This was to be our last full day at Bompu Camp. We headed back down-slope where we had been the day before. We did not get far when we found the road blocked by a downed tree. An elephant, possibly the same one whose footprints we had seen in the nearby mud the morning before, had pulled the tree down. Our driver jumped out with a machete and hacked away at the tree, finally clearing the road. It was pretty impressive! Elephants are very powerful animals. People who live in the same areas with them know this and do not take their presence lightly. According to CNN about 500 people a year are killed by elephants in India. This number is growing due to habitat destruction, causing increasing contact between elephants and people. This also results in the deaths of many elephants.
The areas we finally got to go birding were great. Having been in Eaglenest for several days we had a lot of repeat birds, but I was not complaining. The first life bird I got for the day was a Broad-billed Warbler. Unlike many of the warblers seen in India, this one is a real looker, with a rusty crown, gray head, greenish back, and yellow belly. We had two species of minivet, Gray-chinned, pictured above, and Scarlet. A Coral-billed Scimitar Babbler was not a new bird for me, having seen it in Thailand, but it is a stunning creature. It was buried in the forest, so I was not able to photograph it, like so many of the birds we had.
I paid more attention to the forest itself on this day. It is no wonder some of the birds were difficult to see. The under-story is thick, with plenty of places to hide. I noticed some fruit in a number of places. I asked about it and our driver said he didn't know the name of it, but it made a great juice. He brought some to us when we got back and it was fantastic! It was similar to apple juice, but better. Mike, Willie, and I speculated one what spirits would go well with it. I settled on vodka. If anyone knows what this is, please let me know. The forest not only held birds, but lots of insects, spiders, and a few leeches. I had learned my lesson at Nameri and wore my leech socks faithfully.
The forest not only held birds, but lots of insects, spiders, and a few leeches. I had learned my lesson at Nameri and wore my leech socks faithfully. As we were driving Willie yelled "Hornbill!" Right by the road a gorgeous male Rufous-necked Hornbill was perched. We had seen a couple the day before, but because of where I was sitting in the car my views were not great. This one was amazing! He sat and posed for quite a while. We had a discussion about if there was any significance to the number of stripes on the birds' bills. After I got home from India I did some research and read that young birds have no stripes, and as the bird ages more stripes appear, usually limited to about seven. What I read did not say how long this takes. Anyway, he was a pretty boy!
As we drove back to camp I glanced down at my arm and said "#$&!(!*@!" My leech socks did not protect me from getting one on my arm. I must have brushed some branches where one was waiting for me. It was a tiny one, but still. The worst part of leeches is pulling them off. They are so squishy!
After we got back we walked down the entrance road to the camp. It was the most productive part of the day! We discovered a pair of Ward's Trogons, one of our main targets for Eaglenest, but they flew before Willie could see them. He handled the miss much better than I had with other birds. A Sikkum Wedge-billed Wren-babbler was fairly cooperative. His photo is above. This was, in Mike's words, a "brilliant look." Honestly, it was a much better look than we got at some of the other birds Any bird with babbler in its name is going to be a sneaky little bastard. A gorgeous male Scarlet Finch sat up on a tree top and made us very happy!
When we got back to camp I was feeling exceedingly gross and decided I would have to bite the bullet and do a bucket and mug bath. The bath house is the little building to the left with the blue tarp roof. There are a couple of "shower" stalls. I got two buckets of water, one scalding hot, one ice cold, along with a big plastic cup. I had to mix the water in the cup, hoping for a decent temperature, and pour it over myself. Luckily, it wasn't cold outside. When I finished I felt like a new woman! I imagine I smelled like one, too.
The building to the right is the upper dining hall. It looks a bit rough, both inside and out, but the food was so good. All of the food at Eaglenest was vegetarian. I am very carnivorous, but I didn't miss meat at all. I did say, though, that I badly wanted three things, a decent cup of coffee, a Coke Zero, even a mediocre glass of red wine. I let Martin know that he should have them in stock when I got home.
Photos for the day: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sngcanary/albums/72177720299224171
List of birds:
1. Hill Partridge
2. Kalij Pheasant
3. Gray-peacock Pheasant
4. Wedge-tailed Green-pigeon
5. Mountain Imperial-pigeon
6. Large Hawk-cuckoo
7. Indian Cuckoo
8. Black Eagle
9. Ward's Trogon*
10. Rufous-necked Hornbill
11. Great Barbet
12. Golden-throated Barbet
13. Blue-throated Barbet
14. Greater Yellownape
15. Gray-chinned Minivet
16. Scarlet Minivet
17. Black-headed Shrike-babbler
18. Maroon Oriole
19. Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike
20. White-throated Fantail
21. Ashy Drongo
22. Bronzed Drongo
23. Yellow-cheeked Tit
24. Pygmy Cupwing
25. Striated Bulbul
26. Black Bulbul
27. Gray-cheeked Warbler
28. Blyth's Leaf-warbler
29. Gray-bellied Tesia*
30. Slaty-bellied Tesia
31. Black-faced Warbler
32. Mountain Tailorbird
33. Broad-billed Warbler*
34. Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler
35. White-breasted Parrotbill
36. Whiskered Yuhina
37. White-naped Yuhina
38. Golden Babbler
39. Rufous-capped Babbler
40. Rufous-throated Wren-babbler
41. Coral-billed Scimitar-babbler
42. Sikkim Wedge-billed Wren-babbler
43. Yellow-throated Fulvetta
44. Rufous-winged Fulvetta
45. Striated Laughingthrush
46. Long-tailed Sibia
47. Beautiful Sibia
48. Blue-winged Minla
49. Rusty-fronted Barwing
50. Silver-eared Mesia
51. Verditer Flycatcher
52. White-tailed Robin
53. Black-throated Sunbird
54. Green-tailed Sunbird
55. Streaked Spiderhunter
56. Orange-bellied Leafbird
57. Olive-backed Pipit
58. Scarlet Finch
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