Always Looking for Birds Sunday

Driving to lunch, we stopped by the river when we spotted a pair of Plumbeous Redstarts. I love the gray patterns in the female’s plumage.

We got an excellent look at the male when he flew to a nearby rock. They were foraging the water’s surface, logs, and rocks for insects, though they’ll also eat seeds, fruits, and spiders.

How lucky we were to have an outdoor lunch with local cuisine,

overlooking the Mo Chhu River and the Punakha Dzong.

Of course, I was looking for birds.

Fifty bulbuls, the Black Bulbul and

the Red-vented Bulbul, flew around us.

They were dining on the nectar of the Red Silk Cotton Tree’s blossoms just over our heads.

Then…

this 12” Gray-headed Woodpecker flew in, landing on a nearby tree. It stayed for 30 seconds, then headed off, the only one we’d see on the trip. Oh, happy day!

Plumbeous Redstart Phoenicurus fuliginosus, Black Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus, Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer, Gray-headed Woodpecker Picus canus, Red Silk Cotton Tree Bombax ceiba

Mo Chhu River and local cafe, Punakha, Bhutan

March 21, 2025