Trip Report INDIA 2002 Simon Plat, Bernard Oosterbaan, Willem Oosterbaan Dates: 7-11-2002 till 12-12-2002 For more info, comments, questions etc please contact us.

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Kaziranga National Park

Location: Kohora, 230 km east of Guwahati (4 hours drive).

Costs: Still-camera fee: 500 rupees. The other costs were included in the package deal.

Date(s): 2-12-2002 (western and central range, 7 birding hours), 3-12-2002 (elephant ride and eastern range, 9 birding hours), 5-12-2002 (central and western range, 7 birding hours), 6-12-2002 (eastern range and tea gardens).

Notes: Kaziranga NP generally has the same rules as mentioned for Corbett NP: regulated opening hours (morning: from 7:30 till 12:00, afternoon: from 14:30 till dusk), entrance only with a vehicle and guide, a huge camera fee. All entrance arrangements should be booked in advance at the Forest Department office in Kohora, for us (fortunately) this was done by a guy from the Aranya lodge who did a very good job. We visited the three trails (western, central and eastern range) twice.
Western range is a beautiful trail and pretty good for birds and rhinos. Central range was the least interesting for us. Eastern range is by far the best area for birding, though we were not allowed to get to Debeswari, one of the best spots for the Kaziranga specialties. The guide told us that this trail (from the lookout near the Spot-billed Pelican colony onward) was in bad condition and not used for a long time. We made one elephant ride (3-12).

Highlights: Spot-billed Pelican (XX, all ranges), Black-necked Stork (V, all ranges), Greater Adjutant (1, western range), Lesser Adjutant (X, western and eastern ranges), Short-toed Snake-Eagle (1, central range), Pied Harrier (2, western and central range), Eurasion Griffon (X, the commonest vulture in Kaziranga NP during our visit), Long-billed Vulture (tenuirostris) (8, eastern range, this was the only place were we saw this vulture), Booted Eagle (1, eastern range), Grey-headed Fish-Eagle ( 4, all ranges), Peregrine Falcon (1, eastern range), Swamp Francolin (X), Bengal Florican (1, Derban watchtower), Grey-headed Lapwing (X), Blossom-headed Parakeet (1, eastern range), Stork-billed Kingfisher (2), Great Hornbill (2, central range), Yellow-vented Warbler (X, eastern range), Small Niltava (1, eastern range), White-vented Myna (X).

Pics:

	Good maps of Kaziranga NP are not provided; probably not even available. Here's a map on a infopanel at the entrance of the western range.
An impression of the western range of Kaziranga NP.
	The endangered Swamp Francolin can easily be found in Kazirange NP, most often crossing a road.
This Rhino with young in the early morning mist allowed close looks from the back of an Elephant.
	Another Rhino in the easter part of Kaziranga. This one was not very amused with our presence and even attacked and pursued our truck!
Eurasion Griffon Vultures, like this one, are becoming more common since the decline of the Indian Gyps Vultures. In 2002 it was hard to find Long-billed Vultures anywhere, including Kaziranga NP. We had more sightings of Eurasion Griffon than of Long-billed Vultures in Kaziranga.
	One of the 8 Long-billed Vultures that was present on a carcass of a rhinoceros.
Lesser Adjutant is relatively easy to find in Kaziranga NP. This one was photographed in the eastern part.
	This area in the eastern part of Kaziranga NP is known for its breeding site of the endangered Spot-billed Pelican. They breed in the trees on the far bank of the river.
This Stork-billed Kingfishers perched on a branch above the track. We had only a few sightings of this beautiful kingfisher.
	Another Long-billed Vulture. We only saw this rare species in the Eastern Range

Bird List:

A = Western Range
B = Central Range
C = Eastern Range

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