Two Rosy Starlings in Dhangadhi

Tuesday, 8th May, 2012

After last week's sighting of a Rosy Starling, I today saw 2 birds in exactly the same tree - and once again from my balcony! This time, I used my telescope and digital camera adapter to take some slightly better pictures. Carol Inskipp was kind enough to comment on the original sighting and commented that Rosy Starling "probably fits the catergory of rare visitor now". However, the Great Slaty Woodpeckers also sparked some interest, so today I have more pictures of both.

Firstly, I went to the woods on the 6th May only to find an extensive area of undergrowth completely destroyed by fire. I'm quite sure many birds lost nests, and certainly breeding habitat for the year. However, the 4 Great Slaty Woodpeckers seemed oblivious to everything and continued with their display from the previous week.



Great Slaty Woodpecker - Dhangadhi Woods

Also very nice was a fruiting tree that held large numbers of Yellow-throated Sparrow (Chestnut-shouldered Petronia), Indian grey Hornbill, Alexandrine Parakeet and a pair of Chestnut-tailed Starling.



Yellow-throated Sparrow - Dhangadhi Woods



Indian Grey Hornbill - Dhangadhi Woods

And so to today's Rosy Starlings...

Two birds, same tree, better pictures.



Rosy Starling - Dhangadhi



Rosy Starling - Dhangadhi



Rosy Starling - Dhangadhi

These could be my last sightings from the Far-West for a while. We're now into Day 12 of a total shut-down, with escalating violence. Two colleagues got out in a UN vehicle this afternoon. The remaining 4 of us are probably heading out with a police-escorted convoy tonight. Will keep you posted!

Mark.

A Rosy Starling in Dhangadhi

Thursday, 3rd May 2012

Power has become very unreliable this last week with us down to just a couple of hours a day. This is frustrating but expected at this time of year. Likewise, we're into the 7th day of a complete local shut-down/strike with everything pretty much shut down - ceratinly all transportation and banks. A few local shops open at unusual times to supply the essentials but it's most definitely been a slow week. So, to be brief, I'll just post some of the highlights of the week starting with this Rosy Starling seen from my balcony this morning. Listed as a vagrant, this is a very good record for Nepal. None of today's photos are great but the birds themselves certainly are.



Rosy Starling and Asian Pied Starling - Dhangadhi



Rosy Starling and Asian Pied Starling - Dhangadhi

Also very nice (and initially in the same tree) were 3 White-naped Woodpeckers. Again, I managed to get a couple of record shots.



White-naped Woodpeckers - Dhangadhi

And so on to my local woods once again. The highlight this week was a total of 5 Great Slaty Woodpeckers - 3 males, 1 female and the last bird not seen well enough. They were engaged in a bizarre display which involved the birds spreading their wings and then jumping side to side around the trunk of the tree - I saw this species fairly often when I was living in Thailand but never saw anything like this before.


Great Slaty Woodpecker (there are actually 3 males and 1 female here)



Great Slaty Woodpecker (female) - Dhangadhi



Great Slaty Woodpecker (male) - Dhangadhi

Two last ones before the power goes - female Crested Bunting feeding in stubble beside the house a couple of weeks ago and the 'resident' Blyth's Reed warbler next door.



Crested Bunting (female) - Dhangadhi

Blyth's Reed Warbler - Dhangadhi

Mark.

Tansen and Dhangadhi Vultures Pages are up.

Friday, 20th April 2012

Today, I posted 2 pages dedicated to the unidentified vultures seen at Tansen and Dhangadhi. More details are on those pages, which can be found on two separate tabs just below the title picture.

Had a great bird this morning - White-naped Woodpecker. If I'd been in the house, I could have ticked this lifer from there. Cracking bird and another for the list!

Mark.

More Vultures.

UPDATE: Sunday 3rd Feb 2013

Unfortunately, I didn't get as much feedback as I'd hoped for, illustrating, I assume, the complexities of identification. However, general opinion did seem to support (Eurasian) Griffon Vulture for the first set of 3 photos (all the same bird), although this was by no means unanimous. This was based upon the strongly rufous colouration on the chest and underwing, distinct whitish bar on median underwing coverts, less defined but still clearly visible patagial bar and clear pale streaks on chest and belly. However, no opinions were given for the second bird. The shots of this second bird are not as clear as those of the first but I would still be tempted to go with Griffon Vulture for much the same reasons, even though the bar on the median underwing coverts is not as distinct.

I have renamed the first set of photos, but have left the second set unchanged.

Wednesday, 18th April 2012

Two weeks ago I was seeing quite a few vultures passing over the house on a daily basis, with a maximum count of 36 on the 9th. They were mainly White-rumped Vultures with a few others mixed in for good measure. These last few days have been much quieter for some reason, so it was a pleasure to see them back today. Six of the 14 I saw today were White-rumped. The others were a little more tricky...

Here is one individual. If you click on the picture (the first is sharpest), you'll see a larger version. This individual came in very low right over the house. Please comment on the ID. I'm going to suggest Eurasian to get the ball rolling.




(Eurasian) Griffon Vulture, Dhangadhi



(Eurasian) Griffon Vulture, Dhangadhi

(Eurasian) Griffon Vulture, Dhangadhi

Here are 2 shots of another bird taken here in Dhangadhi a couple of weeks ago. I would suggest it's probably the same, though the detail isn't anything like so good. However, this bird appears to have a yellow tip to the bill and the whitish central bar is not so broad.



Another (Eurasian) Griffon Vulture?



Another (Eurasian) Griffon Vulture?

Comments are most welcome (and necessary)!

Mark.

A vulture or two!

Saturday, 7th April, 2012

Over the last couple of days (and also at a conference in Tansen last week), I have been having some cracking vulture sightings. Today, I had 24 fly over the house in a period of about half an hour. Yesterday, it was 21 - what will it be tomorrow I wonder?

Several of them are left unidentified (Himalayan/Eurasian sub-adults I think) but fortunately I managed to take photos of some and will be posting them on the blog for ID before too long. In the meantime, here are some confirmed sightings, taken both here in Dhangadhi and in Tansen (Butwal). The fist is a superb lifer for me, a Lammergeier seen from the hotel balcony in Tansen. The birds that follow were all taken in Dhangadhi and before you comment, I know Shikra and Woolly-necked Stork aren't vultures - but I did see them at the same time!

More to follow - all the tricky ones!

Mark.

Lammergeier - Tansen

Egyptian Vulture - Dhangadhi

Red-headed Vulture - Dhangadhi

Shikra - Dhangadhi

White-rumped Vulture - Dhangadhi

Woolly-necked Stork - Dhangadhi

Going to Market

Thursday, 2nd February, 2012

While travelling out and about, I certainly see a few things that could be deemed somewhat unusual in certain parts of the world. Here it is daily life. These next two shots show how 'the locals' get to market!



Chickens off to market, Dhangadhi



A sheep off to market, Dhangadhi

Mark.

Indian Roller

Wednesday, 25th January 2012

Just wanted to share a couple of pictures that I took this morning of Indian Roller. They're just superb birds, and to have one right outside the house is really something rather special. Enjoy!

Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis benghalesis)

Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis benghalesis)

I take my pictures using a Sony W7 compact camera, attached to my Swarovski 80HD via an adapter custom-made in Malaysia.

Mark.

Honeyguide Update and a little Toilet Humour!

Monday, 23rd January, 2012

Finally a "confession" or two.

Well, remember that unexpected honeyguide I said I saw last week? After throwing it out to the Oriental Bird Club forum, it looks far more likely that it was actually a female Scarlet Finch - still a very interesting record in itself, being far lower than expected. I must say thanks to all those who helped on this one. First rule of birding - don't claim unless 100% certain, and even then seek advice. Advice sought and mistake corrected!

Now for the toilet humour, so if this is not for you, just skip till next time!

After getting back from the woods the other day, I needed the loo. It's rare in this part of the world to have anything other than a squat toilet, and this is exactly what we have in our house. So, I was squatting there doing as one does, and I just slightly lost my balance. Reaching out for support I grabbed a tap (that fills a bucket to flush the toilet). Of course it snaps off at the wall and water jets out at a surprisingly high pressure for a roof-top storage tank. PANIC. Unfinished business, water going everywhere, and all alone in the house. So, as all Brits are taught about the Dutch, I put my finger to good use and stemmed the flow of gushing water (the broken pipe that is). Single-handedly I finish up my primary business - not easy I tell you - and was then left with a more serious problem - how to fix the leak, without getting soaked in the process.

All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind, call for help, give up and let the tank drain dry (there are no stop cocks out here either), or come up with something entirely more ingenious? Of course the problem solver in me decided on the latter and stretching across the bathroom with my left foot (finger in hole remember), I managed to tip over the rubbish bin and roll it towards me, extract some old plastic and replace my finger with that. Not much good I can tell you, with jets of high-pressure water shooting off all over the place. And then it struck me; my good-ol' British hanky - suitably soiled of course - would be perfect! With some cramming, and using the nozzle of a toilet-duck bottle to do so, it worked!

Of course, there's more to this, i.e. today I did something very similar to the kitchen tap, but seeing as this blog is supposed to be about birds, I'll leave that to another time.

Mark.

A Good Result

Thursday, 19th January, 2012

So, I finally managed to get out Thursday morning for a bit of birding - and it was certainly very rewarding, with not just birds but a good mammal sighting too. The following photos were taken at Bardia NP last October, not here in Dhangadhi.

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Bardia NP

I headed out to the usual spot within my local Sal Forest but on the way I came across a fruiting fig and although I didn't stay for long (it's on the main track and quite busy), half a dozen Yellow-footed Green Pigeon were putting away the just-ripe fruit, with White-bellied and Greater Racket-tailed Drongos providing a supporting cast. A couple of minutes later, a couple of Black-naped Oriole flew in giving themselves away with their fluting calls, together with a noisy flock of Jungle Babblers and a number of Rufous Treepies. Deeper within the forest, I decided to follow the edge of 'my' clearing and work my way slowly around, rather than stick at the stream like usual. Covering an area of approximately 300m x 100m, this clearing provides a mixed habitat from grassland, through secondary regeneration, back to mature forest. Immediately, I was onto both Hume's and Greenish Warbler, as well as a calling Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker that was desperately trying to attract my attention. Nearby, a small group of confiding Grey-breasted Prinia revealed a couple of individuals coming into breeding plumage - another indication of the changing season.

A quieter spell followed, with highlights being 3-4 very inquisitive Grey-sided Bush Warblers, a pair of Large Cuckooshrike, 20+ Oriental White-eye and a few Olive-backed Pipits. It was shortly after this that I had a really unexpected Yellow-rumped Honeyguide. Flushed from the ground (or low bush), it flew directly into low undergrowth within the forest, but failed to provide good views before being lost. I tried hard to persuade myself I was wrong (400m lower than ever recorded and in completely the wrong habitat) but try as I might I kept coming up with the same conclusion - a displaced bird, caused perhaps by the recent bad weather up in the hills. This was followed by a woodpecker frenzy with superb comparative views of Himalayan and Lesser Goldenbacks (males and females) all in the the same tree, followed shortly after by a female Streak-throated Woodpecker to round off the woodpecker fest. The Lesser Goldenback is regular in these woods but the Himalayan is less frequent, so greatly enjoyed.

Things were quietening down by now but as I strolled back towards my bike, Taiga (Red-throated) Flycatcher, Scarlet Minivet, Hair-crested Drongo, and Alexandrine Parakeet were all ticked off. A pair of Common Woodshrike also gave themselves up, tagging slowly along behind the minivets. This was my first sighting of this species in these woods.

White-browed Wagtail, Bardia NP

I then popped down to the river, but it was a hive of human activity with a couple of tractors extracting sand and blaring out Nepali music to all those in the vicinity. Hoping for River Lapwing, all I managed here today was a single Common Sandpiper and 2 White-browed Wagtails. Disappointing and unfortunately something that appears to have become regular.

So the show was over and I set off back home, pleased with the break from work and conference. To round off a satisfactory day, a pair of Asian (Golden) Jackals leisurely crossed the track right in front of me, providing one of the best views of this species I've ever had - cracking animals!

Mark.

Busy week with few birds.

Wednesday, 18th January, 2012

It's been a busy week so far, with several meetings and a 2-day conference to run. The weather though has improved markedly and the fog of the last couple of months has at last been replaced by some sunshine. Shame the boys back in Nottingham can't bring their own rays of sunshine to the lives of all their supporters! A 3-0 'thumping win' (thank you BBC) for Southampton at the weekend and a 4-0 thrashing by Leicester in the FA Cup yesterday: shocking!

Looks like I might get a morning off though tomorow, so I'm planning to get away from the blues of footie and meetings and head off to the woods to see what's about. Definitely seen far more Indian Grey Hornbills lately (all singles mind you), and our local Indian Roller was back yesterday putting on a fine show on the wires outside the house. Noticed an increase in Barn Swallows too, with a reduction in Red-rumped. I haven't really worked out the seasons here yet, and nor, does it seem, have the birds.

Tune in tomorrow for more.

Mark.

Global Birder is also a Forest Fan

Saturday, 14th January, 2012

I don't want to put you birders off but... just got a message (at half time) from a friend telling me that Nottingham Forest are losing at home to Southampton. (I actually have a live feed into Radio Nottingham, so was already aware). However, he did say that at half-time he enjoyed reading the blog!

What do I say to that?

Birds today? Well actually, the first Plum-headed Parakeets for several months put on a cracking show just across from the house. Stunning birds.

Mark.

Big ride - little reward

Thursday, 12th January 2012

Probably did 30km this afternoon but saw... not a lot.

Male Black Redstart on the edge of town, a noisy flock of Jungle Babbler down by the river, followed by (much later) a rather nice Indian Grey Hornbill, but that's about all. Largest flock of parakeets I've had for a while too - maybe 55-60 Rose-ringed out south of town and a single Black-winged Kite hunting over the rapidly growing winter barley.

Dutch film crew down at the Devotee Hotel tonight currently here doing a piece on leprosy - might catch up with them tomorrow...

Mark.

What a week so far!

Wednesday, 11th January 2012

Well, I've certainly had an interesting start to the week.

Sunday 8th Jan: Went to visit some schools as part of work but found them all closed due to either cold weather or exams. Not too disheartened though because I had 2 Slender-billed Vultures and 6 Himalayan Griffon perched in trees beside the main road, just west of Attariya - eyeing up a stinky dead cow by the looks of it. Can't grumble at the birds - with cracking views too. Shame I forgot the camera.

Monday 9th Jan: Resigned from work - effective March 31st - but will stay out here after that date to support Terri.

Tuesday 10th Jan: Visited 'Dhangadhi Woods', my local Sal Forest. The unseasonal rain of the last couple of days made the track a challenge but it was still passable. Visited 'the glade', to get away from it all. Not a great deal of major interest, though the Yellow-bellied Fantail, and now several Grey-sided Bush Warblers, is still there. My woods are only 180 metres above sea level, so I guess these two species are just about as low as they go. Lots of Greenish Warblers and Oriental White-eye flitting about, as well as a couple of Blyth's Leaf Warblers. Got a frustratingly brief glimpse of a 'blue flycatcher' - just the blue back and part of the rather orange upper chest. Most probably Tickell's. Also Streak-throated Woodpecker and Lesser Goldenback - both performing rather well. Had a surprise female Grey Bushchat on the way home too, but like I say, rather quiet today.

Mark.