Birding Islamabad

On 25 October 2013, this Nightjar was photographed, at its not very cryptic daytime roost, at the Dutch Consulate in Karachi. The Islbirder Team is grateful to HGS and his colleague, the finder and photographer, for forwarding this excellent photograph to us and allowing us to publish it within our Blog. We have seen Grey Nightjar, Large-tailed Nightjar and Savanna Nightjar in Pakistan but we have never found one at its daylight roost. Whilst the quality of the photograph is outstanding Nightjars are notoriously difficult to identify; however, we will give it a go. Karachi falls within the range of three Nightjar species recorded in Pakistan. These are: Indian Nightjar Caprimulgus affinis , Sykes’s Nightjar Caprimulgus mahrattensis and Eurasian Nighjar Caprimulgus europaeus . The first two species are resident and the latter is a summer breeder and passage migrant. The date and location; especially its unusual roosting preference may indicate this bird is ind...

At dawn on Saturday 9 November 2013 we were deep into the Margalla Hills National Park to the north of Islamabad. During the past couple of weeks the temperature had fallen dramatically and this was our cue to seek out altitudinal migrants that were escaping the cold of the Himalayas. We had timed this trip to perfection and we were treated with a string of exciting winter birds. The star of the show was undoubtedly the male PINK-BROWED ROSEFINCH. In the early morning, crystal clear light this bird was a joy to behold. This scarce species sometimes appears in winter flocks within the Margalla Hills. However, this appeared to be a solitary bird. Male Pink-browed Rosefinch Riaz Another claimant for top spot was a possible juvenile RED CROSSBILL. This species can irregularly be prone to irruptions travelling westwards into Pakistan across the Himalayas in search of pine seeds. Whilst quite a drab bird, its rarity within the Margallas and the prospect of finding a red mal...

Today, we thought we would explore some different habitat and at dawn we were in the D12 Sector of Islamabad. Whilst, arguably not the most picturesque of locations, with its partly built residences and plots in preparation, it does contain some small cultivated fields, scrubland and a backdrop of the Margalla Hills. We were there looking for migrants with some limited success. The unseasonably warm and wet weather persists and there has been little evidence that migration is in full swing. The large Bayan Tree at the small shrine looked perfect for a SPOTTED OWLET and so it proved with this young bird doing its best to look inconspicuous but not quite achieving it. SPOTTED OWLET Riaz This was the first of 39 different species we were to encounter during this outing. We had hoped for Chats and Larks and we were not disappointed. Both CRESTED LARK and ORIENTAL SKYLARK provided good views. However, the overcast and drizzly conditions made photography har...

On Saturday 5 October 2013, we visited the eastern shoreline of Rawal Lake; a little later than we had planned because Islbirder hadn’t set his alarm properly and had slept in. However, it was only just past sunrise when we reached our destination. The drive to he location had been accompanied by mumblings about the dense haze and the fact there had clearly been an isolated downpour very recently. With the weather unseasonably warm for October, with daytime peaks of mid-30s, the haze was added to by the humidity. Not good conditions for our photographers who cursed their weather apps that if they had displayed more accuracy would have had our snappers stay in bed. However, as it looked a bit brighter over Bill’s mother’s we optimistically looked forward to more clement conditions. There was a feel of migration in the air and the numbers of SYKES’S WAGTAIL and WHITE WAGTAIL in the small, cultivated fields bore testimony to that. There were also Larks but these were of a sed...

Today, Sunday 29 September 2013, we decided to try Lake View Park just outside Islamabad. We thought that the tall trees might act as a magnet for migrating birds especially taking into account the time of year. We had not bargained for our first sighting, which was a flock of 35 beautiful DEMOISELLE CRANE flying fairly low over the water and gracing Rawal Lake just as the sun rose. RMK grabbed a couple of opportunist shots with his camera before the birds were lost behind the trees of the arboretum. Cranes have a tough time in Pakistan as they migrate through the country. Pashtun tribesmen hunt them to satisfy the trade in keeping them as pets and those that are injured during their capture are killed and eaten. We hoped that the Demoiselle Cranes might try to land but the high water levels of the lake meant that there were few areas suitable around the perimeter for the birds. Great start! Demoiselle Cranes Riaz Demoiselle Cranes Riaz There were plenty of Kingfis...