TRIP REPORT  : NAINITAL,DELHI,SULTANPUR  : 11th -17th AUGUST 2000
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  Govind Kumar ,  P.O Box 88, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  Email : gkumar99@emirates.net.ae
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This is an account of birds seen during a short holiday with family 
in Northern India in August 2000. Sites covered were  Okhla lsland,Sultanpur 
in Haryana and areas in and around Nainital . Some birding was
also done enroute to Agra especially near Mathura . The timing of our visit 
meant that we  missed seeing most of the altitudinal winter migrants in the 
Nainital area, notably rosefinches,accentors and grosbeaks.
However we ended the trip with 173 species and enjoyed some wonderful mountain 
scenery.   

Itinerary 

11/8/2000     Delhi  - Lodhi Gardens , Deer Park, Hauz Khas. Overnight train 
              to  Kathgodam .
12/8/2000     Car to  Nainital . Nainital - Kilbury.  
13/8/2000     Nainital  - Sat Tal - Zoo
14/8/2000     Nainital  - Mukteswar
15/8/2000     Nainital  - Mongoli Valley - Kaladhungi - Haldwani-Kathgodam . 
              Overnight train to Delhi.
16/8/2000     Delhi - Okhla Island - Sultanpur Jheel.
17/8/2000     Delhi - Agra 

In Delhi  we stayed with relatives in the southern suburb of Green Park . At Nainital, 
we stayed at the KMVN (Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam) Guesthouse in Tallital . Accommodation 
(and train tickets for Delhi-Kathgodam-Delhi) was booked in advance from Dubai although 
it was not the tourist season and we could just have turned up on spec.This place served 
good Indian food but each meal had to be ordered with the previous one. Travel was by 
hired transport ( Maruti van,Toyota Qualis).KMVN personnel were helpful in securing a 
reliable driver with vehicle. 

11/8/00    Upto 20 circling Black Kites were in evidence  at daybreak  soon joined by 
a twittering flock of House Swifts. Flocks of Feral Pigeon flew overhead and the  calls 
of Red-vented Bulbul  and  White-breasted Kingfisher filled the air .Within the hour, 
most of the common species  had turned up - Coppersmith Barbet,
Brown Rock Chat, Common Babbler, Long-tailed Shrike, Dusky Crag Martin and Asian Palm 
Swift. Good birds seen in the Lodhi Gardens included Brown-headed Barbet, Oriental 
White-Eye and Black-rumped Flameback  while the Deer Park
in Hauz Khas had large parties of Jungle Babbler.

12/8/2000  Birds seen from the train included several Ashy Prinia and Green Bee-eater 
on telephone wires as we approached Haldwani. Between Kathgodam and Nainital we saw 
Striated Laughingthrush, Chestnut-bellied Rock-thrush,Grey Tit and Himalayan Bulbul.  
We checked into the KMVN Guesthouse and from the from our room overlooking the lake 
saw a party of 7 Scaly-breasted Munia, a Streaked Laughingthrush and a male Verditer
Flycatcher.    
      After breakfast we drove to Kilbury and birded the area around the FRH. Within 
the compound itself we had Rufous Sibia, Brown-fronted , Rufous-bellied and Himalayan 
Woodpeckers. A large flock of 50+ White-throated Laughingthrush was also encountered.
Two Plainbacked Thrushes were seen on the mountain road not far from the FRH while a 
bird wave produced a superb male Slaty Blue Flycatcher, White-tailed Nuthatch, 
Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Black-lored, Spot-winged and Rufous-naped Tits, Eurasian Jay
and Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (nominate race).On the trip back to town we 
added Grey-backed Shrike and Himalayan Swiftlet. In the KMVN garden we had a 
solitary Hoopoe.

13/8/00   A Black-chinned Babbler in the KMVN garden provided a great start to the day. 
Enroute to Sat Tal, we saw Spotted Forktail in a stream in Bhowali while a brief stop 
above Garod Tal yielded Grey Drongo,Great Barbet and a male Little Pied Flycatcher. 
At Sat Tal, we birded the area around the lake.
 A superb Greater Yellownape working a tree  near the Christian Ashram arch was the 
highlight. We also saw a pair of Crested Serpent Eagles, Asian Barred Owlet, 
Green-tailed Sunbird, Grey-hooded Warbler, Brown-fronted Woodpecker, Grey Tit and Grey 
Bushchat. The lake itself had Common Kingfisher and White-browed Wagtail.
Back in Nainital an afternoon visit to the Zoo produced wonderful views of a pair of 
Bonelli's Eagle sailing over the valley at eye level , many Streaked Laughingthrush and 
Yellow-breasted Greenfinch. 

14/8/00  There was some fine birding en route to Mukteswar. Black-headed Jay , 
Scarlet Minivet, Greater Yellownape, Green-backed Tit, Himalayan and Brown-fronted 
Woodpeckers  were seen in pine forest between Bhowali and Gagar. A small party of 
Common Hill Partridge was seen in a hillside clearing near Gagar.
A stop at the Snow View orchard at Khabrar produced good views of  Slaty-headed Parakeet,
Red-billed Blue Magpie,Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Black Eagle, Striated Prinia  and 
Eurasian Crag Martin. 
        The forest around the PWD Bungalow in Mukteswar where we broke for lunch had 
some superb  birds. Highlights were Koklas Pheasant and Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker. 
Rufous Sibia, Eurasian Blackbird, White-tailed Nuthatch and Bar-tailed Treecreeper were 
also seen . On the return trip, we stopped again at the Khabrar orchard to buy a crate of 
apples and had good views of a White-throated Laughingthrush eating the
fruit. Oriental Turtle Dove, Black Bulbul  and Red-rumped Swallow were also seen.        
In the gully beneath the Bhowali Sanatorium, there  were some excellent birds such as 
Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Black-chinned Babbler, Orange-flanked Bush Robin and  
Grey-cheeked Warbler.

15/8/00  The rains  had stayed away for three days but the skies finally gave way . 
Heavy showers  forced a change of plan and an early departure from Nainital . We descended 
to the plains in Kaladhungi by way of the Mongoli valley. At the waterfall in Bajun, there 
was a solitary Brown Dipper along with a few Grey Wagtail while a Black
Eagle soared overhead. The rain had become a light drizzle and  bird activity was poor. 
We walked a few kilometres downhill looking for birds . 
 
 At Kaladhungi, however, birding improved considerably  with  Kaleej Pheasant, Blue Peafowl, 
Drongo-Cuckoo, Himalayan and Greater Flamebacks, Lineated and Blue-throated Barbets all 
found in a Sal plantation on the outskirts of town . The compound of Jim Corbett's old 
winter home , now a tourist attraction, had a gorgeous male Crimson Sunbird and several 
Red-breasted Parakeet. The place was closed to the public as it was Independence
day. Another excellent Sal forest between Kaladhungi and Haldwani had good birds and 
Grey Hornbill, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Bronzed Drongo, Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike, 
Small Minivet, Chestnut-tailed Starling, Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch and  Paradise Flycatcher 
were seen in a bird wave.  
 
16/ 8/00  After a great deal of asking around we finally located located a boatman who was w
illing to ferry us across the Yamuna to Okhla Island. It took a good 35 minutes to rid the 
boat of rain water and push it out of the slush onto the water but we finally got away 
around 11 A.M. It was cloudy and overcast and rain seemed imminent. Black-bellied and 
Gull-billed Terns, Oriental Pratincole, Black Ibis, Cinnamon Bittern, Purple and
Grey Herons, Little Cormorant  and Streak-throated Swallow were among birds seen on the boat 
ride. It started raining even as we set foot on the island . The reeds were virtually 
impenetrable and birding was not easy . We saw several Striated Babblers, Ashy and Plain 
Prinias, Pied Bushchat, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Baya and Streaked Weavers and Long-tailed Shrike.

At Sultanpur Jheel, there were 30 + Painted Storks, Intermediate Egrets, White Ibis and 
Night Herons on one of the islands along with many Nilgai . Also seen were Comb Duck 
( pair) , Black Francolin, Darter, Blue Peafowl, Black-shouldered Kite, White-eyed Buzzard, 
Shikra, Grey Hornbill, Spotbill Duck, Common Woodshrike
and Eurasian Spoonbill.           
  
17/8/00  Good birds seen on  the Agra road included two Sarus Cranes, 50 + Egyptian Vultures 
(the only ones of the trip), 3 Indian Coursers,Pheasant-tailed Jacana,a Spot-billed Pelican,
25 Asiatic Openbill and 3 Pied Cuckoos. River and Black-bellied Terns were seen on the Yamuna 
river behind the Taj Mahal.