Has the Monsoon Started?

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 Shikra Riaz
Whilst I left the photographers with the Shikra, I looked for other photographic opportunities. Whilst we could see and hear several male ASIAN KOEL, I found a cryptically plumaged female preening its wet feathers.

Female Asian Koel Riaz
A little further away the agitated calls of COMMON MYNA suggested a raptor was nearby. It was a superb ORIENTAL HONEY BUZZARD. This majestic bird of prey tolerated the mobbing by the Mynas for so long until it took to flight

Oriental Honey Buzzard Sarel van Zyl
Several species of birds were taking advantage of the break in the weather to feed and get their soaking plumage back in order. The most obvious were the dozen or so BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON amongst the trees at the side of the nullah. A male GREY-BREASTED PRINIA sang from the top of a nearby bush.

Grey Breasted Prinia Riaz
About 20 GREEN BEE-EATER hawked insects over the water and slightly higher up were good numbers of LITTLE SWIFT. A pair of YELLOW-EYED BABBLER was a surprise at this particular spot; less so, the couple of CHESTNUT-SHOULDERED PETRONIA (or YELLOW-THROATED SPARROW). Not a complete washout but a good couple of hours between the showers that were probably the start of this year’s Monsoon; oh, the humidity!

Yellow-eyed Babbler Sarel van Zyl
Long-tailed Shrike Sarel van Zyl

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