We returned to Gulmarg this morning in our quest for Spectacled Finch but neither heard nor saw this invisible species! We patrolled the same area of forest where we had heard it on our previous visit without any joy and had to content ourselves with some perched Himalayan Vultures, White-cheeked Nuthatch,Black-and-yellow Grosbeak, Yellow-billed Blue Magpie and other common species.
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| Himalayan Griffons |
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| White-cheeked Nuthatch |
We checked out an area of fields covered in flowers and some crop fields to see if the finches were coming down to feed and saw some Yellow-breasted Greenfinches but no other finches. The forest was on both sides of this nursery area and a pair of Variegated Laughingthrushes were seen.
It was already 9.40am and we were at a loss what else to try for the pesky finch so a bit of inspiration came to me and we headed to the cable car. Fighting with throngs of people we eventually got into a gondola/cable car and headed up the mountain, which entailed a 2-stage journey but in pretty quick time we were at the top reaching an altitude of 3945m.
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| Great scenery at the top of the cable car |
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| Exploring the mountain top... |
I had no idea what to expect and with mist covering the landscape to begin with we began walking away from the cable car station just as the mist began to slowly lift. The boulder field seemed devoid of birds initially until we heard something singing, which turned out to be a cracking male Himalayan Rubythroat.
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| Himalayan Rubythroat |
Over the next hour we saw 3 males and at least 1 female, all collecting food for their hidden young. Sat amongst the rocks we enjoyed watching them flying around and collecting food, with one male very bold perching on a rock right in front of us. What a bird! Our exploration of this area also produced Blue-fronted Redstart, Rosy Pipit, Plain Mountain-Finch, Alpine Accentor and Northern Raven.
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| Plain Mountain-Finch |
We then took the cable car down one stop and had some lunch before checking out the bushes where Keith spotted a male Pink-browed Rosefinch singing. We then walked 4kms down the mountain seeing Rufous-breasted Accentor, Tytler’s Leaf-Warbler, Eurasian Wren etc.
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| Pink-browed Rosefinch |
We returned to the houseboat in time to watch the sunset and enjoy a cup of chai.
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