2024 Narrative
This year there was absolutely no doubt which of our Blood Pheasant encounters contributed to that species romping home as the winner of the end of tour Bird of the Trip poll. It was our second - the covey of four (three males and one female) which came ludicrously close and made lots of noise as they ran around and around and around us eager to perform. We were on the lower western slopes of the Thrumsing La and already more than half-way through the tour. Piping Satyr Tragopan, an equally resplendent species that we saw on three separate days, by a hefty eight points and even the ever popular, aptly named, Beautiful Nuthatch by a remarkable 25, the size of the win was almost as staggering as the encounter itself!
We’d encountered a huge number of other fabulously memorable species with other highlights in the Top 10 including some of the eastern Himalayas’ most sought after species: Himalayan Monal, White-bellied Heron, Ibisbill, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Fire-tailed Myzornis and Pallas’s Fish Eagle.
But there’s far, far more to any bird tour than the star birds and, as always, our Bhutan tour is simply brimming over with memorable moments and stupendous encounters. The tour got off to a superb start with a fabulous, panoramic flight along the southern edge of the Himalayan Mountain chain with spectacular mountain views blessing much of the journey. Once in Paro we met Kipchu, our superbly knowledgeable guide, Sangay, our equally skilled driver, and another Sangay our second guide and then we were off to explore this fabulously bird-rich Kingdom. Moments later we were watching our first, quality Bhutanese birds – the first of our four separate Ibisbills. That was promptly followed by a male Wallcreeper while a small roadside marsh right on the edge of Paro held a pair of inquisitive Black-tailed Crakes. Lunch back in Paro was a tasty introduction to Bhutanese cuisine. What a day – and what a welcome to The Land of the Thunder Dragon!
After a night that never seemed quite long enough, we were up and at ’em again early the following morning, with the Dochhu La, our first Bhutanese pass, beckoning. True to form it yielded a few, but far from all, of its ornithological jewels – the best of which, amidst the myriad yuhinas, fulvettas and minlas included a couple of Hoary-throated Barwings, our first Rusty-flanked and Sikkim Treecreepers, a brilliant Green Shrike Babbler, memorable looks at a pair of the fascinatingly-named Fire-tailed Myzornis, our first Red-headed Bullfinches, and a single co-operative a Himalayan Cuckoo and Scarlet Finch in the very same tree. Best of all though were the prolonged ‘scope view of a fantastic male Satyr Tragopan!
Spending the following two nights in a new hotel overlooking the river south of Punakha dzong gave us the opportunity to relax a little and look at a few of the region’s more common species. A covey of four Kalij Pheasants; our first Mountain Hawk, Rufous-bellied, Black and Steppe Eagles and our first Grey-sided Bush Warbler and Chestnut-headed Tesia. That afternoon, Kipchu took us on an insightful and thoroughly enjoyable guided tour inside the magnificent Punakha dzong. Even the most fanatical birders among us felt that our time had been well spent…
With spring migration in full flow, the rivers immediately around Punakha, once Bhutan’s winter capital, harboured decent numbers of waterfowl and we spent time looking at and searching through those the following day. The pair of Garganey, four Red-crested Pochard, and female Ferruginous Duck had to compete with one, and later two, Pallas’s Fish Eagles and a pair of Crested Kingfishers for our attention. We climbed higher, up and into the cloud later in the day and, after a spectacular performance from a Yellow-rumped Honeyguide and later a pair of Spotted Laughingthrushes, descended into the flat-bottomed Phobjika Valley. Unfortunately, no late-staying Black-necked Cranes lingered there this year.
Our second major pass, the Pele La, welcomed us the following morning. The day’s primary target, the always resplendent Himalayan Monal, gave itself up spectacularly well and, like an oversized, fluorescent Turkey, he had us transfixed. We were equally enthralled by a reluctant pair of Blood Pheasants while another gamebird, the ever-effervescent Satyr Tragopan, that eventually lolloped leisurely around our parked vehicle, took a bit more effort. We thought then that those might well be our last encounters with each of these species but how wrong we were! Although we’d only glimpse Himalayan Monal subsequently, we’d eventually finish the tour having had another, and truly spectacular Blood Pheasant encounter, and having encountered ten separate tragopans – three of which we actually saw! What’s more, everyone present saw Blood Pheasant, Himalayan Monal and Satyr Tragopan; everyone saw Beautiful Nuthatch, Rufous-necked Hornbill and White-bellied Heron. Virtually everyone saw ALL the best birds on the entire tour.
Heading from the Pele La, to Trongsa (where we revelled a pair of Bhutan Laughingthrushes) we overnighted there before continuing our journey south down the Zhemgang road. Here we revelled in views of a roadside Grey Nightjar, multiple Golden Langurs, and several Sultan Tits before making it to Tingtibi in the evening. Basing ourselves here for two nights we tried…and tried…and tried to find the area’s Beautiful Nuthatches but failed. That species would have to wait.
Our search for the extremely rare, White-bellied Heron was superbly successful, and we soon found one fishing in a nearby river. Even with our focus on the heron and nuthatch we still found time to add Red Junglefowl, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Pin-tailed Green Pigeon, four Great and even more Rufous-necked Hornbills, at least two pairs of Blue-bearded Bee-eaters and our first of many Himalayan Cutias.
Heading back north and then traversing east up and over the Yotong La our next destination was a comfortable guest house in Bumthang, replete with Red-billed Choughs in the garden and buck wheat pancakes in the restaurant!
Over the years we’ve found that the drive over Bhutan’s highest road pass, the mighty Thrumsing La between central and eastern Bhutan provides some excellent birding and 2024, with the stunning Blood Pheasant encounter mentioned earlier, was no exception. The following night’s introduction to Bhutanese camping went smoothly – everyone slept, the tents were sufficiently comfortable and spacious and, as if we ever doubted it, the camp crew hardworking and capable. It hardly mattered as, because of the itinerary change forced on us because of the closure of the land border to India that was our only night under canvas!
The Limithang road yielded another tragopan the following morning, but that one performed only for a lucky few. More cooperative however were the pair of Slender-billed Scimitar babblers, the Black-headed Shrike Babbler, Broad-billed Warbler and a fine male Sapphire Flycatcher. Two more full days based at Yongkola on the lower Lingmethang road yielded many more, but certainly not all, of our target species: a pair of Asian Emerald Cuckoos, both Rufous-throated and Long-billed Wren Babblers, White-gorgeted Flycatcher, Spot-winged Grosbeak, a flock of stunning Grey-sided Laughingthrushes, White-naped Yuhinas galore and for a lucky few, close range looks at a Black-crowned Scimitar Babbler. Best of all though were a confiding pair of Ward’s Trogon and a pair of Beautiful Nuthatches. We caught up with a good number of our remaining target species over the following few days. Highlights here included a hugely cooperative Slender-billed Scimitar-babbler; two Hill Partridges; all three species of tesia; Pygmy, Bar-winged, Rufous-throated and a fairly obliging pair of Long-billed Wren-babblers; a superb White-gorgeted Flycatcher; three brilliantly vociferous Sikkim Wedge-billed Babblers; several encounters with Himalayan Cutias, an and a Black-headed Shrike Babbler that came from over the horizon to sing in our faces…
But it wasn’t all straightforward – for the first time in over a decade we never even heard a Sikkim Wedge-billed Babbler and the ever-enchanting Black-throated Parrotbills and Golden-breasted Fulvettas kept their distance. Nevertheless, we’d had a great time on the Limithang road and, while we certainly hadn’t ‘cleaned up’, we headed back over the Thrumsing La more than satisfied by what we had experienced. Another morning on the edge of Trongsa produced the hoped-for Russet Bush Warbler, and fine looks at a Spotted Elachura, ‘no longer a wren babbler but still spotted’ that performed brilliantly for us all, and from the road, the following morning. All too soon we were back in Paro and shortly after that notching up almost 100 species at Sultanpur National Park on the outskirts of Delhi. Species that included a displaying pair of Sarus Cranes, two equally gargantuan Black-necked Storks, several Common Hawk Cuckoos, Sind Sparrows and umpteen shorebirds.
Our memories of Bhutan are sure to fade, but hopefully not too quickly and I’d hope that we’ll long remember our encounters with Blood Pheasant, Satyr Tragopan, Himalayan Monal, White-bellied Heron, Rufous-necked Hornbill and Beautiful Nuthatch to mention but a few. I wrote the following at the end of a previous Bhutan tour report ‘or perhaps the memories that will linger longest won’t be avian at all – perhaps our most savoured memories will be of the Bhutanese scenery, of hillsides cloaked in dense forest with magnificent snow-capped peaks as a backdrop, or of our crew’s magnificent efforts to keep us happy and entertained’.
The birding in Bhutan is awesome (really awesome!) and Paul’s in little doubt that this tiny kingdom hosts what’s some of the best birding on the planet, and after a tour like we’d just had, who could argue?
- Paul Holt
Created: 17 April 2024