We are very lucky in Bhutan to have such a diversity of habitat for birds. Our country ranges from tropical climates in the south to alpine and glaciers in the north. Variety is abundant here, in habitat and birds. A short 10 days birding trip in the middle of our winter can easily yield 150 species. The altitudinal migrants do not have far to travel in the steep mountains of the Himalayas.

Many birds migrate from much further away, such as the Bar Headed Goose which is the highest flying bird in the world. Many simply stay for winter in the knowledge that the climate is sunny and snow is rare. Warblers, robins, laughingthrushes and bulbuls are just some of the permanent residents in Bhutan.

I am cautious to name birds in this blog post. I am just a humble tour guide, whereas our birding tours are led by a genuine expert. Eejay is a gentle man with immense patience, matched only by his skill. He is a wonderful companion and his talent to achieving sightings is something I still cannot quite understand. How a man earns such a skill is a mystery. Our touring team appreciate his skills however, and none more so than our bus-driver Lhaba. He too has caught the twitch and now enjoys his spare time observing the feathers.

We have run several special birding trips in recent months. Some were just 10 days to fit the client’s limited time, but also we have a few longer itineraries ready to roll out. Spring is the peak time for bird trips, but winter is wonderful too.

Our most rewarding journey of 2019 was to support a project with Panasonic Australia that pitted their latest cameras against the wilds of the Himalayas. The trip was designed to field test their latest Lumix camera prototype under the guidance of Ewen, our longtime friend, mentor and photography guru. He brought along a very special guest, the charming and talented Ray Martin, who enjoyed his very first tour with birders and opened a whole new world of contemplation for him.

Ray joined Ewen on this exciting adventure to capture a special collection of images from two perspectives, the birds that live in the forests and the Bhutanese who protect that habitat. They met with farmers, monks, conservationists and rangers. What they discovered was a beautiful expression of conservation that has deep cultural roots, and yet is awakening to the modern world and a modern way to look at conservation values. Where they come together is the idea that the best way to protect wilderness is by local awareness of the wildlife who live there.

As we learned over and over during that journey, “When communities see the birds, they will act protect them.”

That journey led to a wonderful exhibition held in Australia. If you would like to see a little of what Bhutan birding is all about you can enjoy a preview of that exhibition below, or go one further and download a PDF copy of Ewen’s companion book to the exhibition which features hundreds of colour images taken on that trip.

Please get in touch if we can help you plan a birding trip to Bhutan. It would be our pleasure and honor to bring you closer to our wilderness.