Northeast India; Day 8 - Kaziranga National Park

  Today was our first full day, and only non-weekend day, visiting the Kaziranga National Park. One of Indias most famous national parks, with a large population of Indian Rhinos and also good numbers of Elephants and Tigers. Although we had some birds to target here, mammals were a key part of our reason for visiting, and we were excited to see what we might be able to find.

  Our first drive in the reserve was in the eastern section of the park, which has less tourists but also less chance of seeing Tiger. For us, this was an important destination as it hosted more of the parks waterbird species, and we wanted to try to find a few targets. The main water body here was full of wildfowl, mostly common species from Europe but also two drake Falcated Ducks that were a bonus for us. Along the waters edge we found a few common species of wader and heron, with Lesser Adjutant being another key target for us.

  In the woodlands around there were less birds, but there were a few species we wanted to try and find. We had some luck with Grey-bellied Tesia, although it was a nightmare to get out of the bushes when we could only look into the vegetation from the car. A few perched up raptors were also nice, especially a close Grey-headed Fish Eagle, and overhead we had a group of Spot-billed Pelicans and a mixed flock of Vultures, featuring Slender-billed and Himalayan Griffon.

  On the mammal front we easily saw most of the parks herbivores, with the iconic Indian Rhino being present in large numbers around the lake. For the most part they were distant but there was a single individual that was nice and close to the road. In addition, we had Water Buffalo, Hog Deer, Wild Boar and a few distant Barasingha. Only on our way out did we spot a distant Indian Elephant on the far side of the lake, badly obscured by the haze.

  After lunch, and a confrontation with some Rhesus Macaques that had entered the grounds of our lodging, we headed back to the park, this time to the busy central zone. There were many cars getting into the National Park, and the roads were busy. We did not make it far along the track since we wanted to target birds and these were difficult to see with cars passing by frequently. Still, we managed to find Swamp Francolin, our main target for the area, easily, and Chinese Rubythroat was a stunning bird that eventually came out of the reeds. Additionally, Red-breasted Parakeets flew by in a small flock, and in an open area we had a nice Rosy Pipit.

  Our progress was slow due to trying to find various birds, and as such we had not ventured far into the park. We had left the Rubythroat spot and were searching for Chestnut-crowned Babblers further up the road, which we did indeed find, when we glanced back to see the shape of a Tiger crossing the road, a distant orange shape that quickly vanished. Only three of our group of six saw it, and although I was one of them, it was still a very frustrating encounter. Our guide had a suspicion that it might cross a water body further up the road, but we waited there for more than an hour as the sun gradually set, and we never saw it.

  On our way out we stayed as late as possible, and were rewarded with a very nice Dusky Eagle Owl. However, as we were leaving, I spotted a orangy-brown animal moving through the grass ahead of us. I could not work out the colour scheme with any of the other animals in the park, until it finally clicked! TIGER! I called out and our driver quickly stopped so we could look properly, and confirm it was indeed a Tiger. It was walking towards the road, so Papu suggested we move forward and get ready to watch it crossing. Already jeeps were starting to assemble even in the short time frame, but we had the front-row seat to watch an absolutely massive male Tiger cross the road in the front of us! It then wandered into the trees, where we were able to watch it sniff at a tree and then scent mark! An absolutely incredible encounter, especially for a park where finding Tigers can be very tricky! 

Northeast India; Day 7 - Bompu Camp

 Today would be our final day in the Eaglenest Area of the Himalayas, as we would descend to lower altitudes in the afternoon ready for some warmer lowland days exploring the Kaziranga National Park. It was another glorious sunrise over the forested mountains and after some tea we headed out walking up the road in exploration for our remaining targets in this area.

Sadly, for the most part, none of our targets complied. We heard all of them at various points but none came in and showed well. We did manage a few new birds including the excellent Scarlet-cheeked Liocichla and a nice Broad-billed Warbler, but otherwise it was more of the same. Some other goodies included a female Golden Bush Robin, and a flock a 15+ Little Buntings around the camp.

At 10:00 we began our drive away from the main birding area, with a couple of scheduled stops along the way. The first of these was once again to try for the Fire-tailed Myzornis, which we saw once again easily, and then for one final attempt at Bar-winged Wren-Babbler, a species we had tried for every day but never managed to find. At the Eagles Nest Pass we finally had a bird come in to tape, but it was so fast I was never able to get on it, despite everyone else present picking up on it. Our guide persevered, even after it looked like the bird had long gone, and it eventually came back and I was able to get good views, albeit briefly.

The rest of the day was spent driving, with only a few hours spent in daylight and the rest after dark. In total we spent six hours driving, with only a single short stop where we managed to find two more Scarlet-cheeked Liocichla. 

Northeast India; Day 6 - Bompu Camp

  Today did not start well at all, as I awoke at 01:30 with stomach cramps and then had to endure my first bout of the infamous Delhi Belly! Despite this, I managed to get a little more sleep and so was able to make the most of the day, fuelled by energy drinks! We would spend the day birding the road down the mountain from the Bompu Lodge, with a number of targets to find in the stunning forest scenery, starting at 06:00.

  Just around the corner from the camp we picked up our first target species of the day, with a brilliant Rufous-throated Wren Babbler. It was very reminiscent of the South American Tapaculos, scuttling around the undergrowth and running along the floor like a mouse, but occasionally stopping and showing well. At the same location I had another new species, although significantly more common, with Yellow-throated Fulvetta. The morning continue apace with some excellent mixed-species flocks with a host of interesting birds and new species for me; Black-headed Shrike-Babbler, White-naped Yuhina and Black-crowned Scimitar-Babbler, as well as other good species such as White-breasted Parrotbill and Silver-eared Mesia. Away from the flocks I also added Crimson-naped Woodpecker. But the undoubted highlight of these flocks were two quite confiding and low down Himalayan Cutia! It was brilliant to watch this striking bird feeding along the branches, much closer than when I had seen it in Thailand.

  Around 10:00 the late morning lull started to take place, although this was offset somewhat by the first butterflies of the trip making an appearance. After an hour or so of very little activity there was a short rain shower, and things began to perk up again after this. This started with a spectacular show from a flock of in excess of 20 Rufous-naped Hornbillls, including males and females. Initially we were only able to see them flying, but afterwards we could pick them up in the trees in the distance, before they then came closer, even perching in the trees above us. It was absolutely fantastic to witness!

  The Hornbills brought me up to 3999 species for the world, and I was apprehensive as to what my 4000^th species would be. Fortunately I did not have to wait long, and of the options available to us it was undoubtedly the best on offer; the Beautiful Nuthatch! As its name suggests it was stunning indeed, but initially it looked like they would be sticking to the canopy, but fortunately our guide knew how to bring them down and we soon had a brilliant show! The timing was fortunate, as not even a minute after the first appearance of the Beautiful Nuthatch, a flock of Long-tailed Sibia passed through, bringing me to 4001.

  Over lunch we found a few more Rufous-naped Hornbills and even had some flyover Wreathed Hornbills. In the bushes near our picnic spot we tried hard for a few species, but the only one that cooperated at all was the Eyebrowed Wren-Babbler, which came charging out of the vegetation in response to our playback.

  With only a few hours of daylight left we drove back up the mountain to try a few final birds around the camp. On the way we had a couple of Kaliji Pheasant on the road, but they quickly scuttled into the undergrowth. There was hope that we might land our final key target species for the Bompu Camp area back at the campground, but they managed to elude us, except for untickable views of a Long-billed Wren-Babbler flying across the road. We did manage to finally get views of Scaly-breasted Cupwing, another Tapaculo lookalike that showed nicely after frustrating us for a few days prior. A Chestnut-headed Tesia was also nice, but brief and difficult to see well.