August 09,03 Martin Kelsey
During work visits to Srinagar, I did two early morning walks through the
mixed woods of Shankarachanya Hill. A quiet post-breeding feel to the place,
with adult warblers in particular in heavy moult: Hume's Lesser Whitethroat,
Grey-hooded and Western-crowned, and very little vocalisation. Small parties of
tits (Great and Rufous-naped), along with Bar-tailed Treecreeper. Asian
Paradise, Rusty-tailed and Kashmir Flycatchers unobtrusive in the lower storey,
also Eurasian Goldfinch and Rock Buntings. A female Eurasian Sparrowhawk
circling slowly just above the tree-tops was a fine spectacle.
April 25,03 Martin Kelsey
Work took me to Srinagar this week. Most of the time I was based in the town,
with an early morning shikara ride on the back waters of Dal Lake and an early
morning walk on Shankaracharya Hill.
It was springtime, with fresh foliage on the trees, wild tulips in flower and
temperatures a full 20 degrees lower than Delhi! Birds were in full song:
Clamorous Reed Warblers, Mountain Chiffchaffs and Golden Orioles around Dal
Lake, and Blue-capped Rock Thrushes, Rusty-tailed Flycatchers, Brownish-flanked
Bush Warblers, Hume's Lesser Whitethroats, Western Crowned Warblers and Eurasian
Goldfinches all singing on Shankaracharya Hill. On the hill, I also saw
Brown-fronted Woodpeckers, Tickell's Leaf Warbler, Sulphur-bellied Warbler,
Hume's Warbler (giving the barely audible drawn-out sibilant high-pitched note,
as well as usual call), Streaked Laughing Thrushes, Common Rosefinches and Rock
Buntings.
Dal Lake really is a place where Common Kingfishers are common, but I was
surprised to find them quite high up Shankaracharya Hill, nesting in roadside
cuttings. A few Whiskered Terns hawked over the lake, whilst I also saw Eurasian
Jackdaw outside Srinagar.
