Date: 07-21 January, 2024:
Destinations: Delhi, Corbett, Pangot, Sat Tal, Bharatpur, Dhaulpur, Ranthambhore
North India Birds and Mammals Trip for Mr. Shailesh Pinto
Trip Report By: Mahendra Singh (Asian Adventures)
Day 01: We set off from Delhi, reaching Corbett National Park in time for lunch. After eating, we set out for some birding along the Koshi River and Garjiya Temple, where our desired species were the Ibisbill, Nepal Cupwing, and Wallcreeper, which we were lucky enough to see, along with some other amazing birds.
Day 02: Today, we had a morning safari in the park, specifically in the Bijrani Zone. Unfortunately, we did not see any tigers, but we managed to spot many other mammals such as Spotted Deer and Sambar, along with a variety of birds, including Streak-throated Woodpecker, Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Rufous-bellied Niltava, and more.
Post lunch, we set off for an afternoon birding session at Kumeriya, where we managed to see Brown Fish Owl, Brown Dipper, Spotted Forktail, White-crested Laughingthrush, and a variety of warblers.
Day 03: In the morning, we returned to the Garjiya Temple, as our guests wanted to photograph Ibisbill and Wallcreeper. We were blessed to get some great shots of both these birds. In the afternoon we set off for Pangot, reaching in the evening, and did some light birding at Jungle Lore Birding Lodge.
Day 04: Today, we spent the full bay birding in and around Pangot, looking for our desired species: Koklass Pheasant, Hill Partridge, Kalij Pheasant, as well as several woodpeckers, tits, and finches.
Day 05: Another full day of birding in and around Pangot. Our desired species of the day were Brown Wood Owl, Asian Barred Owlet, Pink-browed Rosefinch, various accentors, and Golden Bush Robin.
Day 06: After breakfast, we said goodbye to Pangot and ventured on to Sat Tal for some birding. In Sat Tal, we managed to see Chestnut-headed Tesia, and various laughing thrushes, parakeets, etc
Day 07: Next Morning we set off for some photography. From our spot, we managed to see and photograph Rufous-throated Partridge, Slaty-headed Parakeet, Red-breasted Parakeet, Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Black Francolin, Red-billed Leiothrix, Grey-headed Woodpecker and more. In the afternoon, we went to Chanfi, where we saw Tawny Fish Owl, Slaty-backed Forktail, Small Niltava, Himalayan Rubythroat, and more
Day 8: Next Morning we got some photography done and after lunch, we set off for Delhi, reaching our hotel at 7 PM.
Day 09: We had a great breakfast in the hotel and at 8:30 AM, we set off for Agra, reaching around midday. We immediately headed to see the Taj Mahal. Our guide there took us on a lovely 2-hour tour of this beautiful monument.
After some photography, we set off for Bharatpur, with lunch en route. We reached Bharatpur at 4:30 PM. Before we checked into our hotel, we set off for some birding inside the park. After about 1.5 hours of birding, we went to our hotel (Kadam Kunj) and checked in, settling after an early dinner.
Day 10: Today, after an early breakfast, we spent the full day Birding in Bharatpur. It was a long and fruitful session, seeing a total of 93 species!
Day 11: After an early breakfast, we set off for Chambal, carrying a packed lunch. We reached Chambal around 10:00 AM and set off for a 2-hour boat safari. During the safari, we managed to see 51 Indian Skimmers, Great Stone-curlew, Osprey, River Tern, Bar-headed Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, and Egyptian Vulture, along with Gharial, Mugger Crocodile, and dolphin.
In the afternoon we left for Ranthambhore National Park with some birding en route. We managed to see Sarus Crane, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, and various larks and pipits. Finally, we reached our accommodation, Ranthambhore Heritage Haveli, around 6 PM.
Day 12: Today, we had our morning safari in Zone 6. During our safari, we saw a leopard as well as Chinkara, Nilgai, etc. After lunch, we set off for our afternoon safari in Zone 10. Unfortunately, we did not spot any tigers.
Day: 13 Today, we had a morning safari in Zone 5. The tigers still eluded us but we managed to see a lot of other wildlife. Upon returning from our safari, we did some birding near the resort seeing Painted Sandgrouse, which was our main target. We also saw Rufous-fronted Prinia, Indian Roller, etc.
It seems we were fated not to see any tigers as we missed them on our evening safari as well.
Day 14: With a packed breakfast, we set off at 6:00 AM for Rewari, reaching around 12:45 PM. We met our local guide, who was to help us see some amazing birds, including Indian Spotted Creeper, White-naped Tit, Oriental Scops Owl and more. After many efforts, we only saw the White-naped Tit from our desired species.
At 4:30 PM, we set off for Delhi, reaching around 7:00 PM, marking the end of our journey
