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3 - 15 JUNE 2001 Trip Report by Dave Farrow dave@shortwing.co.uk Norwich UK This was first birding tour to Pakistan I have made, having previously done a number of non-birding tours (in the bad old days with Explore!), and in 1996 I spent six weeks here with the sole intention of designing a birdtour to the country. This tour was an exploration of part of the world whose birds are poorly known and rarely seen. Just a seven hour flight from London and only a four hour difference in time-zones, we were able to enjoy some great birding in world-class scenery. This was easily accomplished in a nation that is friendly and well-organised, allowing us to have a very productive and comfortable visit. We arrived in Islamabad with the dawn, and immediately made for the Margalla Hills, the scrub covered foothills that stand above this clean new city. Helped by cloud cover and a cool breeze we began our Birdquest briskly with a group of Black-throated Jays, Brown-fronted Woodpecker and Crested Buntings, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babblers and Streaked Laughingthrushes. In a fruiting tree that was busy with Long-tailed Minivets and Oriental White-eyes, out popped our first (near-) endemic, White-cheeked Tit! My only lifer on the tour! We added both Plum-headed and Slaty-headed Parakeets, an obliging White-eyed Buzzard, Black Francolin, Blue-capped Rock Thrush and Eurasian Griffon Vulture, the latter amid the heartening sight of numerous White-rumped Vultures that took to the air as the hills heated up, After lunch we birded the nearby Rawal Lake where we found an un- seasonal Ferruginous Duck, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged Terns, and Wire-tailed and Streak-throated Swallows hawking around the shore. Onwards to the mountains and away from the sticky plains, at the roadside we found European Roller and some superb White-capped Buntings before reaching the cool hill station of Shogran perched high above the deep valley. A short walk before dinner provided us with our first Indian Blue Robin, White-cheeked Nuthatch, Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler and Himalayan Woodpecker. We jeeped up to the high pastures of Seri Paya on the ridge above Shogran, and were immediately immersed in a flurry of activity of Western Himalayan specialities. A female Orange Bullfinch popped up for a short while before moving on, Orange-flanked Bush Robins sang from the tree tops, Variegated Laughingthrushes sneaked around in the undergrowth, plus Western Crowned, Tytler's, Hume's and Lemon-rumped Warblers, White-throated Needletails, Chestnut Thrushes, Spectacled Finch, Black-and-yellow Grosbeaks and Pink-browed Rosefinches. Either side of a torrential rainstorm we found an unexpected male Golden Bush Robin hopping around in the open, and then we found a pair of gorgeous Fire-capped Tits in the same tree as some lively White-throated Tits. Strolling downhill we found Bar-tailed and Eurasian Treecreepers, Rufous-bellied Niltavas and a roosting Tawny Owl that was being mobbed by an angry Chestnut Thrush. We crossed the valley and ascended to the secluded forested bowl of Sharan, and began our birding with a terrific view of a pair of scolding Kashmir Nuthatches and some dapper Ultramarine Flycatchers. Walking the various trails around the central meadow we found Spotted Forktails, White-capped Water Redstart, Large-billed Leaf Warbler and a Rusty-tailed Flycatcher singing his mournful song. The nearby cultivated slopes provided us with a surprise in the form of a pair of Pied Cuckoos, Asian Paradise Flycatchers and more dapper White-capped Buntings. Another day up on the high pastures and juniper scrub above the tree-line yielded more thrills such as White-tailed Rubythroats, Blue-capped and Blue- fronted Redstart, the Himalayan form of Eurasian Blackbirds, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Tickell's Leaf and Grey-sided Bush Warblers, a great view of a Siberian Weasel and some
downhill, finding a noisy Lesser Cuckoo and a male Himalayan Woodpecker coming to its nest hole with its long bill full of grubs. On our last morning in these forests we were re-acquainted with Kashmir Nuthatch, Black-headed Jay, Grey-winged Blackbird and Slaty-headed Parakeet. A Koklas Pheasant took us by surprise as it clucked and flew off downslope, and Great Barbets called from the slopes above us. Our journey up the Karakorum highway began with the drive across to the mighty Indus. The great river itself was background noise for a well-appointed night-stop close to where Alexander the Great himself had crossed the river. Refreshed and ready for some world-class scenery ahead, we wound our way up the unbelievably steep valley along the well-maintained road, marvelling at the landforms produced by the massive forces of colliding continents. The birdlist was short yet rewarding as we found first Variable and then Hume's Wheatears along the road, a Booted Eagle presented itself, as did a Bay-backed Shrike, several European Bee-eaters and Rollers that sat gasping as the barren rocks pumped out a terrific dry heat. To go with the wild landscape the Rock Pigeons looked 'real' and we found a delightful colony of 'Bactrian' House Sparrows in a sand cliff above some flowering tamarisks. Eventually we arrived in Gilgit and welcome comforts, while Tickell's Thrushes hopped around on the lawn. We set off through more dramatic landscapes to reach the Naltar Valley, a chocolate-box scene with conifers lining a glacial valley set at 3000m. We began our birding in the scrub with Mountain Chiffchaffs and Fire-fronted Serins. Along the valley we found a spotty Brown Dipper juvenile, gorgeous White-winged Grosbeaks feeding in the open, a Red-mantled Rosefinch and a Brooks's Leaf Warbler sang from the tops of tall trees. Under clear blue skies framed by the spectacular views, we set off up the rough jeep road up to the Naltar Lake at the head of the road, where gorgeous 'calcarata' Citrine Wagtails danced around the fringes of the bright-green hues of the lake ringed by paperbark birches and junipers. A Sulphur-bellied Warbler sang to us and Blue- capped Redstarts flew to and fro carrying food. The mixed coniferous forests along the valley yielded another Red-mantled Rosefinch (this time a male), a flock of Plain Mountain Finches feeding in the shade, noisy Spotted Nutcrackers, another Brooks's Leaf Warbler and a flock of Snow Pigeon went zipping past at high speed. When the time came to leave our simple resthouse and head downhill. we found more Brown Dippers and Eurasian Crag Martin, numerous Variable Wheatears and a single male Pied once more. Off to Gilgit airport only to find out that our flight to Islamabad was cancelled therefore we were presented with a long drive back down the Karakorum highway. A long drive indeed, but a world classic, the time passed and the road sped by in the hands of our excellent driver. Our last day of Pakistani birding was a memorable one. With the heat dissipated by the same rain that caused our flight to be cancelled, we enjoyed a cool day and a productive morning once more in the Margalla hills where we found a pair of Blue-throated Flycatchers, Grey-bellied and Pied Cuckoos and Grey Treepie. In the woods around Rawal Lake we found Black-rumped Flameback, Scaly-bellied Woodpecker, and on the lakeshore a couple of delightful Small Pratincoles. The fields hosted Red Collared Doves, Bank Mynas and Indian Robins, and on a rocky ridge a Rock Eagle Owl fled its roost as we stopped to look at a Golden Jackal. As dusk fell we savoured the final show of the trip, as several Savannah Nightjars emerged in the half-light, calling noisily as they hawked along the lakeshore. |
