Mishmi Hills Birding Trip Report- I

Black Eared Shrike-babbler at Mishmi Hills, Arunachal Pradesh

Stop Stop!!!  I insisted to our driver as a Blyth's Tragopan male just walked on to the road only a couple of metres ahead!!!  

It was the second day of the trip and our first drive into the Mishmi hills itself!!! And bingo!!! We  had hit the jackpot!!!

We started our trip from Dibrugarh Airport.

Day 1: 26th March 2017

As I walked out of the Airport, Ravi our guide and the Pied Starlings perched in the lawn welcomed me warmly. Our both drivers had arrived to pick up me and my guests.  Vidyut and Ratul were very warm too. Soon arrived 2 of the participants from the group. The rest of the 4 parrixipants were about to reach after having finished their splendid tour to Kaziranga and Gibbon Park. The customized tour had been arranged on demand by India Untamed.  Thus a group of us 7 people met up at 2.00 pm as decided. This was soon followed by an amazing lunch. We had an Assamese thali with Banana flower vegetable, mini potatoes and  locally cultivated vegetables.  I tasted the first duck meat of my life.

We were now Heading to our first birding destination for the trip, Maguri Beel. Heading for Maguri Beel, we soon stopped with our first sighting... A White-rumped Vulture perched atop a roadside tree. A few of Slender-billed Vultures were also flying high up. A great sighting for everyone.  After little over an hour's drive we reached Kahua camp.  The camp is based on the edge of the Maguri Beel.  The wetland is a birding hotspot known for sightings of species like Baikal Teal, Baer's Pochard, Black-breasted Parrotbill, Falcated Duck and so on.  It is also located close to Dibru Saikhova National Part.  The Dihing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary is not very far from here either.  Thus if you have enough time on hands you can plan these two places as well.

The camp is a basic accommodation in the local styling. The huts are built on stilts with wooden flooring, thatched roof and bamboo walls. It has an attached bath with a WC.

A stroll outside was productive. Black-faced Buntings were present in the thicket just behind our huts. Rosy Pipit and Eastern Yellow Wagtails were grazing in the natural grass lawns.  Noisy Ruddy Shelducks were flying above.  It was already 5 pm and the sun was about to set.  We called it a day with a tally of 15 species from around. (List)

27th March 2017

Coffee House at Mayodia Pass in Mishmi Hills

The first per say birding day began at 4.30 am. One has to take a canoe to reach the area of the wetland where the waterfowls are present. We started our boat trip in two canoes to the wetland at 6.00 am soon after sunrise. It was raining throughout the night and the drizzle continued a bit through the morning.  I realised and was also told they this year there has been an early departure of species. However we bagged special species for most participants. Ruddy-breasted Crake, Eastern Water-Rail were spotted by sharp eyes of our guide for Maguri Beel Mr. Jeevan who also owns the Kahua camp.  

Striated grassbirds were signing to their glory flying up in the air from their reed-top perches and landing back. Bengal Bushlarks walked along the Creek banks.  A party of Ferruginous Pochards, Cotton Pygmy Geese, Common Shelduck, Gadwall were taking off as our canoes progressed closer to them.  The Beel which means lake is an extension of the River Brahmaputra into an extended backwater. It also has great amount of tall grasses and reeds around the backwater making it an ideal habitat for a number of marsh species too.

The lake is infested with water hyacinth.  The roots of the hyacinth are an ideal ground for breeding of small fish and invertebrates.  You will see the local fishermen fishing from under the Hyacinth with their bamboo nets. After bagging about 15 species and not being able to see any new ones, we returned to the base.  You may click here for the group species list and here for my ebird checklist.

After breakfast we headed for Roing where we would be pitched up for the night before climbing up into the Mishmi Hills.  The drive from Tinsukia the closest city to Maguri  Roing is for about 4 hours.  The time extends because of the stops taken along the way fir birding. We bagged species like Crested Serpent Eagle, White throated Needletails, Asian Barred Owlets, Black-billed and darker sub species if the indian Roller. Birding stops along the way delayed us a bit.  We reached the Mishmi Hills Camp in Roing around sunset.  It's a good place to pitch up for the night before you begin your journey uphill. The camp is clean and based right on the bank of the Dibang River. 

Morning here is decent with Daurian redstart, Blue-fronted Redstart, Hodgson's Redstart, Blue Whistling Thrush, Fantails.  We headed soon for the Roing grasslands to look for the key species here.  We heard one of our key species the Black-breasted Parrotbill. A repeated try for the species ended up in vain as the species refused to show up.  However we were delighted to watch the Jerdon's Babbler show up in a pair. Yellow-bellied Prinia, Graceful Prinia, Chestnut-capped Babbler, Lesser Coucal were picked up soon.  We were also delighted tow watch a pair of Chestnut munias. After having the pack breakfast which was carried in order to save birding time, we continued.  Small Niltava, Plain Flowerpecker, White- browed Scimitar Babbler and the skulky Rufous- fronted Babbler was picked up soon.  The Rufous-fronted Babbler has an amazing call. The call is a series of short sweet whistles in THREE? syllabi. Very similar to that of the Rufous capped Babbler and the the golden Babbler we were about to watch later during the trip. I also managed to get a glimpse of the Lesser Necklaced- Laughing-thrushes that flew away into distant bushes from a clearing.

Later we headed to Roing for brunch and after our guide and coordinator Ravi was done with the shopping for kitchen supplies for next 5 days for us, we headed into the hills.  The market area gave us the great tit singing to its glory.

After crossing the Dibang River which is about 300-400 metre wide bouldery river we began our uphill drive. Soon we stopped for a mixed species flock moving in the bamboo. The first one of the many to come rapid fire rounds had begun. And in one go we had Grey headed parrotbill, Red-billed Scimitar Babbler, Lesser rufous-headed Parrotbill, White-hooded Babbler and so on.  Our send stop gave us Little Pied flycatcher- a black and white bullet of energy, Striated yuhina, and our first Yellow-bellied Fantail.  We also saw Stripe-throated Yuhina along the way.  Unfortunately our group and the monsoon laden clouds reached the hills together and it began to drizzle.

Our diver started saying that we have good chances of sighting a Blyth's Tragopan as the rain paused for a bit.  As we continued driving further into the mountain roads, the vehicle in front of ours braked hard. And we did the same.  When I looked ahead of the vehicle ahead my heart skipped a beat.... There walked a Blyth's Tragopan male right in front of the vehicle and I was frozen.  Gaining the attention of my fellow birders took some time.  By the time I tried to pull my cam the strap got entangled and I lost my first shot.   

It decided to cross the road at it's own pace... alert and wary.... Soon it decided to head back and vanished into the roadside thicket.  We got off the vehicle and waited for it to cross again.  And it did.  it flew across right in front of us uphill.  

Happy I was that the participants of the tour got a great view of one of the kings of the region.... The Mishmi Hills.  Girish also managed a shot through the window screen...

The temperature began to drop as we climbed up the hills. At our chai halt at Tiwarigaon everyone preferred to get their jackets on.

It was about to get dark when we reached the place where we were supposed to stay for the best 5 days of birding here: The Coffee House.  I have read that the government built guesthouse was a result of the fund allocated for the construction of a café. However it was enough to build a guesthouse. Hence the guesthouse was built and named as Coffee House.  I am not sure of the actual reason it was named so.

Coffee House is based at a distance of about 54 km from Roing. The Mayodia Pass top is 4 km away from here at 2600 odd metres above MSL.  Lots of bamboo reeds around promises presence of Fulvettas, Rosefinches, Scimitars, Bushwarblers and Laughing-thrushes around.  Also was present a Blue-fronted Redstart around. Yellow-throated Marten frequented the place very often.

28th March 2017

Early morning was well spent.  We walked towards Mayodia top for about 2 km and then headed for breakfast.  The two hours of productive birding resulted in adding 15 species to our count. (Group list, My ebird list). Before we could head back to the field, clouds came in and it started raining.   We continued birding despite of the rain and fog until it was too dark and too drizzly at 3 pm to continue any more. 

29th March 2017

 The day was again washed out with lot of rain and fog. We however picked up 15 species before the day end. 

To be continued...