Lucknow – Dhanachuli – Lucknow
Below is the list of all the bird species that I saw in Dhanachuli, followed by the pics.
TRIP 1: March 2023
Total driving distance: 406 onward + 406 return = 812 km
Total time: 8 hours onwards and 9 hours return.
Average fuel economy: 14.2 kmpl
Car: Audi A4 Petrol
Passengers: 3 adults
Luggage: Full boot
- Ashy Drongo
- Barn Swallow
- Black Bulbul
- Black Francolin
- Black-headed Jay
- Black-throated Accentor
- Black-throated Tit
- Blue Whistling Thrush
- Blue-capped Redstart
- Blue-fronted Redstart
- Booted Eagle
- Brown-fronted Woodpecker
- Coal Tit
- Common Stonechat
- Eurasian Collared Dove
- Great Barbet
- Greater Yellownape
- Green-backed Tit
- Grey Bushchat
- Grey Treepie
- Grey-backed Shrike
- Grey-headed Woodpecker
- Grey-hooded Warbler
- Himalayan Bulbul
- Himalayan Buzzard
- Himalayan Woodpecker
- House Sparrow
- Jungle Crow
- Jungle Myna
- Lesser Whitethroat
- Long-tailed Minivet
- Long-tailed Shrike
- Oriental Turtle Dove
- Oriental White-eye
- Red-billed Blue Magpie
- Red-rumped Swallow
- Rock Bunting
- Rose-ringed Parakeet
- Rufous Sibia
- Russet Sparrow
- Scaly-bellied Woodpecker
- Spotted Dove
- Streaked Laughingthrush
- Striated Laughingthrush
- Upland Buzzard
- Verditer Flycatcher
- White-tailed Nuthatch
- White-throated Laughingthrush
- Yellow-breasted Greenfinch
Total time: 8 hours onwards and 9 hours return.
Average fuel economy: 14.2 kmpl
Car: Audi A4 Petrol
Passengers: 3 adults
Luggage: Full boot
Place of stay: Rituraj Homestay (https://goo.gl/maps/WNsLH41g5BW3HpPV7)
Dhanachuli is like a second home to us. My parents used
to visit Dhanachuli every year and stay there for the entire summer. Incidentally,
I never got a chance to visit until now. This time I was staying in Lucknow for
about a month and I realized that it would be a wonderful opportunity for me to
visit and see this place. I had the Audi too with me, so the journey should
also be very comfortable. Apparently there is a problem with the 4G/5G
connection, hence I planned to stay for only the weekend. A couple of days’
stay, only to know what the place is and what kind of potential it has for
birding and the potential for a long term stay.
Dhanachuli is quite pristine, compared to Nainital /
Mukteshwar, there is hardly any tourist traffic here and the village is not at
all crowded. Perfect for a long term stay. Birding is phenomenal, at an
altitude of 7000 ft, you can easily imagine how beautiful the bird life will
be. If I list down the species that I saw in a matter of 2 days, anybody would
be surprised.
The drive till Dhanachuli from Lucknow was smooth. Since it
was the month of March, the summer vacation did not start yet, because of that
the roads near Bhimtal were completely deserted. It might have saved us about
an hour compared to the regular time that it takes usually. We left Lucknow at
5-30 AM and managed to reach Dhanachuli by 1-30 PM. The return journey wasn’t
that great though. By mistake I took the route through Bareilly / Khutani and I
wouldn’t recommend it to anybody. Too much of traffic compared to the road via
Pilibhit. Onward journey was through Sitapur, Sitarganj and Pilibhit, which is
much better as far as traffic movement and road condition is concerned.
Enjoy some of the pics below.
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| Black-throated Accentor (lifer) |
.JPG) |
| Rock Bunting (lifer) |
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| Rock Bunting (lifer) |
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| Russet Sparrow male |
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| Grey Bushchat male |
.JPG) |
| Blue Whistling Thrush |
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| Himalayan Bulbul |
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| Long-tailed Minivet female |
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| Long-tailed Minivet male |
.JPG) |
| Streaked Laughingthrush |
.JPG) |
| Blue-fronted Redstart female |
.JPG) |
| Grey Bushchat female |
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| Common Stonechat female |
TRIP 2: JUNE 2023
Total driving distance: 406 km onward and 406 km return
Total time: 8 hours onwards and 8 hours 46 minutes return
Average fuel economy: 15.5 kmpl
Car: Honda Amaze Petrol
Passengers: 3 adults
Luggage: Full boot
Average fuel economy: 15.5 kmpl
Car: Honda Amaze Petrol
Passengers: 3 adults
Luggage: Full boot
Place of stay: Rituraj Homestay (https://goo.gl/maps/WNsLH41g5BW3HpPV7)
This was our second trip and this time neither I had the Audi with me, nor I had my camera gear. Whatever i could click I did it with my mobile. Was lucky to click a lifer butterfly. It was a wonderful season to visit, harvested Peach, Plum, Apricot and Potato with help from Raju (owner and farmer of Rituraj homestay).
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| Green Hairstreak - Theclini |
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| Peach tree @ Rituraj Homestay |
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| French hydrangea |
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| Dhanachuli Altitude |
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| Apricot, Peach and Plum harvest @ Rituraj homestay |
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| Apple tree @ Rituraj homestay |
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| View of Himalayas from Rituraj Homestay |
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| Glassy Tiger |
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| Evening view from our home |
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| Himalayan view from our home |
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| Mother of Pearl Moth |
TRIP 3: DECEMBER 2023
Total driving distance: 406 km onward and 406 km return
Total time: 8 hours 8 minutes onwards and 8 hours 30 minutes return
Average fuel economy: 15.0 kmpl
Car: Honda Amaze Petrol
Passengers: 3 adults
Luggage: Full boot
Average fuel economy: 15.0 kmpl
Car: Honda Amaze Petrol
Passengers: 3 adults
Luggage: Full boot
Place of stay: Rituraj Homestay (https://goo.gl/maps/WNsLH41g5BW3HpPV7)
The fact that I will be making 3 trips to Dhanachuli this year, is way too overwhelming, considering I did not make a single trip before this year. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every chance to go there and I'm looking forward to many more such occasions.
Once again, as it was last time, this was a totally unplanned trip. Since I was not aware about this trip, so I did not bring my camera gear from Hyderabad. Unfortunately, because of that, I missed to click a lifer Blue-capped Redstart male. It was so easy to see that bird all around multiple times, and everytime I saw it feeding nearby, I missed my camera so much.
Atleast, I got to ID it well and I'm sure next time I go to Dhanachuli in winters, I'm definitely going to carry the gear along.
TRIP 4: NOVEMBER 2024
Total driving distance: 406 km onward and 406 km return
Total time: 7 hours 40 minutes onwards and 8 hours return
Average fuel economy: 17.0 kmpl
Car: Honda Amaze Petrol
Passengers: 3 adults
Luggage: Full boot
Average fuel economy: 17.0 kmpl
Car: Honda Amaze Petrol
Passengers: 3 adults
Luggage: Full boot
Place of stay: Rituraj Homestay (https://goo.gl/maps/WNsLH41g5BW3HpPV7)
Route: via Bareily (not via Lakhimpur - Pilibhit)
The route via Bareily has significantly improved, resulting in a time saving of around 45 minutes in the entire journey. My objective in this trip was to take my chances with the Blue-capped Redstart but I never imagined that I will get another lifer, that too a difficult one like Upland Buzzard. I was casually sitting on the terrace enjoying the sun when all of a sudden I spotted the raptor hovering over my head. I picked up my camera, clicked it and when I looked into the Camera LCD, I was not sure what I clicked. Then I opened my book to ID the pic and I was shocked to see that it was an Upland Buzzard.
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| Upland Buzzard (lifer) |
I was on the lookout for Blue-capped Redstart male this time on the same tree where I missed it last year. It was really a chance sighting this time, as I spotted it only one of the four days I stayed here. But nevertheless, it was a lifer and I was so happy that I managed to get a beautiful shot.
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| Blue-capped Redstart male (lifer) |
All the four morning for which I stayed there, I went out for birding in the early morning hours. I walked around the property where I was staying, within a radius of 1 km. The morning hours especially were very fruitful. Although I did manage to click a few good shots even in the evening, especially the woodpeckers.
My chance sighting brought me to this Scaly-bellied Woodpecker female, which I saw after nine long years. Last time I saw it was in the apple orchards of Khajjiar. That time I was using Canon 70D with Canon 400 f/5.6 lens (no IS). This time I had Canon R5 with Canon 400 f/4 and I am also 9 years experienced in photography. No wonder I got such a beautiful shot. But once again, a big shout-out to Canon R5 for being so phenomenal. My photography has significantly improved since I started using that gear.
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| Scaly-bellied Woodpecker female |
People might say that 400mm isn't a very good reach for Bird photography, more so if you are using a full-frame camera, like R5. And I would completely agree with that. Very often I have faced situations where I felt 400mm was getting a bit of a challenge. Imagine if I'm able to get these shots with 400 mm, what would happen if I start using RF 600mm f/4. Well, that's still far in the future and another 13 Lakhs from my savings.
I gave about 20 minutes to this woodpecker, trying to find the best angle and trying to get as close as possible without scaring it off. I am definitely not disappointed with the results.
Almost every day, atleast once a day, a mixed flock hunting party of Tits and warblers visit my place of stay in Dhanachuli. And as always, these mixed flocks are there for about 5-10 minutes. If you are lucky enough, they do come out front on one of the bare branches and give you a chance to click these magnificent beauties. You have to be fast, but you do get a chance. Once again, R5 does wonders in these occasions and I managed to click this Tit up-close.
I was surprised to find this Lesser Whitethroat in one of those mixed flocks of Tits and Warblers. I never knew this bird prefers to be hunting in those mixed flocks. And I never knew this bird is found in this altitude too. Last I saw this bird, was in Greater Rann of Kutch. Even though i got a bare sky background, but the shot wasn't bad. It was near and I got the feather streaks too.
This is such a rare Tit to spot. It was in the mixed flock of other Tits. When I saw it, I could not get enough time to get a good sharp shot. And in that mixed flock of 50 odd Tits, this was the loner. I tried to search if there were any other individuals of Coal Tit, but I could not. It is definitely rarer than other Tits and I hope someday I get a better shot than this one.
One morning, there was a flock of Greenfinch, but they hurried so fast going downhill, that I could barely managed to get this shot on an electric wire (not the idle shot for birds). It did flew from this wire to a tree, but by the time I could run and reach an angle to click on that tree, they just took off. Next time I go to Dhanachuli, I will try to find this one. Hopefully I can get them somewhere feeding on the ground. Supriya got a beautiful shot of this bird in Makku in 2019. If I stay in Dhanachuli for a few more days, I'm sure I will get a chance to click them again. This is the perfect altitude for them and they do feed on the farmland of hills, so I might have a chance to click them again, hopefully.
There were atleast 20 Treepies in and around my place of stay, but they are always inside the dense foliage, where I know they have their nest, or mostly sitting on top the tree where I don't get a good enough eye-level shot. However, once of the mornings when I trekked down a new route, I noticed them sitting on top of a tree, but this time the tree was further downhill making a good bokeh with the deep valley beyond. Not only I good a good eye-level shot, but it was clean and sharp with a wonderful bokeh. What more do you need in bird photography.
The best shot of Greater Yellownape we clicked in Kalimpong. This time did not see the male, but for this species, even the female is equally beautiful. Just the throat part, which is yellow in male and rusty in female. Got a good near-full-frame shot and it followed with the sighting of the vocal White-throated Laughingthrush.
I heard the call of White-throated Laughingthrush coming from somewhere downhill. I went down immediately trying to explore the area hoping I would find it. And there was a spot on an abandoned, freshly harvested green-pea farm, where the entire flock of White-throated were feeding on the ground. I had to climb up a set of stones to come up to eye level with these birds. I waited there for 15-20 minutes, saw them feeding and trying to get the best angle for my clicks.
In one of those mixed flocks, got to click this one along with the Tits. Although I remember having the best shot of Grey-hooded Warbler in Makku, but i still keep trying. Who knows you might just end up getting a really good shot. After R5, I try to click as much as possible. I know because of the eye-tracking technology, I might end up having a shot worth keeping for lifetime.
The most taken for granted bird in the hills, is this Blue Whistling Thrush. However, I still feel, given the perfect lighting conditions, there will be fewer birds as beautiful as this one.
Red-billed activity is very noticeable during the morning hours. I did not see it much during the evening. Once morning I got such beautiful shots, where the parents were probably collecting the fruits for the chicks. Didn't see the chicks though, but the way they were collecting the fruits, it seemed as if they were either taking it to their nests or taking it somewhere else where the chicks were there. Otherwise they wouldn't be collecting multiple fruits at once. They would rather be eating those right away.
The Green-backed is another very common sighting in Dhanachuli, in all weathers, be it summer or winter. I have seen it multiple times, on multiple days, and on multiple occasions.
I was trying to get the flying shots of Magpie, the sun still did not come out, the lighting was still low, maybe that was the reason I did not get a very sharp image. I could have increased the exposure though, that could have made it look a bit sharper.
The below 4 shots of woodpeckers were clicked during one of the evening treks.
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| Scaly-bellied Woodpecker female |
After clicking the scaly-bellied woodpecker for 20 minutes, I moved ahead and saw a bird perching on top of a tree. I started clicking it thinking as the Rock bunting male. It was quite far for me to correctly identify it through the viewfinder. I just saw the bold streaking on the face and thought maybe I'm clicking the Rock bunting ale, but after I saw it in the LCD of the camera, I realized i clicked the Black-throated Accentor once again which I did last year.
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| Black-throated Accentor |
Almost every day, atleast once a day, a mixed flock hunting party of Tits and warblers visit my place of stay in Dhanachuli. And as always, these mixed flocks are there for about 5-10 minutes. If you are lucky enough, they do come out front on one of the bare branches and give you a chance to click these magnificent beauties. You have to be fast, but you do get a chance. Once again, R5 does wonders in these occasions and I managed to click this Tit up-close.
 |
| Black-throated Tit |
I was surprised to find this Lesser Whitethroat in one of those mixed flocks of Tits and Warblers. I never knew this bird prefers to be hunting in those mixed flocks. And I never knew this bird is found in this altitude too. Last I saw this bird, was in Greater Rann of Kutch. Even though i got a bare sky background, but the shot wasn't bad. It was near and I got the feather streaks too.
 |
| Lesser Whitethroat |
This is such a rare Tit to spot. It was in the mixed flock of other Tits. When I saw it, I could not get enough time to get a good sharp shot. And in that mixed flock of 50 odd Tits, this was the loner. I tried to search if there were any other individuals of Coal Tit, but I could not. It is definitely rarer than other Tits and I hope someday I get a better shot than this one.
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| Coal Tit |
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| Black-throated Tit |
One morning, there was a flock of Greenfinch, but they hurried so fast going downhill, that I could barely managed to get this shot on an electric wire (not the idle shot for birds). It did flew from this wire to a tree, but by the time I could run and reach an angle to click on that tree, they just took off. Next time I go to Dhanachuli, I will try to find this one. Hopefully I can get them somewhere feeding on the ground. Supriya got a beautiful shot of this bird in Makku in 2019. If I stay in Dhanachuli for a few more days, I'm sure I will get a chance to click them again. This is the perfect altitude for them and they do feed on the farmland of hills, so I might have a chance to click them again, hopefully.
 |
| Yellow-breasted Greenfinch |
There were atleast 20 Treepies in and around my place of stay, but they are always inside the dense foliage, where I know they have their nest, or mostly sitting on top the tree where I don't get a good enough eye-level shot. However, once of the mornings when I trekked down a new route, I noticed them sitting on top of a tree, but this time the tree was further downhill making a good bokeh with the deep valley beyond. Not only I good a good eye-level shot, but it was clean and sharp with a wonderful bokeh. What more do you need in bird photography.
 |
| Grey Treepie |
The best shot of Greater Yellownape we clicked in Kalimpong. This time did not see the male, but for this species, even the female is equally beautiful. Just the throat part, which is yellow in male and rusty in female. Got a good near-full-frame shot and it followed with the sighting of the vocal White-throated Laughingthrush.
 |
| Greater Yellownape female |
I heard the call of White-throated Laughingthrush coming from somewhere downhill. I went down immediately trying to explore the area hoping I would find it. And there was a spot on an abandoned, freshly harvested green-pea farm, where the entire flock of White-throated were feeding on the ground. I had to climb up a set of stones to come up to eye level with these birds. I waited there for 15-20 minutes, saw them feeding and trying to get the best angle for my clicks.
 |
| White-throated Laughingthrush |
 |
| White-throated Laughingthrush |
In one of those mixed flocks, got to click this one along with the Tits. Although I remember having the best shot of Grey-hooded Warbler in Makku, but i still keep trying. Who knows you might just end up getting a really good shot. After R5, I try to click as much as possible. I know because of the eye-tracking technology, I might end up having a shot worth keeping for lifetime.
.JPG) |
| Grey-hooded Warbler |
The most taken for granted bird in the hills, is this Blue Whistling Thrush. However, I still feel, given the perfect lighting conditions, there will be fewer birds as beautiful as this one.
 |
| Blue Whistling Thrush |
Red-billed activity is very noticeable during the morning hours. I did not see it much during the evening. Once morning I got such beautiful shots, where the parents were probably collecting the fruits for the chicks. Didn't see the chicks though, but the way they were collecting the fruits, it seemed as if they were either taking it to their nests or taking it somewhere else where the chicks were there. Otherwise they wouldn't be collecting multiple fruits at once. They would rather be eating those right away.
 |
| Red-billed Blue Magpie |
The Green-backed is another very common sighting in Dhanachuli, in all weathers, be it summer or winter. I have seen it multiple times, on multiple days, and on multiple occasions.
 |
| Green-backed Tit |
I was trying to get the flying shots of Magpie, the sun still did not come out, the lighting was still low, maybe that was the reason I did not get a very sharp image. I could have increased the exposure though, that could have made it look a bit sharper.
.JPG) |
| Red-billed Blue Magpie |
The below 4 shots of woodpeckers were clicked during one of the evening treks.
The best Himalayan Woodpecker male shot was clicked by me in Makku, holding the walnut in its beak. I really wish, I had my current gear during that time.
All these below woodpecker shots are no doubt my best shots for this species. Even though these shots are in the sky background, but the clarity is good, the reach was okay, and the sharpness is just beautiful.
This Jay was feeding on one the harvested farms of Raju. I saw the flock of Jays sitting and feeding there, took my time and angle to get this flying shot, but ultimately got it. I won't say I'm 100% satisfied, the noise level is a bit more, the light was less, the sharpness is not perfect, still it is a good shot to have.
I had been contemplating whether this is the Kashmir nuthatch or the White-tailed Nuthatch. I really wasn't sure whether it was Kashmir one or not. It is indeed very hard to find out on the field about the difference, so i settled for white-tailed only as it is more common and Kashmir is rarer to find.
Last year got the male of Rock Bunting, this time got the female. The sky background isn't always the greatest of all, but atleast the shot was clean, sharp and within more than acceptable reach.
This bird made me run the most. I even played its call, but somehow it didn't bother to respond. It just didn't come out of the foliage and I was forced to click it from within the leaves and twigs.
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| Himalayan Woodpecker male |
All these below woodpecker shots are no doubt my best shots for this species. Even though these shots are in the sky background, but the clarity is good, the reach was okay, and the sharpness is just beautiful.
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| Himalayan Woodpecker female |
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| Brown-fronted Woodpecker male |
.JPG) |
| Brown-fronted Woodpecker female |
This Jay was feeding on one the harvested farms of Raju. I saw the flock of Jays sitting and feeding there, took my time and angle to get this flying shot, but ultimately got it. I won't say I'm 100% satisfied, the noise level is a bit more, the light was less, the sharpness is not perfect, still it is a good shot to have.
.JPG) |
| Black-headed Jay |
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| Streaked Laughingthrush |
I had been contemplating whether this is the Kashmir nuthatch or the White-tailed Nuthatch. I really wasn't sure whether it was Kashmir one or not. It is indeed very hard to find out on the field about the difference, so i settled for white-tailed only as it is more common and Kashmir is rarer to find.
 |
| White-tailed Nuthatch |
.JPG) |
| Grey-backed Shrike |
Last year got the male of Rock Bunting, this time got the female. The sky background isn't always the greatest of all, but atleast the shot was clean, sharp and within more than acceptable reach.
.JPG) |
| Rock Bunting female |
This bird made me run the most. I even played its call, but somehow it didn't bother to respond. It just didn't come out of the foliage and I was forced to click it from within the leaves and twigs.
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| Striated Laughingthrush |
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| Himalayan Buzzard |
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| Booted Eagle |
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| View from Dhanachuli |
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| Indian Red Admiral |
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| Purple Sapphire |
This trip was well planned in advance, hence I had the chance to bring my camera. I'm not sure whether it was my luck or was it the season, but bird watching was just awesome this time. I got a lot of beautiful shots, some of them very near to my, with a lot of details and resolution in the pics, and with some good bokehs. I am sure, I can even print some of these pics with full size canvas prints. They were like full frame shots clicked with a full frame camera of 45 MP. At these distances and in such beautiful light, any camera gear would do justice to the birds. I was just lucky that my gear is a more than decent gear needed for birding. If I ever get the 600 f/4, my gear would become the "Ferrari gear" for birding. For now, I can safely call it the "Audi gear".
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