Dunga Gali Part Two


Out birding later than I would have liked but we were on our way at 6am on Tuesday 5 June 2012. As we descended the slope down to the village of Dunga Gali a male BLUE WHISTLING THRUSH was singing alongside the path. As we made the approach through the woodland towards the start of the Pipeline Trek we played the call of a Koklass Pheasant but sadly, without reply. We did have good views of both a male and female HIMALAYAN WOODPECKER. In the woods the calls of the GREEN-BACKED TIT were prominent with regular bursts from several WESTERN CROWNED WARBLER. Across the path flew a COMMON HOOPOE that we hoped had not been imitating an Oriental Cuckoo the day before.

Blue-capped Rock Thrush Mrs Islbirder

At the start of the trek proper we were presented with wonderful views of yet another VERDITER FLYCATCHER that positively shone in the early morning light. If the calls of the GREAT BARBET were loud yesterday today they were cacophonic. Even so we could hear what we thought was a species of Rock Thrush singing and it took us a while to spot the songster on an electricity wire that straddles the valley. We have often wondered how the engineers managed to get the wire to the other side. What we found was number 303 on my Pakistan bird list; a superlative male BLUE-CAPPED ROCK THRUSH that was plumaged in the most wonderful blues and orange. There are some birds you see and you just have to rub your eyes in disbelief. Whilst Mrs Islbirder did well to photograph the bird, no picture could do it justice. In flight its orange rump adds to the blaze of colour. It was almost in the same place when on 21 August 2011 we watched and photographed a pair of CHESTNUT-BELLIED ROCK THRUSH.

We were disappointed to find no trace of a Koklass Pheasant, that appear to have been regularly seen and heard during the 1980s. However, it may have been my tardiness at getting out of bed because the males usually call before dawn.  I cannot complain at three new additions to my Pakistan list in a couple of days. We only walked a couple of hundred yards along the trek and had good eye level views of a female COMMON KESTREL on the way back along with three STREAKED LAUGHING THRUSH and other species that we had previously recorded.

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