Birding Islamabad

On Saturday 13 July 2013 we made our way to the Kalar Kahar area, Punjab to look for new species for our Pakistan List. We had decided to arrive early to give ourselves the chance of locating one, or more, of the famous population of Indian Peafowl. Whilst some would consider that these particular Indian Peafowl something of a plastic tick; they are countable and appear as number 353 on my list of species recorded in Pakistan. The first INDIAN PEAFOWL we saw was a stunning male perched on a fence. Not the best evidence of “wild” status. The local community looks after the birds so they show little fear. However, we saw about a dozen or so and some acted more like wild birds, those that stalked the woodland area. Whether these birds comprise a feral population, like the Monk Parakeets in Miami, Florida, or not these beautiful photographs portray this amazing species so dramatically. Once again the photographers have done a fantastic job.   Male Indian Peafowl Sarel van Zyl ...

Early on Saturday 6 July 2013 we ventured high into the Margalla Hills and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Our ploy to escape the heat certainly worked but we hadn’t banked on the torrential rain and thunderstorm heading our way. During a break in the deluge we did see a CHESTNUT-BELLIED NUTHATCH, a couple of BAR-TAILED TREECREEPER and a SCALY-BELLIED WOODPECKER. A pair of GREY-HOODED WARBLER fed some recently fledged young. Because of the rain the cameras remained in the truck; a wise decision by the photographers. The journey up had been uneventful with the exception of an ORIENTAL HONEY BUZZARD. Our quest for brighter weather took us to the northern edge of Rawal Lake to a scrubby area with a few mature trees. The first bird was a juvenile SHIKRA that was in possession of a prey item. Whether it caught the bird itself or was provided it by an adult we will never know. However, both SvZ and RMK captured images of this very wet youngster. Juvenile Shikra Sarel van Zyl Juvenile Shikr...

--> The last day of June was a quiet day from a birding perspective. There was nothing new at Rawal Lake. The most impressive sight was of the huge flock of over 200 BANK MYNA that included many newly fledged birds. We also found a CHESTNUT-SHOULDERED PETRONIA (or YELLOW-THROATED SPARROW as it also known). The first time I had seen this species around the lake. Size difference between Grey Heron and Little Egret Riaz The LITTLE RINGED PLOVER had bred successfully and a few chicks were hiding amongst the stones and grass on the eastern shoreline. The water level had risen in the lake leaving shingle banks just below the surface. This allowed GREY HERON to alight closer to the shoreline more confident as there was water between them and RMK who was taking their photographs.  Paddyfield Pipit Riaz We moved over to the Marsh. There were a few GREEN BEE-EATER and BLUE-TAILED BEE-EATER present. An unusual occurrence was to see a WHITE-BREASTED WATERHEN in a tr...