Birdwatching in Kashmir(Most Picturesque valley of India)

 "What a blessing is to be alive ! To experience this wild and gorgeous adventure called existence."

From the majestic Great Himalayan & Pir Panjal Ranges, crystal clear ,stunning and pristine dal and nageen lakes, traditional hand carved house boats, enticing cold temperature with snowfall,  and rich Avian Fauna,  Kashmir is a place of beautiful simplicity and pristine natural beauty. 

It was mid-Feb when I was looking for a birdwatching trip over the weekend. My friend Piyush Dogra from Dharamshala suggested why don't you go to Kashmir as lot of wonderful sightings are being reported from their. I checked with Rajesh Panwar (Avian Trails) and with his help I was able to plan this trip on such a short notice. It was dream coming true , since it will be my first trip to Kashmir . 

I was going to be joined by my friend Shikhar and Somnath on this 4 days 3 nights birdwatching trip to Kashmir Valley. 

Day-1 Friday, 04-Mar-2022

Arrival at Kashmir , Birdwatching around Kangan and Kheer Bhawani

After a short night sleep, we woke up early and reached Delhi Airport at 4 AM. Baggage drop was quick since we have already done the Web Check-in and were cleared from security at 4:45 AM. Post security we went to cafeteria and grabbed our breakfast from Subway (only 4-5 outlets are open on Airport these days). During all these events I was bit worried about weather in Kashmir , since forecast was clear for single day and rest all days cloudy and rain expected. But on other side I was happy since I was visiting Kashmir for first time in my life. With all my around 8 years into Birdwatching I have developed a secret love towards Nature, Forests, Sea Shores and specially Mountains. Also, post seeing Kashmir valley I can also say it is the most picturesque valley of India. Kashmir Mountains are different of another regions which I have visited. Some time I dream to have a conversation with them on there beauty. 

Airport was celebrating Women's day theme and we could see lot of decoration for it. We boarded the flight and it departed at 6:10 AM from Airport . It is only 1 hour 20 minutes journey to Srinagar , but the views from the plane's window were amazing as we were able to see the Himalayan Range covered in Snow . It is always majestic to see those snow-capped mountains .

On reaching Kashmir Airport we had to pass several checks to obtain the clearance to exit . It took around 30 minutes to get the covid clearance and other security checks. We met out driver Moin who was going to be our companion for next 4 days of trip. Somnath Sir was going to be a bit late, due to sudden cancellation of his flight from Kolkata to Delhi. He was going to join us for Evening session for Tawny Owl. We decided to go to Kangan directly from airport . It was going to be 2 hours drive to Kangan . 

On the way, main road was closed so we have to take detour and we get to drive through University of Kashmir whih is spread over 247 acres of Land and situated at Hazratbal in Srinagar. It is flanked by the world famous Dal Lake on its eastern side and Nageen Lake on the western side. 

We could also see Mallards, Common Pochards, Garganeys in the lakes on the way. The whole journey was so beautiful that I couldn't blink my eyes of the scenery. We reached Kangan after 2 hours of journey and met our guide Wajid Lone who lives nearby Kangan. Guides in Kashmir have specific areas which they master and you are assigned guide as per area. Wajid was going to be with us for entire trip though. He guided us to the first location which was a rocky terrain and we got warmed up post walking hilly terrain of about 1 KM. 

After scanning the area for 30 minutes we were able to see our prime target which was Evermann's Redstart also knows as Rufous-Backed Redstart. We were able to photograph Female of Evermann's redstart as first bird and first lifer of the trip. It is one of the larger redstart who breeds in forests and woodlands , reaching 5400 meters above sea level . In winters they are seen in more open and arid habitats. It was not easy to spot due to nature of terrain but we were lucky to get it there. 

We could also managed to see Black Throated Accentors, Eurasian Wrens, Wall Creeper , Rufous Breasted Accentor and Streaked Laughing Thrushes among other species. The weather turned out to be perfect for photography so we stayed a bit longer to get good photographs. 

After spending 1.5 hour at this location and we moved to another nearby location where Pine Buntings, Bramblings and Yellow Hammers are seen in mixed flocks. The location was on the banks of Sindh River with mountains around it. On second location we met another guide Ansar who was leading another group their . He also helped us to sight another Female Rufous Backed Redstart in this area. It was quite a moment to meet Alka Vaidya mam on the field at same time. 

While we were photographing Evermann's redstart Wajid left for having a check on mixed flocks since at afternoon time they rest on the trees and very difficult to see with naked eyes. We also get to see 3 Ibis bill in Sindh River. Always a pleasure to see and photographs in their habitat around the river and hiding in pebbles. After some time we were lucky to see mixed flocks coming our way and we could see Bramblings and Pine Buntings in huge numbers along with single Yellow Hammer in them. It was very harsh light so quite difficult to photograph them. It is the behavior that Brambling, Pine Buntings and Yellowhammer exhibits. They feed on ground in mornings and evening and during day time they rest on the trees. 

Around 1 PM we left for lunch . We had lunch nearby at restaurant and came back to same place for birdwatching. Lunch was not up to the expectation, we had kahwa on the way which was really good. We get to see Bramblings, Pine Buntings, Jackdaws, Common Kestrel in the evening session. In the mean time our friend Somnath reached hotel and he left for evening location. We drove to Mata Kheer Bhawani Temple for this. 

The temple is in north-east of Srinagar in Ganderbal district. The temple's entrance is managed by Military who scans the individuals and equipment before entering to the temple. One Tawny Owl individual which is considered to be rare across Asia roost inside the vicinity of this temple. Evening scene is mesmerizing with Jackdaws calling along with Common Mynas in the background of Aarti of goddess. We were unlucky that day to get glimpse of Tawny Owl. Guide told, yesterday some people have disturbed him so he might have moved to another place nearby and come back in day or two. Same incident has happened earlier also. We came out of temple and spent some time having tea at outside stall . After tea we left for our hotel .

It was quite a tiring day altogether but with lot of memorable sightings or birds and beautiful landscapes of Kashmir Valley. We checked-in Walison's Hotel in Srinagar which is at bank of Dal Lake. Rooms were cozy and it was quite cold in evening. Rooms were equipped with Electric Warm Blankets and Electric heater making life easier in the cold weather. Washrooms were equipped with running hot water. I had a quick bath and had dinner in hotel at 8:45 PM . I reviewed by pics and summarized the ebird checklists before sleeping remembering how I spent my day . 

Following are the checklists of day

https://ebird.org/checklist/S104124700
https://ebird.org/checklist/S104126175
https://ebird.org/checklist/S104131336

Day-2 Saturday, 05-Mar-2022

Dachigam National Park Exploration and Search for Owls

I woke up at 6:15 AM in the morning feeling quite refreshed and energetic for the day. I prepared my tea and got ready for the day. Breakfast was served in Hotel at 7 AM and we tend to leave for Dachigam National Park at 7:30 AM from Hotel. 

Though we birdwatchers tend to leave early to get benefit of entire morning session since activity at sunrise is the best, but in Kashmir it is different ritual. Hotels don't offer packed breakfast for birdwatching and drivers are also not habitual for leaving early. These couple of things definitely need improvement when it comes to birdwatching in Kashmir. 

We left from hotel at 7:40 AM and we could see the Dal Lake at beautiful sunrise. We could see people coming out of those House boats in Shikara. There are nearly 1250 Houseboats in Dal lake. A houseboat is usually made out of Cedar Wood, which can withstand damage from being in water for longer periods. The Houseboats usually have drawing room , corridor, dining room , two or four bedrooms with attached washrooms and pantry. The accessories are carved out of walnut wood and placed in various rooms.  One night stay in Houseboat cost between 4500 to 6500 approx. 

Dachigam National Park is located 22 Kms from Srinagar , on the east side of Dal lake inside Zabarwan Mountain Range. The Zabarwan Range is a short sub-mountain range between Pir Panjal and Great Himalayan Range in Central Part of Kashmir Valley. The Dachigam National park holds the last viable population of Kashmir Stag and the largest population of black bear in Asia. 

Dachigam name is made up of two words Dah meaning 10 and gam meaning villages , summing up to 10 villages. The place used to be hunting ground of Maharaja Hari Singh who hunted leopard here and asked to vacate villagers from these 10 villages and since then the name Dachigam came into existence. 

We reached Dachigam at 8:30 AM and we were accompanied by Muzzaffar who is the local guide in Dachigam along with Wajid . Prime target for today was Orange Bullfinch. Before entering the core area of Dachigam their is 4 Km of trail which needs to be crossed. 

Dachigam park is full of Mulberry, Plum, Apricot, Almas and Kashmir Willow trees. Mulberry has the highest population among the trees. Very nice trivia shared by Muzaffar on this. Black Bear which is known as "Baghban of Forest" feeds on mulberry. The excreta of Black Beer contains mulberry seeds which result in plantation of Mulberry Trees from it. Wonderful way of nature for seed dispersal. People use to visit Dachigam in August and September to see Himalayan Stag in the park. 

We were walking on the trail and we could see the trail getting ended and when I realized my Binoculars are inverted and I couldn't use them. I asked Shikhar to hold my camera and bag for a minute so that I can put them in right position. The moment I changed my Binocs and I could see a flock of birds on Almas tree and they turn out to be Orange Bullfinches. Their were 15 of them Male and Female both. I was feeling blessed to see them in good number. We get a lot of quality shots of them. I also observed them later on Apricot Tree and it was feeding on Duxia Seeds in the park. 

Long Tailed Minivets, Speckled Piculet, Yellow-Billed Blue-Magpie, Green-Backed Tit, Cinerous Tit, Lemon Rumped Warbler, Bar-Tailed Tree-creeper and White-Throated Dipper were other species spotted. While walking back we also witnessed couple of families of Kashmir Gray Langurs. It took us closed to 11:30 AM when we exited the park . Evening plan was to look out for Tawny Owl followed by Long-Eared Owls in Ganderbal . On the way we stopped near Shalimar Bag for our lunch. Today we had Dosa and Rajma Chawal for the lunch, quite delicious and served hot along with hot coffee outside Shalimar Bag. 

In the later half of the day, we tend to check for Tawny Owl and followed by Long-Eared Owl. We reached Kheer Bhawani temple to check for Tawny Owl and it was their and we could get some record shots of it since it was sleepy and light was too harsh. We got some shots and decided not to disturb him and move ahead towards Manasbal Lake. While we stand by the Manasbal lake and check for birds around and spending some time in landscape photography Wajid went in search of Long-Eared Owls along with his one friend. They have reported around 28 Long Eared owls from this place. Long Eared Owl does communal roosting, hence seen in large numbers. From past 2-3 days no one has seen them. We were also not able to spot them. On the way back we decided to meet our friend Tawny Owl again in hope of getting its eyes open and some good shots. We spend around 10 minutes there and got some decent shots of it. 

On the way back Ansar called us and asked us to join at Botanical Garden since Blyth's Rose finch is seen at roosting. On the way back we use to discuss about Kashmir mostly and conversation popped up related to Dal Lake and an interesting trivia came out. Usually Dal Lake froze in winters, but in 1985 it froze to fullest and people were able to run auto-rickshaw over it. 

We reached Botanical garden at 5 PM and it took 15 minutes of brisk walk to reach the spot. Though it was dark but we get to see one female of Blyth's Rose finch there. After wrapping up the evening session we stopped for coffee and some snacks outside Botanical Garden which tasted just average . 

We reached Hotel quite early and I had good discussion with Shikhar on photography techniques. We also reviewed the pics of the day together and cherished those memorable moments of seeing Orange Bullfinches and Tawny Owl in same day. 

We had our Dinner at 8:15 PM and went to sleep after that. We had discussion with Ansar and Wajid for next day's plan and it was going to be Yousmarg for Kashmir Nuthatch and Kashmir Nutcracker. Around 1000 pics clicked of Orange Bullfinch and Tawny owl only. 

Following are the checklists of day

https://ebird.org/checklist/S104181147

https://ebird.org/checklist/S104185409

https://ebird.org/checklist/S104188907

Day-3 Sunday, 06-Mar-2022

Yousmarg and Botanical Garden

Today was gonna be pleasant journey with thick snow on the both sides as today we were going to Yousmarg or Yusmarg. Yusmarg in Kashmiri means The Meadow of Jesus. It is said to have been visited by Jesus. Nature has bestowed Yusmarg with pleasant Flora and Fauna. 

Road was quite good and on both sides we could see Almond Trees. The land here is privaltely owned by Merchants. Some places Saffron Farming is also done. Entire journey presented scenic beauty which cannot be articulated in words. Riyaz was also accompanying us today along with Ansar and Wajid. Riaz got Kashmir Nutcracker few days back from this area. 3 Species, Kashmir Flycatcher, Kashmir Nutcracker and Kashmir Nuthatch are famous as they breed in Kashmir. At this time, we could see Kashmir Nuthatch and Kashmir Nutcracker while Flycatcher move to Southern India. 

After quite a while, we stopped at one place and we get to see Rufous Naped Tit, Spot Winged Tit, Brown-Fronted Woodpecker ,Streaked Laughing Thrushes and Kashmir Nuthatch. We only got few glimpse of Kashmir Nuthatch and just a record shot . It was moving quite fast and light was also not good. It flushed away after 2 minutes only , so we decided to move ahead. 

On the way , we get to see 2 Kashmir Nuthatches for 25-30 minutes in front of us. We got some wonderful shots of them. One of them was cracking a nut as well in the tree. 

After clicking Nuthatch, we stopped at Hotel New Shareif in Charari Shareif . They served hot Kashmiri Kahwa along with traditional local cake. While in Kashmir I realized the bakeries are really good. Locals prefer to have cake or special bread which is served with butter along with Tea for breakfast. While he was preparing the tea we went for landscape photography in front of the hotel. Entire place was covered with snow. All we could see were few buildings and one slide only. After Kahwa and Cake, we left ahead and reached post which no vehicles are allowed. 

From there, we were told we can do a difficult trek up the hill and there is chance of getting Kashmir Nuthatch. The Trek was going to be difficult since there were no footmarks on it and snow was Knee Deep. Myself being with no Trek experience earlier decided to go in hope of getting Kashmir Nutcracker. We left at around 11:15 AM and came back at 2:15 PM. it was quite and adventure and worth a try for nutcracker. We get to hear the call twice, but it never came in front of us. We got to see the White-Cheeked Nuthatch on the way to Trek. Myself , Shikhar and Wajid we all slipped while coming back at one place since it was quite steep and slippery, but bruises were not that significant. After coming back, we get ourselves cleaned up and left for Botanical Garden straight away in hope of getting Blyth's Rosefinch clear shots today. On the way we stopped for lunch and reached Botanical Garden at 5:30 PM. Got our tickets and rushed toward the spot. We were quite lucky today and get to see 2 Male and 1 Female of Blyth's Rosefinch. It was a moment of 10 minutes only and it was getting dark so we decided to move back. 

Today we decided to have a cup of Tea at Garden Cafe which is located inside Botanical Garden surrounded by Zabarwan Mountain Range . We experienced a new way of serving tea. They will serve hot water first in the cups so as to bring the cup to little high temperature since outside temperature is very cold, then they bring Tea in the flask rinse of the water and serve you the Hot Tea. Tea was really good and hospitality was equally excellent. Flowering near the Café is also good. If anyone want to experience the flowering in Kashmir June is the best month to come. 

After tea we reached hotel and decided to have walk around Dal Lake in Evening. Since it was Sunday lot of street vendors can be seen , selling the local stuff. On Sunday lot of locals come for walk around the Dal lake as well. I bought containers which are made of waste paper , fridge magnets and key chains. After spending 45 minutes we came to hotel and had dinner at 8:45PM. The day was quite tiring because of Trek and we have to pack our stuff since in morning we have checkout from room. With all the packing done, I went to sleep at 10:30 PM while remembering the Trek which we did today. 

Following are the checklists of day

https://ebird.org/checklist/S104271713

https://ebird.org/checklist/S104276787

Day-4 Monday, 07-Mar-2022

Birdwatching at Kangan and Departure

With the stiff body, wake up at 6 AM. Had a quick bath followed by a cup of tea and packed all my stuff for check out. Heavy rain forecast for the day and we have to do birdwatching at Kangan today. We had our breakfast at 7 AM and left from hotel after that. Somnath Sir missed first day of birding hence we decided to cover Kangan today. 

We stopped near Sindh River and scanned the area. We get to see Bramblings, Pine Buntings and 5 Ibis bill . It started drizzling , followed by heavy rain and we rushed back to our car. 

Myself and Shikhar packed our stuff since we have already clicked Evermann's Redstart female on Day-1 and suggest Somnath sir to go with Wajid. We both and driver went for tea in the nearby market and after 30 minutes we came back at the site. Wajid called me and said we have found the jackpot and I knew that they have found male of Evermann's redstart. I unpacked my stuff and prepared myself to go in this heavy rain to click that beautiful bird. Wajid told me it has flew already and chances are very less to get him back. 

I was bit stubborn for trying for it once again. he was telling me the story only 2 folks are able to click Evermann's redstart male before. Also, it was not been seen since last few days. 

I kept on searching and finally after 10 minutes I was able to spot it, though specs were covered with water still managed to see it. I was lucky enough to capture photographs and small video of Evermann's Redstart Male. It was feeding on some small insects. 

We returned to the cab and bid farewell to Wajid since he stay there only. It was really nice experience birdwatching with him. We were blessed to have company of all pristine members of Kashmir Birdwatch society Wajid, Ansar and Riyaz. 

In Srinagar, we stopped at Mughal Darbaar restaurant for Lunch and I can say it was most worst thing which I had in my trip. The restaurant service was path ethic and staff was not polite at all. He denied serving us the bowl and suggested to use the plates instead for Gravy Dish. On top of it the prices were too high. Also, their is lot of improvement which can be done for overall experience improvement. I saw the driver was very rash driving, he was continuously talking over phone for 95% of time. He was not even using headsets for most of the time and he used to abuse other people on the road. Last day he took us such a bad restaurant as well. 

We reached Airport 4 hours before the flight, it is recommended to reach 3 hours early since their are additional security checks at Kashmir Airport. At Airport I reviewed all my pictures and had call with my friends to share my experience of this wonderful trip. 

My Flight departed at 19:15 and reached Delhi at 20:45. I reached home and met my family and thank God for this wonderful trip. 

Following is the checklist of day

https://ebird.org/checklist/S104351580

I get to see 54 species of which 11 were my lifers. We explored the following hotspots during this trip. 

Feel free to reach me out for any help for planning Birdwatching in Kashmir. I would also like to know about your Birdwatching experience in Kashmir. My Contacts Details are below

1) Email - mohitmehta.pro@gmail.com

2) Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mohitm13

3) Twitter Handle - @13mohitm