If there was birding heaven on earth, it has to be the Himalayas and their foothills. The entire stretch of the world's loftiest mountain range is bird paradise. And every region has its own specialities; endemics and migrants. The Western Himalayas of Uttarakhand will always be special to be since that's where my my birding journey truly kickstarted into serious orbit. And so, a family and friends trip to Rishikesh this February (during a brief respite from the pandemic) provided a great opportunity to see a new part of this wonderful state - The area around Gangotri, one of Hinduism's holiest places. And the fact that this was alongside my dear friend Jaysingh and the legendary Hari Lama made it even more special.
And so, early one morning we set out from Rishikesh with our final destination being the village of Harsil, 25kms short of Gangotri. En route, we passed the towns of Chamba and Uttarkashi, and extensive roadworks all through meant that we arrived at Harsil around mid-afternoon, after a bone jarring 9 hour journey. And we had to find a place to stay so we wandered about before we settled in at the Radha Mohan Palace, not quite palatial but comfortable nevertheless. Near the entrance to the village, we'd seen our first real sighting - a majestic Golden Eagle soaring just above the treeline. Light wasn't great so we were just happy watching this stunner of a raptor.
We were all ready for action the next morning and Lama ji (who was also making his first trip here) had picked up a few tips from a fellow bird guide who had made a trip a few weeks ago. We were searching for the enigmatic Grandala plus a host of other higher altitude species. And we were told that these birds were seen very close to the village and we naively swallowed that story. And so we drove out towards Gangotri, watching for flowering seabuckthorn trees, Grandala's favourite food. And we drove all the way to Gangotri village, visited the temple, though now without the deity since it is taken to another place during winter. Gangotri was deserted apart from some workmen and a kindly priest who offered us some tea. We did get to see the Ganga at one of its holiest (and purest) places and I carried some pure gangajal for my family and friends.
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| Black and Yellow Grosbeak |
On the way back, we stopped at the edge of a pine and deodhar forest and Lama ji conjured up a White-cheeked Tit and a Black & Yellow Grosbeak. The Coal and Rufous-vented Tits buzzed about in abundance and a shadowy rosefinch-like shape made for an interesting morning. But no Grandala. None at all. We put it down to first mornings and went looking for other species like the White-throated Tit which was supposed to be abundant in the place. No sign of that either as we took a quick meal break and then headed back to a spot where some seabuckthorn trees were still loaded with berries. We spent the whole afternoon looking for Grandala but had absolutely no luck. And none of the other promised species seemed to be around in the vicinity either.
Red Fox
Lama ji was a bit puzzled, but being new to the area, he put it down to timing and said we would try the next day. Which pretty much went the same way, except for a beautiful Red Fox sunning itself on a rock right next to the path. It saw us and hastily legged it, reminded of an urgent errand to run for the spouse, no doubt. Two whole days without our chosen species and Lamaji was now perplexed and not a little upset. Can't get worse than that, surely.
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| Variegated Laughingthrush |
Apparently, it could. It rained. As in, really poured all morning. And with the fog coming down into the valley, we had virtually no scope for birding. And no option but to wait it out. As soon as the rain let up a bit, we drove out, but in the opposite direction, and uphill. Hari Lama was now trusting his own instincts. We drove out of the valley, and as we looked ahead at the bare hillside, he said, there should be Monal here. And as if by magic, we saw a beautiful male walking uphill in the distance. Too far for photography but sighting this stunning bird just lifted the spirits. And then he stopped at a grassy slope and went for a wander. And immediately threw up a rosefinch which buzzed past us (so we didn't know what it was with any certainty) as well as Blue-capped Redstarts and Variegated Laughingthrushes. And now, it was time for some fortification - over chai and Maggi he plotted the next couple of days. We would move base from Harsil and come over to the hills - his chats with some locals gave us a lot more clarity. And thus meandered the afternoon, apart from a lovely sighting of a Rock Bunting.
We woke up the next day in a much better frame of mind. We were going to hit he right spots and maybe find those elusive Grandala. And we set out, full of hope, from Harsil. But as we reached our little guest house in Jaspal Bandh, we realised that the weather gods had other plans - it was totally fogged out! We drove out, nevertheless, albeit very carefully. We stopped at a place next to a field with some trees and at once, a flock of birds landed there. That they were finches was in no doubt, but which finch? Impossible to tell in the fog and light and even photos were of no help. We had no option but to wait it out but the birds wouldn't wait. They flew off and were followed by a flock of Grossbeaks. Again, impossible to tell which ones they were!
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| Beautiful Rosefinch - female |
There was better news ahead as the skies magically cleared by noon and we went upwards to Sukhi Top. And there, Lama conjured up a male Beautiful Rosefinch, followed by a far more co-operative female. Beautiful birds, both! A Whiskered Yuhina and Rufous-breasted Accentor provided more joy as we returned back down to the banks of the beautiful Bhagirathi, to look for some other species. And even as he peered through binoculars, Jaysingh exclaimed "Kingfisher! No. It's an Ibisbill!!" - an amazing find. We watched as this bird settled onto the grey rocks on the far side of the river and then just vanished. We couldn't see it at all!!
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| Ibisbill |
Lama, the master, took it upon himself to find this incredibly camouflaged fellow and finally found him. And then another. And finally, a third! We'd seen three Ibisbills, a lifer for Jay. He set up his scope and we had some grand views of the birds. They came slightly closer so some photos were possible too. And then we all celebrated with a cup of steaming chai! That afternoon, we went down to the riverside to look for birds on the banks. We walked down a little slope and Lama whispered "Black-throated Accentor" - a lifer for both of us. We waited for the bird to come out but it just zipped past and headed into thick bush. We spent the next hour or so looking for it, but it had vanished into thin air! We then went out looking for some of the other rarities, particularly Grandala, spent a lot of time around the seabuckthorn bushes but in vain. The Grandala had moved to higher altitudes. We were maybe a week or two too late. A Koklass Pheasant called in the hills above but didn't deign to provide a visual. And that was the end of that.
The following morning, we set out to the riverside to look for the Accentor again. But our fine friend had fled to regions unknown. And then Lamaji peered at a bird on a branch above us and exclaimed 'Chaffinch'. And our eyes lit up. But all we got was a silhouette as this fellow too decided to show us a clean pair of wings. 2 coveted lifers and both lost! Seriously morale sapping. The mandatory tea revived our spirits and we spent the rest of the day gently wandering around, happy with whatever we could see. The realisation that this was a special place was firmly in place, even if our timing could have been a tad better. Or the directions from the other gent who got us to spend two days chasing shadows. Why do people even do that?
And then it was time to leave. So the next morning, fortified with yet another of Sonam's teas, we set forth. Passed through Sukhi top without much action and then beyond when, Lama made the driver stop. He'd heard Cheer Pheasant calling in the grassy slopes around us. We got off and walked about in the freezing cold to try and find this amazIng bird. But once again, a visual eluded us. But it was thrilling to know that they exist here. And with a promise to return soon, we gorged on some samosas at the next town and headed back to Rishikesh.
Harsil Trip Guide
Hari Lama, the master of the Western Himalaya has added Harsil to his repertoire and he's an amazing birder as well super human being. You can reach him on 9927935841 or 9675173230.
A visit to Gangotri is a definite option for those so inclined, being only 25kms from Harsil.
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| Bar-tailed Creeper |
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| Spot-winged Tit |
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| Himalayan Buzzard |
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| Rock Bunting |
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| Stripe-throated Yuhina |
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| Whiskered Yuhina |
