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| Pinewood Cottage,Kasauli |
This was the sight that welcomed us at Pinewood cottage resort,Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh on the 7th of May 2012 at 1pm.My wife Divya and daughters Manasi and Mudita were up and awake at 4 am to start our four day adventure to Kasauli.Our cab with driver Pramod picked us up by 5am from Kalkaji in New Delhi and in the Xylo which was to be our transporter for the entire four days we traversed through the national highway no 1 and no.22 bypassing on the way the towns of Panipat,Karnal,Kukukshetra,Ambala,before reaching Kalka we took a diversion to Shimla and joined the Shimla Highway and from then onwards it was all uphill .About 2kms before reaching the village of Dharampur we took a left turn to go to Kasauli.Just before reaching the Kasauli township we looked for a Green board on the left directing us to Pinewood cottage.This last 3 or 4 kms was a very rough path and Divya started losing her patience as the resort was nowhere in sight.Then suddenly as the car took a sharp turn we looked up and on the slopes of the mountain were seen the visages of the cottages just as I have taken the picture seen above.We had traveled a total of 340 kms from home to Pinewood cottage.
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| Male of Blue Rock Thrush |
Vicky the manager cum everything of Pinewood cottage welcomed us warmly and as we even got into the initial formalities of settling ourselves in the fine wooden cabins I started noticing the bird species around.A Grey Treepie flew over our heads,a great Tit was climbing the pine tree,Laughing doves were seen on the path approaching the cottages or was it the Red Collared Dove.I rushed to refer my Grimmett even as I signed in the cottage register.Then on the grass and fence of the resort I saw this Indigo blue bird which was our constant companion for the four days.It was the male Blue Rock Thrush whose female was also around but was not as conspicuous
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| Male of Blue Rock Thrush |
The weather was just fine and very pleasant from the Muggy hot Mumbai and dry and boiling Delhi at 2 in the afternoon.The cook or Chachaji as we called him made us a great lunch which we relished with pleasure just after which I strolled out to appreciate the wooden Bunglows and the surrounding which were so well blended that it seemed as though the cabins had just grown from the woods around.This was well appreciated by the birds who made well their presence as in a short while I sighted several Himalayan Bulbuls,A Rufous Sibia,A Great Tit,Red-headed Bullfinch under a wooden cottage,a Black Drongo or it could be an Ashy Drongo and I heard the calls of several birds a lot of whose identity would be a puzzle gradually solved by Divya,Manasi,Mudita and Myself over the next four days
The long road trip followed by the sumptuous lunch had by now made all of us very tired and sleepy so looking forward to an evening of bird watching we fell asleep.Waking up we were greeted by Vicky who asked us whether we wanted to have tea in our rooms or cottages.No way.Just coming out of our rooms and sitting in the garden would give us an opportunity to sight more birds and henceforth we preferred to have our daytime snacks and meals in the open.On this first day we could sight the Brahminy Myna,Pied Myna,Indian Robin both male and female,several Red-Vented and Himalayan Bulbuls just as we sipped our evening tea.At around 6pm we decided to go for a walk and we took the kachha path going towards the Nandoha village.Here we soon got a glimpse of the Grey tree- pie and later also identified the Rufous tree pie the subtle difference between the two bringing a lot of argument between Divya and myself.Manasi guided us to look at the black bird with a yellow beak which on closer inspection with our binos was glistening blue.This turned out to be the Blue Whistling Thrush Divya pointed out to a chestnut colored Myna sized bird which we identified as the female of the Chestnut-Bellied Rock Thrush.Finally as we strolled ahead Manasi who was walking behind us called out for me to look back and just get a momentary glimpse of a large bird shaped like a pheasant and having a white rump.I softly hurried back and could only see the pheasant getting lost behind the pine trees of the steep slope.Looking up Grimmett it was most likely the Kalij Pheasant and this we were to confirm by Divya and myself sighting it again on the lower steep slopes in the vicinity on the very last day of our trip.The light was now fading and we turned back very exited and hungry.A great dinner was followed by watching an ipl cricket match whose reception was surprisingly very clear here up in the mountains.Soon happy and tired we planned for the next day in short and fell in deep slumber.
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| Divya and Myself at breakfast |
We woke up very early the next day, the 8th of may,and I was all ready with my binos and Divya with the camera which she was determined to use and take a best shot as one could with a canon EOS 1000,with zoom lens 75-300.Just as we came out of the cottage there was a flurry of activity and a troupe of Red-Billed Bue magpies were flying and foraging all over the resort.Divya took lots of pictures of this beautiful bird.
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| Red-Billed Blue Magpie |
Just as the Magpies left I suddenly saw a large
Murga coming out in the garden in front of one of the cottages.Thinking it being a part of the poultry the cook must be keeping I did not pay much attention until I was told that Chachaji kept no poultry and what I had sighted was the male of the Red Jungle Fowl.We then moved around the resort and as we did so sighted the Russet sparrow,the Verditer flycatcher,lots of Red-Rumped swallows,Alexandrine Parakeets and many Plum-Headed Parakeets both male and female with their Plum and Grey colored heads respectively.We saw the bright yellow Eurasian Golded Orioles flying a across and far into the valley and even as we looked closely at them we managed to focus on a female Golden Oriole sitting in her small cup like nest.Many Pale-Billed Flowerpeckers were flying into the trees above us and I managed to spot the red headed colorful Common Rose Finch.There were a lot of warblers whose identity I could not ascertain.They could be Booted,Blyths or Greenish.
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| Russet Sparrow |
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| Verditer Flycatcher |
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We were also keenly observing the other birds which had almost made the pinewood cottage their home and besides the Russet Sparrow they were the Pied Bush Chat, the Rusty Tailed Flycatcher,and the Great Tit
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| Red-Runped Swallow |
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| Great Tit |
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| Purple Sunbird |
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| Rusty-tailed flycatcher |
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| Pied Bush Chat |
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| Rusty Tailed Flycatcher |
We had planned today to go to Kasauli town in the afternoon and as soon as Manasi and Mudita were awake we went forth in the Xylo tracing back the Kaccha road and onto the highway leading to town.We visited St.Mary's School which is run by the sisters of Destitute the organization for which Divya is working back in Mumbai.We then ventured onto the classic tourist destination or "points" as they are called conventionally.The one we visited was called Monkey Point but it had no Monkeys but instead was actually a Hanuman Temple atop a hill which is also a Air force station of strategic importance.The view atop the hill on clear morning days gives one a wonderful glimpse of the snow capped Himalayan peaks.We missed that as it was a hot sunny afternoon.We prayed to the Lord though seeking grants which if wished from the heart would get fulfilled.Thus the mystery of 'man ki' and Monkey point was solved.
Later in the afternoon we visited the Kasauli town and had a simple lunch in one small eatery in the lower mall road.This road had a lot many small shops selling artifacts and souvenirs to the tourists which included many honeymooners.This small tourist town is unremarkable and we were casually wondering what form of waste disposable facility they must be following.We were shocked to finally know the secret when on one of our later walks in the valley below we came across a huge waterfall of all the things, "Stinking Garbage'.
Back at the resort we were in time for a little bit of rest followed by more bird watching.As I came out of the cottage room at about late afternoon I could hear this continuous call of a Barbet going took-a rook-took-rook.It was unlike the call of the Coppersmith Barbet but the bird kept itself well hidden on top of a canopy in the pine tree.With much determination I took my binos and walked down till I finally sighted the bird sitting in a fork of the tree calling out to its mate.It had a brilliant blue throat and face,a red head with black band across and a green body.It was the Blue Throated Barbet.Another lifer in my now growing list of lifers in amazing Kasauli.
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| Kasauli town from our car |
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We then decided to go for the same walk on the kuchha road going towards Nandoha village.I was hoping to again get a sight and maybe a photograph of the Kalij Pheasant.I was not so lucky but still we could spot the Black Bulbul,Oriental White eyes,Jungle Babblers,A Himalayan Woodpecker,Jungle Myna's,and sitting on a wire a Eurasian Blackbird.By the time we returned it was dark and a great vegetarian dinner awaited us before we retired for a good sleep
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Black Bulbul
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| Divya,myself and the cable car |
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| Kaushlya river from cable car |
The following day on the 9th of may we decided to visit another 'point' of tourist interest in Kasauli.It was called Timber Trail and promised us a ride in a cable car.The early morning bird watch at the surrounding of the cottage were very fruitful again. Holding cups of tea in our hands as we marveled at the beauty of the Golden Orioles, just above over heads came and perched a very large Barbet with a black head and large yellow beak,through our binos we could also appreciate the red undertail-coverts.This was the Great Barbet.Another lifer and a great one too!In the distance we could spot the fan-tailed Flycatcher,the Jungle Prinia and another bird which flew in and started crawling on the tree trunk,it was the Chestnut-Bellied Nuthatch most probably the male because of the dark chestnut belly.Going for a short walk Divya and myself spotted before us on the kuccha road 4 to 5 small Hill Partridges.On another tree trunk Divya excitedly pointed to a yellow-crowned woodpecker.We returned to the cottage and had a very nice breakfast of Parathas,toast,butter,omelet,Jam and more tea and coffee.By now Mudita was getting impatient for the cable car ride.Of all the flora and fauna we were admiring around us Mudita was taken up most by the pet Rabbit of Pinewood Cottage.
The journey to the Timber Trail was long and we had to drive almost to the base of the mountains that we had climbed on our way up.The place happened to be a five star hotel which was connected to two mountains by a 2.5 kms cable car.The cost was around Rs 650 per person but it was worth it.The view from the cable car was exhilarating except the Kaushalya river down was just a stream.Having done this adventure we stopped by for lunch in a small but nice restaurant on the way back where I almost lost my head by banging on to a metal board.Divya was not amused at all.
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| Divya,Mudita,Manasi,myself at timber trail |
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| Place that almost beheaded me |
After a nice lunch we drove back to the Resort and decided to rest a while before more bird watching around in the evening.Even as we rested I could not resist coming out the cottage and just sitting in a comfortable chair and listening.The music of the wind as it blew through the leaves,various calls of birds,a very distant sound of human noises,a very close sound of Manasi and Mudita enjoying the movies on their laptop,a close chatter of Vicky,Chachji,Prasad working in the kitchen and then above all the wonderful sound of silence.It indeed was a great stroke of luck that in the entire period of four days we were the only guests in the wonderful Pinewood Cottage resort.Silence it seems scares away the human crowd and that indeed is a happy situation.
The evening walk yielded a sighting of the White- Throated Kingfisher,Yellow-footed Green Pigeon,Grey-headed Pygmy woodpecker,Ashy Drongo and a host of other birds we had seen on previous evenings.We partook of a great non- veg dinner in the evening.There was a ipl cricket match we saw partly in the night before ending a well spend day.The next day was to be our last day of the trip and we planned to get up early again.
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| Manasi and Mudita on a bird trail |
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| Ashy Drongo |
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| Himalayan Bulbul |
The last day was the 10th of may and as I got up from a birding dream I found myself in a real life birding adventure though at its last leg.Today was to be lucky for us.We started our walk in a opposite direction to the one we usually took.We saw Hill Partridges,Eurasian collared Doves,Jungle Crows,Asian Koel and a few meters ahead of us a couple of Common Quails.Then as we came to a point where we could see much down the slopes in a small clearing appeared a bird which Divya first spotted and called it a'
Murga' Focusing my binoculars excitedly I was withholding the Kalij Pheasant the down-turned black tail,white rump,I could not appreciate the white Crest but its appearance was exactly as the one shown in Grimmett.It was there for a few seconds before disappearing in the woods.Our day was made.Manasi's first sighting of the bird was confirmed.We also saw the Asian Paradise-Flycatcher female and a Grey-capped pygmy woodpecker whose vigorous activity of tapping and feeding on the tree-trunk of a pine tree we had observed very closely the previous evening.
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| Grey-capped Pygmy woodpecker |
We now turned back from the beautiful valleys for the last time.It was a long journey back home to Delhi and we wanted to start by 11 am.Manasi also wanted to buy fruit wines ,for which Himachal Pradesh especially this area is famous for.We thanked Vicky and Chachaji for making our trip a success and Pramod our driver loaded the Xylo will our luggage as we headed back to Delhi
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| Eurasian Collared Dove |
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| Pramod,Chachaji,Vicky,Divya,Mudita,Myself |
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| Chachaji,Vicky,Divya,Mudita,Manasi |
Thus ended our trip to Kasauli at Pinewood cottage,a bird watchers paradise.Our bird count was a total of 60 birds of which 20 were lifers.
