Changla Gali Part One


On Sunday 3 June 2012 we drove up to Changla Gali in the Abbottabad District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Our destination was Le Grande Hotel perched at a height of 9,200 feet in the Galyat Hills. We had stayed there before and within the area around the hotel we had previously recorded some exciting species. Our friends, who are relatively new birders, were with us and we hoped we would add a significant number of new species to their Pakistan Lists. Above the entrance to Le Grande several pairs of ASIAN HOUSE MARTIN had built their nests that contained young on the verge of fledging. Around the hotel more than 100 adults hunted insects on the wing. With such good views it was straightforward to differentiate this species from Northern House Martin: the duskier underparts and shallow forked tail were indicative. Other buildings within the village also supported nesting pairs. By the time we had dumped our bags it was mid-afternoon with a strong wind blowing and not the best time to go birding but like most birders would, we did anyway.

Familiar sparrow-like calls greeted us as we set out on a relatively short walk. The originators of the calls were several pairs RUSSET SPARROW, one of which had taken over an Asian House Martin nest to raise its young. I had promised new birds at this location for our companions and we latched on to one almost immediately. A bird flew across the valley below and even at a distance we could identify the striking colour of a VERDITER FLYCATCHER. Fortunately, there were a couple more and obligingly they perched in full view on exposed broken branches of pine trees allowing us to scope them in their finery. They are the colour of the verdigris corrosion that appears on copper. These were the first of many of this species that we would see during the following couple of days.

Another show-off was a male ROCK BUNTING in full song. As we walked along the ridge with valleys on either side we looked down on large numbers of SLATY-HEADED PARAKEET flying raucously between trees; the adult males obvious with their elongated yellow tail feathers. A constant presence in the hills is the LARGE-BILLED CROW. Their vocabulary is vast and is interspersed with some rather rude sounding guttural vocalisations. Another typical species of this area is the GREAT BARBET, a truly magnificent creature. With its large yellow bill, blue head and bottom half of its body that looks like it has been dipped in green paint, except for its red vent, has the appearance of an Edward Lear creation. Its call is both repetitious and far-reaching and is reminiscent of distant gulls calling at the seaside.

Changla Gali is an area where three species of Tit are relatively easily seen. The GREEN-BACKED TIT looks so like a European Great Tit. However, to confuse matters the race of Great Tit in Pakistan is grey, black and white. Arguably, two more impressive species are the SPOT-WINGED TIT, some pairs of which were nesting in holes in a wall. The similar but larger RUFOUS-NAPED TIT is also present but in lesser numbers. It has been our experience that the latter species is more easily seen in Bhurban. However, we did see all three of the above Tits at Changla Gali.

An ASHY DRONGO allowed us to scope it and its red eyes, ashy plumage and lack of white rictal spots, as appear on the Black Drongo are all diagnostic. It appears that the Ashy Drongo prefers the hills whereas the Black Drongo likes the lower altitudes. So a few new species for our companions but an early morning repeat of the walk would surely produce more.

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