March 5, 2023, Morning
Route
There is a lot of farmland on the outskirts of Kaziranga National Park in all directions. Cattle from the surrounding villages can be seen within the park, and our guide told us that tigers have been known to take down some of the cattle. Our guide took us to one such privately owned farm. This habitat provides an opportunity to encounter grassland birds near Kaziranga on foot. This was somewhat close to the Eastern Range. We walked around for about a kilometer, spending about 2 hours in the morning before heading back.
Bird and Other Wildlife Sightings
Although there were lots of bird calls/songs, we didn’t see all that much today. The usual birds like stonechats, pipits, etc. were around. No rarities, though. Striated Grassbirds (lifer) were seen well. Got a few glimpses of Zitting Cisticola amongst the grasses. Then on the way back, a flock of Lesser-whistling Ducks flew over in front, and far out in the distance on the opposite side a Long-legged Buzzard was seen flying (record photo taken). Our guide was playing back calls of Swamp Prinia, and although a prinia showed up which he thought was it, I’m not too sure it wasn’t a Plain Prinia. Not a very productive morning.
Here is the complete eBird checklist.
Audio Recordings
I made this recording which I think is Striated Grassbird. Note to self is to say the name of the bird out loud while recording so I know what I recorded a year later!
Photos and Media
