Birding in Himalayas: Part 11

Uttarakhand-2

Red-billed Leiothrix: such a cute little fellow

R called it his feeder, but it was just another hide. The birds kept coming and we kept clicking. Surprisingly there were other people also who were a little taken aback by the "hide culture" and was cribbing. I got out of the hide and some others followed. The place where the hide was setup was beautiful and we started birding there itself. After some time we asked P to take us to some other hotspot and we went near the Garur lake and did some roadside birding. That put me back on my elements.

Common Rosefinch: Another beauty

I told P that I wanted to see White-crested laughingthrush as I had missed it in Arunachal Pradesh while all the other birders with me had seen it. He informed me that it comes to the hide and that is the only place where I can catch a sight of it. Later while we were driving back I asked him what all raptors are seen it Sattal and without missing a beat he told me the raptors also come only to the hide. After that I kept my trap shut.

The Sattal Studio: Pic credit S

Later in the day we went to the Sattal studio again, but we walked around the place doing birding and totally got mobbed by 2 Red-wattled lapwings.

Down there somewhere, there are two Cheer pheasants!

Next day we took off to Pangot with another set of R's group and R. After doing some birding on the way we went to the Cheer pheasant point. R kept scanning the grassland below and spotted 2 Cheer pheasants. He knows his stuff. It took quite some time for some in the group to see the birds as they were far down and quite camouflaged. We sat at the cliff (while S sat in the car) and watched the 2 birds making its slow progress through the grass for a long long time. 

Large-tailed Nightjar: Let me sit here in peace, please

In the evening it was drama time. R took us to a see a Large-tailed nightjar. The bird was sitting on the ground and R told us that it has an egg underneath. We pussyfooted close to the bird to get a few pictures. I asked R whether we would be disturbing the bird by coming this close; we were still quite far, he said this should be fine. After a few snaps I and V wandered off to click the Red-billed Magpies flying around and R was joined by another group of his. They also clicked pics. Then R started going close with his mobile camera, went closer than a meters length from the bird. The bird panicked and flew up revealing an egg it was incubating. I was returning towards them and I clearly saw what had happened. I was beyond furious. Then R made the mistake of telling everyone to take pictures of the bird sitting on the tree (now it is on eye level). I was hopping mad by then and started stamping my foot and screaming at R (loud enough to make my point, but not loud to bother the bird further) for disturbing a bird that too while it was on an egg. I told him that I refuse to take any further pictures and walked off. I didn't hear any clicking sound from behind me. I think none of the others took any pictures either. Bird photography is fine, it is a good hobby, but it can never be at the cost of the comfort of the birds.

Note: All photos are taken by me unless credit is given to S

eBird lists 

Sattal: 1, 2, 3, 4

Pangot: 1, 2, 3, 4

Previous blog in the series: Part 10
Next blog in series: Part 12