Birding India Part 9: Methodist Bird Hide in Sattal, to Chafi, to Nainital and Narayan Nagar.

This video covers Dec 15-16, the trip's remaining time in the Sattal-Nainital area.
Dec 15 starts with a visit to the Methodist Bird Hide in Sattal, where we saw Green Magpie well (but it was fast, pinching large chunks of Papaya and getting out of there), large numbers of Kalij Pheasant, a pair of Red Junglefowl, a few Red-billed Blue Magpie, a Blue Whistling Thrush, many White-throated Laughingthrush, a handful of White-crested Laughingthrush (that arrived first, when it still was too dark to take photos, really) and of course Oriental Turtle Doves.
Sadly, there seemed to be a threat that arrived in the vicinity around 8:40, because the bird activity dwindled to nothing after 9 AM.
So, we left and drove to the Chafi agricultural area. There we got a spledid view of a Blue-throated Barbet and lousy (distant) views of a femal White-rumped Shama. I also spotted two butterflies (Indian Red Admiral and Indian Cabbage White, the latter a Lifer).
At lunchtime we returned to Nainital and was met with the most horrible car chaos on Kilbury Rd, due to snow-touristing people from lower levels (like the Delhi area), our guide informed us. It was almost impossible to get past all parked vehicles, cars that looked for a tiny spot to park their car and squeezing past oncoming traffic. Somehow we made it down to the hotel, though.
After lunch we went downhill on Nainital Rd, down to the village Narayan Nagar, where we birded the terraced area at the downhill side of the road.
We had Golden Bush Robin stakeout for ever, only resulting in snippets of partial views, good views of Black-headed Jay (another Target Bird), and added Rock Bunting and Yellow-breasted Greenfinch to the trip list.
When just a short time of daylight was left we drove down, around the next bend, and birded there. We were rewarded with two new trip-birds: Brown Shrike and a female Pink-browed Rosefinch.
Then, on the steep grassy hillside on the other side of the road, a Lifer Mammal appeared: a Himalayan Goral (a cool goat-relative).
Dec 16 was our last day up here, and also the trip's last day, really. We only had the morning for birding, and so made the best of it. It was a clear day, for once, and we packed the cars with all our luggage and ourselves and checked out from the hotel at 7:30 AM.
Then we drove a large detour to get appr 300 meter west of the hotel, where we were dropped off at almost the beginning of Kilbury Rd, behind the Government Polytechnic buildings, where we started to bird. We got three new trip birds there: Coal Tit, Black-throated Bush Tit and Blue-fronted Redstart.
Then we went to Gairkhet Village Rd, which we followed a short while, before getting on a trail that led to Narayan Nagar, where the cars with our stuff would wait and our bus would join, to pick us up.
That walk gave five more trip birds: White-tailed Nuthatch, Rufous-breasted Accentor, Tickell's Leaf Warbler, Himalyan Bluetail and Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, the last one a Lifer for me.
Then we reached Narayan Nagar, the cars were there, the bus was not. It was wisely park somewhere downhill with better room for a larger vehicle. Our guide called the driver about our arrival, and soon after the bus arrived. We stowed all the luggage and ourselves into it, and our almost 9 hour transport back to New Delhi began (at 9:45 AM).
We arrived to Ashok Country Inn after sundown, at 6:30 PM. The trip was over for most of the group, but for our guides, my partner and me and for Paul, it wasn't. We had signed up for the extension days to Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, two travel days and only two whole birding days.
That will be covered in Part 10, which is the last part.