After months of dreaming, planning, postponements and cancellations Atul Jain, Dr. Vinod Gupta and I finally set off after Diwali for the magical Mishmi Hills. In order not to miss the connecting flight, I reached Kolkata late night on the 28th of October, spending the remaining part of the night at the airport. I was joined in the morning by Sujan Chaterjee our guide for the trip and Apurba Chakraborty for our flight to Dibrugarh. Two hours later our party was complete with Atul and Dr. Gupta joining us. The sky was bright and blue, very unlike any of my previous trips to the North-east, in fact, any of my trips in recent times. I hoped that this was a good omen and this luck would stay with us for the rest of the trip.
We set off in our Sumo captained by Ratan to Dhola Ghat, where we were to cross the mighty Bramhaputra. The ride was mostly bumpy with the road non-existent in quite a few places but the views were good and inviting but we had to get the river crossing done before sunset. In a few hours the ghat was just before us with the wide Lohit spreading nearly up to the horizon, which was bound by snow-capped peaks just beyond our destination - the Mishmi Hills. But we were not going there in a hurry. Just 50 meters from the jetty, Ratan underestimated the water on the track and our vehicle was trashing in the muck in a blink. This called for operation salvage, with 15-20 people literally lifting the vehicle out. The ghat in fact has no permanent jetty or any jetty for that matter. As the mighty river claims and gives back the land on the banks at it’s will, it wasn’t possible to have a permanent structure in this ever changing topography. The loading of the vehicle on the boat is not for the faint-hearted, more so the unloading on the other bank which we had to conclude in darkness. The river crossing was certainly an experience; I had never crossed a river so wide by boat, certainly beating my time on the Ganga. Though the Lohit isn’t too deep at this point, the boat captain had to navigate a circuitous path, part upstream and part downstream as he dodged the sandbars, both visible and invisible. At times, we could feel the bottom of the loaded boat scrape the river bed, and we prayed that the engines had enough power to push us through. While we made the crossing, the sun set dramatically, painting the sky and the river in infinite shades of red.
As I watched the spectacle unfold, I looked at my watch; it was barely 4.20 pm. it’s really surprising how early the day ends in the east! An hour's drive in the dark got us to the jungle camp. We had an early dinner and retired to the newly built cottages. Standing beneath that star spangled sky, I was reminded of the things we city dwellers miss. Unchallenged by the artificial lights on the ground all the stars seemed to be out and twinkling, the numbers now more in tune with what we read in books.
We started Day 1 at 4:30, the earlier night we had a look at the sit out but I was not prepared for the awesome view that it afforded. The whole wide flood plains of the Lohit stretched out below in the valley before us. We spent the first part of the day on the road going up from the camp and the later part on the trail lower than the camp. Notable sightings of the day were White-browed Scimitar Babbler, Yellow Bellied Warbler, Rufous-faced Warbler, Rufous-bellied Hawk Eagle (adult as well as juvenile), Collared Owlet and the Collared Treepie. Everyone here carried a Dao (machette), most had guns and those who didn’t atleast had a catapult. This explained the low bird density seemed low and the shy birds. Even the Assam macaque, which in most places would come up to the car and beg, seemed to move like a bullet at the sight of a human.
Day 2 also saw us doing the same route at a different time. Highlights of the day were Spotted and Pygmy Wren-babbler, Durian Redshart and Striated Yuhina.
Day 3 we decided to drive up to Mayodia Pass. Before we reached Mayodia I saw a little brown bird flying along the road, closer investigation revealed that this was the star of the Mishmi Hills- the Mishmi (rusty-throated) Wren-babbler. Suddenly, my count of Wren-babblers had jumped from 0 to 3 in just a couple of days. Other notable sightings of the day were the Northern Goshawk, Brown backed Needletail, Yellow cheeked Tit and White-bellied Yuhina.
Day 4 Stories of the Blyths Tragopan made us change the plans and undertake a 'small' trek in its chase. Six hours later and with not a hint of the Tragopan, the crestfallen group made its way back to the 'Coffee house'. All was not lost though as we had a good look at a pair of Darjeeling Woodpeckers. The evening was productive thanks to a bunch of Fulvettas as well as the Black-throated Parrotbill. A slaty blue Flycatcher filled up for the low numbers of Flycatchers on the trip.
Day 5 and we decided to take a strike at the Sclaters Monal. As soon as we reached the place where Bikram and Sumit had seen the bird, we were granted a sighting of this beautiful bird. In some way, it offset the earlier day’s miss with the Tragopan. We then began our descent back to Roing & Dhola Ghat as we wanted to do the river crossing in daylight. We birded all the way to down sighting a few more Fulvetta and Laughingthrushes before we hit the plains and concluded the Mishmi leg of our trip.
Sclater's Monal (Lophophorus sclateri)
Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)
Tufted Pochard (Aythya fuligula)
Speckled Piculet (Picumnus innominatus)
Darjeeling Woodpecker (Dendrocopos darjellensis)
Great Barbet (Megalaima virens)
Blue-throated Barbet (Megalaima asiatica)
Blue-bearded Bee-eater (Nyctyornis athertoni)
Himalayan Swiftlet (Collocalia brevirostris)
White-throated Needletail-Swift (Hirundapus caudacutus)
Brown-backed Needletail-Swift (Hirundapus giganteus)
Collared Owlet (Glaucidium brodiei)
Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis)
Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica)
Pin-tailed Green Pigeon (Treron apicauda)
Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon (Treron sphenura)
Green Imperial Pigeon (Ducula aenea)
Mountain Imperial Pigeon (Ducula badia)
Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) (?)
Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)
Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)
Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus)
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis)
Rufous-bellied Eagle (Hieraaetus kienerii)
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus nipalensis)
Black Stork (Ciconia nigra)
Orange-bellied Chloropsis (Chloropsis hardwickii)
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)
Yellow-billed Blue Magpie (Urocissa flavirostris)
Common Green Magpie (Cissa chinensis)
Grey Treepie (Dendrocitta formosae)
Collared Treepie (Dendrocitta frontalis)
Maroon Oriole (Oriolus traillii)
Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus)
Yellow-bellied Fantail (Rhipidura hypoxantha)
Bronzed Drongo (Dicrurus aeneus)
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus remifer)
Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus hottentottus)
Blue Whistling Thrush (Myiophonus caeruleus)
Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica)
Orange-gorgeted Flycatcher (Ficedula strophiata)
Slaty-blue Flycatcher (Ficedula tricolor)
Small Niltava (Niltava macgrigoriae)
Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis)
White-browed Bush Robin (Tarsiger indicus)
Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis)
Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
Little Forktail (Enicurus scouleri)
White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti)
Grey Bushchat (Saxicola ferrea)
Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnus malabaricus)
White-vented Myna (Acridotheres grandis)
White-tailed Nuthatch (Sitta himalayensis)
Black-lored Yellow Tit (Parus xanthogenys)
Yellow-browed Tit (Sylviparus modestus)
Striated Bulbul (Pycnonotus striatus)
Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
Ashy Bulbul (Hemixos flavala)
Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus)
Chestnut-headed Tesia (Tesia castaneocoronata)
Chestnut-crowned Bush-Warbler (Cettia major)
Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus) (?)
Grey-crowned Flycatcher-Warbler (Seicercus tephrocephalus)
Grey-cheeked Warbler (Seicercus poliogenys)
Rufous-faced Warbler (Abroscopus albogularis)
Black-faced Warbler (Abroscopus schisticeps)
Yellow-bellied Warbler (Abroscopus superciliaris)
Blue-winged Laughingthrush (Garrulax squamatus)
Scaly Laughingthrush (Garrulax subunicolor)
Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (Garrulax erythrocephalus)
Marsh Babbler (Pellorneum palustre)
Hodgson's Scimitar Babbler (Pomatorhinus schisticeps)
Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler (Pomatorhinus ruficollis)
Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler (Xiphirhynchus superciliaris)
Pygmy Wren-Babbler (Pnoepyga pusilla)
Mishmi Wren-Babbler (Spelaeornis badeigularis)
Spotted Wren-Babbler (Spelaeornis formosus)
Rufous-capped Babbler (Stachyris ruficeps)
Golden Babbler (Stachyris chrysaea)
Black-eared Shrike-Babbler (Pteruthius melanotis)
Rusty-fronted Barwing (Actinodura egertoni)
Golden-breasted Fulvetta (Alcippe chrysotis)
Yellow-throated Fulvetta (Alcippe cinerea)
Rufous-winged Fulvetta (Alcippe castaneceps)
Brown-throated Fulvetta (Alcippe ludlowi)
Nepal Fulvetta (Alcippe nipalensis)
Beautiful Sibia (Heterophasia pulchella)
Long-tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides)
Striated Yuhina (Yuhina castaniceps)
White-naped Yuhina (Yuhina bakeri)
Whiskered Yuhina (Yuhina flavicollis)
White-bellied Yuhina (Yuhina zantholeuca)
Black-throated Parrotbill (Paradoxornis nipalensis)
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker (Dicaeum ignipectus)
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
Olive-backed (Anthus hodgsoni)
Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus)
© Rajneesh
Suvarna 2008
