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Participant Becky Hansen captured this wonderful image of the striking Crimson Sunbird, one of the more brilliant species we saw on our tour.

Our 2017 Northern India tour experienced the mildest weather ever we've ever had on this trip. Although this was not exactly what we wanted (severe weather in the Himalayas can bring down an unpredictable variety of high-altitude migrants), we did enjoy a wealth of Northern India's finest birds, including Kalij Pheasant, Sarus Crane, the incomparable Ibisbill, 8 species of owls, Long-tailed Broadbill, Red-billed Blue-Magpie, and Wallcreeper. A visit to Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal were also highlights for most of the group, but perhaps best of all was four Tigers during our very first day at Ranthambhore!

As always, we began in Delhi with a visit to the nearby Okhla Bird Sanctuary. Morning fog somewhat hindered our progress, but we all enjoyed our first Indian birding, with just a few highlights being Bar-headed Goose, Indian Peafowl, Painted Stork, Red-wattled Lapwing, noisy Rose-ringed Parakeets, Yellow-bellied and Ashy prinias, and Asian Pied Starling. We then drove to the railway station and took the 5-hour journey to Ranthambhore, our base for the following three nights.

At this time of year Ranthambhore is a mix of dry woodland, open grassy areas, and several lakes. It's wonderful to be out there on the narrow twisting tracks finding secretive species like Painted Spurfowl and Jungle Bush-Quail -- we had fantastic close looks at both this year. A variety of ducks and other water birds were on the lakes, and several Great Thick-knees along the shores. Bonelli's Eagle and White-eyed Buzzard were amongst the raptors we saw, while the woodlands held doves, Green Bee-eater, our first Black-rumped Flamebacks, Small Minivet, White-browed Fantail, Common Tailorbird, Large Gray Babbler, and Purple Sunbird. Mammals here included a few Common Mongoose and Wild Boar, about 15 Nilgai, 80 Sambar, and several hundred Spotted Deer. Without doubt, though, the highlight for everyone was Tiger! First a female marking her territory along the track, then two large young ones within just feet of the vehicle, and finally another large female resting beside a stream bed -- wow, and all during our first day in this wonderful park!

Taking a short train journey back to the north, we then spent two nights at the world-famous wetland of Bharatpur. Water levels have been low in recent years, but this time was just fantastic, with flocks of hundreds of Graylag and Bar-headed geese, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, the Eurasian form of Green-winged Teal, and lesser numbers of Indian Spot-billed Ducks, Ferruginous Ducks, and Red-crested Pochards. We also saw hundreds of Painted Storks, along with Asian Openbill, Indian Cormorant, Dalmatian Pelican, Black Bittern, Black-headed Ibis, and Eurasian Spoonbill. Displaying Sarus Cranes were a real treat, and Greater Spotted Eagles were often in the bare trees around the water, while on the floating vegetation we watched both Bronze-winged and Pheasant-tailed jacanas. Our local guide helped us find Dusky Eagle-Owl at a nest, and Oriental Scops-Owl at a day roost. On a day trip to the Bund Baretha and Bayana area we added the critically endangered Indian Vulture, plus Brown-headed Barbet, our first Wallcreeper, Sulphur-bellied Warbler, Orange-headed Thrush, and Red Avadavat. We also saw several hundred Indian Flying-Foxes, and troops of Rhesus Monkeys and Common Langurs that were to become a daily feature of the tour.

From Bharatpur it's just an hour-and-a-half drive to Fatehpur Sikri (where we made a tour of the palaces of Akbar the Great), from which we then continued on to Agra. During two nights there we made a day trip to the Chambal River, where notable additions were Red-naped Ibis, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Black-bellied and River terns, Asian Koel, Brown Boobook, and Blue Rock-Thrush. Huge, basking Marsh Muggers and Gharials where quite wonderful, too! Then, before heading back to Delhi, we had yet another major highlight of the tour -- who could stay in Agra without a visit to the majestic Taj Mahal? Set on the banks of the Yamuna River, this sublime building and the story of its construction are alone worth a visit to Northern India.

The second part of our tour was to the north of Delhi, first into the Himalayan foothills and then to a lower elevation in and around Corbett National Park. The lack of snow at Nainital this year meant numbers of some of the migrants were low; but we still enjoyed our days here with a fantastic vista of the Himalayan snow-covered peaks, and we saw many fabulous birds including Lammergeier, Himalayan Griffon, Speckled Wood-Pigeon, Great Barbet, Brown-fronted Woodpecker, Lesser Yellownape, Slaty-headed Parakeet, Bronzed and Hairy-crested drongos, Black-headed Jay, Red-billed Blue-Magpie, Green-backed and Black-throated tits, Chestnut-bellied and White-tailed nuthatches, Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Himalayan Bulbul, Buff-barred and Gray-hooded warblers, Rufous-chinned, White-throated, and Chestnut-crowned laughingthrushes, Rufous Sibia, Red-billed Leiothrix, Spotted Forktail, White-tailed Rubythroat, Red-flanked Bluetail, Golden Bush-Robin, Gray-winged Blackbird, Yellow-breasted Greenfinch, and Fire-fronted Serin.

Dropping lower to the Corbett area, we spent our time birding both inside the park (where one is restricted to vehicles) and outside (where one can walk anywhere). Again the list was long, but amongst the many 'specials' most notable were several groups of Red Junglefowl and Kalij Pheasant (right on the tracks), Black Stork, Cinereous Vulture, Pallas's and Lesser fish-eagles, a very close Ibisbill, Brown Fish-Owl, Asian Barred and Jungle owlets, Crested Treeswift, Oriental Pied-Hornbill, Crested Kingfisher, Blue-throated Barbet, Greater Yellownape, Fulvous-breasted and Streak-throated woodpeckers, Himalayan Flameback, Red-breasted Parakeet, Common Iora, Maroon Oriole, Streak-throated Swallow, Black-lored Tit, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Brown Dipper, White-crested Laughingthrush, Plumbeous and White-capped redstarts, Long-billed Thrush, and Crimson Sunbird.

Lastly, we returned to Delhi, where we spent the night before heading for a morning's birding at Sultanpur Jheel. Like a mini version of Bharatpur, the reserve here was wonderful for large numbers of waterbirds, including our one and only adult Greater Flamingo. Other new additions included the tiny Sind Sparrow and a massive Imperial Eagle.

A free afternoon back at our luxury hotel gave us plenty of time to get ready for our night departures for home, but not before the final checklist and one last superb Indian buffet!

My thanks to all for joining me for this great survey of Northern India. I hope to cross paths with you again soon. Until then, good birding!

--Terry

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

We had fabulous looks at Wallcreeper at two sites this year. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

We had fantastic luck with Tiger on our first day at Ranthambhore, with this female out marking her territory, and three other individuals sighted also. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

These Sarus Cranes put on a show for us at Bharatpur. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

We saw dozens of beautiful Plum-headed Parakeets in the lowlands. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

Long-tailed Shrike is the widespread and common shrike along our route. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

Ibisbill is always a much-wished-for target on our tour, and this individual provided some fabulousj close looks along the river at Ramnagar. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

This fancy male Kalij Pheasant was among about 20 of this species we observed at Corbett. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

Spotted Owlets, photographed by participant Becky Hansen.

We had great looks at the attractive White-crested Laughingthrush in the Mongoli Valley and at Kumeria. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

It's always fun to see Red Junglefowl, ancestral stock for our domesticated chickens, and they were quite common at Corbett this year. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

Great Thick-knee is one of three species of thick-knees we saw on the tour. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

Our visit to the Soorwal Reservoir provided a fine variety of species, including this handsomely adorned Greater Painted-snipe. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

A lovely tableau of Bar-headed Geese in flight by participant Becky Hansen.

Brown-headed Barbet, photographed by participant Becky Hansen.

Crested Serpent-Eagle was among 25 species of hawks, eagles, and kites we spotted along our route. Photo by participant Becky Hansen.

Common (Black-faced) Langur, photographed by participant Becky Hansen, is indeed common on this itinerary!

The immense Gharial, photographed by participant Becky Hansen.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Reptiles seen on the tour included;

Marsh Mugger; about 30 at Ranthambhore, 30 along the Chambal River, and a dozen at Corbett.

Gharial; we saw these huge fish-eating crocodiles at the Chambal River (40), and Corbett (3).

Monitor Lizard; 2 at Bharatpur.

Checkered Keel-backed Snake; 1 at Ranthambhore.

Indian Soft-shelled Terrapin; about 20 at Bharatpur, and 6 along the Chambal River.

Tent Terrapin; 6 along the Chambal River

Totals for the tour: 295 bird taxa and 16 mammal taxa