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Des Langford travelled on our 'Nepal - A Birdwatching Tour' tour and submitted this entry to our writing competition.
White-capped Water Redstart by Allan Hopkins
As we drove from the airport through the streets of Kathmandu I felt a sense of disappointment. I had always dreamed of visiting Nepal for the scenery as well as the wildlife, but this must be the dirtiest, most polluted city I had ever seen. The streets were clogged with traffic including more motorbikes than a scrambling circuit on an open day; the pavements were covered in litter and rubble; and many an uncontrolled bonfire releasing fumes into the already polluted atmosphere made it easy to see why so many people were wearing face masks.
Thankfully our hotel was a little oasis and over an enjoyable and cheap meal that evening we got to know our fellow participants and our brilliant and amusing bird guide Suchit Basnet.
The next day we set off by minibus for Chitwan National Park. More traffic jams on the way out of Kathmandu did at least enable us to connect with some common birds like Black Kite and Red Vented Bulbul. We were still in amongst the thronging crowds of humanity but short stops by the riverside brought us such avian gems as Plumbeous and White-capped Water Redstart, Little Forktail, Crested Kingfisher – and a Wallcreeper! At lunchtime we stopped at a pleasant tea garden surrounded by trees full of bulbuls, tits and warblers. Things were looking up – by the time we got to Chitwan in the evening we had already seen some 50 odd birds just on the road trip. So what would the national park be like?
Chitwan was delightful – a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu. In the days that followed we took a variety of transport – open backed jeeps, elephants and canoes – so that each day was different and exciting. Our hotel was close by the Rapti River and a highlight was a relaxing cruise down the river, which gave us top views of the rare Gharial (a long-nosed fish-eating crocodile) as well as Mugger Crocodiles and numerous wading birds. On several other occasions we had excellent views of Greater One-horned Rhino; on others we saw Sambar, Chital, Macaques and Langur monkeys.
And the birds kept coming – woodpeckers, minivets, hornbills, nuthatches, raptors babblers ... the list went on! Never having birded with a group before we initially had some concerns that we might not get to see many of the birds. But Suchit was not only excellent at spotting birds but diligent in ensuring that wherever possible every member of the group did so too. Also, the fact of many pairs of eyes helped us spot some that might otherwise have got away.
We moved on by road to Koshi Tappu. Although a tented camp, it was very comfortable and had the added benefit that trips to the nearby shower rooms revealed a beautiful Purple Sunbird and handsome Scaly Thrush – one dared not move without binoculars! Koshi has a long straight embankment road which enabled us to both walk and ride comfortably through miles of prime habitat looking down upon marshes, fields and woodland. We went along this road many times and each time it turned up different species of birds, plus Wild Water Buffaloes, Golden Jackals and even a wild Elephant!
One day we took a boat trip to the Koshi Barrage taking in a different habitat on a dry sandy island with Indian Coursers and larks and pipits. On the final morning we did a short early walk around the campsite and even this turned up new birds – two species of bitterns, warblers and outstanding views of a Siberian Rubythoat – before a Full Monty breakfast on the lawn in front of the restaurant!
The flight back to Kathmandu gave us brilliant views of the Himalayas from the plane. Our final day was spent up Mount Phulchowki – only an hour by minibus from Kathmandu but a totally different world. Walking down the mountain by a good dirt road enabled us to see different birds at different elevations; not only were the species different but we encountered entirely new families such as Cutias, Yuhinas and Fulvettas. The mountain views were lovely and several Yellow-throated Martens were a nice bonus.
The trip was not exactly relaxing but it was as fully packed as the breakfast and lunch boxes provided for our various outings. My wife and I have now travelled to almost 40 countries but for a quality wildlife experience in a short time, Nepal would be hard to beat.
For further details of our 11-day 'Nepal - A Birdwatching Tour' please visit the tour webpage.