Nepal Kathmandu - Spiny Babbler

My first visit to Nepal focusing on seeing and photographing Red Panda, the only true panda species as Giant Panda is classified as bear and not a panda. Red Panda is the only recognised species in the genus Ailurus. Nepal has only one endemic bird species, the Spiny Babbler and the Birdquest tour that I had joined included a search for this species as an extension to the main Red Panda tour.

The traffic is Kathamandu is chaotic but seems to work and despite all the horn use no one seems to get angry.

Overlooking the outskirts of a smoggy Kathmandu

Spiny Babbler optimal habitat of dense scrub near Kathmandu. Prior to the dense scrub taking over this small area it used to comprise terraced rice paddies. 

Two Spiny Babblers appeared with one singing once we had stopped trying to look for it

Birding at the edge of a remnant woodland strip and stream. Incredible amount of vegetation being carried by this lady.

Spotted Forktail

It is a shame that rubbish in Nepal is everywhere and people seem to have no regard to throwing litter even within the protected national parks. 

Black-lored Tit

White-capped Redstart

Long-tailed Shrike

Slaty-blue Flycatcher

Olive-backed Pipit

Oriental Turtle Dove

Having managed to see Spiny Babbler it meant that our second full day at Kathmandu could be used to search other areas for birds. A walk along the track to the top of Fulchoki or Phulchoki just outside of Kathmandu resulted in views of some different species.

Rufous-winged Fulvetta

Bar-throated Siva

White-throated Laughingthrush

Rufous-breasted Bush Robin

Himalayan Bluetail

Oriental Turtle Dove

Ashy-throated Warbler

Grey-hooded Warbler

Rufous-bellied Woodpecker

A late afternoon visit to the Botanical Gardens whilst initially providing very few birds eventually yielded some good species as the Sunday crowds diminished.

On a Sunday afternoon, the Botanical Gardens are a popular attraction.

Asian Barred Owlet

An afternoon visit to the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu which is one of the largest spherical stupas in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, serving as a major centre of Tibetan Buddhism and spiritual pilgrimage. Devotees perform "kora," a ritual circumambulation of the stupa while spinning prayer wheels and chanting mantras, believed to bring spiritual merit and positive energy. T

Nepal Habre's Nest - Red Panda

Between March 2nd to 6th, I stayed at Habre's Nest, a comfortable lodge literally at the Nepalese border with India and located within the Singalila National Park which straddles both countries. Habre means Red Panda in Nepalese.

The founder of Habre's Nest is Shantanu Prasad and it is worth checking out the website Habresnest

To get within striking distance of the Lodge an internal flight from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur in eastern Nepal is needed.

The flight gave an opportunity to see some of the tallest peaks in the world with Everest and Kanchenjunga being visible. 

The lodge is at least five hours drive from Bhadrapur which is the airport we landed at after flying from Khathmandu. I'll make use of the word 'road' in its broadest possible sense for the journey to Habre's Nest as a sealed road quickly gives way to a track in various states as the journey progresses. However, it is all part of the adventure and the drivers of the all wheel drive vehicles are very competent.

At one point the road bisects the Nepal/India border and you have to get out and walk c.1km uphill to re-join your vehicle and remain in Nepal. This was a little odd as I had obtained an Indian visa for just this eventuality. However, it seems that whilst I might have been able to enter India there was no Nepalese official present to check my Nepal visa and allow me to re-enter that country! At least on the return journey it was a walk of c.1km downhill.

The excellent and hardworking team at Habre's Nest.

Once a Red Panda has been located it can be a challenging but exciting trek to get to a viewing location.

My first sighting of Red Panda in the wild, two in fact, a mother bottom left and a 6 month old cub centre. They were in a Magnolia tree and resting. The cub appeared larger than the adult but this is due to it having thicker fur to help it survive the winter. The cub started to have a wash and then settled back down to sleep. 

It was always difficult to get clear photos of the Pandas due to the dense bamboo and tree habitat they make use of. Twigs and bamboo leaves and stems always seemed to be in the way. However, we were able to see the mother and cub every day over five days albeit only for 30 minutes a day. This is a restriction imposed by the Lodge to help reduce the disturbance to the Pandas. It is a restriction that the Lodge is hoping the local community will also adhere too.

The cloud base would rise up the valleys and smother the forest in a dense mist by about 11:00am each day, we only had one day where the cloud held off. With only c.2,000 Red Pandas in the wild, the experience was brilliant, to be able to see the Pandas each day and share their amazing forest home.

Yellow-necked Martens are large, similar in size to a Eurasian Otter with similar fluid movement unlike the ungainly gait of a Pine Marten. They can hunt in packs and are known to hunt Red Pandas.