Birding in Nagaland - Part 2

Birding in Nagaland - Part 1

Well fed, we start walking up the gully for the next phase of birding... Lots and lots of birdsong all around but the tragedy is the visibility :-( Whatever watery sunlight had appeared for a scant few minutes is gone replaced with more fog and a light drizzle now and again. The fog banks rise from the valley and drift up towards us blanketing everything on its way... And yet, we manage a few sightings keeping us hopeful of the weather clearing!

White-capped water Redstart

Blue fronted Robin (f)

Little Bunting

Crested Finchbill

Rusty-fronted Barwing

Fire tailed Sunbird in Non-breeding plumage

Naga Wren-babbler

Orange-bellied Leafbird

Notwithstanding the dull and listless weather, we did get many lifers and whetted our appetites for a dedicated birding trip here soon.

In addition to the many birds, we also saw the Yellow throated Marten. It came upon us suddenly and vanished just as quickly but not before we had framed it for posterity...!!!

Yellow throated Marten

As a bonus, we saw a few birds on our way back. The entire journey was made more fascinating with the roads lined intermittently with blossoming cherry trees and views of the beautiful village of Khonoma nestled in the mountains of the Japfu range.

A pretty moss-stained boulder on our way down

Streaked Bulbul

Cherry blossoms

Khonoma from a distance

The Brown 2-storied structure is the Dovipie Inn in Khonoma