Collared

Spent most of the day in Bharatpur looking for one bird - Collared Scops' Owl, after visiting all the known roost sites with no luck, managed to find one at a new site and giving great views to boot. In between checking all the sites, bumped into a few other bits and pieces - several Greater Spotted Eagles, a few Indian Grey Hornbills, 2 Black-necked Storks, a Wryneck, a couple of Black-shouldered Kites and up to 8 Grey-headed Canary Flycatchers.

Black-necked Stork

Black-shouldered Kite

Collared Scops' Owl

Indian Darter

Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher

Greater Spotted Eagle

Ring-necked Parakeet

Wryneck

Back on the Grid

Just spent the last 4 days at Masinagudi, without t'internet, so here's a rather big summary of the past 4 days.
20/2/12
Left Bangalore early morning and stopped off at a town called Ramanagara, not on any published birding trip reports, but the site of a silk processing area, and so thick with Black and Brahiminy Kites (about 200 of each !).

Black Kite

Brahiminy Kite

A quick walk around to the river at Masinagudi in the evening, and quite a selection of stuff - 1 Greater Spotted Eagle, 1 Buzzard, 9 Woolly-necked Storks, 2 Pied Kingfisher, 1 White-browed Bulbul, 4 Crested Tree-swifts, 6 Palm Swift, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 3 Pintail Snipe and 20 Chittal.

Chittal

Purple Sunbird

Greater Spotted Eagle

White-browed Bulbul.

21/2/12 Masinagudi
Another walk along the river and this time - 1 Thick-billed Warbler, several Malabar Parakeets, 3 Yellow-eyed Babbler, 2 Indian Scimitar Babbler, 2 Rufous-bellied Nuthatch, 1 Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, several White-bellied Drongo and a Grey Mongoose.

White-bellied Drongo

22/2/12 Masinagudi
All day in the forest today, and at last a fruiting fig tree, birds everywhere. Summary of the day - 1 Oriental Honey Buzzard, 2 Chestnut-shouldered Petronia, 24 Malabar Parakeet, 20 Crested Tree-swifts, 30 Indian Swiftlets, 1 Rufous-bellied Nuthatch, 2 Indian Scimitar Babbler, 2 Blue-faced Malkoha, 1 Taiga Flycatcher, 6 Malabar Grey Hornbill, 1 Great Hornbill, 1 Grey Junglefowl, 1 Red Spurfowl, 1 Orange-headed Thrush, 1 Lesser Yellownape, 1 Orange-breasted Green Pigeon. Mammals seen were 1 Indian Grey Mongoose, 4 Malabar Giant Squirrel and 20+ Guar.

Blue-faced Malkoha

Malabar Grey Hornbill

Malabar Giant Squirrel

Orange-headed Thrush

22/2/12 Masinagudi
Just the morning in the forest today - but scored the mega ! 2 White-bellied Woodpeckers. Other stuff included - 3 Black-rumped Flameback, 3 Oriental Honey Buzzard, 1 Lesser Yellownape, 1 Streak-throated Woodpecker, 1 Blue-face Malkoha, 1 Orange-headed Thrush, 2 Malabar Grey Hornbill and a Black-naped Monach.

White-bellied Woodpecker

Streak-throated Woodpecker

White-browed Fantail

Malabar Whistling Thrush

Bonnet Macaque

Malabar Grey Hornbill

Hanuman Langur

5th February 2010 Fulay and Charri Dhand.

Our first day in Bhuj - hired at taxi to take us to Fulay Village for Hypocolius, the driver took us to Charri Dhandd instead ! We checked the lake from the watch towers (again this place is massive) picking out thousands of Coot (we later found out that the official count was around 30,000 !), 2000+ Pochard, 500+ Great Crested Grebe, 25 Whiskered Tern, a River Tern, 2 Pallid Harriers, 12 Greater Spotted Eagles, a White Stork, 750 Greater Flamingo, 20 Spoonbill, a Long-legged Buzzard and a Pallas's Gull.
Eventually persuaded the driver to take us to Fulay, getting there at 11am it was too late and too hot for the Hypocolius, we did see a Marshall's Iora though, plus 2 Tawny Eagles and a Short-toed Eagle overhead.
Stopped off at a rocky outcrop near Nakatrana where there were 3 Dusky Crag Martins and 2 Black-shouldered Kites.
Back at the hotel in Bhuj there was a fly-over Long-legged Buzzard.


Dusky Crag Martin.

Greater Spotted Eagle.

Pallid Harrier.

14th February 2010 Khijadia Sanctuary.

All day at Khijadiya Sanctuary, about 8 miles NW of Jamnagar - this place is an absolute gem of a place, unlike others sanctuaries in India there is nobody chopping trees down for fire wood, dumping rubbish or grazing their cattle ! Most of the birding was done from the watch towers or the raised banks that connect them, on the lake in the eastern end there were - 10 Ferruginous Ducks (probably many more in the reeds), 1500+ Greater Flamingo, 500+ Lesser Flamingo, 7 River Terns, 500+ White Pelican, 40 Dalmatian Pelican, 30 Common Crane, 50+ Glossy Ibis and 2 Black-necked Storks.
Along the raised banks there were - 2 Wrynecks, 14 Oriental White-eye, 1 Orphean Warbler and 8 Paddyfield Warblers.
6 Sykes Larks and 10 Sand Larks were in the car park at the Visitors Centre.
At the western end it become more of a marsh with scattered trees, from the towers on this side we saw - 14 Greater Spotted Eagles, 2 Pallid Harriers, 2 Black-shouldered Kites, 3 Caspian Terns, 37 Small Pratincole, 5 White-tailed Lapwings, 8 Pallas's Gulls and 50 + Temminck's Stints. At dusk some 750+ Citrine and Yellow Wagtails, plus 200+ Tawny Pipits flew over the tower to roost on the saltmarsh, as 79 Night Herons left their roost and flew onto the fresh water marsh.


Khijadiya.

Black-necked Stork.

Caspian Tern.

Grey Francolin.

Grey Heron.

Greater Spotted Eagle.

Issabeline Shrike.

Little Cormorant.

Night Herons.

Oriental White-eye.

Pied Kingfishers.