Northeast India; Day 11 - Dihing Patkai National Park & Jia Grasslands

 We had an early start once again today, as it was an hours drive from our lodging in Tensukia to the Dihing Patkai National Park to the south. Fortunately this blow was cushioned somewhat when Papu showed us an Eastern Barn Owl perched on the roof of the hotel in the dark, apparently they are breeding there. After that we were on our way arriving at the forest national park just after first light.

We had only a morning at Dihing Patkai National Park, although we would return in a few days, and so had to make the most of the few hours we would spend there. Upon arrival we were told we were waiting for some Indian birders as well, as there had recently been a Grey Peacock-Pheasant showing well and a group wanted to see it. This would be a big bonus bird for our trip, but after a substantial wait we only managed brief views of the bird walking along the stream. However, the park rangers fanned out to track the bird down, and soon brought us to its location, where it sat calling at incredibly close range. The bird performed well for a good 10 minutes before it decided to walk away, in the end we were less than 2 metres away from the bird without it caring.

Buzzing from that high, we continued exploring inside the national park forest to see what we could find. On the mammal front we had frustratingly brief views of an otter species that we could not clinch, but had fantastic views of three Western Hoolock Gibbons; two males and female, showing directly above us, as well as a Giant Black Squirrel, which was flushed by the Gibbons at one point. For the birds we had Grey-lored Broadbill showing nicely in the canopy, a small group of Ashy-headed Green Pigeons and a delightful Rufous-throated Fulvetta.

The morning was progressing nicely, but time was short so we moved out of the main forest area and onto the entrance road where the park ranger accompanying us helped us track down the parks key bird target; the White-winged Duck! Unspectacular in appearance, this endangered and elusive species was what brought us to the park in the first place. At our first stop we drew a blank, but we continued and at our next stop we had a pair feeding on the water. Sadly we did not get close or clear views before the pair flushed, but in flight we had clear views of the white wings themselves!

We left the park at 10:30, a job well done. We had a three hour drive to the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, where our paperwork was checked but we got through quickly and smoothly. Since we had a bit of time at the end of the afternoon we made a stop at the Jia Grasslands. We quickly found Striated Grassbird in the fields along the entrance road, but from then on the birding was frustrating with many species not showing or only giving untickable brief views. A male Crimson Sunbird was nice, and a Chinese Rubythroat was probably the highlight, but otherwise it was just fleeting glimpses of key targets. We will have another morning at this site, so hopefully it will go a bit better.