corbett_pangot_nov

We had a great birding trip to Corbett and Pangot, organized by Mohit Agarwal of Asian Adventures.Mohit himself is a keen birder and that makes all the diffence in planning and execution.

We reached Pangot on 12th November at night and stayed there till 15th.On 15th we drove to Corbett and left Corbett on 19th Morning.I think the area comprising of Naintial and Corbett is designated as Corbett Biosphere Reserve.Birding was on foot outside Corbett and inside by
gypsy.

Yellowbrowed Tit ,Yellowbellied Fantail Flycatcher,Rock Bunting ,Chiffchaff,Northen Goshawk and Small Niltava seen at Killbury and Pangot are additions to Mohit's list.There is a stream near the base of Killbury which was a bathing spot for small passerines,including an awkward Himalayan
Tree Creeper! Many Blueheaded Redstarts were seen at Mongoli valley,mostly first year males.It seems to be thier wintering ground.Blue Bearded Bee-eater,Wallcreeper,several Steppe Eagles,pair of Peregrines were the highlights in Mangoli Valley.The forest from Mongoli to Kaladungi is excellent for birding and we tried our driver's patience by stopping at almost every turning! We found a fruiting ficus tree and on it were : 3 species of Barbets~Great,Bluethroated, Lineated; 4 species of woodpeckers~Little Scallybellied, Blacknaped, Greater Yellow naped and Lesser yellow naped.

At Corbett drives to Jirna,Bijrani and Kumeria was very productive.Several hunting parties of birds consisting of at least 10-11 species.At Dhikala had good sighting of Red breasted Falconet eating a Chiffchaff .Typical species around Dhikala -Lesser Coucal,Green Magpie( near Dhangari),Pallas's Fishing Eagle,Lesser Fish Eagle.A nesting colony of Plain Sand Martins at Bijrani and a probable roosting spot of Black Storks (counted 9) and The blackheaded race of rufousbacked Shrike (Lanius schach tricolor) were interesting.

When we entered Dhangari gate at 3 pm,we halted the Gypsy as Cheetal were giving alarm call in the dry river bed below,and soon, much to our delight ,a tiger crossed the river bed in full view.Next day at Dhikala as we left the complex in the morning and proceeded towards the grasslands, we were fortunate to see another tiger walking on the track ahead of us.Both the sightings were on our own ,purely by chance ,and that added to the excitement.

The list of birds is long. Nomenclature used is from Ali and Ripley.There could have additions but some sighting were not satisfactory to convince me fully.

Happy birding~Nitin Jamdar [email protected]