Northeast India; Day 5 - Lama Camp

  We had the morning to bird the area around the Lama Camp, before we would drive over the mountain and to the Bompu Camp. This meant that we would only have the morning to find one of the most important birds on our whole itinerary; the Bugun Liocichla. This rare laughingthrush is only found in a small elevational window at this altitude, with a population estimated to be less than 100 individuals.

  Our guide had a plan, and that was to try and locate flocks of Rusty-fronted Barwing which the Liocichla would be associating with at this time of year. Fortunately it did not take us long to find this species, which was also a lifer, and with this flock were two Bugun Liocichla! They did not show for long, always in deep cover and difficult to track so we did not get prolonged views, but to see this species so early in the morning (06:17) was a huge relief.

  With the pressure now off, we explored the track in a more relaxed fashion. There were some excellent mixed-species flocks on offer with mostly common species but a few new birds for me as well, with White-bellied Parrotbill, Red-tailed Minla and a female Scarlet Finch. Away from the flocks we also added Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, which were feeding discreetly in the canopy of fruiting trees. Additional good species included Himalayan Bluetail and a Himalayan Shortwing.

  At around 10:00 we packed up and headed up the mountain from Lama Camp, with a few stops planned along the way. Initially we struggled to find the birds we were targeting but eventually we started to make some progress, despite the generally slow birding. The first new bird that we picked up was a Collared Owlet, which responded to the mobbing tape we were using and eventually showed nicely. Continuing up the mountain we then finally found another of our key targets after trying all morning, with a Yellow-rumped Honeyguide staking out an abandoned comb on a cliff face. This was a stunning bird, and it perched in a very exposed way that allowed for fantastic views. We even briefly saw it visit the comb itself for feeding, but it did not stick around for too long.

  Continuing down the mountain, with the Honeyguide now under our belts, we switched targets to the Wards Trogon. It took many stops but we were able to find a stunning male during mid-afternoon, who performed fantastically well, sitting right out in the open at times! Our last stop was to try again for the Fire-tailed Myzornis, since only I had seen it on our first day, and we were rewarded for our efforts with two individuals which were mobile and erratic and difficult to follow. This was our final birding stop, but we struck lucky on our remaining drive, with a Chestnut-breasted Partridge scuttling across the road in front of us.

  We arrived at Bompu Camp just before dark, and settled in for the next two nights. Once again we were able to do a short night walk, although not too much due to the risk of Elephants. Probably because of this, we did not see anything of note on our short walk and we were soon back at the camp.