After our jaunt in the hills we were back in the plains. The weather was hot and humid. We had arrived in the aftermath of Hurricane Reshmi. Again my luck with the weather seemed to be holding. The Banashree camp is situated right on the bank of the river and you just have to stroll to get onto the boat.
Day 1 Dibru-Saikhowa is a large WLS situated on the banks of the Dibru River. The river cuts through the WLS creating canals and lakes as its water level rises and recedes. This creates a kaleidoscope of habitats from grassy islands to swamps to dense moist deciduous forests. Some parts of the WLS seemed very surreal, reminiscent of fantasy scape right out of "Lord of the Rings". We spent the first day looking for and getting most of the target species but missing out on the Swamp Prinia.
Day 2 Made our way to the Kolomy camp taking a very scenic boat ride. Most of the time I was very tempted to take off the telephoto and put on the wide angle. But the canvas was so wide that I decided to leave aside the camera and just soak the whole scene in. The Kolomy camp was productive throwing up the Jerdons Bushchat, the stunning Orange-bellied Flowerpecker and the Rufousrumped grassbird on the way as an added bonus. The boat ride back proved quite eventful with the engine giving up nearly 2 kms away from the camp and we were still on the other bank of the river, thankfully we had just come off the tributary so we were no longer going upstream. While I was wondering how we would make it back to the camp, Benu da's boys got off the boat, and went over to the bank, actually pulling the boat to within sight of the camp. But we still had to cross the river. By now another boat was summoned. Our boat lashed on to it while we boarded the other boat, which took us to the camp. So the day was saved thanks to some modern technology and some old fashioned muscle power.
Day 3 I decide to spend the day at Borajan instead of trying for the swamp Prinia again which proved a good decision as this place threw up the Hoolocks Gibbon, Tesia, White rumped Shama and the Red-breasted Parakeet. The afternoon was spent looking for the Pig-tailed Macaque. I made a trip later in the evening to take a shot at the Flying Squirrel and an unexpected close encounter with the Brown Hawk Owl with whom I could not spend time as I had to rush back to catch my transport back home.
The birding trip had come to a swift end and, like always, I was left with a feeling that this place needed much more time to do any justice to it. So, my mind was already plotting the next trip to the North East even before I had finished this one. But then life is so short and there are so many places to see and so little time (and more importantly, so little money)
Little Green Heron (Butorides striatus)
White-browed Shortwing (Brachypteryx montana)
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Sand Martin (Riparia riparia)
Yellow-bellied Prinia (Prinia flaviventris)
Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius)
Smoky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuligiventer)
Marsh Babbler (Pellorneum palustre)
Jerdon's Babbler (Chrysomma altirostre)
Black-breasted Parrotbill (Paradoxornis flavirostris)
Sand Lark (Calandrella raytal)
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)
Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
Lineated Barbet (Megalaima lineata)
Blue-throated Barbet (Megalaima asiatica)
Green-billed Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris)
Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis)
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)
White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)
Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris)
Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus)
Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)
Large Egret (Casmerodius albus)
Intermediate Egret (Mesophoyx intermedia)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus)
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
Jerdon's Bushchat (Saxicola jerdoni)
Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus)
Rufous-rumped Grassbird (Graminicola bengalensis)
Grey-throated Babbler (Stachyris nigriceps)
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonostigma)
Tree Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni)
White-rumped Munia (Lonchura striata)
Grey-sided Bush Warbler (Cettia brunnifrons)
Grey-cheeked Warbler (Seicercus castaniceps)
Yellow-bellied Warbler (Abroscopus superciliaris)
Rufous-faced Warbler (Abroscopus albogularis) (?)
Slaty-bellied Tesia (Tesia olivea)
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus remifer)
Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri)
White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus)
© Rajneesh
Suvarna 2008
