Nepal, 20 April – 16 May 2007, Jomsom trekking, by Stijn De Win.

Arrival at Jomsom.

Itinerary – day accounts.   Thursday 19 April 2007 Brussels-Frankfurt-Doha with Brussels Airlines and Quatar Airways. Friday 20 April Doha-Kathmandu, Quatar Airways. Arrival Kathmandu 15h30 Hotel Nature in Thamel Saturday 21 April Flight to Pokhara 11h45 with Buddha Air. Hotel Green Tara in Pokhara lakeside. After heavy rain in the afternoon it cleared in the evening with superb mountain views from the hotel roof. Sunday 22 April Flight nr B2A 0001 to Jomsom at 9h30 with Birding2asia.com airlines. Hotel Himalayan Inn, Jomsom. Walk in village in strong winds. Strong winds from 9h00, mostly sunny but 1 hour of heavy rain in afternoon while at lodge.

Impressive mountain views all over, the 1 above is Dhaulagiri at over 8000m high with it's glacier.

Monday 23 April Walk around village and opposite side river. Didn’t feel well so took plenty of rest for the remainder of the day. Strong winds from 9h00 and sunny all day. Tuesday 24 April Start trekking in Jomsom 7h30, arrival at Kagbeni 11h30.  (2700 to 2800m and 9 km) Explored beautiful Kagbeni village in the afternoon. New Asia Trekker’s Home, clean room with attached bathroom and Nilgiri views for 200Rs (2,2 euro)  Delicious flambe vegetable sizzler and weird Tibetan rites to drive out ghosts. Only working internet acces of the trek. Sunny all day but strong winds from 9h00. Wednesday 25 April Start Kagbeni 6h15, Jharkot 10h45 (lunch), Muktinath 13h40.  (2800 to 3560m) Walk to Muktinath Monastery and birding monastery grounds and surrounding.  Had a quick look at the famous eternal flame. Hotel Caravan Muktinath. All day sunny and no or little wind, morning room temperature in Kagbeni 14 degrees Celsius. Thursday 26 April Walk on stony slopes above Muktinath hotel area up to altitude of 3800m and with fine views of Nilgiri and Tilicho Peak, 5h45 till 8h45. Walk to Gompa, lake and village below Muktinath, 9h15 till 10h30. Start trekking Muktinath 11h10, Eklabati 14h10 (lunch), arrival Muktinath 16h55. All day sun, walking with strong winds head on from above Eklabati. Morning room temp. 14 degrees Celsius but frost on the ground at 3800m. Friday 27 April Start Jomsom 5h45, Marpha 8h00 (breakfast and a look around in this beautiful village), Tukuche 10h40 (lunch), start again Tukuche 12h05 and arrival Larjung 13h25 River Side Lodge in Larjung. All day sunny and windy.  Sore knee after yesterdays downhill. Saturday 28 April Perfect Dhaulagiri sunrise views from hotel roof. Start trekking 6h10, crossed the river flat to start with which produced Ibisbill to join later with the main trekking route again at the suspension bridge little before Kokhetante. (breakfast at 8h40)  Arrival Kalopani 11h00. Walk in pine forest below and above Kalopani, 13h30 till 17h00. Hotel Magic Mountain, of which room 101 (up and left) was truly magic, attached bathroom and superb views of Dhaulagiri incl. icefall, Nilgiri and Annapurna 1.   All day sunny and strong winds, less windy in Kalopani. Sunday 29 April Walk in open pine forest above Kalopani (+160m), 6h35 till 9h45. Start trekking 12h30, Ghasa 14h50. Eagle Nest Guest House. Meet with Nabil Nepali, my guide for tomorrows Pheasant quest. All day sunny, little or no wind, morning room temp 14,5 C Monday 30 April Ghasa ; toughest walk of my life!  On the briefing yesterday Nabil said we would have to climb 300m, a 4 hour walk to see the pheasants.  Ok, not to hard I thought, taking 1 liter of water will be plenty!  His English isn’t that good however and this proved to be some misunderstanding.  Started climbing the steep slopes at 4h30, first on a trail but it soon disappeared.  8h00 saw us 800 m higher (2840m) and just below the so called Black Forest (in fact a fairly small patch of open pine forest on a steep slope)  Got rewarded with superb views of Himalayan Monals and a male Cheer Pheasant.  Then climbing again, very steep, going on hands and feet in places!  Got to the pass above the Black Forest by 11h00, 1200m above Ghasa, drank my last drops of water.  Then a steep 400m descent on grassy slopes that was real dangerous in places, one misstep here could easily have made Cheer Pheasant the very last addition to my life list!  Up again a 100 altimeter and a 1 km struggle through dense bamboo, sunny too on this stretch and me thirsty.  Reached the Big Forest with welcome shade, some relatively flat trail and huge rhododendron trees, good to take up some courage again and on the descent through the forest back to Ghasa got Koklass Pheasant. Got back 16h30. Did a 1200m ascent and descent in a days walk before (Pulchowki…) but this was many times harder because of the extreme steep terrain and no real trail to follow, the lack of enough water to drink wouldn’t have helped either. All in all a success-full trip with 4 lifers and Nabil happy to get 20 USD. (cheap for me and a lot of money in Nepal) Sun/clouds, dry all day. Tuesday 1st May Rest day in Ghasa with small walks to the pine forest in Ghasa village and near the Eagle Nest guest house. Sunny all day. Wednesday 2 May Start 4h00 to Tragopan roost which we (with Nabil) reached 6h00, an hour late! (400m ascent) No fresh excrements found and there’s some dangerous sections on the trail, so opted to not try this again with a 3am start the following morning.  Checked some Cheer Pheasant site on the way back, got back to guest house 10h15. Start trekking 13h15, arrival Dana 16h15. New Annapurna hotel Dana. Sunny but some rain in the evening. Thursday 3 May Start Dana 6h30, Tatopani 8h30 and Sikha 14h00.  (700m ascent) Monalisa Hotel in Sikha. Sunny and showers/cloudy from 13h30 onwards. Friday 4 May Start Sikha 7h30, Chitre at 11h00 Afternoon walk on trail towards Ghandrung. New Dhaulagiri lodge, Chitre.  Met Belgische wafels op de menu!  Natuurlijk ni te vreten, was te verwachten, brrrrrrrwww. Sunny/cloudy and showers after 16h00 Saturday 5 May Walk on trail towards Ghandrung, 5h45 till 9h00. Start trekking Chitre 11h20, Deurali (accommodation area above Ghorapani at the start of the trail up Poon Hill) at 13h00. Hotel Tukuche Peak View had the only bad food on the entire trek. (behalve dan die Belgische wafels)  But bird-watching from room 19 here was excellent which made up for the food.  Here’s my room list ; pair Nepal Wren Babbler, Russet Sparrow, White-collared Blackbird, Rufous-vented Yuhina, Ashy-throated Warbler, Indian Blue Robin, Grey Wagtail, Pink-browed Rosefinch, Green-tailed Sunbird, Slaty-blue Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Fantail, Thick-billed Crow, Common Cuckoo, Verditer Flycatcher, Red Crosbill, Chestnut-tailed Minla, Oriental Turtle Dove, Grey-crested Tit, Rufous-vented Tit, Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher , Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Grey Bushchat, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Western-crowned Leaf Warbler, Dark-sided Flycatcher, Lesser Cuckoo heard, 26 species. Sun/clouds and between 15h and 16h a hailstorm.

Room 19, Tukuche Peak View, served as my hide for an afternoon.        The mountain view from the same room.

Sunday 6 May 5h05-10h15 walk up Poon hill, a 55 min. climb, 300m ascent. Although this is ‘the’ famous Himalayan sunrise viewpoint of Nepal I can definitely tell you that the sun comes up pretty much from the wrong side.  It’s perfect only for Dhaulagiri (but better views from Larjung-Kalopani for this) with bad light conditions for the rest.  Nevertheless I’ve been very lucky here with all clear skies and a superb view at 9h00, which was after some birding, after all tourists left (noisy crowd at sunrise), just before the first clouds started rolling in and with the sun higher up thus better light.  Excellent mountain views all around and there’s been no clear morning in the next week or so!!!  Sunset must be much better here but to get a cloudless one you’ll need the luck of a lifetime, in April-May at least. Afternoon room 19 bird-watching. Sunny till noon, then clouds building and rain from 16h15. Monday 7 May Walk to Deurali via ridge and 2 hours return walk on trail beyond Deurali towards the mountain.  Returned to Ghorapani.  5h15 – 14h35 First all cloudy day of the trek but with no rain. Tuesday 8 May Start Ghorapani 4h20 via ridge to Deurali, 6h05.  Breakfast in Deurali and 7h20 start on trail to the mountain beyond Deurali.  Trail starts between the two Deurali lodges.  After the up and downs on the trail started the proper climb at 8h15, arrival out of forest and on the ridge 9h15 were I got Blood Pheasant and Himalayan Monal immediately.  Explored the mountain treeline area (3300-3400m) until 12h20 (first low clouds).  Back to Deurali 13h50. Up here was the only area of the trek that still had all rhododendrons flowering. Sun/clouds with little rain in afternoon. Cleared up in evening and did little walk in forest near Deurali, nice Annapurna South views. Green View lodge, Deurali. Wednesday 9 May 5h00 – 8h30 and again 10h00 – 12h20 birding near Deurali, heard Satyr Tragopan. Rain from 11h00 onwards.  Spend afternoon in lodge, waiting for the next morning. Thursday 10 May Decided to try for Tragopan an extra day after hearing them yesterday. (Just only found out yesterday that Tragopans are in the area, don’t know this is a known site) 4h30 till 9h30, again only heard Tragopan, also Koklass, lots of leeches! Start trekking 10h20, Tarapani (Tadapani) 12h40 and lunch, Ghandrung at 16h00. Hotel Sakura Ghandrung. 30 min. shower during lunch, cloudy in afternoon. Friday 11 May Start 8h10, Kimche at 10h00, arrival Naya Pul 14h15. Taxi to Pokhara with heavy hail and mist on the way.  Pokhara at 16h30. Saturday 12 May 5h55 – 13h00, Walk up to World Peace Pagoda through Queens Forest (Rani Bann) and back same way.  Surprise Spiny Babblers! Afternoon relax and shopping in Pokhara. Sunday 13 May Paragliding off Sarangkot with Sunrise Paragliding.  Nice thermal on this south facing slope and the birds knew it too.  We were circling with 1 Red-headed Vulture, 1 Crested Serpent Eagle, 2 Egyptian Vultures, several Black Kites, Common Kestrel and a few Sparrowhawks.  This is exciting and different birding, raptors are not at all frightened by the gliders and a tandem flight makes that you have all the time for photos and enjoying the views and kick. Recommended! Monday 14 May Morning flight to Kathmandu with Yeti Airlines. Afternoon in Kathmandu. Tuesday 15 May Walk up to viewpoint through Nagarjung forest reserve.  It’s a 665m ascent, 5 km walk.  No views due to mist and clouds and few birds. Wednesday 16 May Kathmandu – Doha – London with Quatar Airways. London – Brussels with British Airways.

Paragliding off Sarangkot in Pokhara with Egyptian Vulture and Crested Serpent Eagle photographed mid-air.

On Poon Hill                                                                           Zoomed in on Dhaulagiri as seen from Poon Hill.

Info, notes, thoughts, tips…   -Ghasa Pheasants (+Deurali) Don’t ever think this is going to be easy, you’d better be fit!  My first impression when arriving in Ghasa ; “whow that’s steep, am I going to have to climb this to see something?” You will need the help of Nabin Nepali who knows the mountains and where the pheasants are.  He lives in the house next to Eagle Nest Guest House, you can ask about him there. Nabin’s fees for the day were ; ‘up to you’!  Gave him the amount he was listed for on Birdingpal and he seemed happy with it.  (nabin_n.nepali@yahoo.com) I got Cheer Pheasant and Himalayan Monal 800m above Ghasa below the Black Forest.  Also checked 2 spots for Cheer Pheasant closer to the village but these sites I think are unreliable to say the least. Koklass is commonly heard early morning but very shy and hard to get a view of. Nabin knows a roost for Satyr Tragopan, a 400m climb after having past some dangerous trail section above the river in the dark, set off 3am for this otherwise you will be late.  Best bet however will be to spend the night on the ridge above the Black Forest, a 1200m climb above Ghasa!  Steep, took me 6,5 hours. Tragopans occur close to the Deurali lodges, but still, hard to see. Blood Pheasant is too high up at Ghasa (way above the Black Forest) and can’t be done in a day, better to get it at Deurali. (Or start climbing again after having spent the night on the ridge.)  Poon Hill is a possible winter site but too low altitude in April-May for Blood Pheasant. Also read Monday 30 April in day accounts above.   -Porters-lodges Usually all good with no hassles.  Only annoying thing for birders will be that Nepalis don’t rise early.  (No tourist will agree with me on this but for birders it’s late.)  Make sure you bring an extra alarm clock for your porter otherwise your first job in the morning will be to find out where he’s sleeping to go and wake him up.  My porter Bhim on this trek was pretty much OK for this but the one I got on my Langtang trek last year was a real pain. Birding and carrying your own pack isn’t a good idea and at 20 USD a day I can’t see why you shouldn’t rent a porter.  Ask for one that can speak English and he will be your guide at the same time.  Forget about an early breakfast, you’ll go hungry or not.  Most lodges don’t start serving breakfast before 7am.  Too late if dawn is at 5am.  Chocolates and biscuits might bring relief! I’ve been the only guest in a lodge on many occasions, tourist arrivals in Nepal are at a low still despite problems with Maoists/safety gone.  Had to pay nothing for Maoists on this trek while on the Langtang trek last year I had to pay 1000 Rs.   -Road to heaven Ghasa to Muktinath has a road (dirt track) that is used by an increasing number of motorbikes and the occasional tractor.  Not nice to go trekking along and together with the presence of electricity all over makes me decide that Langtang was a much more enjoyable trekking, it’s more authentic, 2 or 3 weeks with only solar power, no engines around, no telephones, no road-works…it has something. To make matters worse they are busy building a road now from Ghasa to Beni that will open up the entire Kali Ghandaki valley for motorised vehicles.  Had to walk several (some dangerous) detours between Ghasa and Tatopani because of road-works.   They’re actually bringing down entire mountain slopes to build it and the monsoon will do the rest.  They’re facing some almost impossible sections however and with the means they have it will take at least another 10 (or 20, or never) years for completion.  Can’t see why they’re building it.  Why destroy your most important trekking area?  Hopefully nobody will be stupid enough to still go trekking Jomsom after the road has been completed.  Bye-bye lodges, porters, guides…good luck with begging in Kathmandu!!!  Oh, think they might dream of bringing in mass-tourism but that’s not gone work, not in Nepal!

No kidding, there’s about 50 people at the top of this man-                    A monastery at Muktinath with mighty mountains in the made landslide trying to bring the mountain further down                       background. Pray! in an attempt to build a road. Livestock is grazing right above so the entire slope is likely to come down with the next monsoon.

-Annapurna Conservation Area Project Plastic bottle mania!  Telling tourists not to use plastic bottles seems to be the most important activity.  Now all non-bottle users think they’re green and clean and conserving the area. I’m not going to say bottles and waste aren’t a problem but they’re not going to spoil the area very much if you manage the waste a bit.  I wonder how many of these non-bottle users will see the only real problem up there.  Most will probably just think the landscape hasn’t changed for ages up in the Annapurna range. Every single square metre above the tree-line in Nepal can best be compared with a logged rainforest I guess.  It takes ages (if ever) to recover from over-grassing, no area will get the time.  No wonder there’re no flowers or birds in the high country any more.  Scan whatever hillside with your binoculars, inclusive those that appear inaccessible and you will see livestock. This is about very few poor people destroying enormous areas to scrape a living with grazing cheep, goats, yak, cows, horses.  If ACAP (and the rest of Nepal) were serious about conservation they should stop all grazing inside (so called) protected areas.  But that will affect people and can not be done in this world. So, enjoy that mineral water if you want but please stay away from cheese, milk and so on!   Rani Bann Pokhara -The quality of the forest in Pokhara (the Queens forest or Rani Bann) has detoriated seriously since my first visit there 12 years ago.  It starts to look like a plantation very much if you ask me, no undergrowth, dead trees or even branches any more.  No wonder if you see the number of locals gathering everything they can use in the forest.  Urgent protection needed!  Still good for some canopy-species like Blue-throated Bee-eater or Green Magpie.

How many steps from Tatopani to              A Tragopan on the signboard, sure it is!                   'Full Art" as displayed in  Poon Hill? It's an ascent of over 2000m.   The birds live in the forest less than 1 km away.                   Kagbeni village.

Trip list follows Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, Grimmett, Inskipp, Inskipp.

Chukar ; few Jomsom, Kagbeni, Muktinath Black Francolin ; male seen Pokhara peace Pagoda, heard Pokhara airport, Dana to Sikha, below Ghandrung. Common Quail ; heard in irrigated wheat fields Kagbeni xHill Partridge ; calling male seen very well near Deurali, one briefly seen Deurali, pair seen                           briefly near Chitre, commonly heard Ghasa and Deurali. xBlood Pheasant ; 2 pairs seen superbly at treeline on trail up the mountain beyond Deurali,                              altitude = 3400m  Satyr Tragopan ; 2 different birds were calling on both mornings (5 to 5.30 am and briefly           again at 8 am) to the right of the trail towards Chitre, a 150m descent from the Deurali           lodges, despite some serious effort (steep slopes!) only got to flush one once,           untickable however. xKoklass Pheasant ; 1 male seen flying through forest clearing above Ghasa in the Big           Forest, several more heard Ghasa.  2 flushed near Deurali and commonly heard here. xHimalayan Monal ; 2 pairs seen well below and next to Black Forest Ghasa, one pair at at Blood Pheasant          spot, see above.  A male gliding past down the slope right underneath was a fantastic sight.          Kalij Pheasant ; seen Ghasa xCheer Pheasant ; a male seen very well both on the ground and in flight below the Black Forest at Ghasa.                               This is a 800m ascent from Eagle Nest guest house.  Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker ; near Birethanti and PokharaQueensForest Rufous-bellied Woodpecker ; female near Sikha Darjeeling Woodpecker ; one Ghasa and Deurali Grey-headed Woodpecker ; Chitre, Ghasa, Deurali, Pokhara and Kalopani. Great Barbet ; common below 2500m  Blue-throated Barbet ; Pokhara, Nagarjung, below Kimche Coppersmith Barbet ; Pokhara White-throated Kingfisher ; Pokhara and near Birethanti Crested Kingfisher ; one in river between Kimche – Birethanti Blue-bearded Bee-eater ; one Queens Forest Pokhara Common Hawk Cuckoo ; commonly heard ‘brainfever’ Eurasian Cuckoo ; common Oriental Cuckoo ; commonly heard, only 1 seen xLesser Cuckoo ; Ghorapani – Deurali, several heard but only 1 seen briefly Asian Koel ; Pokhara Rose-ringed Parakeet ; few Pokhara Himalayan Swiftlet ; fairly common Common Swift ; few Jomsom, Khingar and Kalopani House Swift ; common Fork-tailed Swift ; fairly common           A breeding colony on a rock face just below Ghandrung contained previous 2 species           and Nepal House Martin. Mountain Scops Owl ; heard Dana Indian Scops Owl ; heard Pokhara Tawny Owl ; heard Dana Collared Owlet ; seen Kalopani and Deurali Asian Barred Owlet ; 2 seen Queens Forest Pokhara Rock Pigeon ; Jomsom – Muktinath (feral) xHill Pigeon ; 1 Jharkot and 2 Muktinath Speckled Wood Pigeon ; several Kalopani Oriental Turtle Dove ; common Spotted Dove Eurasian Collared Dove ; 1 Kagbeni Pompadour Green Pigeon ; near Birethanti Yellow-footed Green Pigeon ; 2 Tatopani White-breasted Waterhen ; Pokhara lake Pintail Snipe ; one in stream, Muktinath monastery grounds, NOT a Solitary Snipe! Common Sandpiper ; few Kali Gandaki river Ibisbill ; 2, possibly 3 birds seen while crossing Kali Gandaki flat at Larjung White-winged Tern ; one breeding plumage Pokhara lake Black Kite Lammergeier ; 2 Kalopani, 1 Ghasa, 3 Muktinath Egyptian Vulture ; Sikha, Ghandrung, Pokhara White-rumped Vulture ; up to 8 birds seen at World Peace Pagoda, Pokhara, also 2 at airport. Himalayan Griffon ; common Eurasian Griffon ; around 10 birds near Ghandrung Cinereous Vulture ; 1 Sikha Red-headed Vulture ; 3 Kimche, 1 at World Peace Pagoda Pokhara and probably same bird seen from                             Damside, 1 seen straight below me in the same thermal while paragliding from Sarangkot,                              Pokhara! Crested Serpent Eagle ; several on trekking and Pokhara, incl. close up while paragliding! Black Eagle ; near Chitre and Ghandrung Besra ; a male seen well, perched in the pine wood at Ghasa village. Eurasian Sparrowhawk ; few Northern Goshawk ; Ghasa Common Buzzard ; Ghasa Golden Eagle ; an adult near Deurali Bonelli’s Eagle ; 2 Kalopani, 1 near Kimche Booted Eagle ; one Jharkot Mountain Hawk Eagle ; Chitre, Ghorapani Common Kestrel ; few Peregrine Falcon ; pair near Tukuche, one above Deurali Little Grebe ; Pokhara lake Little Egret ; Pokhara Cattle Egret ; Pokhara and Kathmandu Indian Pond Heron ; Pokhara Golden-fronted Leafbird ; Nagarjung forest (Kathmandu) Long-tailed Shrike ; few Tatopani, Pokhara Grey-backed Shrike ; common between Tukuche and Muktinath Eurasian Jay ; only 2 seen near Chitre Yellow-billed Blue Magpie ; few Deurali Red-billed Blue Magpie ; Sikha-Chitre and Pokhara Common Green Magpie ; one Queens Forest Pokhara Rufous Treepie ; QueensForest and Pokhara lakeside Grey Treepie ; fairly common on trek and Pokhara Spotted Nutcracker ; 2 birds near Deurali, spp hemispila Red-billed Chough ; Jomsom and up Yellow-billed Chough ; Muktinath House Crow Large-billed Crow Common Raven ; 2 Muktinath area Eurasian Golden Oriole ; Sikha, Chitre Maroon Oriole ; few Chitre Large Cuckooshrike ; one Sarangkot Black-winged Cuckooshrike ; near Sikha Long-tailed Minivet ; Kalopani, Deurali, Chitre Yellow-bellied Fantail ; Ghorapani area, Deurali Black Drongo Ashy Drongo Bronzed Drongo ; QueensForest Pokhara only Spangled Drongo ; near Birethanti, Pokhara xBlue-capped Rock Thrush ; 3 males, 1 female Ghasa, male Ghasa to Dana, male Dana to                                              Tatopani, male Sikha to Chitre Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush ; several on Poon Hill and near Deurali, 2 females near Banthanti Blue Rock Thrush ; Jomsom and up Blue Whistling Thrush ; common all over (Muktinath monastery to Pokara) Orange-headed Thrush ; one Queens Forest Pokhara (citrina) Scaly Thrush ; 8 birds seen in Deurali area White-collared Blackbird ; several Kalopani and common in Ghorapani-Deurali area Grey-winged Blackbird ; few near Sikha and fairly common near Chitre Dark-throated Thrush ; one near Sikha and one on mountain above Deurali, both atrogularis White-browed Shortwing ; male Poon Hill and several males and 1 female Deurali area Dark-sided Flycatcher ; one Ghorepani, one Deurali Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher ; fairly common above Ghasa, Deurali etc. Ultramarine Flycatcher ; fairly common, Kalopani, Chitre, Ghorapani area Slaty-blue Flycatcher ; female near Kokethanti, female Ghorepani Verditer Flycatcher ; fairly common Small Niltava ; male Sikha to Chitre Rufous-bellied Niltava ; male and female above Ghasa, male below Tarapani (Tadapani) Blue-throated Flycatcher ; male near Sikha Indian Blue Robin ; common Kalopani, Chitre, Ghorapani, Deurali… Orange-flanked Bush Robin ; 2 birds only, Deurali ridge trail Golden Bush Robin ; small numbers Deurali area xWhite-browed Bush Robin ; 2 males and a female Deurali area Oriental Magpie Robin ; Pokhara Black Redstart ; few Jomsom and up Blue-fronted Redstart ; few Muktinath and mountain above Deurali White-capped Water Redstart ; pair Muktinath monastery and fairly common along rivers and                                           streams lower down Plumbeous Water Redstart ; common along rivers Little Forktail ; 3 birds Deurali to Tarapani. Siberian Stonechat ; pair near Khingar, Kalopani, Ghandrung… Grey Bushchat ; common Chestnut-tailed Starling ; Sikha and Pokhara Common Myna Jungle Myna White-tailed Nuthatch ; Kalopani, Chitre, Deurali Eurasian Treecreeper ; one Deurali Rusty-flanked Treecreeper ; fairly common Deurali area Rufous-vented Tit ; Ghorapani and Deurali area Grey-crested Tit ; fairly common Ghorapani and Deurali area Great Tit ; Birethanti and Pokhara Green-backed Tit ; fairly common on trekking Black-lored Tit ; Tatopani and Pokhara Yellow-browed Tit ; few Chitre Black-throated Tit ; 2 groups Kalopani Plain Martin ; 2 birds Pokhara lake Eurasian Crag Martin ; encountered few times on the trek Barn Swallow ; very few on trek, few in Pokhara area Red-rumped Swallow ; few Pokhara Asian House Martin ; few Khingar Nepal House Martin ; several groups Deurali to Birethanti Himalayan Bulbul ; Ghasa, Dana, Ghandrung, Sikha-Chitre, Peace Pagoda Pokhara Red-vented Bulbul ; Sikha, Pokhara Mountain Bulbul ; Nagarjung forest Kathmandu Black Bulbul ; common Striated Prinia ; common Ghasa Oriental White-eye ; fairly common Chestnut-headed Tesia ; 1 near Chitre, 2 Deurali area Slaty-bellied Tesia ; 1 Ghasa Aberrant Bush Warbler ; several Poon Hill Grey-sided Bush Warbler ; common Poon Hill and Deurali area Blyth’s Reed Warbler ; 1 near Ghasa village Common Tailorbird Tickell’s Leaf Warbler ; Jomsom and Marpha Buff-barred Warbler ; Ghorapani Ashy-throated Warbler ; common Lemon (Pale)-rumped Warbler ; Kalopani Hume’s Warbler ; Ghorapani Greenish Warbler ; fairly common Western Crowned Warbler ; 1 seen very well (incl. diagnostic habit of flicking one wing)                                      Ghorapani, 1 near Deurali Blyth’s Leaf Warbler ; few Kalopani, Deurali Whistler’s Warbler ; common Grey-hooded Warbler ; Chitre and Nagarjung Chestnut-crowned Warbler ; Chitre White-throated Laughingthrush ; Chitre, below Deurali, Tarapani to Ghandrung White-crested Laughingthrush ; Queens Forest Pokhara and Nagarjung Kathmandu Striated Laughingthrush ; Kalopani and near Banthanti Spotted Laughingthrush ; fairly common Deurali area Streaked Laughingthrush ; Chitre and near Banthanti xScaly Laughingthrush ; small parties seen several times Deurali area, few Poon Hill Variegated Laughingthrush ; Khingar and Jharkot Black-faced Laughingthrush ; common Poon Hill to Deurali Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush ; only one near Deurali Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler ; hear Poon Hill xScaly-breasted Wren Babbler ; white morph seen three times Deurali area, at altitudes of           3000, 2700,2600m, one bird observed for 15! minutes. xNepal Wren Babbler ; a pair of the fulvous morph observed for 10 min. from room 19,           Tukuche Peak View Hotel, which was a perfect hide.  Birds were gathering           nesting material. xSpiny Babbler ; 2 birds in scrub at the hill top viewpoint near the World Peace Pagoda,           Pokhara (where trail through Queens forest opens up out of forest), birds showed           very well and 1 was singing for a moment too.  One bird with white throat and breast,           and one with buff.  No tape was needed.  It’s a small area of scrub on the hilltop and           easy to find.           I had no intensions of trying again to see this species at the usual site at Godaveri           Botanical Garden (Kathmandu) as I never expected to find it there, it’s a difficult site           with no exact locations available.  So, these birds at this new location were a very           welcome surprise. Red-billed Leiothrix ; only seen in Ghasa xGreen Shrike Babbler ; one Deurali Hoary-throated Barwing ; few Deurali area Blue-winged Minla ; one Chitra to Ghorapani Chestnut-tailed Minla ; common Ghorapani – Deurali – Chitre Rufous-winged Fulvetta ; seen several times Chitre and Deurali area White-browed Fulvetta ; Poon Hill and Deurali Whiskered Yuhina ; Chitre Stripe-throated Yuhina ; very common Deurali ridge trail Rufous-vented Yuhina ; common Deurali area White-bellied Yuhina ; 1 Nagarjung forest reserve Kathmandu Rufous Sibia ; Ghasa, Chitre, etc. xGreat Parrotbill ; one Poon Hill, 3 times one bird seen Deurali area xBrown Parrotbill ; several groups seen Deurali ridge trail and trail above Deurali xFulvous Parrotbill ; one group of 4 birds Deurali ridge trail Black-throated Parrotbill ; group of approx. 10 birds Deurali ridge trail Hume’s Short-toed Lark ; one in stony river flat at Larjung Oriental Skylark ; several above Kagbeni performing song flights Fire-breasted Flowerpecker ; Sikha – Chitre Purple Sunbird ; one male near Dana Mrs Gould’s Sunbird ; Kalopani to Ghasa, Deurali area Green-tailed Sunbird ; Ghorapani Black-throated Sunbird ; Ghasa Fire-tailed Sunbird ; male above Black Forest Ghasa, male on mountain above Deurali House Sparrow ; Pokhara xRusset Sparrow ; few Ghasa, common Sikha to Ghorapani (no Tree Sparrows here), several Ghandrung Eurasian Tree Sparrow ; common White Wagtail White-browed Wagtail ; few Jomsom to Tukuche Citrine Wagtail ; one Jomsom to Tukuche and one Birethanti Grey Wagtail xUpland Pipit ; one seen Kimche, incl. song flights Olive-backed Pipit ; fairly common Rosy Pipit ; common higher elevations xRobin Accentor ; one Kimche, fairly common Muktinath Rufous-breasted Accentor ; one Muktinath Scaly-breasted Munia ; near Tatopani Fire-fronted Serin ; few between Jomsom and Kagbeni Yellow-breasted Greenfinch ; several Ghandrung Red Crossbill ; Ghorapani Dark-breasted Rosefinch ; Deurali area incl. males Common Rosefinch ; common Ghasa village Beautiful Rosefinch ; Muktinath incl. males Pink-browed Rosefinch ; fairly common Ghasa incl. males seen Spot-winged Rosefinch ; one female Deurali ridge trail xStreaked Rosefinch ; 3 females Khingar, one female and a male! Jharkot xBlanford’s Rosefinch ; 2 females seen at 3400m on tree-line on trail up mountain beyond                                    Deurali (Blood Pheasant spot), face of birds white with pollen. xBrown Bullfinch ; 2 birds Kalopani Collared Grosbeak ; few above Black Forest Ghasa and common Deurali area Spot-winged Grosbeak ; few near Ghasa village Gold-naped Finch ; male and female on trail above Deurali Crested Bunting ; near Tatopani, Sikha and Ghandrung Rock Bunting ; several times seen from Jomsom up

At the World Peace Pagoda, Pokhara, minutes after seeing Spiny Babbler. Here with Kagbeni in the background.

Mammals Pika above Muktinath 4 Goral Ghasa east slopes, 3 Goral Ghasa west slopes, 2 Goral high above Larjung 2 Yellow-throated Marten near Deurali Hanuman Langurs, Ghasa and Deurali Barking Deer, pair with young ridge trail Deurali Jackal between Kagbeni and Khingar   Flowers-butterflies Rhododendrons had finished flowering except on the mountain beyond Deurali, it’s higher up and facing north there. Otherwise no or little flowers to see.  Over-grassing?  After having trekked in October I had expected to see flowers now!  Disappointed.  Go to Alps. Numerous beautiful butterflies made up for it however, even at higher altitude.

Stijn De Win / Birding2asia.com has published this information page on 2 September 2009.