Birdwatching with FOB

I want to thank Friends of Bird (FOB) for four wonderful Saturday birdings. Firstly, thank you for a warm invitation to join the group already after the first official excursion in Sundarijal, where we met the first time. Already the official excursion was fascinating, leading in a well chosen roundtrip through a diverse landscape of villages, a nice river valley, rice fields and ravines. Spotted dove, pond heron and a pair of the paradise flycatcher were only a few of the highlights to be mentioned.

The post-excursion led around Gorkana brought the explorative approach of Friends of Bird closer to me, choosing tracks not taken before and leading straight into hidden Newari villages and along walls protecting old grown forests inhabiting inter alia the slim and elegant Shikra. Not to forget the tasty meal in Boudha, bringing Cheese Pakauda to the top of my favourite Nepali foods.

Phulchauki Birding followed at the next Saturday with the well selected Birding points one and two providing insight- (and bird-) full views into a fairytale forest reminding to the past. I was from the beginning interested, but would have never gone there alone, because I was already warned by several people; hence the choice was also from this point of view a pleasure. Of course, I will not forget the “bus rent” in the morning followed by a wild drive to the meeting point at Godavari just in time. Break time with local food at the Community Forest and the Botanical Garden fit into the program very well.

The World-Heritage-Sites Pashupati and Swaymbhu were visited by us at the following Saturday. It is really astonishing, how much nature could be found quite inside a capital like Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Also I visited Swaymbhu before, the Friends of the Birds knew ways and places by far not seen before. Unforgettable lunch with newspaper as plate (the lucky lady’s pots got empty) and the young monks sharing our woodpecker fascination. Of course these colorful birds contributed a lot as they did not really show up to by very shy. The same is valid for the kindergarden of Spotted owls. Don’t forget the “interesting nothing” leading to a pack of bird searching eyes (and mainly to the nice group picture).

Chobar showed clearly the advantage of the Nepali time 6 o’clock, as there are several food bridges over the Bagmati river. And especially one foreigner has still after 7 weeks some communication problems, but at the end no problem to get in (tea-)time to the meeting point. The morning birding showed me inter alia the broad food range of the white-throated kingsfisher and the Bagmati River Cleaning, which to join I found a ecologically well founded idea, I enjoyed very much (may be the much waste in the river drives the kingsfisher also to look more outside for prey….). After visiting one of the “most exciting and most favorite bird (in the broadest sense) watching places of the Friends of Birds” at Taudaha lake the way back to Kathmandu on the top of the roof of a bus provided very much fun.

Thank you for all those unforgettable hours and the kind open welcome as well as friendship in the group of Friends of Birds Nepal in June and July 2006.