Bird watching
and birding for
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Bird watching
and birding for
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Parkwood Shogi, near Shimla,
is a great destination base for
bird watching. The verdant, sylvan
surroundings in the Himalayan ambience
are home to many different species of birds. Some of the birds which can be commonly spotted just outside one's cottage are the White Eared Bulbul, Black Drongo, Spot Winged Tit, Blue Magpie, Kalij Pheasant, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Brown Fronted Woodpecker, Black Headed Jay and Trumpeter Finch.
For more extensive birding, the surrounding forest has many birding
trails and nesting sites which the local guides at Parkwoods can lead you
to. For amateur bird watchers, within the resort
there is a machaan for sighting birds at leisure while
the serious ornithologists venture out into the forest and upto 10
kms away by road or 6 kms through the forest to
the Gambhar River tributary where many birds congregate. |
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One
August autumn when the hillsides were emerald green and the monsoon
clouds were still romantically flirting down in the valleys,
I was staying in Hut #4 at Parkwoods
Forest Retreat in Shoghi. I made a friend but as
happens in many relationships - the affair was one-sided! When I would be
having my morning tea at my cottage portico, a Brown Fronted
Woodpecker would visit the pine tree right in front,
everyday, without fail. I always experienced the staccato beat of its beak
against the trunk to be amazingly soothing. Look out for my friend whenever
you visit Parkwoods! |
For
somebody getting initiated into birding I could
not decide what I found more exciting - to be woken up by
a cacophony of khalij
pheasants outside my tent or glimpsing a red billed blue magpie with its
long majestic tail vanishing into the bushes as I took a turn on a birding
trail or sighting the ubiquitous black drongo. How I wish
that I could also sight the elusive monal and western tragopan. Having recently got a 10x42 Nikon binocs, I just cannot wait for my
next birding trip to Park Woods Shogi. |
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Park Woods Resort in Himachal Pradesh - A Birdwatcher's Delight. Many birds can be sighted within the retreat and in the surrounding forest and bushes. Given below is a short birding list of sightings made on birdwatching trails. We request enthusiasts and birders to help us add to this list. |
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Alexendrine
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Bushchats |
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Grey And Yellow |
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Pied Fly Catcher |
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Tree Sparrow |
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Some bird watching sites in and around Park Woods Forest Retreat in Shoghi in the wooded suburbs of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. 
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 Black Drongo |
 Great Barbet |
 Common Barbler |
 Common Myna |
 Blue Whistling Thrush |
Birding Report by Partha Pratim Pal of Delhi Birders' Club who visited Park Woods Forest Retreat in September >> 
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 Himalayan Bulbul |
 Grey Bushchat |
 Hoopoe |
 Oriental White Eye |
 Pie Crested Cuckoo |
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GO TOP |
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www.park-woods.com © The Caravan, India. All rights reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced without permission. This webpage has information on Bird Watching and Birding at Parkwoods Forest Retreat Shoghi near Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. |
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Birding Report by Mr. Partha Pratim Pal of
Delhi Birders' Club Weekend at Shoghi Shoghi is small town on the way to Shimla – the most famous and most popular hill station of India. In contrast, very few people know about Shoghi though it is just 18 kms before Shimla. If people know about Shoghi, it is mainly due to Park Woods Resort which is located just 3 kms away from the highway in a quaint wooded area. Park Woods Resort probably is the only place in Shoghi where you can stay. It is nice rustic jungle resort with bamboo cottages and swiss tents. Great hospitality, good food, lots of adventure activities thrown in and of course bird watching. It is just the right kind of place for family outing and armchair birding. It is also good for people who want the fun of Shimla but want to stay away from the crowd and pollution. My tryst with Himachal Pradesh on birding front has not been great and I was not expecting it either at Shoghi , though the list on Park wood website was encouraging. Kirti, Vanya, Shaheen and I boarded the train from Delhi to Kalka and reached our planned destination around noon. First sighting of the trip, a pair of Khaleej Pheasants just 80 mtrs way from the resort. I rubbed my hand in anticipation. Second sighting Grey Headed Woodpecker walking next to the cottage. My pessimism about Himachal birding changed into optimism. After that there was lull other than few Drongo and Grey Treepie making lot of noise. By evening Oriental White Eye, Great Tit, Black Lored Tit, Black Throated Tit were added to the list. Calls of Rusty Cheeked Schimitar Babbler and White Crested Laughing Thrush were also heard. Again a pair of Khaleej Pheasants. Weather was nice, cloudy and just the right amount of cold which makes you feel that you should be covered properly but warm clothes not required. Come night and we felt a slight chill. Next day morning trek gave me the only lifer of the trip Speckled Piculet, Grey Hooded Warbler, Himalayan Bulbul, possible Striated Prinia and Red Billed Blue Magpie mid morning and afternoon was spent in Shimla. Indian Griffon was the only sighting of the Shimla and not to forget we had some great Himachali Food. Vanya and my favourite -the Masala Trout. Next day we saw Blue Throated Barbet, Black Bulbul, Fire Breasted Flower Pecker, Blue Capped Rockthrush, Brown Fronted Woodpecker, Red Jungle Fowl, Nineteen Khaleej Pheasants, Long Tailed Minivets, Plum Headed Parakeet, Green Beater, Common Hoopoe, Spotted and Oriental Turtle Dove, Black Headed Jay and Large Billed Crow . Mid morning we did some adventure activities and late afternoon we went for a river picnic ten kms down. Vanya had some great fun playing in the water, sadly no birds around, except a few Jungle Babblers. Night became exciting with calls of Barking Deer and Mountain Scops Owl which I could record quite distinctly (Thanks to Shaheen who woke me up at 2.30 in the night). Next day was marked by sighting of Great Barbet, Blue Whistling Thrush, Grey Bushchat, Ultramarine Fycatcher, Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher, Verditter Flycatcher, Common Chiffchaff, Greenish Warbler, and Streaked Laughing Thrush. By afternoon we left the place after having a sumptuous lunch and we headed back for Kalka and to our final destination. By end of the trip I can say confidently I enjoyed the trip and birding wise it was definitely not so bad, density less but good variety. Park Woods as a jungle resort is a nice place and worth the value. ©Partha Pratim Pal, New Delhi. |
