Arunachal Pradesh & Assam, Northeast India

5th - 20th April 2008

Leader: James Eaton

Max Group Size: 8

Please note: Tour is Full, we shall be running this tour again in 2009.

Situated along the southern frontier of the mighty Himalaya, western Arunachal Pradesh has for many years been cut-off from the birding route due to red-tape and access restrictions with birders visiting the neighbouring country of Bhutan to explore this fascinating region. These restrictions are no longer in place and birders are finally able to reach Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, one of the least-known yet biologically-diverse regions in the whole of Asia The topography is truly amazing, rising from the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam through tangled ridges at elevations of around 1500m before rising to 7080m in the watershed of the Himalaya. A big advantage of Eaglenest over other montane forests of the Himalaya is a jeep track which cuts right through its heart from the pass at 2800m down to the flood plains of Assam at 100m - its easy access, excellent forest and wide altitudinal range is a unique combination which makes it one of the premier birding sites in the whole of Asia. The Bugun Liocichla, a completely new species to science, which was discovered here and described as recently as 2006 will be one of main targets but the seemingly endless list of potential species here also includes 3 species of tragopan, 7 species of wren-babbler, 10 species of laughingthrush, 4 species of shortwing, 6 species of parrotbill and the stunning Fire-tailed Myzornis among others.

Before Eaglenest we visit the World Heritage Site of Kaziranga and Dibru-Saikhowa. Kaziranga is famed for its population of One-horned Rhino and Bengal Tiger but with an equally impressive range of birdlife. We will be searching for Bengal Florican, Pallas’s Fish-Eagle and Swamp Francolin among a host of other species. Dibru-Saikhowa is home to a whole host of threatened, range-restricted species including Black-breasted Parrotbill, Marsh & Jerdon’s Babbler and Swamp Prinia. A visit to the Digboi Oilfields provides us with a chance of seeing the range-restricted Chestnut-backed Laughingthrush along with Collared Treepie and Rufous-necked Laughingthrush.

Day 1:
Afternoon arrival into Dibrugarh Airport before transferring to the nearby town of Tinsukhia. Any remaining time left in the afternoon will be spent along the shores of the Brahmaputra looking for wintering passerines and resident grassland species.
Night in Tinsukhia.

Day 2:
Today will be spent along the shores of the Brahmaputra on both foot and boat at Dibru-Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve. This little-known site is one of the biodiversity hotspots situated in the alluvial flood plains of the Brahmaputra. We will search the swamp and grasslands for several threatened species, possibilities include rare Marsh & Jerdon’s Babbler, Swamp Prinia, Sand Lark, Jerdon’s Bushchat and Black-breasted Parrotbill.
While searching for these localised species, we will come across a large variety of other species which might include lingering winter visitors such as Chinese and Spotted Bush-Warblers, Bluethroat, Himalayan Rubythroat, Smoky Warbler and Ruddy Shelduck.
Night in Tinsukhia.

Day 3:
This morning we head for the small patch of lowland forest inside the Digboi Oilfields complex in search of three species we are unlikely to see elsewhere on the tour, Collared Treepie, Rufous-necked and the rare Chestnut-backed Laughingthrush. Other possibilities here include Blue-naped Pitta, Blue-throated Flycatcher, Silver-breasted Broadbill and Blue-bearded Bee-eater. Following lunch we head west along the mighty Brahmaputra River to the World Heritage site of Kaziranga National Park, a fabulous mosaic of grasslands, forests and pools backed by misty hillsides.
Night at Kaziranga NP.

Days 4-5:
We have two full days to bird inside the national park and its surroundings. All of the birding inside the park will be done from our jeep. Inside the park we search for such rarities as Bengal Florican, Spot-billed Pelican, both Greater & Lesser Adjutants, Black-necked Stork, Pallas’s and Grey-headed Fish-Eagle, Swamp Francolin and ‘Eastern’ Baya, Black-breasted & Finn's Weaver. Other possibilities include River Tern, Black-breasted Parrotbill and Striated, Yellow-eyed & Slender-billed Babblers.
The reason we have no foot access inside the national park is because of the large numbers of wildlife that inhabit this wonderful area, 70% of the world’s Indian Rhinoceros population survive here, along with 70% of the world’s Eastern Swamp Deer, 75% of the Asiatic Water Buffalo and the park holds significant populations of Asian Elephant and Bengal Tiger, which we have an outside chance of encountering.
The nearby Panbari Forest Reserve holds such specialties as Blue-naped Pitta, Yellow-vented Warbler, Great Hornbill, Red-headed Trogon, Jerdon's Baza and the localised Pale-chinned Flycatcher.
Nights at Kaziranga NP.

Day 6:
Following a final early mornings birding at Panbari Forest we shall drive over the Brahmaputra we head north into Arunachal Pradesh, the gateway to the foothills of the Himalaya. We will drive north to the town of Dirang, situated at 1500m for a two-night stay. Birding en-route on our first day will give us glimpses of this incredibly diverse region, as we search the nearby areas for species such White-hooded Babbler, Greater & Lesser Rufous-headed Parrotbill, Bhutan & Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, River Lapwing, Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Brown Dipper and Crested Kingfisher.
Night at Dirang.

Days 7-8:
During our two full days birding from Dirang we shall visit up to 3 sites including the scenically spectacular Sela Pass, at 4500m above sea-level it is one of the few areas at this elevation reachable by road. We will spend the day here searching for some of the classic Himalayan species, such as Himalayan Monal, Blood Pheasant, Rufous-breasted Bush-Robin, Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch and the stunning Grandala. The area is also a known site for the little-known Sclater’s Monal although we would need some good fortune to see this rare species. Visiting the nearby Sangti Valley could provide us with lingering winter visitors including Long-billed Plover.
A visit to the Mandala Ridge can prove exciting, gems recorded by us in the past include Fire-tailed Myzornis, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Grey-winged & White-collared Blackbird, Spotted Laughingthrush, Grey-sided Bush-Warbler and Chestnut-headed Tesia.
Nights at Dirang.

Days 9-15:
This morning we reach the fabulous Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, we will spend 7 nights inside this amazing national park, made famous by the discovery of the Bugun Liocichla, described as recently as 2006 and currently known only from this area.
We will spend our time along several different sections of a jeep track that cuts right through this rich forest from the pass at 2800m down to the flood plains of Assam at 100m. Our accommodation during this leg will be by using fully-serviced tented camps accompanied by sumptuous meals. Our camps will be transported when required and setup for our arrival to each days final destination.
Starting from high altitudes and working our way down the track to the lowlands will see us passing through a wide range of avifaunal zones and the birdlife will vary noticeably during out stay here. The bird list for the sanctuary is huge, and contains many species long considered Bhutan specialties prior to the opening of Eaglenest to foreigners. Among the huge list of potential species are such mouth-watering possibilities are Blyth’s and Temminck’s Tragopans, Chestnut-breasted & Common Hill-Partridges, Kaleej Pheasant, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Ward’s Trogon, Pale-headed Woodpecker, Rusty-bellied Shortwing, Blue-fronted Robin, Golden, White-browed & Rufous-breasted Bush-Robin, Green & Purple Cochoa, a whole host of laughingthrushes with Grey-sided, Blue-winged, Chestnut-crowned, Scaly, Striated, Bhutan, Spotted all possible and of course the recently discovered Bugun Liocichla and its commoner cousin, the Crimson-faced Liocichla. Both Coral-billed, Streak-breasted & Slender-billed Scimitar-babbler favour the tracts of bamboo, the mind-blowing Fire-tailed Myzornis, 7 species of wren-babbler , the amazing Sikkim Wedge-billed Babbler, Himalayan Cutia, Beautiful Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Black-headed Shrike-babbler, 6 species of parrotbill and a whole host of sibias, tits, flycatchers, warblers, yuhinas, niltavas, flowerpeckers, sunbirds, accentors and finches as part of the never ending list of possibilities.

Day 16: 
This morning we see us bid farewell to this amazing area as we drive to Guwahati to connect with our onward flights via a stop to look for Greater Adjutant, here at one of its remaining strongholds.

Accommodation

Inside Eaglesnest, we will provide comfortable fully serviced tented camps including toilet and wash tents. Each tent sleeps two people and each tent will be provided with camp beds and blankets, extra bedding can be requested for £25 or alternatively it is recommended to bring your own sleeping bag. Hotels with private facilities are used outside Eaglesnest Wildlife Sanctuary.

Click here to download the pdf Arunachal Pradesh & Assam tour description