The King of Latpanchar

Few shots are very close to heart not only because they are shot at challenging situations or are of a venerable species but also because it has to memorable moments with it. This is one such species which will be special to me.

Latpanchar in India is a bird’s paradise and is home to the Rufous-necked Hornbill, now a vulnerable species because of habitat loss and hunting.

I had a wish to visit the place for quite some time but somehow it didn't work out. But this year after much planning we finally planned a trip to Latpanchar. Obviously I was pretty excited and collected all information about the trip. I also had a talk with the homestay & guide and finalized everything. We were ready and on the day of travel, just a few hours before our train was scheduled, there came a message on my hubby’s phone that our train has been cancelled. I felt really sad and seeing my sullen face, my hubby planned the trip again and booked flight tickets, we were also lucky to get a deal.

This time we were able to travel, thank god after many tries, but my woes were not over yet. On the evening we reached Latpanchar, it started raining heavily and there was also a forecast of rain next day. Alas, all effort for no use, but somewhere my heart told me that this is going to a wonderful trip, let’s see. After having a dinner of Roti, veggies and Chicken and praying to god to clear the weather, I slept at night.

I woke up at 4 AM next morning only to find the whole world enveloped in mist. Anyways, still with hope in my heart, I went to the spot with my guide but we could hardly see the way before us, forget about birding. He was quite optimistic and said mist will clear in a few hours. We came back and had breakfast. We again went to the spot at around 10 AM and this time the mist was bit clear, we started descending downhill through a steep slope. This was my first time in Himalayan birding and I was scared of the slope, but an urge to see the venerable majestic beauty overcame my fear. We went to the spot from where the bird is visible and waited for hours. No sighting and we returned empty handed.

After a hot tasty lunch which lifted my spirits I went out for a stroll outside and saw my guide coming to fetch me again for a try. We again hiked downhill on the steep slopes to the sighting place. On our way downhill, we spotted a Long-tailed Broad bill, another dream species for me. We reached the hornbill sighting spot and now it was endless wait. It was around 4 PM, almost three hours have passed since we came and to make things worse it started drizzling. There were many other birders who waited with us, they packed and left for the fear of ruining their gear in heavy rain. I was also about to pack, but decided to stay a few more minutes, and it was the best thing to happen so far in the trip Exactly after ten to fifteen minutes, there was a loud call and the king of Latpanchar landed on the branch in front of us. Wow, what a majestic beauty. I was mesmerized, admired its beauty, took some shots and just as I packed, it started to rain very heavily. We returned completely drenched but with a content feeling in my heart. I had two more days of birding ahead of me and I wouldn’t have seriously minded if it rained heavily on those days, I had seen a beauty sighting which alone is worth a trip.

Note : Thanks to Mr. Padam Gurung , owner of Hornbill Nest Homestay, Parag Gurung, my birding guide throughout the trip and Mr. Deben Rai, our expert hand at driving through the steep slopes of the himalayas.