India - Nameri and Manas National Parks

White-winged Duck

From Kaziranga we moved on to Nameri National Park. The park and tiger reserve are primarily accessed by canoe ferry across the Jia Bhoroli River and a walking trek into the forest. Because us puny humans are not the top of the food chain here, we had a forest guard and local guide along for the hike. There were many great birds to be seen, but the special bird here is the critically endangered White-winged Duck, a mostly nocturnal feeding species that inhabits relatively undisturbed forests. We were lucky to find a pair in a forest pond and got fantastic looks. 

eBird list day 1

Canoe ferry

There's a White-winged Duck in the distant pond

Capped Langur

Wedge-tailed Green-Pigeon

Wreathed Hornbills

Of special note on our first day in Nameri was Susan's 4000th world life bird species - a Pied Falconet. 

A distant record shot of Susan's 4000th bird species

On our second morning we floated the Jia Bhoroli river in rafts for about 8 miles, primarily to see one of this region's coolest birds - the Ibisbill. We were successful with a group of four birds shortly after setting off and saw lots of other great birds as we floated down the river.

eBird list day 2

Ibisbill

Goosander (Common Merganser)

White Wagtail

Mission accomplished in Nameri we traveled further west to Manas National Park, an extensive forest habitat tiger reserve bordering Bhutan. We spent two days traveling the park in "Gypsy" jeeps with many great birds seen. Another bird of special note that we got amazing views of was Bengal Florican (also critically endangered). This is probably the best place in the world to get such good views of this dainty bustard species. We also did particularly well on difficult to see grassland species.

Our accommodation just outside the park entrance was the Smiling Tusker Elephant Camp. Run by a local NGO, their stated mission is "conservation and re-utilisation of trained, domesticated and unemployed elephants through eco-tourism. It was a fantastic lodge run by great people and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

eBird list day 1
eBird list day 2

The "Smiling Tuskers"

Barking Deer

Chestnut-capped Babbler

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Common Kingfisher

Indian Grassbird

Indian Peafowl (who knew they could fly so well or perched high up in trees?)

Lesser Adjutant

Silver-breasted Broadbill

Striated Babbler

Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon

Our visit to the special Bengal Florican location turned up several birds, one of which we got real close views of, and a nice unexpected bunch of Short-eared Owls.

Bengal Florican

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Our final morning for this leg of the India trip was a special outing to a nearby village that had endangered Golden Langur. We have another opportunity to possibly see this species in Bhutan, but didn't pass up the opportunity to get this very cool mammal right away. 

Golden Langur mother and baby. Check out that face!

This wraps up our first India trip. We'll be back in a few weeks. But first it's time for a comprehensive three week trip to Bhutan!

Susan and I want to say a special thank you to our outstanding Assam India guide Rajesh Panwar of Avian Trails. Rajesh is a fantastic guide and all-around nice guy. We are fortunate to now be able to call him a friend. We definitely look forward to doing another region in India someday with Rajesh.