Eaglenest or Eagle's Nest Wildlife Sanctuary is arguably the most important birding site in the Eastern Himalayas of India and is a protected area of India in the Himalayan foothills of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. It conjoins Sessa Orchid Sanctuary to the northeast and Pakhui Tiger Reserve across the Kameng river to the east. Altitude ranges are extreme: from 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 3,250 metres (10,663 ft).[1] It is also a part of the Kameng Elephant Reserve. Eaglenest is notable as a prime birding site due to the extraordinary variety, numbers and accessibility of species. Eaglenest derives its name from Red Eagle Division of the Indian army which was posted in the area in the 1950s.
The forest here has recorded close to 500 species and is of course famous for the Bugun Liocichla, described as new to science by Ramana Athreya in 2006 and responsible for truly pinning Eaglenest on the global birding map. Despite expeditions in neighbouring parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan, and the occasional sighting of suspected dispersing birds, no other populations of this incredibly rare endemic have been found. Its global population could be as low as 14 individual birds.
The temperate cloud forest is intermixed with dense bamboo patches and broadleaved evergreen forest across a wide altitudinal range, with conifers and rhododendrons at the higher elevations, and this mix of habitats and elevation means excellent bird diversity. Much of the area can be accessed from an abandoned jeep track and, with walking freely allowed unlike in most other Indian sanctuaries, most birding is done along this. Aside from birders and other dedicated wildlife watchers, the area sees little disturbance.
Highlight Bird Species:
Bugun Liochichla
Red Faced Liochichla
Temminck’s Tragopan
Blyth’s Tragopan
Ward’s Trogon
Rufous Throated Wren Babbler
Pygmy Wren Babbler
Fire Tailed Myzornis
Long Billed Wren Babbler
Beautiful Nuthatch
Rufous Necked Hornbill
Grandala
