In Part 1 of Birding Northern India, we travel north-easterly from Delhi into the Himalayan foothill state of Uttarakhand searching for a range of exciting birds of the region. We spend quality time in the world-famous Corbett National Park, then explore a variety of habitats in the Corbett buffer zone & picturesque Koshi river valley. From these fabulous bird & mammal-rich venues we climb even higher, birding the forested higlands of the foothills. Throughout our travels we are interested in tracking down the special range-restricted species which inhabit the narrow ribbon of terrain running west to east tracing the Himalayan foothills. Noteworthy highlights include a range of vultures & owls, sightings of the endangered Hodgson's bushchat & the tiny collared falconet, memorable encounters with ibisbills, blue-throated & great barbets, black eagle, lammergeier & numerous large mammals of the region.
In Part 2, we pick-up our explorations from our base at Pangot in the highlands of the Himalayan foothills. From birding these spectacular landscapes we travel via picturesque wooded valleys to Sat Tal, adding several notable sightings to our experiences - steppe eagles, three species of forktails, bulbuls, buntings, an accentor, bushchats the red-billed blue magpie & the like. From Sat Tal we travel & bird en route for a couple of days heading south into the state of Uttar Pradesh. After birding the Chambal River region we move westards towards Agra, take in the architectural splendours of the Taj Mahal before continuing to Bharatpur in Rajasthan.