Junglehike’s birding trip to Sattal – Wild Kumaon, Pangot and Nainital.
Date: 16th-19th March 2022
Trip report
Sattal, Pangot and Nainital showcased the rustic beauty of the lower Himalayas. Despite the temperature being on the warmer side the birds made their presence felt. The natural studios at regular intervals in Sattal, the pine forests of Pangot and dry rocky areas of Nainital had us celebrating a different ‘Holi’ of the feathered kind. Some birds were very vocal, some were skulking and some were openly displaying their breeding moves and grooves!
Bird species seen 125
Few Highlight Birds
Cheer Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant, Collared Falconet, Speckled Wood Pigeon, Brown Bullfinch, Hill Partridge, Golden Bush Robin, Large-tailed Nightjar, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Grey Treepie, Rufous Sibia, Red-billed Leothrix, Blue-winged Minla, Himalayan Bluetail, Whiskered Yuhina, Russet Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Rock Bunting.
- Pigeons & Doves – Speckled Wood, Oriental Turtle, Eurasian Collared, Spotted
- Raptors – Himalayan Vulture, Crested Serpent, Steppe, Booted Eagle, Himalayan Buzzard
- Owl – Brown Wood Owl, Collared Owlet, Asian Barred Owlet
- Barbet – Great, Blue-throated
- Woodpecker – Himalayan, Rufous-bellied, Brown-fronted, Grey-headed, Lesser and Greater Yellow-nape, Greater Flame-back
- Parakeet – Slaty-headed, Plum-headed
- Minivet – Scarlet, Long-tailed
- Babbler – Himalayan Shrike, Black-chinned, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar, Jungle
- Shrike – Bar-winged Flycatcher, Long-tailed
- Drongo – Ashy, Bronzed
- Jay – Eurasian, Black-headed
- Magpie – Red-billed Blue, Common Green
- Tit – Coal, Green-backed, Himalayan Black-lored, Black-throated, Cinereous, Yellow-browed
- Prinia – Hill, Grey-breasted
- Bulbul – Black, Himalayan, Red-vented, Red-whiskered
- Swallow – Barn, Red-rumped
- Warblers – Aberrant Bush, Buff-barred, Lemon-rumped, Whistlers, Greenish, Western-crowned, Humes, Grey-hooded, Black-faced
- Laughingthrushes – Striated, Streaked, White-crested, Rufous-chinned, White-throated, Chestnut-crowned
- Nuthatch – Chestnut-bellied, White-tailed, Velvet-fronted
- Thrush – Grey-winged Blackbird, Blue Whistling
- Flycatcher-Ultramarine, Slaty Blue, Rufous-gorgeted, Grey-headed Canary, Verditer, Rufous-bellied Niltava
- Redstart – Blue-fronted, White-capped
- Sunbird – Green-tailed, Black-throated, Purple
- Accentor – Altai, Rufous-breasted
- Pipit – Upland, Olive-backed
- Finch – Pink-browed Rosefinch, Brown Bullfinch
Mammals
- Yellow-throated Marten
- Himalayan Goral
- Barking Deer