Bird Walk to Sankhu

Looking for a Dipper

Today some of the Kailash Birdwatching Club met in a village called Sankhu for a bird walk led by Vimal Thapa from Bird Conservation Nepal.  This was one of their regularly scheduled Saturday bird walks to different points around Kathmandu Valley with about 12 attendees and 13 of my students from the hostel.  The older students are still in the middle of school exams so they won't be free to bird until next weekend.

The day began with a cup o' chai of course, while we waited for everyone to arrive.  Then we had a beautiful walk around the cultivated and lightly forested edges of the village.  For about half of the students, this was their first time bird watching and they were so excited.  I was impressed with their eagerness in recording every bird they saw and their keen eyes and spotting skills.




The other birders were so happy to have the next generation of bird lovers along and all were so generous with sharing knowledge and helping the students see the birds.  Vimal was a great leader and teacher for them and the day was relaxing and most importantly...FUN!

Kapok Tree in bloom!

One highlight was looking up into the mossy branches of a Kapok tree that was in bloom!








There were many Black Bulbuls, a Black Kite, a Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker and a Spangled Drongo savoring the nectar based food chain up there in the enormous tree.

Teachable moment

As always, birding was the main focus, but not the only activity.  There is so much to learn from life in Nepal; and we love finding willing teachers!

We explored different several different habitats and walked in rice paddies,  puddles left by the thunderstorm last night and lovely creeks with waterfalls.






All together, our list included 41 species today!  Most of the students saw "firsts" today!  Small Niltava and Slaty-backed Forktail were popular highlights for the whole group!  I always LOVE seeing Scarlet Minivets!  My highlight was...GUESS!




"Guess this Bird" ...