Page 32 -

NATURE

La (pass), littered with prayer flags and
chortens (shrines) - and passing through
magnificent forested landscapes often
dominated by imposing and impressive
dzongs (fortresses of towering walls
surrounding a complex of courtyards,
temples, administrative offices and monks’
accommodation).
West of the Black Mountain range running
from north to south, western Bhutan
was only equipped for tourism relatively
recently. This included the provision of
wide roads and luxurious accommodation,
etc. At the time of my visit, eastern and
central Bhutan were almost totally devoid
of any tourist infrastructure and hotels (if
any) in the widely-spaced towns catered
only for indigenous travellers. For this
reason, as well as for birding logistics, we
camped for 11 of our 19-day tour, which
necessitated that all of our food and
camping equipment be transported in
advance to the informal view sites carefully
chosen for our camps.
Golden-throated Barbet (DS)
Having spent the previous day travelling the Himalayas. Both Great and Oriental Our campsite at Morong (1 700m above
through the Assam state of India, our Pied Hornbills showed well at a fruiting sea level) comprised of five tents for the
group of eight arrived at the Bhutan ficus tree, as well as Black-backed Forktail, eight group members, a tiny loo tent and
border an hour and a half early, so our gorgeous Scarlet Minivet, Crimson and a dining tent. In the evenings we received
Bhutanese guides (Tserin, Solaam and Black-throated Sunbirds, Black-naped a small bowl of water to bathe in (no
bus driver Oula), who we were relying on Monarch and a pair of Scarlet Finches. shower) and at dinner a hot-water bottle. A
to arrange our visas and guide us through Climbing out of the lowlands, it was not body-bag which was to be used inside our
the border formalities, were nowhere to long before we were adding mid-montane sleeping bag was so difficult to get into
be found. They finally arrived and shortly elevation birds to our list, including Rufous- that I abandoned mine for the duration of
thereafter we were stepping through a bellied and Black Eagles, Chestnut-tailed the camping. We were also given a booklet
shallow trough of disinfectant into Bhutan Minla, Crimson-browed and Gold-naped listing the daily menus for that part of
and making our way to the border town of Finches, Green-tailed Sunbird, Black-eared the trip. Broadly speaking, breakfasts
Samdrup Jongkhar for the night. and Green Shrike-Babblers, secretive comprised of either corn flakes, muesli or
Spotted Wren-Babbler, Brown Bullfinch, porridge, followed by eggs (to order) and
The next morning, we set off for our Himalayan Swiftlet, and Streak-breasted toast. Lunches usually included rice and
first birding excursion, with the road Scimitar-Babbler. We also secured brilliant vegetables of various kinds and dinners
winding through patches of evergreen views of the globally-threatened Rufous- always started with soup and then moved
forest northwards into the foothills of
necked Hornbill. on to rice or noodles, mixed vegetables,
sometimes with cheese, and shredded
beef, pork or mutton (occasionally curried).
By and large, the food prepared by our
chef was perfectly adequate in terms of
both quality and quantity.

Travelling further north towards the town
of Trashigang, we climbed a further 650m
to our view-site camp (2 350m) which was
100km south of the town and bitterly cold.
Birding in the morning was washed out by
heavy rain followed by a surprisingly quiet
(for birding) afternoon. A Mountain Scops
Owl called all night.
Birding companions on these trips are
often ‘just a little odd’ and on this trip
an eccentric German fellow fitted this
description perfectly. His appearance
could be described as having been
slightly dishevelled, with relatively long,
uncombed hair, old-fashioned spectacles
and ragged and worn clothing. He was
Terraced Valley Rice Paddies (RS)

30 INTRA MUROS SEPTEMBER 2020