Birding the pristine forests of the Eastern Himalayas:
3 weeks in Bhutan
November 3 - 22, 2012
$7316
$1069 Single Supplement
Bhutan is a quaint, quiet and scenically spectacular country
with a fantastic conservation ethic that means that vast areas of unspoiled forest still cover the Himalayan foothills covering much of the country. On clear autumn days we hope to see snowcapped peaks as well as fabulous
architecture, while we search for a suite of sought-after birds. November is particularly good for birds often missed on spring birding tours to this country – notably Black-necked Crane and the critically endangered and enigmatic White-bellied Heron.  Birding Bhutan in November also means being treated to abundant, fabulously exciting mixed flocks that contain the likes of laughingthrushes, yuhinas, fulvettas and other incredible Oriental bird groups.  We also expect to find some fabled Eastern Himalayan birds that can be
encountered year-round, such as Beautiful Nuthatch (and other nuthatches),
Ward’s Trogon, the unbelievable Fire-tailed Myzornis, Rufous-necked Hornbill,
Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Ibisbill and of course Satyr Tragopan, Himalayan Monal and other vivid pheasants. Other highlights are Wallcreeper, spectacular
sunbirds, parrotbills, striking and gorgeous forktails along the fast-flowing
rivers - plus a plethora of other tantalizing jewels.

In addition to the host of fabulous birds, we expect to find
some interesting mammals such as Golden Langur, Black Giant Squirrel,
Yellow-throated Martin, Yak and many others. We’ll also look at Tiger’s Nest
Monastery (precariously-positioned on a ledge high up on a cliff), dzongs and
spectacular scenery throughout.

We begin our tour with a flight arriving in Paro in the west, and we gradually make our way eastwards through a range of habitats such as pine and spruce forests, subtropical broadleaved forests, bamboo, alpine scrub, rivers and many others. We eventually exit the country in north-east India where you have the option of an extension for lowland Indian plains birds and some awesome mammals such as one-horned rhinoceros.


DETAILED ITINERARY
 Day 1:
Our flight arrives at the spectacular Paro airport which is walled in by
mountains. Here we will not only be introduced to the fantastic and unusual
architecture of Bhutan, but we will also immediately start incredibly exciting
birding. Ibisbill lurks around here, as does Wallcreeper, Black-tailed Crake and
a host of other highly sought-after birds. We’ll also look for species such as
three different treecreepers, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Kalij Pheasant,
Golden-breasted Fulvetta and so many others. 

Day 2:
We head up a spectacular mountain pass, the famous Chelela, which reaches 4000
meters (about 13000 feet), looking for different specials as we ascend. The
biggest prize for many people is Himalayan Monal – with its vivid rainbow hues –
which lurks around right near the top and comes onto the road at dawn (imagine
that!). But, we can find up to four pheasant species today, not only the Monal.
We might also find Snow Pigeon, five or even more tit species including the
fabulous Yellow-cheeked, four or even more redstart species, various finches,
White-collared Blackbird and a plethora of others. Spotted Nutcracker is common,
as it is over much of Bhutan. We descend after a busy day of birding, for a
second night in Paro.

Day 3:
We head for the capital of Bhutan, Thimphu, with absolutely spectacular birding
en route which we expect should include many mixed flocks containing a
host of warblers (some of them brightly-colored, and some of them more subtly
beautiful Phylloscopus warblers), laughingthrushes, barwings, fulvettas
and all the others.

Day 4:
We start birding the fantastic Wangdi Valley where we could find birds such as
Crested Serpent-eagle, Slaty-backed Forktail, Little Forktail, various
flycatchers, Wallcreeper and a host of others. With luck we might encounter
Tawny Fish-owl, and we will start looking for White-bellied Heron- a bird that
was historically widespread through the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, but
which has declined dramatically and now has a world population of perhaps only
250. Today, Bhutan must be the best country for this species, but it often
dipped, especially on spring tours.

Day 5:
A whole day in the area, birding two separate river valleys.

Day 6:
Today we drive to Phobjikha which is absolutely picturesque and is a famous spot
for Black-necked Crane which migrates to Bhutan in winter (from Tibet). This
species is difficult to miss in November, plus we should also find a ton of
other birds (as always).

Day 7:
We head to Trongsa which is the gateway to the fabled lowland forests accessed
along the Zhemgang Road. On our last November trip en route we located
Ward’s Trogon, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Emerald Dove, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon,
Lesser Racket-tailed Roller, Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, Streak-breasted
Scimitar-babbler, Short-billed Minivet, Great Parrotbill and many others. We
will also look for Common and Nepal House Martins and a large suite of other
fine birds.

Days 8-10:
We bird in paradise for a rich array of exciting and spectacular birds including
the extravagant Beautiful Nuthatch (together with other nuthatches),
Rufous-necked Hornbill, Great Hornbill which really is massive, Long-tailed
Broadbill, woodpeckers, bee-eaters, Orange-bellied Leafbird, piculets and
woodpeckers, spectacular Green Magpie, niltavas, minevets and as always just so
many others to keep us busy – not to mention fantastic mammals such as Black
Giant Squirrel and Golden Langur. 

Day 11:
We head back to Trongsa, looking for birds we missed previously – with forest
birding there always are some skulkers one will have missed, of
course!

Days 12-13:
We continue eastwards to fabled birding sites including the likes of Jakar,
Sengor and many other places, searching for Eastern Himalayan Foothills specials
more easily found in Bhutan than anywhere else. There are also so many
spectacular birds we have not yet mentioned but which we encounter through much
of the country, such as Gold-billed Magpie and so many others. Virtually every
day we savor some of the most spectacularly exotic species in this mountain
paradise.

Days  14-16:
We bird the famous Lingmethang Road, which believe it or not can be the
highlight of a birding trip to Bhutan, despite the fact we will have already
seen some of the top birds of the Himalayas.

Days 17-19:
We continue birding even further eastwards, eventually reaching the Indian
border town of Samdrup Jonkhar. 

Day 20:
Into India which is an absolute world apart from Bhutan –with an amazing chaotic
hustle and bustle of absolutely masses of people (in stark contrast to the
sparsely-populated, peaceful Bhutan). From here you can either fly home from
India’s Guwahati airport or you can join us on our North-east Indian extension.
This would add masses of new birds to our list because the lowland Indian plains
are very diverse, and very different (seemingly a whole world apart) from the
higher-altitude Bhutanese birding habitats. Mammals are also very diverse and we
should see many Indian One-horned Rhinoceros along with a lot of other animals. 
 
Tour starts in Paro, Bhutan and ends in Guwahati, India. We can
help with connecting flights from Delhi, Kolkata, Bangkok or other cities in the
region.

PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REGISTER FOR THIS TOUR:

cheepers@sbcglobal.net
937-862-4505
937-974-0802
937-974-0803