Rare Birds for Birders during Luckiest Outing To Ayubia

It has been few weeks since Islamabad has received rain and the weather is pretty hot, with mist and dust in the air. Once a city of clean air, Islamabad is suffering pollution like the other cities in Pakistan.

I am lucky that an adult male Crimson Sunbird has been regularly visiting a Banana Plant in my garden. I kept my camera handy and enjoyed time with this beauty.

Male Crimson Sunbird RMK
Birds in the Margalla Hills are having terrible time, as the water sources are almost dried out and they are remaining at higher altitudes. Understanding the situation, RMK, ZR and my diplomatic friends decided to travel up to Ayubia National Park.

Black-naped Woodpecker
We left Islamabad at 0600 hours and our first stop was a roadside place near Murree. Around 0745 hours when the sun was almost touching the peaks, ZR was lucky to take a lovely shot of an adult female Black-naped Woodpecker. A very rare bird in Pakistan.

Slaty-headed Parakeets RMK
I was lucky to see a pair of Slaty-headed Parakeets. We spent some time at this spot and then decided to move on to a new area. It was heartbreaking to see that there was hardly any snow in the area. In winters, normally, the area is very snowy.

Altai Accentors RMK
Collared Owlet
After a 40-minute drive, we stopped at another place near a village. This stopover was a wish come true. I had my lifer of my life, a group of twelve Altai Accentors on the ground.  ZR found his lifer a beautiful Collard Owl. Beside these we found Himalayan Woodpecker, White cheeked Nuthatch and a few Green-backed Tits.

Plain Mountain Finch RMK
White-cheeked Nuthatch RMK
Himalayan Woodpecker RMK
ISLBIRDER Writes:  Congratulations to the Birding Team on the ground in Islamabad led by RMK or Swabi Birder as we like to call him. Gradually, the Team is rewriting what is known about species found in Pakistan. The current literature suggests the Crimson Sunbird is a rare and irregular winter visitor to the Margalla Hills and Islamabad gardens. Following the regular recording of this species since 2011 in Islamabad we suggest that Crimson Sunbird is now regarded as a scarce but regular winter visitor to Islamabad and its environs.

During three years in Pakistan I thoroughly checked every Scaly-bellied Woodpecker hoping to find Black-naped Woodpecker. I never managed to find one but the Team has and the wonderful photograph above proves the fact. In his monumental work on the Birds of Pakistan Roberts stated that he only encountered the species twice in Pakistan. Once in March 1969 in the hills below Murree and at Tret in June 1967. There had been several earlier records but this species remains scarce to rare.

Altai Accentor was a bird of my dreams during my time in Pakistan but sadly my dreams did not come true and I did not manage to locate this species. However, the Team has and no less that twelve individuals is a good-sized winter flock, brilliant! Roberts only recorded this species a couple of times. There is no proof that Altai Accentors breed in Pakistan so it remains a scarce winter visitor to the northern foothills, occasionally making it as far south as the Ayubia or Nathia Gali areas.

Keep up the great work!

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