laughingthrush, White-breasted Parrotbill, and Rusty-fronted Barwing likely to be some of the highlights. The area is also great for babblers, of which we will seek out many, with Sikkim Wedge-billed Babbler and Bar-winged Wren-babbler being on the opposite sides of the size spectrum. But there is so much more to this area than the brief highlight reel above!

Found only in the Eaglenest area, the Critically Endangered (IUCN) Bugun Liocichla was only discovered in 1995, and was first described in 2006.

Finally, and gradually, we will descend back down to the Assamese plains of the Brahmaputra, where we will continue our adventure, looking for some difficult yet highly prized species in and around the wondrous Kaziranga National Park. Highlights might include Bengal Florican (rare here now) Greater Adjutant, Lesser Adjutant, Blue-naped Pitta, Indian Grassbird, Swamp Francolin, Black-breasted Weaver, Finn’s Weaver, Dusky Eagle-Owl, Black-necked Stork, Spot-billed Pelican, and Pallas’s Fish Eagle. Once we’ve finished here we will head back to Guwahati where the tour ends.

This tour will also focus on finding some of the major mammals of the region, such as Greater One-horned (Indian) Rhinoceros, Asian Elephant, Barasingha (Swamp Deer), Gaur, Wild Water Buffalo, Indian Leopard, and Western Hoolock Gibbon, along with plenty of more common and widespread species. With extreme luck we may even find Arunachal Macaque, Red Panda, or Bengal Tiger, either one sure to be yet another highlight on this wonderful wildlife-packed tour.

Wallcreeper and Ibisbill both occur in the area of this tour during the winter period (i.e. before this tour occurs). Although seeing them on this tour is considered unlikely (please see this North India bird tour for a great chance of seeing both), we will of course consult with our local team ahead of the tour in case any birds are known to be lingering along our route, in which case we will try and look for them.

Itinerary (15 days/14 nights)

Day 1. Arrival in Guwahati

After your arrival in Guwahati, you will be transferred to our hotel, where the rest of the day will be at your leisure, followed by a group welcome meal.

Overnight: Kiranshree Grand Hotel or similar, Guwahati

Day 2. Transfer to Nameri National Park

After breakfast, we will head to the Guwahati local waste facility, where we should find the humongous (and exceedingly ugly) Greater Adjutant scavenging among the rubbish. We will then continue towards Nameri National Park, looking for Lesser Adjutant at a nest along the way. After checking in at our Nameri hotel, we may find Great Hornbill, Red-breasted Parakeet, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Oriental Scops Owl and other goodies.

Overnight: Nameri National Park

The stunning River Lapwing can be found on the rivers around Nameri National Park.

Day 3. Nameri National Park

We will have a morning and afternoon birding session in Nameri National Park (also known as Nameri Tiger Reserve). Nameri is a gorgeous, undulating wilderness area in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas. A large proportion of the national park area consists of swamp forest interspersed with areas of open grassland split up by many river tributaries. Nameri is one of the best places in the world to find the rare, highly elusive, and Endangered (IUCN) White-winged Duck, and this will be one of our major objectives during our time here (sightings are not guaranteed, but we will try!). There is also a small chance of seeing Bengal Tiger here, but there will be better chances for that later in the tour.

There are, however, numerous other great species possible, such as Greater Adjutant, Great and Wreathed Hornbills, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Pied Falconet, Pied Harrier, Oriental Hobby, White-browed Piculet, Pale-chinned Blue Flycatcher, and Black-backed Forktail. A boat ride along the river here might produce some highly sought species such as Small Pratincole, River Tern, River Lapwing, Great Stone-curlew, Sand Lark, Striated Grassbird, and the huge Crested Kingfisher. We will make sure to try to find as many of these as possible during the day and during the following morning before leaving the area.

Overnight: Nameri National Park

We will look for River Tern while birding at Nameri National Park.

Day 4. Nameri National Park to Dirang

After a morning birding session in the Nameri National Park we will head toward Dirang. This part of India is one of the most diverse in the country due to the huge gain in elevation of the Eastern Himalayas in a relatively small area, e.g. sea-level to 7,000 meters (22,650 feet) in about 150 kilometers (93 miles). We will pass through some gorgeous scenery and a wide range of habitats as we make our way up to the 1,500 meters (5,259 feet) elevation zone. Over the course of our journey and the rest of the afternoon we may find Rufous-bellied Eagle, Northern Goshawk, Pied Falconet, Hill Partridge, Golden-throated Barbet, Grey-chinned Minivet, Blue-fronted Robin, Little Forktail, Golden Bush Robin, Rufous-breasted Bush Robin, Green Cochoa, Purple Cochoa, Long-tailed Broadbill, Scaly Laughingthrush, Coral-billed Scimitar Babbler, Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, Himalayan Cutia, Black-headed Shrike-babbler, Green Shrike-babbler, White-naped Yuhina, White-breasted Parrotbill, Pale-billed Parrotbill, and Sultan Tit.

Overnight: Dirang

Day 5. Birding the Sela Pass and Sangti Valley

Today will be a very exciting and memorable day as we visit a wide range of habitats and elevations. After an early start we will head up to around 4,200 meters (14,108 feet) on the famous Sela Pass – one of the highest drivable mountain passes in all of the Himalayas. Here in the alpine meadows, we will focus on some very special, highly sought, and seriously stunning montane species such as Blood Pheasant, Snow Partridge, Himalayan Monal, Himalayan Vulture, Snow Pigeon, Grandala, Hodgson’s Redstart, Alpine Accentor, Tibetan Serin, Plain Mountain Finch, Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch, Spotted Laughingthrush, Rufous-breasted Bush Robin, and White-browed Tit-warbler

Grandala is a rather striking bird of the high-elevation zone (photo Summer Wong).

It is certain to be a memorable morning’s birding, and the afternoon is sure to be just as good as we will visit the Sangti Valley at an altitude of around 1,500-1,600 meters (4,920-5,413 feet), where we will look for several equally exciting species as those possible during our morning birdwatching session, such as the secretive Black-tailed Crake, and the uncommon Long-billed Plover. Other interesting species in the valley at this time of year include Rosy Pipit, Olive-backed Pipit, Yellow-breasted Greenfinch, Brown Dipper, and the stunning White-capped Redstart, Little Forktail. There is a good chance that the ‘bird of the trip’ may be found today, because the quality of birds on offer is so high! We will end the day in Dirang.

Overnight: Dirang

We will look for Spotted Laughingthrush during the tour.

Day 6. Mandala birding

We will spend the full day birding around Mandala. Target species are plentiful and may include one of the world’s best-looking birds, Temminck’s Tragopan. It is scarce here, but we will certainly be putting a great deal of effort into trying to find it. There will be plenty of other species in the forests here, such as Blanford’s Rosefinch, Bhutan, Black-faced, and Spotted Laughingthrushes, Gould’s Shortwing (with luck, if they have arrived), Fire-tailed Myzornis, White-collared and Grey-winged Blackbirds, Grey-headed Bullfinch, Crimson-breasted Woodpecker, Rufous-breasted and Maroon-backed Accentors, Hodgson’s and White-throated Redstarts, Golden-naped Finch, Rufous-fronted Bushtit, Grey Crested Tit, and Spotted Nutcracker. Ward’s Trogon is also a scarce possibility here. We are sure to have another memorable day.

Overnight: Dirang

Days 7-9. Bompu Birding Camp, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary

We will embark on a long drive to Bompu Birding Camp at 1,940 meters (6,364 feet), where we will spend the next three nights at a fully serviced camp inside the wonderful Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. Due to the good access here, we will be able to enjoy three full days’ birding across a wide elevational range to maximize our chances for the most exciting species and mixed-flocks/bird-waves on offer here. Barwings, yuhinas, laughingthrushes, and related species are likely to be evident, such as Red-faced Liocichla, Himalayan Cutia, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Blue-winged Minla, Red-billed Leiothrix, Silver-eared Mesia, Rusty-fronted and Streak-throated Barwings, Long-tailed and Beautiful Sibias, White-naped, Whiskered, and Rufous-vented Yuhinas, Golden-breasted Fulvetta, and Blue-winged, Bhutan, and Black-faced Laughingthrushes. Beautiful Nuthatch and Rusty-flanked Treecreeper along with Yellow-cheeked and Sultan Tits are likely to be in the bird-waves. A range of parrotbills too could be on offer, with Black-headed, Pale-billed and Brown Parrotbills all possible. Some color and further quality might be provided by Ward’s Trogon, Red-headed Trogon, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, Rufous-necked Hornbill, and Scarlet Finch.

The spectacular Fire-tailed Myzornis provides an incredible hit of color.

By spending a few days here we will be able to concentrate our efforts on some of the more secretive and skulking but highly rewarding species such as Spotted Elachura (a recent elevation to monotypic family status), Gould’s Shortwing (with luck, if they have arrived), Grey Peacock-Pheasant, Chestnut-breasted Partridge, Hodgson’s Frogmouth, Blyth’s Kingfisher, Brown Wood Owl, Speckled Wood Pigeon, Darjeeling Woodpecker, Black-faced Warbler, Chestnut-headed Tesia, White-browed Bush Robin, Golden Bush Robin, Long-tailed and Himalayan Thrushes, and another possible ‘bird of the trip’, the shy and difficult but totally worth-the-effort Blyth’s Tragopan. Two mammals we will be looking for here are the very rare and both Endangered (IUCN) Red Panda and Arunachal Macaque; with luck we may find one or even both of these in the forests.

Overnight: Bompu Birding Camp

Day 10-11. Lama Camp, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary

We will bird a large chunk of Eaglenest on the exciting mountain road between Bompu Birding Camp and Lama Camp, where we will spend two nights.

The recently discovered Bugun Liocichla is one of our main targets here. Some of the other thrilling birds we will try and find include Blyth’s Tragopan and Temminck’s Tragopan (two very impressive, but scarce and often shy birds) along with Himalayan Bluetail, White-browed (Blyth’s) Shrike-babbler, Brown-throated and Golden-breasted Fulvettas, Himalayan Cutia, Stripe-throated Yuhina, Rusty-fronted and Streak-throated Barwings, Himalayan Thrush, Rufous-chinned and Grey-sided Laughingthrushes, Fulvous and Black-throated Parrotbills, Slender-billed and Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers, and Green-tailed Sunbird.

Overnight: Lama Camp

There are so many highlights when birding at Eaglenest; however, we are sure you will be impressed by the rather incredible Beautiful Nuthatch.

Day 12. Lama Camp to Kaziranga National Park

Today we will start our descent from the mountains to the Assamese plains. Leaving Lama Camp we will drop down to the famous and huge Kaziranga National Park in central Assam, eventually crossing the mighty and equally famous Brahmaputra River. Indeed, the national park is the largest undisturbed area of the river’s floodplain and a spectacular sight in its own right, stacked full of jaw-dropping wildlife. This is one area of India that is a ‘must-visit’ for any birder and wildlife lover. After the very basic accommodation at Eaglenest, we stay at a comfortable hotel in Kaziranga.

Overnight: Iora Niltava, near Kaziranga National Park

Bar-headed Geese overwinter in Kaziranga National Park and should still be present in April.

Day 13. Kaziranga National Park

This morning, we’ll enjoy our first Kaziranga National Park safari (as game drives are called in India). During this safari, a major target will be the pre-historic-looking Greater One-horned (Indian) Rhinoceros (this is the only place in the world to see this huge and incredibly impressive species reliably).

Some very special birds are possible today, and we will look for Bengal Florican (but it is now rare here), Greater Adjutant, Blue-naped Pitta, Indian Grassbird, Swamp Francolin, Spot-billed Pelican, and Pallas’s Fish Eagle. However, while looking for the above species (and the mammals referenced below) there are plenty of other birds for which we will keep an eye out as we make our way through various open grasslands and wetlands of the area, such as Black-necked Stork, Painted Stork, Asian Woolly-necked Stork, Black Stork, Asian Openbill, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Bar-headed Goose, Grey-headed Lapwing, Alexandrine and Red-breasted Parakeets, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Zitting Cisticola, Chestnut Munia, Red Avadavat, Bengal Bush Lark, Finn’s Weaver, Baya Weaver, Streaked Weaver, Black-breasted Weaver, and Spot-winged Starling.

The more scrubby and wooded areas in and around the national park hold Siberian Rubythroat, Common Green Magpie, Kalij Pheasant, Red Junglefowl, Common Emerald Dove, White-rumped Shama, Rufous Woodpecker, Grey-headed (Black-naped) Woodpecker, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Speckled Piculet, White-browed Scimitar Babbler, Greater Necklaced, Lesser Necklaced, and Rufous-necked Laughingthrushes, Maroon Oriole, Blue-eared Barbet, Great Barbet, Verditer Flycatcher, and Smoky Warbler.

A fantastic portrait of a male Kalij Pheasant.

A fine suite of mammals also occurs in Kaziranga National Park, and we will look for Greater One-horned (Indian) Rhinoceros, Asian Elephant, Gaur, Wild Water Buffalo, Barasingha (Swamp Deer), Sloth Bear, and Western Hoolock Gibbon. With some luck we may even come across the rare and secretive Bengal Tiger, Indian Leopard, Clouded Leopard, Jungle Cat, Fishing Cat, or Leopard Cat while here. Our visit in and around this national park is sure to be a very interesting, bird-and-wildlife-packed time.

Overnight: Iora Niltava, near Kaziranga National Park

The Greater One-horned (Indian) Rhinoceros is an incredible sight.

Day 14. Kaziranga National Park to Guwahati

After a final birding session at Kaziranga looking for any of the aforementioned species we might still be looking for, or would like to try and see again, we will head back to Guwahati.

Overnight: Kiranshree Grand Hotel or similar, Guwahati

Day 15. International departure

This is a non-birding day with departure from Guwahati.

Overnight: Not included

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides, and other factors. In addition, we sometimes have to use a different guide from the one advertised due to tour scheduling or other factors.

India – The Northeast: Set Departure Birding Trip Report, February 2024

26 FEBRUARY – 11 MARCH 2024

By Chris Lotz

Ibisbill was one of three monotypic family birds we found on this tour

Overview

Northeast India is one of the best places for finding Ibisbill, Wallcreeper and Spotted Elachura. These three species are the only members of their families, and are therefore sought-after by bird family listers, like the three participants on this tour. Thankfully, we found these major targets. This part of the world is also excellent for a suite of Himalayan foothill forest bird species such as Beautiful Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Himalayan Cutia and many other star birds; we saw the four mentioned above really well. The Sela Pass provides easy access to sought-after high altitude Himalayan birds like the luminous Grandala, Blood Pheasant and various rosefinches, all of which we enjoyed seeing on this tour.

In stark contrast to all these mountain species, the Assamese Plains on either side of the massive Brahmaputra River provide refuge for big mammals including Greater One-horned (Indian) Rhinoceros, Asian Elephant and many others, along with a rich assemblage of bird species.

All in all, this was a tour with spectacular, varied scenery, lots of birds, and brilliant mammals which also included an unexpected Marbled Cat in Nameri National Park.

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide showed well towards the end of the tour

Detailed Report

Day 1, 26^th February 2024. Arrival in Delhi and birding Lodi Gardens

John and I had arrived the previous day, so we had time to bird the Lodi Gardens in Delhi for a couple of hours this afternoon (the other tour participants arrived this afternoon and opted out of this introductory birding session). Before heading there, we enjoyed seeing some very tame Bank Mynas just outside the hotel, a nice species to see compared to the ever-abundant Common Mynas that are literally everywhere.At the Lodi Gardens, we enjoyed seeing some great birds such as Brown-headed Barbet, Indian Grey Hornbill, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, White-breasted Waterhen, Red-naped Ibis, Indian Pond Heron, Common Tailorbird, personality-filled Jungle Babbler, large numbers of Rose-ringed Parakeets and a handful of their larger relatives, Alexandrine Parakeets. These gardens are a fascinating place to visit not only for birds, but also to see the 15^th century Lodi dynasty tombs. After our visit to the park, we went to the Khan Market before heading back to our hotel for dinner and to get some rest for our flight to Assam the next day.

Day 2, 27^th February 2024. Flight to Guwahati and transfer to Nameri Tiger Reserve

This was mainly a travel day. After arrival in Guwahati in the late morning, we immediately visited the Deepor Beel Garbage Dump. This is not a pleasant place to visit but is famous in birding circles. Indeed, we were rewarded with close-up sightings of the rare and localized Greater Adjutant, among impressive numbers of Black Kites and Eastern Cattle Egrets.

The huge Greater Adjutant.

We then continued our journey, making some brief birding stops along the way, one of them being at some Lesser Adjutant nests so we could compare this species with its larger relative. A Cinereous Tit, singing alongside the adjutant nests, showed well.

With much anticipation about the next day’s birding, we arrived at Baligara Camp, Nameri National Park (aka Nameri Tiger Reserve) and checked in for our two-night stay.

Day 3, 28^th February 2024. Birding Nameri National Park

This morning, we were distracted by a flowering Coral Tree that was attracting many excellent birds, including Lineated Barbet, Blue-throated Barbet, Green Imperial Pigeon, Chestnut-tailed Starling and a few others. This slightly delayed our morning visit to Nameri where, upon stopping at the park office, we got great views of some Capped Langurs, always a good-looking monkey to see.

Our main birding site for the morning was Jia Bhoroli Camp, where we amassed 50 bird species. One of the biggest highlights of this session was, however, seeing a mammal, not a bird, in the form of a Marbled Cat crossing the trail in front of us, wow! We also saw and heard Northern Red Muntjac (Barking Deer). Bird-wise, the pickings included a couple of Peregrine Falcons which we scoped, Red Junglefowl (ancestors of domestic chickens), Barred Cuckoo-Dove, Green-billed Malkoha, Indian Stone-curlew, some nice woodpeckers in the form of Greater Flameback and Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Red-breasted Parakeets feeding on Coral Tree flowers, and three species of  colorful minivets: Scarlet, Short-billed and Grey-chinned Minivets. The unusual Maroon Oriole showed well, albeit briefly, as did Black-naped Monarch, Small Niltava, Pale-chinned Flycatcher and a fabulous Little Pied Flycatcher. A White-capped (Water) Redstart was yet another of many extremely colorful birds we saw. Abbott’s Babbler, many Pin-striped Tit-Babblers and a host of other species kept us busy until we had to head back for lunch.

After lunch, we went rafting on the Kameng River. Our most important target, which we saw very well near the start of the session, was the unique Ibisbill. This bizarre wader is in its own family and hence sought after by family listers, like the participants on this tour. We enjoyed getting close views of four individuals. We also loved seeing the spectacle of hundreds of Small Pratincoles, such striking birds in flight with their pied wing pattern; they are more subtle when resting on the bank. A pair of massive-billed Great Thick-knees were a real highlight. This is truly an impressive-looking species and we saw them pretty close-up. A range of other great birds put in appearances along the bank, including beautiful River Lapwings, really close-up Little Ringed Plover, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Sand Lark, Siberian Stonechat and three kingfisher species. Many pairs of Ruddy Shelducks, and smaller numbers of Eurasian Teals, Common Mergansers and a few other ducks, were in evidence. Flocks of Little Cormorants and the occasional Great Cormorant were also around. Sand Larks showed now and again, and there were also a couple flocks of Rosy Pipits, with one individual in beautiful pink breeding plumage. A couple of brightly-colored Indochinese Rollers sat conspicuously on open perches as we rafted by. An Asian Openbill flew past at one point.

After our very successful session on the river, we made a short birding stop on our way back to our lodgings. This did not disappoint, as we added some good trip birds like Black-winged Cuckooshrike, our first of many Dusky Warblers, Red-wattled Lapwing, Rufous Treepie,more Greater Flamebacks and a new woodpecker, Black-rumped Flameback.

Before dinner, we did a 45-minute-long owling session, seeing Brown Boobook (Brown Hawk-Owl) nicely. We heard two other owl species but were unable to lay eyes on them.

Day 4, 29^th February 2024. Climbing in altitude from Nameri to Dirang

At breakfast time, we found more good birds around our lodgings, the highlight being Taiga Flycatcher. We then began our drive towards the mountains, soon entering the state of Arunachal Pradesh (and saying goodbye to Assam for a few days). Shortly after crossing the state line, we scoped a stunning pair of Oriental Hobbies and a brightly-colored Chestnut-headed Bee-eater.

We then rapidly started climbing higher and higher into the Himalayan foothills, reaching 6,000 feet (1,830 meters) at the highest point before later descending a little to Dirang, which would be our base for the next three nights. We soon entered the bamboo zone where we obtained good views of a few Yellow-bellied Warblers.

Further up, we scoped some birds far down in the river below us. These included some attractive species like Slaty-backed Forktail, White-capped (Water) Redstart, Plumbeous Water Redstart and Blue Whistling Thrush. Another stream-associated bird, Grey Wagtail, visited us right on the road. Also very close to the road, but remaining well-hidden most of the time, was a beautiful but elusive Chestnut-headed Tesia. We got excellent views of a male Black-throated Sunbird, whileon the slope between the road and the river, we scoped a female Blue Rock Thrush. In the scrubby hillside, we enjoyed looking at a mobile flock of Silver-eared Mesias, another really colorful species.

Driving further and stopping for roadside birding along the way generated new trip birds like a scoped Mountain Hawk-Eagle, a Buff-barred Warbler, Blyth’s Leaf Warblers, a female Blue-fronted Redstart and a flock of Whiskered and White-naped Yuhinas.

Our lunch stop was arguably the best birding stop yet. While we waited for lunch to be prepared, we got close views of a handful of Little Buntings, while a Black-throated Prinia also co-operated well. A showy Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher provided a nice comparison with the similar Taiga Flycatcher we’d seen earlier. We also found a number of other nice species like Green-backed Tits, a Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, a female Hodgson’s Redstart, some Olive-backed Pipits and another Dusky Warbler. A couple of Eurasian Tree Sparrows were also around.

We then went to a site along the Tenga River to look for Long-billed Plover and we weren’t disappointed! This enigmatic plover breeds on mountain rivers with shingle islands and banks, a habitat shared with Ibisbills, and indeed we saw a dozen of these too. We also saw some other great birds, such as Red-wattled Lapwings,a showy Brown Dipper, good numbers of White Wagtails (at least three subspecies), a couple of White-browed Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail and various other bird species we had already seen.

Our last stop just before reaching our hotel was a site for the stunning Wallcreeper, and this charismatic species co-operated awesomely; we could not have asked for better views!

Wallcreeper was one of three monotypic family birds we were looking for on this tour

Day 5, 1^st March 2024. High altitude birds of the Sela Pass

We had a 4 am start to head to 14,108 feet (4,200 meters), where we were able to find star birds against the backdrop of spectacular Himalayan scenery. The vividly blue Grandala did not disappoint, and neither did the beautiful Blood Pheasant. White-browed Tit-warbler was another real highlight, as were the dapper Snow Pigeons thatwere around. The high altitude is great for rosefinchspecies and we saw Dark-breasted, Himalayan White-browed and Red-fronted Rosefinches. We also saw the much less colorful Plain Mountain Finch. Alpine Accentor and Alpine Chough were also around, and during the drive up, there were good numbers of Eurasian Nutcracker, a White-collared Blackbird and a spectacular Yellow-billed Blue Magpie.The charismatic Spotted and Black-faced Laughingthrushes were quite entertaining, and we were also treated to a magnificent Bearded Vulture.In the afternoon, we tried finding Black-tailed Crake but only heard it.

Day 6, 2^nd March 2024. Birding Mandala

We spent most of the day birding Mandala, up to about 10,500 feet (3,200 meters). Three Black Eagles, a Shikra dashing below us and a Himalayan Vulture were all good to see. We scoped fabulous-looking Red-headed and Grey-headed Bullfinches and unusual female Golden-naped Finch.We enjoyed seeing a lot of Russet Sparrows at breakfast time near the top, and a close-up pair of Darjeeling Woodpeckers co-operated nicely. Several striking tit species with crests were around: Grey-crested Tit, Coal Tit (of the crested subspecies), Rufous-vented Tit and the colorful Yellow-cheeked Tit. Black-throated Bushtit also provided a splash of color in a tree full of equally bright Black-faced Warblers. In another area, there was a tree full of Ashy-throated Warblers. Personality-filled Black-faced and Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrushes were also around. A couple of Green Shrike-babblers were next to show themselves to us. An exciting mixed flock contained several Brown Parrotbills, Brown-throated Fulvettas and, unexpectedly, Manipur Fulvettas (the latter was a lucky find). Our first of many flocks of Beautiful Sibias wowed us, as did a flock of Stripe-throated Yuhinas. We found our first Himalayan Bluetails, a couple of White-browed Bush Robins,which proved challenging to see and a couple of vibrant Green-tailed Sunbirds.

Day 7, 3^rd March 2024. Birding Mandala again before transferring to Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary

We started the day with some productive birding just above Dirang. Highlights included Grey-backed Shrike, Grey Bush Chat, Tibetan Serin, Daurian Redstart and several Blue-fronted Redstarts, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker and the scarce Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker. We also saw our first Black Bulbuls, and several warblers including new ones like Grey-hooded Warbler, Grey-flanked Bush Warbler and Grey-sided Bush Warbler.

Ascending towards Mandala again, we found some mixed flocks containing new trip birds like Golden-breasted Fulvetta, Rufous-capped Babbler, Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler and others. A small flock of Crimson-browed Finches also co-operated well.

Beyond Mandala, we made further birding stops all along the way to Lama Camp, the gateway to Eaglenest Sanctuary. We added quite a number of bird species to our growing list. These included Rufous-vented Yuhina, Rufous-breasted Accentor, Bar-throated Minla, Red-tailed Minla and Golden-throated Barbet.

We reached Lama Camp at dusk, eagerly anticipating further great birding.

Day 8, 4^th March 2024. Our first Eaglenest area birding

We started the day birding the Singchung Bugun Community Reserve and nearby areas. Exciting mixed species flocks were much in evidence in the early morning. These contained Golden Babbler, Bhutan Laughingthrush, Rusty-fronted Barwing, Bar-throated Minla, and various other species we’d seen earlier in the trip.

Good-looking Striated and Black Bulbuls were very vocal and at times showed well. At one point, a White-tailed Nuthatch sat on a rock (trying to be a rock nuthatch) and showed well. We scoped a nice Rufous-bellied Woodpecker. We found both Black-throated and Rufous-fronted Bushtits, the latter being new for the trip. A few lovely Grey-winged Blackbirds provided brief views.

It was an awesome morning for raptors, with a beautiful pair of Mountain Hawk-Eagles putting on a show, and three accipiter species in the form of Crested Goshawk, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and our second Shikra of the trip.

After breakfast, we embarked on the long drive to Bompu Birding Camp, which ended up taking five hours with all the birding stops!  This proved to be productive, and we gradually added new species to our growing trip list all along the scenic mountain road. As is typical for them, a pair of highly vocal Bay Woodpeckers only gave us flight views, always hiding out of site when perched. We gratefully accepted this as it’s better than not seeing the species at all! We also saw our first Great Barbet for the trip, a real whopper of a barbet, being roughly a foot-long!  While walking along a trail, we startled a female Blyth’s Tragopan which quickly vanished after brief views, but tantalizingly, creating hope that we would lay eyes on a gorgeous male at some point. John saw a Scaly-breasted Cupwing just as we were getting into the vehicles to drive off, but the rest of us only heard it. We saw a lot of old friends we had already seen before, plus some new trip birds like Hoary-throated Barwing and a mobile flock of White-throated Laughingthrushes. We then settled in to our accommodation at Bompu Camp, where we would be based for the next three nights.

Day 9, 5^th March 2024. Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary birding

Early this morning we saw a few Hill Partridges and Kalij Pheasants on the road in front of us. We also saw good numbers of all three Barwings, namely Hoary-throated, Streak-throated and Rusty-fronted. Additionally, we encountered a flock of Yellow-throated Fulvettas and groups of Striated and Grey-sided Laughingthrushes. A Long-tailed Thrush showed well right next to the road, and we also scoped a flock of nine Brown Bullfinches. The highlight of the morning, and indeed the day, was an extremely co-operative and beautiful Fire-tailed Myzornis feeding on tree sap in a stand of bamboo.

Fire-tailed Myzornis feeding on sap

The afternoon birding below Bompu Camp was spectacular. It didn’t take us long to find a mixed flock containing Beautiful Nuthatch, White-browed and Black-headed Shrike-babblers and various other goodies. As we descended to lower altitude, we were very pleased to see five Sikkim Wedge-billed Babblers, each one stopping besides the road before flying off, one after the other. Other new trip birds included a Greater Yellownape, a few Long-tailed Sibias, a spectacular Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo and others. Our first of many Yellow-bellied Fantails put on an awesome show and a White-throated Fantail made a brief appearance for comparison. No less than five Spotted Elachuras were vocal at various points in the afternoon, but only one of them allowed brief views, this afternoon and again the next morning. The elachura was the third and final monotypic family bird we needed on this tour.

We also heard Asian Elephants trumpeting in the distance, and saw their signs along the road.

Day 10, 6^th March 2024. Another full day around Bompu Birding Camp, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary

We birded quite an altitudinal range from 6,400 feet (about 1,960 meters), down to 2,900 feet (890 meters). As we descended, we found a couple of Red-headed Trogons, some Emerald Doves on the road, Red Junglefowl, Kalij Pheasants and some exciting mixed species flocks. Good birds in the mixed flocks included a group of six Beautiful Nuthatches, Black-eared Shrike-babbler, White-breasted Parrotbill, Black-crowned Scimitar Babbler, Rufous-winged Fulvetta, White-bellied Erpornis, Blue-winged Minla, Red-faced Liocichla, Sikkim Treecreeper, Chestnut-crowned Warbler and others.

Other excellent birds not associated with the mixed flocks included a pair of massive Rufous-necked Hornbills, a tree with three minivetspecies; Grey-chinned, Short-billed and Scarlet Minivets, Maroon Oriole, White-throated Bulbul, Grey-cheeked Warbler, Black-chinned Yuhina, White-naped Yuhina and more.

There were (again) a number of Spotted Elachuras around but getting decent visuals proved difficult; John managed to see one through his binoculars but the others only got brief naked eye views. A Spotted Forktail gave brief flight views. Conversely, a Pygmy Flycatcher bathing in a puddle in the road was viewed well, as was a female Large Niltava. Himalayan Bluetails often appeared in the road in front of us; these included a couple of brightly-colored males. We also scoped an Orange-bellied Leafbird and a Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush.

We enjoyed seeing some good mammals today, notably Black Giant Squirrel and Yellow-throated Marten.

Day 11, 7^th March 2024. Birding Bompu Camp back to Lama Camp

After a 6am breakfast, we birded a bit below Bompu Camp and then above it, before heading back to Lama Camp for another night there. Birding near Bompu was excellent, with a few high-quality new trip birds. The best of these were Yellow-rumped Honeyguide (which showed for a long time and put on a great show) and a beautiful male Himalayan Cutia through the scope. Other great bird species included Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, Sultan Tit, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Yellow-browed Tit, Golden-throated Barbet, Great Barbet, Crimson-naped Woodpecker, Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, Darjeeling Woodpecker, Black-winged Cuckooshrike and many birds we had already seen before.

Himalayan Cutia, a beautiful and charismatic species

The afternoon birding back near Lama Camp afforded prolonged close-up views of a Rufous-throated Wren-Babbler, beautiful Golden-breasted Fulvettas and many other species we’d seen previously. We continued to enjoy exciting, fast-moving mixed-species flocks.

In the evening, we heard Grey Nightjar, Hodgson’s Frogmouth and Mountain Scops Owl near Lama Camp, and saw a Bhutan Giant Flying Squirrel.

Day 12, 8^th March 2024. Lama Camp to Kaziranga National Park

We left Lama Camp just as it was getting light, and immediately heard a Grey Nightjar which we stopped for and finally got good views of. We then embarked on our long drive down onto the Assamese plains where we would spend two nights at Kaziranga National Park. Shortly after crossing the huge Brahmaputra River, we stopped at Lake Brahmaputra for some great birding. A female Smew, a handful of Ferruginous Ducks and various more common wildfowl such as Indian Spot-billed Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Ruddy Shelduck and Bar-headed Geese were around. There were stacks of Citrine Wagtails and a couple of White Wagtails around, and we also found Paddyfield, Richard’s and Rosy Pipits. We also saw a couple of Bengal Bush Larks and several Oriental Skylarks and Zitting Cisticolas. Both Bronze-winged and Pheasant-tailed Jacanas and a single Temminck’s Stint were present, while Black-headed Ibises, five heron species and a number of other birds were seen around the lake.

These incredible Greater One-horned (Indian) Rhinoceros were seen in Kaziranga National Park

We got to our comfortable hotel near Kaziranga National Park in time for lunch and an afternoon birding and game drive. This generated 70 bird species and a good number of big mammals. The stars of the show were large numbers of Greater One-horned (Indian) Rhinoceroses (some of them close-up). Also excellent (mammal-wise) were Barasinghas (Swamp Deer), Hog Deers,a couple of Sambars and wild Water Buffalos. Bird-wise, we saw many waterbirds like Spot-billed Pelicans, Bar-headed Geese, Asian Openbills, Asian Woolly-necked Storks and a few Black-necked Storks. There were a few shorebirds around, including Common Greenshanks, Marsh Sandpipers, Common Snipes and some others we had seen earlier in the tour. Grey-headed, Northern and Red-wattled Lapwings were also out in numbers.

Apart from the waterbirds, we saw Eurasian Collared, Red Collared and Spotted Doves, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, a Green-billed Malkoha, a lot of beautiful Red-breasted Parakeets and smaller numbers of Rose-ringed and Alexandrine Parakeets. Three kingfisher species, including Stork-billed Kingfisher, were good to see, and other splashes of vivid color came in the form of Black-hooded Oriole, Indochinese Roller and several barbet species. A singing Striated Grassbird was also a highlight. Hundreds of Barn Swallows were around and a cute Asian Barred Owlet watched us as we watched it.

Day 13, 9^th March 2024. A full day in Kaziranga National Park

We started the day seeing a few good birds around our hotel, including Tickell’s Leaf Warbler, Black-hooded Oriole, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Alexandrine Parakeet, and a male Daurian Redstart amongst others.

We then did a morning game and birding drive into the eastern side of Kaziranga National Park, finding 87 bird species and numerous good mammals. An adorable family of Smooth-coated Otters entertained us for a while, and our first of two Wild Boars showed near the road. We also saw our first Asian Elephants in good numbers, and a Burmese Python right next to the road was a real highlight. Bird-wise, we added several new species to our list. These included a single Lesser Whistling Duck, Greater and Lesser Coucals, Black Storks, a cute Spotted Owlet, Eurasian Hoopoe, Long-tailed Minivet, Brown Shrike, Great Myna and others.

After lunch, we spent the afternoon in the central section of Kaziranga National Park. Here, we obtained good views of Blossom-headed Parakeet, closer views of Slender-billed Vultures than yesterday, Long-tailed Shrike, Spot-winged Starling, Finn’s Weaver and others. A number of Swamp Francolins were seen well in the late afternoon, but we unfortunately just missed a Bengal Tiger nearby. We ended the day back at our hotel with heard-only Blue-naped Pitta.

Day 14, 10^th March 2024. Drive back to Guwahati for flight back to Delhi

This was a travel day in preparation for departure from Delhi homewards the following day.

Grey-headed Fish Eagle looking at a rhino

Day 15, 11^th March 2024. Delhi

John flew out of Delhi early, on his way to Ghana to go and see more family birds, while Joy and Dave did a city tour of Delhi before their evening flights home.

Bird List – Following IOC (14.1 – December 2023)

Birds ‘heard only’ are marked with (H) after the common name, all other species were seen.

The following notation after species names is used to show conservation status following BirdLife International: CR = Critically Endangered, EN = Endangered, VU = Vulnerable.

Mammal List – Following Mammalwatching.com (January 2024)

The following notation after species names is used to show conservation status following IUCN: EN = Endangered, VU = Vulnerable.

Reptile List – Following The Reptile Database and iNaturalist

 This is a sample trip report. Please email us ([email protected]) for more trip reports from this destination.

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