Birding Islamabad

With an apparent lack of birds seen along the Trails of the Margalla Hills National Park above Islamabad, possibly due to the unseasonably warm winter or the sheer number of visitors now using the footpaths; we decided to extend the search criteria for new species.   On 5 February 2021, ZR and I made an early morning start and headed towards Abbottabad along the new CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) and we reached our planned destination, a valley 20km north of Nathia Gali in about 70 minutes.            We started our birding along the stream winding its way through the valley wooded with pine trees. It didn’t take long before we heard the loud call of a Spotted Forktail ( Enicurus maculatus ). Once we located the chorister, I managed to take a photograph of this stunning bird. We noted many Green-backed Tits ( Parus monticolus ) and some Warblers that we didn’t see well enough for specific identification.   Spotted Forktail © Riaz After walking for about 5km along the valley, I