Mfuwe's second year.

[Galana]

Last instalment of today.

 

Almost an ECB.....

251. Sand Martin.  Riparia riparia

Until I was saved from Ignomy by one on the wire.

Lochside. After taking the shot of the sand face it was lost by collapse.

 

252. Tufted Duck. Anythya fuligula

Lochside. Through the kitchen window. Who needs TV?

 

253.   Long-billed Dowitcher. Limnodromus scolopaceus Loch nam Feithean, Balranald. A real find and only 3km from my hut.  Almost worth two ticks!!

 

Not done yet.

 

254. White-billed Diver. Gavia adamsii. Bagh a Chaise. (Cheese Bay). North Uist. Another find. I was looking for Otters.

 

Crek Crek  crek??

255. Corncrake. Crex crex. Lochside, Loch Hosta.

That's all for now.

 

[xelas]

@Galana luckily you are an excellent birder who do not need a good photo to recognise the bird . I would be in great troubles with many of your shots  ...

[Dave Williams]

Some cracking bird there, I keep promising myself a trip to Scotland that never seems to materialise. Must make it happen. The Corncrake gave us the run around in Estonia. It was calling from a few feet away but we couldn't find it.

[Galana]

@Dave Williams  I thought the Isle of May was in Scotland?

 

The corncrake can be very elusive. Best time in Hebrides is early may before the cover has grown too tall as my photo shows. On the perverse front after having evaded capture for hours one will promptly walk across the road in the most unexpected places. My target for this species is sitting on a stone wall but so far not happened.

Do make the effort. Some of my final photos from here may whet your appetite even further. Stay tuned.

@xelas

Don't worry. The photography is ancilliary to the birding in my case. You should see the ones that got away!

Edited June 22, 2018 by Galana
Additonal text.

[Dave Williams]

The Isle of May has been declared an independent state by those who stay there although I acknowledge I drove through Scotland to Anstruther to catch the rib boat.

[Galana]

Another few to continue the chase:-

 

256. Gadwall.  Anas strepera. The first shot was for ID in case I did not get another in Scotland. The 2nd two were from Leighton Moss on the way south (to India.)

 

Lochside TV again.

257. Arctic Tern. Sterna paradisaea.  From the Hut. Is this the paradise referred to?

 

258. Corn Bunting. Emberiza calandra . Aird an Runair. North Uist.

 

259. Little Stint.  Calidris minuta. Aird an Runair. North Uist.

 

260. Rock Dove. Columba livia.  Borgh Machair. Berneray, Hebrides.

[Galana]

Final instalment for today.

 

Always good to see these chaps living up to their name:-

261. Ruff.  Philomachus pugnax  Loch Sandarraigh. North Uist.

 

A friend called round to our hut and we took tea on the Patio...

This was the entertainment.

The arena......

The players.

Eventually a kill. The prize was a rabbit.

262. Golden Eagle. Aquila chrysaetos  Lochside.

 

Now a story of boy meets girl....

Boy looking ...

Time to smarten up..

Has she noticed me?

Girl.

She's coming over...

 

The next move is mine....

Really!!!!

263. Red-necked Phalaropes. Phalaropus lobatus.  One of only two known breeding sites in the British Isles. This year I counted 5 birds and they are obviously breeding.

 

Back to normal.

264. Glaucous Gull. Larus hyperboreus. Eilean na Rubha North Uist. Often a few stragglers among other gulls.

 

265. Iceland Gull.  Larus glaucoides.  Eilean na Rubha North Uist. Not so frequently seen.

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2018 by Galana
Removal of surplus photograph.

[Galana]

Sadly it is time to leave our bird hide home on North Uist and head for Manchester where our tour takes us to Ladakh.

However we don't miss out on adding a few ticks as we head south and I know of a reliable site to complete my Diver collection:-

 

A bit of an EBC but I did not want to unduly disturb the birds....

266. Black-throated Diver. Gavia arctica. They were at home and are rearing a chick. Nice one.

 

Then a short diversion for another nesting rarity.....

Bloomin diving ducks.

 

267. Common Scoter. Melanitta nigra. Not a rare bird but rare breeder. I think this is the only pair in Scotland.

And on south where as we are not due into Manchester til late we may as well call at Leighton Moss to pick up a few missing items...

 

268. Marsh Harrier.  Circus aeruginosus   Leighton Moss. Lancs.

Stand by for another EBC poser..

 

It's a Coot honest!!

 

269. Eurasian Coot. Fulica atra. It came up for air.

 

270. Great Crested Grebe.  Podiceps cristatus.

 

271. Avocet. Recurvirostra avosetta. Sitting on four eggs.

 

And finally for the British Isles for a while....

272. Nuthatch. Sitta Europaea. More a poser than a sitta but nice to see.

 

Manchester airport is a two hour drive away. I have a plane to catch and some birds to seek out....

 

Shared points with @Dave Williams

[TonyQ]

Lovely additions, the Red necked Phalarope is a beauty!

It is an interesting route to go to Ladakh via Uist.

Edited June 23, 2018 by TonyQ

[Galana]

53 minutes ago, TonyQ said:

It is an interesting route to go to Ladakh via Uist.

It is indeed. It was the only way we could get to Hebrides for our normal visit and have my long suffering wife get to Ladakh before the busy season started. I wanted her to see what I had so enjoyed in 2016 without being too cold.

Going direct from Hebrides avoided a needless trip home although the logistics of running two trips back to back were a problem.

[Galana]

To continue the tale overnight as was our flight we flew to Delhi via Istanbul to arrive for a hurried connection on to Leh (Ladakh) where after an 'interesting' approach through the Himalayas we arrived to be met by our host Tashi Chotak Lonchey and taken to our Guest House in Phyang.

As we were now at 12,000 feet. 3,800 metres the air was thin so it was no hardship to take to our bed after the flight from Manchester. 24 hours is recommended for acclimatisation before any serious activity.

Phyang Valley was greener in June than it was during my last visit in March and warmer too.

 

The Dining Hall at Hidden North Guest House with carefully tended Gardens..

 

And our first Ladakhi bird....

We fly 5,000 miles to see a Magpie!!

 

The serious tour starts after breakfast tomorrow.

[Dave Williams]

Looks a lovely place, hope you get to see some interesting birds.

[Galana]

@Dave WilliamsIt is and we do. Watch this space.

 

I will also try to post them on my own BY thread.

Edited June 24, 2018 by Galana
Additonal text.

[Galana]

So, after a nice rest to acclimatise we set off seek out a star bird by walking the banks of the Indus river.

Stopping by an Oxbow lake we were able to start our list.....

 

273. Fudge Duck. Ferruginous Pochard. Athya nyroca. Spituk lake, doing its best to be an EBC but we got him...

And these...

274. Red-crested Pochard. Athya ferina.  I thought they made cars. Spituk.

 

Then target in sight...

275. Ibisbill. Ibidorhyncha struthersii. Struth. That's a mouthfull. Indus river nr Spituk.

 

And now for something completely different....

 

276. A chiffchaff but not as we know it.

Mountain Chiffchaff. Phylloscopus sindianus. Spituk.

 

[Dave Williams]

The Ibisbill is an fabulous looking bird.

[Galana]

Continuing our walk.....

277. Eastern Yellow Wagtail. Fairly confident this is Motacilla Flava zaissensis.

 

Much easier is...

278. Citrine Wagtail.  Motacilla citreolla. Probably the most numerous Wagtail we saw.

 

279. Common Rosefinch.  Carpodacus erythrinus. Spituk riverine woods.

and finally a complete surprise.

 

280. Blue-cheeked BeeEater. Merops persicus. Spituk. My guide was stumped by this and it was a lifer for him. I have to say even I was surprised to find this bird at this altitude.

Compared with Blue-tailed Bee-eater I think the call is correct.

 

Next up a sought after mammal.

[Galana]

One creature I did want to find and photograph on this trip was the Mountain Weasel. Mustela altaicabut did not expect or hope to find it on day one.

But suddenly we had one run by us.

 

LSS just stood and pointed as I struggled with viewfinder to home in.

 

Then went for her own camera...

 

Meanwhile I had found it and got a rear end view.

 

Before it legged it for the bushes.

The only face view was this..

But it will have to do. We saw two more but they are very quick and we got no photos.

But I am not really complaining. Almost as good as a Snow Leopard.

[xelas]

15 minutes ago, Galana said:

I have to say even I was surprised to find this bird at this altitude.

 

Why so, @Galana? If thin air does not bother other bird(res) ... 

[Galana]

34 minutes ago, xelas said:

Why so, @Galana?

I don't really know why but I just associate Bee-Eaters with tropical riverine vegetation. The Indus valley is anything but.

It's not the oxygen or thin air, after all many birds cross mountain ranges, and seasonal vertical migration is also an avian phenomena.

Neither my guide nor my host had seen this species before.

[Galana]

More follows:-

First a very odd looking bird...

This had me beat for a while. the guide called "Whitethroat" which it had but I have never seen a Whitethroat hopping around like a Wheatear.

281. Hume's Whitethroat. Sylvia carruca althaea. Recently split from Lesser which it does not really resemble. IMO.  Whoever saw a Whitehroat hopping on the lawn?

 

282. Eastern Cattle Egret. Bubulcus ibis coromandus.

 

283. Oriental Turtle Dove. Streptopelia orientalis.

 

284. Fire-fronted Serin. Serinus pusillus

 

And finally for this batch...

285. Orphean Warbler.  Sylvia hortensis.

[Soukous]

@Galana your Ladakh bird list is already better than mine, and you got to see an Ibisbill, which I searched in vain for along the Indus near Spituk.

[Galana]

@SoukousAs in all things there is a matter of luck involved. They are quite enigmatic birds but quite easy to see if around but they do blend in to the rocks very easily. I saw them last time, March 2016 too so I think it is down to guide ability as much as anything.

Not posting a spoiler alert but my check list this trip was 84. 12 lifers and 24 'new' to my country list. 

The rub is I did not manage photos of all of them so stay tuned to see those that I did.

We moved around quite a bit but the 'garden list' for Hidden North Guest house would be impressive on its own.

Edited June 25, 2018 by Galana
Additonal text.

[Galana]

Five more.

286. Hoopoe. Upupa epops.   Shey 'marshes.

 

A real EBC follows.

287. Barbary Falcon. Falco pelegrinoides. Shey Marshes.

An explanation may be warranted. We saw this bird perched through a scope and with difficulty I managed some sort of shot. We then watched it hunting like a hobby and taking insects on the wing. As it circled we cold clearly see it was very pale under neath wings and body and this ruled out most falcons such as Hobby. Of course as it circled I did my best to focus for a head on shot but each time I got a going away one. The dark wing tips can however be seen. Using Sherlock Holmes' deduction there is nothing else it can be.

No doubt about the next one..

 

288. Blue Rock Thrush. Monticola solitarious. Nimu. Indus valley.

 

289. Bar-headed Goose. Anser indicus.   Upper Indus valley.

These remarkable birds actually migrate from central India over the Himalayas each spring to breed in the lakes of Ladakh.

290. Tibetan Snowfinch. Pyrgilauda adamsi. Namshang La.

 

 

[inyathi]

@Galana You've certainly found some great birds and that weasel is pretty cool, but the ibisbill is very special bird.

 

@Soukous You can see ibisbill on the Kosi River outside Corbett National Park, but I've not seen them there, I saw them very well while  rafting on the Jia Bhorali River in Nameri National Park not too far from Kaziranga NP in Assam, if you are ever headed for Kaziranga in the winter months when the ibisbills are down from the mountains you should look into visiting Nameri, there are some very good birds there and the rafting trips on the river are a great way to see the ibisbills and some other species, as well as being a fun experience. 

[TonyQ]

Great additions, the Bar-headed goose is an amazing bird.