Northeast India; Day 4 - Manadala Road & Rupa

  From our hotel in the village of Dirang, today we would travel back along the Mandala Road to hopefully connect with some of the species that we had missed, before continuing on our way and to our next destination; the Lama Camp in the Eaglenest protected area.

  The day started well, with Black-tailed Crake at a site not far from our hotel. The birds took a little effort, but soon we had three birds out in the open, with two showing fantastically well feeding away without any concerns in the world. And so, satisfied with that sighting, we continued up the road stopping for targets along the way. Next we called off for Black-throated Prinia, which we got at our second stop, and there we also had our first pair of Hodgsons Redstart.

  Slightly further up we tried the same area we had the previous day for the Fire-tailed Myzornis, but this time we had no sign at all. That’s not to say that we did not enjoy some excellent birding, with White-browed Bush Robin being particularly good, as well as Gray-sided Laughingthrush which was more difficult and elusive! There were a few mixed species flocks as well, with one being very lively with our first Yellow-cheeked Tit and White-tailed Nuthatch of the trip. A pair of Besra that flew overhead were another nice addition to our trip list.

  After breakfast we passed over Mandala Top but the birding ground to a stop after this, with very little species activity. A flyover Mountain Hawk-Eagle was probably the highlight on the bird front, but more Araunchal Macaque was probably the best of it. Otherwise it became more frustrating, but as we began descending we picked up a few more birds like our first Bhutan Laughingthrush and a flyover group of Common Crossbill. Along the bottom of the valley, on the way to our lunch desintation, we passed low through the valley and had a good stop with Capped Lutang monkey. Sadly they did not show well, but I managed a few shots before they vanished into the forest. Fortunately this stop also yielded a good flock, which contained two lifers for me with Nepal Fulvetta and Sikkim Treecreeper.

  For lunch we stopped in the village of Rupa which borders one of the rivers descending the mountain. Our guide informed us this was the place to search for Long-billed Plover and Ibisbill. The former we found quite easily, with a group of 11 roosting together with a Common Sandpiper in the middle of the river, but the Ibisbill proved far more difficult and after half an hour of scanning we decided to cut our losses and go to the restaurant.

  Although viewing was limited, the restaurant did still overlook the river from a distance, and whilst waiting for our lunch I had a quick scan and couldn’t believe it when I was able to pick out an Ibisbill walking in the middle of the river. We headed down with our guide, and were stunned to find a group of 10 Ibisbill all dotted along the edge of the river, providing excellent views and undoubtedly the highlight of the day. Here we also had Long-tailed Shrike and Brown Dipper, rounding off a good day, despite the quite late morning period. After lunch, we continued our drive to Lama Camp, arriving after dark.

  This was the first location where it was possible to do a night walk, so we headed down the hill from the camp to see what we could find. It turned out to be a very productive walk, with another tick with a roosting Barred Cuckoo-Dove. On the mammal front we found a Himalayan White-bellied Rat, before a brilliant Particoloured Flying Squirrel and then finally a very distant Bhutan Flying Squirrel. It was a fantastic night out!