Assam: Kaziranga and Nameri National Parks Apr 05—14, 2008
Posted by David Bishop
David Bishop
David Bishop loves his vocation and cannot imagine anything better than exploring wild and beautiful places in Asia and the Pacific in the company of friends and clients. H...Related Trips
Kaziranga, with its rich mélange of swamps and marshes, grasslands, and forests, supports teeming numbers of mega-charismatic birds and mammals. As such, the ephithet, "Asia's Serengeti," is well-deserved. Nowhere else in Asia can you sit atop a superbly trained elephant and watch a great one-horned rhinoceros at barely a few meters while herds of wild Asian elephants rumble and splash nearby, globally threatened Bengal Floricans exhibit their spectacular displays, and decidedly ugly Greater and Lesser adjutants lumber away in ungainly flight—and all this against a backdrop of towering, snow-capped Himalayas. Kaziranga is a gem of a park that provides a rare opportunity to see what the wild lands of Asia were once like.
Albeit relatively small at just ca. 900 square kilometers, Kaziranga, located on the south bank of the mighty Brahmaputra, hosts the highest density of Bengal tigers anywhere in the world. A recent count garnered approximately 90 of these magnificent creatures. It is quite astonishing to enumerate the list of globally threatened species that make their homes within this reserve. In addition to those species mentioned above, the list includes Swamp Francolin, Spot-billed Pelican, Pallas's Fish-Eagle, Black-breasted Parrotbill, Asian water buffalo, swamp and hog deer, and Hooloch gibbon to mention but a few, all of which are resident in Kaziranga and regularly seen on our Assam tour.
I doubt any of the participants on our 2008 tour will ever forget our river-raft experience along the Bhorelli River, Nameri. The peace, the serenity, and the sheer beauty of a wild, untrammelled river garnished by hundreds of dainty Small Pratincoles, three very dapper Ibisbill, and a huge group of Great Thick-knees—what could be more perfect? And then, in the afternoon, to lazily watch hornbill after Great Hornbill going to roost. It really doesn't get much better! But oh Kaziranga! The view from the Sohola Bheel watch tower was just so wonderful; spread out before us in a 250-degree arc were birds and mammals everywhere. Skeins of delightfully dapper Bar-headed Geese shifted and squabbled, while the morning sky lit up sumptuous Ruddy Shelducks dappling in the shallows into the richest imaginable colors. And all the while there was the soft susurration of busily feeding animals. We easily counted 25 rhinos, many with young calves; leviathan Black-necked Storks; a flock of increasingly rare Black-bellied Terns; and a gigantic Pallas's Fish-Eagle bugling overhead. We knew—we just knew there had to be a big cat sitting there out of sight, tantalizing us. Every minute seemed to add another species to an already impressive tally, but it was the sheer spectacle of the scene, the lighting, and the appreciation of what we were seeing that made it all so special. Kaziranga is truly a wonderful place and my year never feels complete unless I have spent some time there.
I need hardly tell you how much I love Assam, so it is hard to enumerate the highlights. Nevertheless, here goes:
• At least 30 or so Great Hornbills going to roost at Nameri against a backdrop of cloud-wreathed and pristine Himalayan foothill forest. Our guard last year told us that he had counted as many as 300 Great Hornbills going to roost during February one year.
• Fabulous scope views of a very obliging Pied Falconet at Panbari Forest, Kaziranga.
• A charming raft down the Bhorelli River which revealed three surprisingly late, but nevertheless charismatic Ibisbill; 16+ Great Thick-knees; nesting Pallas's Fish-Eagles; and thousands of Small Pratincoles.
• Our jeeps surrounded by at least 20 great one-horned rhinoceroses—seemingly so benign until a belligerent male decided to charge us!
Assam is truly a great birding and wildlife destination. There is no doubt that it offers one of the most amazing wildlife spectacles in Asia or, for that matter, anywhere in the world, and the addition of Nameri really enhances and rounds-out our experience here.
India is always a special experience and this memorable trip was made even more enjoyable by the wonderful hospitality we found everywhere we went. Our local guides, Nekib and Digunter, were a joy to work with, and my thanks go to them in particular, as well as to our cheerful drivers who also worked very hard to help us find our birds!
Thank you for your support and for sharing in the fun. I look forward to seeing you all again soon. Of course, it goes without saying that I look forward to VENT's return to this wonderful part of Asia.