Pangot & Sattal Birding Trip

Exclusive birding experience of Sattal and Pangot

Pangot and Sattal are located in Nainital district of Uttarakhand. Entire Kumaon is a heaven of bird watchers, but still, there are some places that are famous for birdwatching.

Pangot: Pangot is located about 13 kilometers from Nainital, which is a popular hill station also. The main attraction of Pangot is its birds. Around 580 bird species have been recorded in this area. One can see a variety of colorful Himalayan species here. Apart from other Himalayan birds, Cheer Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant, and Kalij Pheasant are the three main magnets that attract most of the bird lovers in this area.

Sattal: Sattal is a well-known birding area of Kumaon. It has beautiful and biodiversity-rich forests. Sattal or Sat Tal (“seven lakes”) is an interconnected group of seven freshwater lakes situated in the Lower Himalayan Range near Bhimtal.

BNHS Conservation Education Center conducted field camp at Pangot and Sattal, Uttarakhand in late April 2019 for Ornithology and Leadership and Biodiversity courses participants under the field guide of Mr. Hari Om and BNHS experts.

Pangot –Day 1:

We waited near old Delhi station and our train Ranikhet express came 45 minutes late. Most of the participants bored the same train. It was an overnight train journey. We reached at kathgodam station at 5.05 am. We started birding right after we got down from the train.
It was one of the pleasant looking stations of India. Smaller hills started its’ elevation just beside the platform. The weather was clear and cold gentle breeze was wrapping us in a soothing feeling. We spotted Himalayan Bulbul, Red-vented bulbul, Oriental magpie robin, Indian white eye etc. around the station area.

Our hotel was in Pangot. We reached there via Kilbury forest. It was a nice jungle trail. A stream was running in between the forest and the sound of water appeared to be very nice to my ear. I sat in front of the stream beneath the tree shade. Bird activity was not so good at that time and I wanted to spend some time with myself beside the stream calmly for mental relaxation. My team move forward and got Plumbous water redstart male and female.

Our hotel in Pangot was comfortable and cozy. The view from the balcony was awesome.

I feel the entire place a bit crowded. Bird activity near the hotel was not very satisfactory still we spotted many Red-rumped swallows and Barn swallows flying and making nests, engaged in foraging here and there.

We spotted one male and female Grey bushchat carrying insects for their chicks near our hotel. A grey backed shrike was also present there throughout our 4 days hotel stay. We spotted a Grey Nightjar in the early morning and late night on the electric pole.

We heard the call of Hill Partridge in different places of Pangot and it was awesome. Listening to that call in a silent forest trail is so very blissful.
After morning session birding we came back to hotel and after lunch and some rest we went out again on 2.30 pm. around for evening session birding.

Evening session in Gugurkan trail was very enriching. The whole team walked for a long time and identified so many species including Rufous-bellied woodpecker, Streaked Laughingthrush, Red-billed blue magpie etc. from a shorter distance.

After returning to the hotel we sat with the entire team and made a list of the observed species. We discussed their behavior and identification pointers.

Nights were moderately cold enough in Pangot. If the sky is clear, one can have a clear view of the famous star constellations.

Pangot –Day 2:

Second-day birding started from the early morning. We spotted Kalij pheasant in different places. It was pretty hard to photograph this shy bird.

After Kunja trail we went to an open hilly area from where Cheer pheasants are easy to spot. We searched the entire hills of the opposite direction with our binoculars, zoom lenses and spotting scopes but couldn’t find it.

Suddenly one yelled “Cheer dikh gaya”!!! We immediately jumped again with our equipment and tried to spot again. It was really hard to spot the well-camouflaged bird in their habitat. I almost lost all my hope of spotting it and thought to visit my eye specialist for a check-up, then suddenly saw through the camera that the male one was hiding itself behind the bushes and its’ long tail was coming out from the dry leaves of the bush.

We watched many Griffon vultures flying over the entire place. Some are coming too closer that taking a picture in zoom lens couldn’t be possible.
We got Upland pipit also in the same place. This pipit was flying over our head with a certain musical call and was coming back to the same rock from where it started flying.

Byasi was another jungle trail where we found many species like Koklass pheasant, Rufous sibia, Chestnut-crowned laughingthrush etc.

In the evening we did birding at Bagar road throughout the jungle path. The route was not plain and the path was a bit like trek route. We got Bonelli’s eagle, Blue-capped rockthrush, Grey bushchat, Blue whistling thrush, Jungle babbler, Jungle myna etc.

Pangot – Day 3

The distance between Pangot to sattal was 39.0 km which took 1 hr. 50 minutes by car. The entire day was dedicated to Sattal birding. We went to Sattal by car.

We stopped near Himalaya viewpoint and Nainital viewpoint to take some photos of the scenic beauty.

We walked on Sattal road towards Garur tal for birding. It was a pleasant walk. Road was very good and the forest habitat was so rich. Bird activity was quite satisfactory.

For example if I focused on a Rusty-cheeked scimitar babbler then I would definitely miss the Mountain bulbul singing in the other side of the way. If I tried to search for the same bulbul then I would get a Striated prinia sitting on the top perch of a firework like tree. Got some distant shots of Kalij pheasants in this route.

We got Grey bellied cuckoo also which was not commonly seen in that place.

We observed a flock of four-five Slaty headed parakeets swinging from one branch o another of some flowering trees and feed themselves by nectar.

Before entering Garur tal birding area we finished our packed breakfast midway.

The entire road beside the Garur tal was covered by big canopied trees. We got many species including Tickell’s Thrush, Orange headed thrush, White throated laughing thrush etc.

Beside Garur tal we waited near a small waterbody for a long time to observe bird activity but didn’t get much because the place became too hot to attract birds to drink water or bathing.

After having lunch in a hotel, we went to Chafi where we waited for brown dipper and Indian blue robin. The habitat was just a treat to eyes and a perfect place of mental relaxation.

Day 4

In the last day of the trip we did birding at the almost same trails which we covered in the 2nd day. Then after having breakfast, we checked out from the hotel and reached Kathgodam station at 3.00 pm. We did some en-route birding while coming back to the station. We stopped in a roadside restaurant to have lunch. We waited there for some birds. Got Blue whistling thrush, Red-billed leiothrix, Russet Sparrow and Red billed blue magpie etc. After lunch we were busy with birds, checking whatsapp and facebook after a long time, clicking photos of birds, getting selfies; We didn’t notice that in a closer hill trees were getting burnt due to forest fire.

Suddenly local people started screaming and we immediately decided to leave the place safely, because road might get blocked due to the falling of the trees.
We got our train from Kathgodam station and reached Kolkata the next day, by the flight from Delhi.

Full List of birds we spotted during the Pangot and Sattal trip

	Sattal Pangot Bird Cheklist	Scientific Name
1	Common Hill Partridge	Arborophila torqueola
2	Black Francolin	Francolinus francolinus
3	Cheer Pheasant	Catreus wallichii
4	Kalij Pheasant	Lophura leucomelanos
5	Koklass Pheasant	Pucrasia macrolopha
6	Red Junglefowl	Gallus gallus
7	Rock Dove	Columba livia
8	Oriental Turtle Dove	Streptopelia orientalis
9	Eurasian Collared Dove	Streptopelia decaocto
10	Spotted Dove	Streptopelia chinensis
11	Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon	Treron sphenurus
12	Emerald Dove	Chalcophaps indica
13	Yellow-footed Green-pigeon	Treron p. phoenicopterus
14	Large-tailed Nightjar	Caprimulgus macrurus
15	Little Swift	Apus affinis
16	Large Hawk Cuckoo	Hierococcyx sparverioides
17	Common Hawk Cuckoo	Hierococcyx varius
18	Indian Cuckoo	Cuculus micropterus
19	Himalayan Cuckoo	Cuculus saturatus [saturatus]
20	Grey-bellied Cuckoo	Cacomantis passerinus
21	Griffon Vulture	Gyps Fulvus
22	Himalayan Vulture	Gyps himalayensis
23	Crested Serpent Eagle	Spilornis cheela
24	Mountain Hawk Eagle	Nisaetus nipalensis
25	Changeable Hawk Eagle	Nisaetus cirrhatus
26	Shikra	Accipiter badius
27	Black Kite	Milvus migrans
28	Oriental Honey	Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus
29	Bonelli’s Eagle	Hieraaetus fasciatus
30	Common Kestrel	Falco tinnunculus
31	Brown Wood-Owl	Strix leptogrammica
32	Asian Barred Owlet	Glaucidium cuculoides
33	Collared Owlet	Glaucidium brodiei
34	Common Hoopoe	Upupa epops [ceylonenesis]
35	Speckled Piculet	Picumnus innominatus
36	Greater Yellow-naped Woodpecker	Chrysophlegma flavinucha
37	Lesser Yellow-naped Woodpecker	Chrysophlegma chlorolophus
38	Streak-throated Woodpecker	Picus xanthopygaeus
39	Grey-headed Woodpecker	Picus canus
40	Brown-fronted Woodpecker	Dendrocopos auriceps
41	Himalayan Pied Woodpecker	Dendrocopos himalayensis
42	Fulvous-breasted Pied Woodpecker	Dendrocopos macei
43	Rufous-bellied Woodpecker	Dendrocopos hyperythrus
44	Greater Flameback	Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus
45	Great Barbet	Psilopogon virens
46	Blue-throated Barbet	Megalaima asiatica
47	Himalayan Pied Kingfisher	Ceryle lugubris
48	White-throated Kingfisher	Halcyon smyrnensis
49	Common Kingfisher	Alcedo atthis
50	Himalayan/Slaty-headed Parakeet	Psittacula himalayana
51	Plum-headed Parakeet	Psittacula cyanocephala
52	Alexandrine Parakeet	Psittacula eupatria
53	Rose-ringed Parakeet	Psittacula krameri
54	Long-tailed Minivet	Pericrocotus ethologus
55	Scarlet Minivet	Pericrocotus speciosus
56	Maroon Oriole	Oriolus traillii
57	Black Drongo	Dicrurus macrocercus
58	Ashy Drongo	Dicrurus leucophaeus
59	Grey-backed Shrike	Lanius tephronotus
60	Long-tailed Shrike	Lanius schach
61	Grey Treepie	Dendrocitta formosae
62	Red-billed Blue Magpie	Urocissa erythroryncha
63	Eurasian Jay	Garrulus glandarius
64	Black-headed Jay	Garrulus lanceolatus
65	Large-billed Crow	Corvus macrorhynchos
66	Fire-breasted Flowerpecker	Dicaeum ignipectus
67	Thick-billed Flowerpecker	Dicaeum agile
68	Green-tailed Sunbird	Aethopyga nipalensis
69	Crimson Sunbird	Aethopyga siparaja
70	Purple Sunbird	Cinnyris asiaticus
71	Black throated/breasted Sunbird	Aethopyga saturata
72	House Sparrow	Passer domesticus
73	Russet Sparrow	Passer cinnamomeus
74	Yellow-throated Sparrow	Petronia xanthocollis
75	Upland Pipit	Anthus sylvanus
76	Grey Wagtail	Motacilla cinerea
77	Common Rosefinch	Erythrina erythrina
78	Yellow-breasted Greenfinch	Chloris spinoides
79	Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher	Culicicapa ceylonensis
80	Spot-winged Tit	Periparus melanolophus
81	Green-backed Tit	Parus monticolus
82	Cinereous Tit	Parus cinereus
83	Black-lored Yellow Tit	Parus xanthogenys
84	Yellow-borwed Tit	Sylviparus modestus
85	Black-throated Tit	Aegithalos concinnus
86	Striated Prinia	Prinia crinigera
87	Ashy Prinia	Prinia socialis
88	Grey-breasted Prinia	Prinia hodgsonii
89	Nepal House Martin	Delichon nipalense
90	Red-rumped Swallow	Cecropis daurica
91	Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica
92	Eurasian Crag-martin	Ptyonoprogne rupestris
93	Red-whiskered Bulbul	Pycnonotus jocosus
94	Red-vented Bulbul	Pycnonotus cafer
95	Mountain Bulbul	Ixos mcclellandii
96	Himalayan Black Bulbul	Hypsipetes leucocephalus
97	Himalayan Bulbul	Pycnonotus leucogenis
98	Ashy Bulbul	Hemixos flavala
99	Common Tailorbird	Orthotomus sutorius
100	Tickell’s Leaf-Warbler	Phylloscopus affinis
101	Greenish Leaf-Warbler	Phylloscopus trochiloides
102	Grey-hooded Leaf-Warbler	Phylloscopus xanthoschistos
103	Western Crowned Warbler	Phylloscopus occipitalis
104	Common/Siberian Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus [collybita] tristis
105	Plaine Leaf-warbler	Phylloscopus neglectus
106	Jungle Babbler	Turdoides striata
107	Black-chinned Babbler	Stachyris pyrrhops
108	Orange-bellied Leafbird	Chloropsis hardwickii
109	Lesser Whitethroat	Curruca curruca
110	Whiskered Yuhina	Yuhina flavicollis
111	Black-chinned Yuhina	Yuhina nigrimenta
112	Oriental White-eye	Zosterops palpebrosus
113	113 Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler	Erythrogenys erythrogenys
114	114 Striated Laughingthrush	Grammatoptila striata
115	White-throated Laughingthrush	Garrulax albogularis
116	Streaked Laughingthrush	Trochalopteron lineatum
117	Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush	Trochalopteron erythrocephalum
118	Rufous Sibia	Heterophasia capistrata
119	Blue-winged Minla	Siva cyanouroptera
120	Red-billed Leiothrix	Leiothrix lutea
121	Rufous chinned Laughingthrush	Ianthocincla rufogularis
122	Bar-tailed Treecreeper	Certhia himalayana
123	Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch	Sitta castanea
124	White-tailed Nuthatch	Sitta himalayensis
125	Grey-headed Starling	Sturnia malabarica
126	Common Myna	Acridotheres tristis
127	Jungle Myna	Acridotheres fuscus
128	Bank Myna	Acridotheres ginginianus
129	Spot-winged Satarling	Saroglossa spiloptera
130	Oriental Magpie-robin	Copsychus saularis
131	Indian Pond-heron	Ardeola grayii
132	Dark-sided Flycather	Muscicapa sibirica
133	Ultramarine Flycatcher	Ficedula superciliaris
134	Rufous-bellied Niltava	Niltava sundara
135	Asian Verditer Flycatcher	Eumyias thalassinus
136	Slaty-backed Forktail	Enicurus schistaceus
137	Spotted Forktail	Enicurus maculatus
138	Blue Whistling-Thrush	Myophonus caeruleus
139	Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush	Monticola rufiventris
140	Blue-capped Rock-Thrush	Monticola cinclorhyncha
141	Blue Rock-Thrush	Monticola solitarius
142	Blue-capped Redstart	Adelura coeruleocephala
143	Plumbeous Water-Redstart	Phoenicurus fuliginosus
144	Common Stonechat	Saxicola torquatus
145	Grey Bush Chat	Saxicola ferreus
146	Blue-throated Flycatcher	Cyornis rubeculoides
147	Pied Bushchat	Saxicola caprata
148	Plain-backed Thrush	Zoothera mollissima
149	Small-billed Scaly-Thrush	Zoothera dauma
150	Tickell’s Thrush	Turdus unicolor
151	Grey-winged Blackbird	Turdus boulboul
152	White-throated/bellied Swiftlet	Collocalia esculenta
153	White-browed Shrike-babbler	Pteruthius aeralatus annamensis
154	Plain Leaf-warbler	Phylloscopus neglectus
155	Green Warbler	Phylloscopus nitidus
156	Greater Coucal	Centropus sinensis
157	Asian Koel	Eudynamys scolopaceus
158	Red-wattled Lapwing	Vanellus indicus
159	Asian Paradise Flycatcher	Terpsiphone paradisi
160	Brown Dipper	Cinclus pallasii
161	Indian Blue Robin	Luscinia brunnea
162	Orange-headed Thrush	Zoothera citrina
163	Little Green Bee-eater	Merops orient

Why choose Kumaon as a birding destination

1) It is a fabulous place where one can get most of the lifers that are endemic to Uttarakhand.

2) Weather is never too hot, and it means birding span is not limited to sessions only. One can do the birding for the whole day without getting fatigued.

3) Bird activity is good throughout the day.

4) Habitat and biodiversity were very good. The whole area is covered by small forest patches where one can get plenty of birds.

5) Himalayan birds are very colorful and spotting them in cluttered bushes, identifying them by their melodious call are a whole new experience. It can give a typical mental peace which will drain out the exhaustion of monotonous daily life.

Best birding experience of the Pangot and Sattal Tour

1) Call of Hill-partridge was something that snatched my mind from this world to another. I didn’t saw the bird but it was calling from a nearer cluttered bush down the hilly slopes. The call hypnotized me for a few minutes. It reminded me of the melodious flute sound of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

2) On our way back to Kathgodam, our guide stopped the car for taking good perched photographs of Great barbet. We ran and took photographs, The barbet was calling in a shrill voice. Suddenly another barbet came and they start mating. I never saw Himalayan barbet’s copulation. It was for a few seconds event. While mating on the ground or tree, the male perches, and balances on top of the female, who moves her tail feathers to the side to expose her cloaca to facilitate copulation.

Coming to the act of mating, or to be more precise, copulation (union of the sex organs of the mating pair), most male birds, unlike mammals, do not have a penis. Copulation occurs via the cloaca (anal opening) of both the
birds, which also serves as the common organ for the expulsion of urinary and digestive wastes. In the absence of a separate urinary organ for birds (unlike in mammals), sperms of the male are ejected through the opening of the cloaca into the cloaca of the female, from where they travel up the oviduct to eventually fertilize eggs. The cloaca of both the birds swell and protrude outside their bodies during copulation.

3) On the same day, we stopped in a place for Common green magpie. We came out of the car and entered the jungle. We didn’t get that particular bird but observed the breeding behavior of White-throated laughingthrush. Two male and female birds were engaged in allopreening. Allopreening, or mutual preening, helps to diffuse aggression and establish close contact between mates. The birds may lightly preen one another, usually restricted to the feathers of the head and neck which the bird itself cannot reach. Other than cementing pair bonding, allopreening helps to remove lice and plumage maintenance. The birds sit with their bodies touching each other or lean on one another to show that they do not
intend to harm their partner.
After that, the male bird came to feed the female bird. This courtship feeding is also an interesting breeding behavior which we observed on the same day. This offering food to the female by the male is a common part of courtship in many bird species. Courtship feeding prior to mating may enable females to assess a male‘s suitability as a mate, and for the male, it could act as an assurance of fidelity from its partner.

Magic of months

1) March and April are those two months when one can get birds doing breeding or nesting. We have seen many nesting birds also. We got Grey bushchat male and females carrying insects to feed their chicks. We got Himalayan bulbul and Streaked laughingthrush also that were carrying insects.

2) Himalayan great barbet mating and White throated laughingthrush allopreening and courtship behavior were recorded.

3) A male Striated laughingthrush was displaying his wings and plumages to attract the female. These behaviors won’t be present in other months.

4) The entire road was decorated with red, pink Rhododendron. It was a heavenly beauty all over. We watched some beautiful birds nectering themselves. Landscape shots were also very good.

5) In Sattal area we observed a Slaty headed parakeet nest in the hole of the tree and two male and female Scarlet minivet with brood patch. A brood patch is a patch of featherless skin that is visible on the underside of birds during the nesting season. This patch of skin is well supplied with blood vessels at the surface making it possible for the birds to transfer heat to their eggs when incubating.

6) This season had less chance of raining and ruining the birding. One can get a clear Himalayan peak view. Though we didn’t get a very clear picture because of the widespread fog in the upper Himalayas.