Northeast India, finally back to traveling! Getting there and the first stop.

This is a total cliche, but I have always dreamed of going to India. Martin and I had decided after getting our second Covid vaccination that it was finally time to get on a plane. He started looking and some international trips and contacted Mike Prince of Bubo Birding considering a trip to Northeast India. After some correspondence they came up with a plan. I booked tickets and sent in a deposit. I then went to do our eVisas and discovered Martin, being a citizen of the United Kingdom, did not qualify for an eVisa. We were sickened to discover that there would not be enough time for him to get a regular visa. He suggested that our friend, Willie Sekula, step in to take Martin's place, allowing me to go. Willie said yes and was able to get the time off. Martin had put so much work into planning this, I was heartbroken he could not go. 

The trip over to India was grueling. Willie picked me up at 130PM for the drive to Houston. What should have taken three and half hours took almost five due to long traffic delays. I was getting white knuckled thinking we might not make the flight. We got to the airport and went to check in. Everything went well until the agent asked for a document concerning covid vaccination. I handed him my vaccine card, but he said that was not what he needed. We had to fill out an actual online form which included PDFs of the cards, our eVisas, and passports, none of which I had on my phone, but were on my computer at home. To make a long story short, I called Martin and he was able to get the documents for me. It took about a half hour to get it all done and I was beside myself, certain we weren't going to make it. Finally we finished checking in and rushed upstairs, where the passengers were in line to board. The flight from Houston to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines was eleven hours. We had a layover of about three hours, where we saw several birds, giving us an eBird list for Turkey, which in my mind means I have been in Turkey. Our next flight, which was to Delhi, was six hours, then we had a layover of almost six more hours before our Spicejet flight to Guwahati in Assam, which is in the far northeast part of India. That flight took another two and a half hours. Turkish Airlines was great. The food on our flights was actually very good, the best airline food I have had in years. Spicejet is a budget carrier. Their luggage allowance is very limited and we ended up paying a hefty fee for excess baggage. Poor Willie had his knees crammed into the seat in front of him. But in the end, after over 36 hours, we arrived.

Mike met us outside of baggage and we loaded the car up. Our driver was great, I will be writing more about him as my posts progress. We discussed where to start before our drive to Kaziranga National Park, another three hour drive away. Mike suggested either a wet land area, or the local landfill, one of the best places to see Greater Adjutant, a huge stork which is critically endangered. We picked the landfill. I have birded a lot of landfills, which can be great places to find gulls. In fact, Martin and I spent our first Valentines Day at the Corpus Christi Landfill. Of course landfills and gross and smelly, but this landfill was indescribably horrible. The stench was indescribable. Huge hills of refuse were being picked over by men, women, and children, eking out a miserable existence finding scrap metal and anything else that might be sold. 

The first storks we saw were standing next to the people, along with many cows. The birds were massive and seemed completely unbothered. They also were the ugliest birds I have ever seen. I loved them! We got out and walked deeper into the landfill. I tried not to think about what was getting on my shoes. We saw over 300 Greater Adjutants, and a number of Lesser Adjutants, a smaller stork, not quite as ugly as the Greaters, but close. A few other birds were scattered around, including Citrine Wagtails and Rosy Pipits. It was not the best first impression of India, but things would only get better and better from this point. There will be a lot less travel and a lot more birds in upcoming posts.

Bird photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sngcanary/albums/72177720298792086

Bird list for day:

 Rock Pigeon

Spotted Dove

Asian Koel

House Swift

Wood Sandpiper

Lesser Adjutant

Greater Adjutant

Cattle Egret

Black Kite- in Guwahti and at the Delhi Airport

Black Drongo

House Crow

Striated Grassbird

Red-vented Bulbul

Asian Pied Starling

Common Myna

Great Myna

Bank Myna- Delhi Airport

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Citrine Wagtail

Rosy Pipit