Walong (March 2022) - Birds of the eastern frontier

Walong in Arunachal Pradesh is one of the eastern-most settlements in India, adjoining China's Yunan Province. It is also under-explored and under-birded. Needless to say, this combination makes for fascinating possibilities; some birds found here are seen nowhere else in India and 'new to country' species are documented virtually every year. Which is why this was the tantalising 'promising to be delicious" main of our three-course North-east trip.  Manjunath, Lakpa and I were joined by Atul Jain from Delhi but the surprise package was Doc Mukundan - from a 3 day initial plan he was 'persuaded' to extend to Walong! Adding serious expertise was Ravi Mekola, legend of Mishmi Hills and also a frequent visitor to these parts.

We left Maguri to spend a night at Tezu, a pleasant town with a couple of decent restaurants. We headed towards Walong early the next morning, with Ravi promising some interesting birding on the way, especially around Udayak Pass. And while we heard a fair few species, not one really turned up for a dekko. Except till Ravi conjured up not one, but two Cachar Wedge-billed Babblers. These two chaps gave us a grand sighting and more importantly, helped fortify us for what would be a bone-jarring ride. Because, an hour from there upto Hayuliang, we went from driving on a wide enough and smooth (at most times) stretch of tarmac, to being bumped about on a narrow, non-road (can't think of anything else to call it!) And that carried on for nearly 100kms, which took us more than 4 hours to cross. Quite bizarre we all thought. The only saving grace was the serene presence of the beautiful Lohit river, flowing right alongside all the way, even if in the opposite direction!

A Blue-winged Laughingthrush (seen by the car ahead) was the only bird of note before we pulled into the little town of Walong. I was a bit apprehensive about the stay but as we climbed the stairs to the Anu Nimai homestay, all that melted away into a broad smile. For this was a pleasant, clean and really well kept little homestay. We all settled into our rooms, had a really nice, simple dinner and then turned in for the super-early start the following morning. We drove out and the first thing we saw was the presence of the Army, Walong being so close to the border. There was a spanking new airstrip and a memorial to those who gave up their lives in the 1962 war with China where this area saw some of the fiercest clashes. We said our prayers to these bravehearts who make our lives so easy and on that solemn note began one of the most special birding trips of my life.

We headed towards Helmet Top (on a height as the name suggests) to look for some of the endemic species. Now Atul had been here a decade ago and seen most of what was on offer (in fact his group added a species to the India list) and he was coming back for just two specialities - Yunan Nuthatch (which he missed then) and Sichuan Leaf Warbler (newly added to the list) And within minutes of arriving at Helmet Top, he got both! The Nuthatch posed and preened for its special guest even as the Leaf Warblers flitted busily in the bush. Job done for Atul! At least that what we all thought...

We quickly got glimpses of another two local beauties - Godlweski's Bunting and Chestnut-vented Nuthatch and heard one very special one - Lord Darby's Parakeet. Others came and went and gave us some decent photos, with the highlight being a Streak-breasted Scimitar babbler. Scimitars are always good birds to get, especially given how elusive they can tend to be. So a happy bunch went back to the homestay, and a spot of lunch later, we were immediately hungry for more birding. Ravi scanned the Lohit's banks for White-bellied Heron, one of the rarest birds on the planet, with only an estimated 70 individuals at last count. No Heron, no cry as the old song goes (not!) and we went out to search for some other special residents. His Lordship's Parakeet would be top of that list. 

We drove around without really finding anything special and then got a call on our walkies. As an aside, Walong doesn't have mobile network so walkies are the preferred mode of communication. It was another group led by Binanda who had seen a pair of Darbyan Parakeets further down the road from us. We zipped there at the speed of light and managed to spot the female high up on a tree. And our happiness doubled when a small flock of Black-headed greenfinches gave us a clear (if distant) sighting. Day 1 gave us more than we bargained for. But it was still only Day 1!

The next day, we drove to Thilam Top passing another Army camp on the way. It's always a pleasure to interact with these wonderful people, most of them curious about what 6 crazy folks are doing scurrying about with binoculars and cameras and peering into bushes and up trees. We got a couple of special ones - Black-browed Tit & Rusty-capped Fulvetta and heard a lonely Koklass Pheasant call soulfully across the hillside, no doubt reminding its mate about a spot of breakfast. For me, one highlight was a little ball of cuteness called Goldcrest. This absolutely gorgeous little laddoo was on my wishlist for a while and to see it flitting about the pines in Walong made me super happy!! 

On our way back, we came upon another local beauty - Spot-breasted Parrotbill. We'd heard this bird call the previous evening without being able to see it. This time, there were two birds and they not only gave us a sighting, but a grand one with a full-on photoshoot. The cameras went ballistic clicking this little beauty and I got some decent frames too. But all along, I felt that something was wrong with the camera. it felt a little wobbly and the focus wasn't quite there. I shrugged it off as we headed back to base and there Ravi gave us probably the most heartwarming news of the trip - he'd seen a White-bellied Heron on the opposite bank of the Lohit. It was nearly a kilometre away and for a while only Lakpa and he could even see the bird, even with binocs! 

And then, once we all saw it, we needed to go to the river. But that meant going through the Army camp, which we weren't sure we would be allowed to. But they graciously did, with a little bemusement as well thrown in. And we clambered down muddy slopes and rocky riverbeds but could only get upto a couple of hundred metres away. And there it stood, a White-bellied Heron, serenely feeding, unaware of the buzz it was creating in some strange two-legged creatures across the river. The buzz was heady all right, after all this was not a bird that I ever dreamt I would be seeing across the river from my homestay! The pictures weren't great, but who cares?

Post lunch and we were driving quite serenely, still buzzed from the Heron sighting. We stopped to check for Chestnut-eared Buntings but without luck. Lakpa, Atul and I were in the second car and as it rounded a bend, we saw that the other car had stopped to check out a thrush on the roadside. Ravi leaned over and asked "Black-throated?" and Lakpa, peering through his binocs, announced "Kessler's Thrush!" For a moment, Atul and I were both stunned into inaction.  Then we all clambered out of our respective cars and allowed the star of the show to strut about and pose for photos. This was an enigmatic bird, with no reliable sighting spots. It wasn't even on my 'ever-can-see' list. And it was a lifer for Atul - that about says it all.

We drove on towards the village of Kaho, the last vilage before the border with China. A few kilometres before Kaho, we stopped at a view point which gave us grand views of the Lohit valley. At Kaho, we got a Himalayan Prinia and a couple of redstarts, but the highlight was being able to touch probably the country's easternmost border and a chat with its sentinels. Back at Walong, we heard about Binanda and his team finding Red-throated Thrushes even as we shared our location of the Kessler's with them. The following morning would be our final session in Walong, before we headed back. We would try to get the Thrush and Chestnut-eared as well as some decent photos of the Godlewski's Buntings.

We had a great start to the morning as we got the Red-throated Thrush; this was a lifer for Atul again. We also got decent frames of the Godlewski's and even managed to reacquaint ourselves with the Kessler. But the Chestnut-eared buntings had left en masse it would seem.  And, job done, we too headed out post lunch. We would spend the night at Hayuliang and then head towards Tezu the next morning. The road was largely fine apart from stretches which had roadworks on, so that caused us a few delays. The stay at Hayuliang was not a patch on Anu Nimai at Walong, so we were glad we only had the one night there. We headed out early the next morning, not just to negotiate that crazy stretch of road again, but also to catch some birds. And boy did we have a memorable day!

A short way out of Hayuliang and Ravi conjured up Blue-winged Laughers and Grey-sided Bush Warblers. A little further on and we hit pay dirt. We stood at one spot to search for some woodpeckers when suddenly Lakpa announced the arrival of a Grey-headed Parrotbill flock, followed by a couple of Crested Finchbills. These weren't even on the list! My camera was now really playing truant and I was so engrossed in trying to get it to work that I nearly had a heart to heart with a large boulder that slid off the hillside. A flock of Striated Yuhinas made up for that; I was especially happy because this completed all my Yuhinas, thank you very much. I put the camera away and even Flavescent Bulbuls could not tempt me to pick up my 'acting up' equipment. I did make one more attempt in the afternoon session.

Post lunch we were at Udayak Pass again and this time the birding was magical; birds of many shapes and sizes appearing out of practically every part of the undergrowth. The highlights were two very cooperative skulkers - Long-billed Wren Babbler and a Coral-billed Scimitar Babbler. I somehow managed an average photo of the bird, but had no luck with the Scimitar or some of the others, including some special species like Rufous-faced Warblers or Golden babblers. I finally figured what was wrong - the lens mount had somehow come loose and a couple of screws were missing. Which was shocking, I'd just had the lens serviced before the trip. It could have caused serious damage had the camera fallen off at some point. Anyways, there was nothing I could do so I just packed up my equipment. And just like that we were in Tezu, then at Roing and finally settled at Ravi's lovely Frogmouth Camp at the base of Mishmi Hills. 

We had spent 6 awesome days birding at India's eastern extremity, finding many species we expected to find, some that we hoped to find and yet more that we didn't even dream of!  Doc and Manjunath got lifers in three figures, I got respectable double digits and most sensationally, Atul got 4!! For a man who's seen most of what is there to see, that is a spectacular return.

The main course turned out to be a seven(ty) course gourmet buffet. 

Bring on dessert I say!

Walong Trip Guide

Walong is at India's easternmost end and getting these is not as easy as some of the other birding spots. It's 350 kms from the nearest airport and road is the only way to access, and that too on questionable roads, at least in part. But at the end of it, it is so worth it from a birding point of view.

The areas around Udayak Pass, Mompani en route are very fertile and from Walong, Helmet and Thilam Top and the road all the way to Kibithu and Kaho are fantastic.

How to get there

Dibrugarh (350kms - 10 hours) is the closest airport and is the only real option for Walong. 

Naturalists

Ravi Mekola is one of the most prolific bird guides in Walong. You can reach him on +91 9402457180/9774748828/8787302534

Lakpa Tenzing is always up there with the best of them. He can be reached on lakpatenzing84@gmail.com or +91 9733018122

Binanda Hatibaruah and Palash Phukan are both excellent naturalists who also lead trips to Walong.

Stay

Tezu has quite a few decent options for a break journey or to be used as a base for Udayak Pass

Hayuliang is quite iffy without any real quality places

Walong itself has the wonderful Anu Nimai Homestay where we stayed. It's a place I would wholeheartedly recommend - clean, comfortable rooms and loos, delicious food (vegetarians have enough and more options) and lovely people

There is also Dong resort which we saw, which looked quite nice as well.

Food

The food across the journey was simple fare but really tasty. Being vegetarian is not an issue but if you eat eggs, you're totally sorted.