Assam: Kaziranga and Nameri National Parks Apr 01—10, 2010
Posted by Dion Hobcroft
Dion Hobcroft
Dion Hobcroft has been working for VENT since 2001. He has led many tours to Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Bhutan, India, Southwest Pacific, Cambodia, Thailand, China...Related Trips
Participants on our 2010 Assam tour had more than their fair share of adventure in this remote northeast Indian state. In less than a week in the field, we were charged by both a rhino and an elephant, hid from what ultimately proved to be domestic elephants, and encountered a tiger.
Beyond the great mammals we enjoyed some superb birding with a host of globally threatened species including point-blank views of Swamp Francolin, Spot-billed Pelican, Black-necked Stork, Lesser and Greater adjutants, Pallas's and Gray-headed fish-eagles, Bengal Florican, White-winged Duck, and Slender-billed Vulture to mention a few.
We flew from Delhi to Gauhati arriving just after noon on April 3. After lunch we made the long drive to Wild Grass Lodge, arriving at dinner time. Up early the next morning, we commenced our exploration of Kaziranga National Park (KNP) by going on an elephant ride. We were able to get up-close to our first great Indian rhinoceros and see a host of large birds and other mammals for which Kaziranga is justifiably famous. We settled into a pattern of mid-morning and afternoon game drives for the next three-and-a-half-days. In the early morning, we went on short forays into the nearby Panbari Forest and remnant hill forest behind the Wild Grass Lodge in the tea estate.
Undoubtedly the greatest highlight was an outstanding view of a tiger in the late afternoon from a watch tower in Kaziranga Central. Tigers are rarely encountered in the park (despite having a relatively large population in excess of 80 individuals) due to the tall grassland environment that enables them to melt away easily. Being charged by both a rhinoceros and an elephant was also lodged in the memory banks for all.
The birding was simply outstanding. We recorded 200 species in the park and nearby hill forests during our stay. Beyond some of the birds mentioned already, we had great views of Woolly-necked Stork, a vagrant Chinese Pond-Heron in breeding plumage, Red-headed Vulture, Pied Harrier, Greater Spotted Eagle, Barred Button-quail, Gray-headed Lapwing, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Brown Fish-Owl, Great Hornbill, Greater Flameback, White-tailed Rubythroat, wintering flocks of Short-billed and Scarlet minivets, Abbott's Babbler, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, glowing Citrine Wagtails, Streaked Weaver, and Black-headed Munia.
At Nameri National Park we stayed in the comfortable Eco-Camp where one of the first birds located was a roosting Brown Hawk-Owl. Our first morning saw us rafting down the Bhorelli River and it was a very pleasant experience. We were able to get fabulous views of such gems as Great Thick-knee and a cloud of Small Pratincoles.
In the afternoon we made the lengthy hike into some forest pools, following up on a report of the critically endangered White-winged Duck. Our luck was in and we found five birds on the first pool we visited, but these shy birds flew off before one participant picked them up. We hiked in to a second pool and just when I located a Blue-eared Kingfisher, another pair of White-winged Ducks flew in and in a relaxed fashion allowed mega views. We enjoyed a smoky cup of salted tea with some forest guards before hiking back to get our boat across the river. Our return hike was delayed by two bull elephants, which fortunately proved to be domestic and we were able to get past.
Our final day was spent birding in the forests at Nameri catching up with such gems as Sultan Tit, Wreathed Hornbill, Vernal Hanging-Parrot, Pin-tailed Pigeon, Silver-backed Needletail, Rufous and Fulvous-breasted woodpeckers, and Chestnut-bellied and Velvet-fronted nuthatches. We also found two bull elephants, this time wild, and enjoyed views of the handsome capped langur and a rare Nameri sighting of a hog deer.
Our time was up and we returned to Delhi having very much enjoyed our experiences in wild Assam.