Bhutan Day 3

We leave the capital Thimpu (and its legions of barking dogs which kept some of us awake) before dawn to reach the pass of Dochu-la (3116 m) east of the city.

A Nutcracker poses on top of a tree.

We see some Red-headed Bullfinch but the light is not good enough for photographs to work. Luckily I catch up with them again later in the trip.

We breakfast in a little shop/cafe where there are colourful local produce for sale.

If lichen growth is a sign of clean air then strands several feet long must mean something.

Primulas and Rhododendrons (where they should be!) are abundant

Birds photographed that day

Plain-backed Thrush (an uninspiring name for a rather attractive bird)

Large Hawk Cuckoo. These are usually heard and not seen. Indeed they start their insistent song before dawn - prompting a cry of “Someone shoot that ****** bird” from a tent one morning.

We travel further east and overnight in camp not far from Punahka. It is worth pointing out that travelling is painfully slow in Bhutan due the the mountainous nature and the poor road surfaces. In the west of the country where the roads are better 20 mph is good progress but in the east it is much slower.

This entry was posted on 24th March 2008 at 08:19 am and is filed under Bhutan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.