Eaglenest Bird Sanctuary
Overview - Eaglenest Bird Sanctuary
Ask any birder in India which their dream destination for bird-watching is, and a unanimous cry will be “Eaglenest”!
Made popular with the discovery of the Bugun Liochichla in 2006 – an endemic bird of Eaglenest aptly named after the local Bugun tribe.
Eaglenest is contiguous with the Pakke Tiger Reserve, Sessa Orchid Sanctuary as well as Nameri Tiger Reserve – and it’s relative isolation and low population distribution has ensured that it remains as one of India’s last large pristine forest stretches, relatively undisturbed as yet by the pressures of human development.
The accessible birding areas lie between 500m – 2800m above sea-level covering a range of habitats from Lowland Evergreen Forest, Temperate broad-leaved Forest, Bamboo, Coniferous and Scrub.
Close to 500 species are recorded here and it has been declared an Important Bird Area(IBA).
Best Time to Visit Eaglenest Bird Sanctuary
November to mid-May is a great time to visit.
Summers : March-May is when the vegetation is at it’s lowest ebb, with the breeding season of the birds makes it very fruitful.
Highlight Species - Eaglenest Bird Sanctuary
- Streak-throated Barwing
- Rufous-breasted Bush Robin
- Red-faced Liocichla
- Hill Blue Flycatcher
- Goldcrest
- Tibetan Serin
- Black-faced Laughingthrush
- Spotted Laughingthrush
- Great Parrotbill
- Grey-headed Parrotbill
- Bugun Liocichla - endemic
- Blyth’s Tragopan
- Temminck’s Tragopan
- Snow Partridge
- Ward’s Trogon
- Fire-tailed Myzornis
- Beautiful Nuthatch
- Grandala
- Hodgson’s Frogmouth
- Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler
- Chestnut-breasted Partridge
- Winter Wren
- Bar-winged Wren Babbler
- Long-billed Wren Babbler
- Rufous-throated Wren Babbler
- Pygmy Wren Babbler
- Rufous-necked Hornbill
- Wreathed Hornbill
- Yellow-rumped Honeyguide
- Bhutan Laughingthrush
Types of Safaris - Eaglenest Bird Sanctuary
Walking Safaris : Birding is done here on foot. A vehicle does accompany one while ascending the hills, and as it is an unregulated area – you can easily get off the cars amongst the various birding areas to look for different species.
How to reach Eaglenest Bird Sanctuary
By Air : 8.5 hr road journey from Guwahati Airport, Assam – well connected by flight from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata & Bangalore. 04 hr road journey from Tezpur Airport – connected by flight from Guwahati 3 times a week. Need to stay overnight at Guwahati to catch the early morning flight to Tezpur(45 min flight).
By Road : 5 hr drive from Nameri National Park & 6 hr drive away from Kaziranga National Park, popular destinations nearby.
