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Patkote & Corbett

In winter, the Phato zone of Jim Corbett offers a quieter, more immersive birding experience than the park’s busier tourism areas, with long stretches of sal forest, sudden waterholes and relatively low vehicle pressure. The atmosphere is shaped as much by sound as by sight: before sunrise, Red Junglefowl, Kalij Pheasants and peafowl call from the undergrowth and track edges, anchoring you firmly in Terai tiger country even if your primary interest is birds rather than big cats. As light improves, the canopy becomes active. Their heavy wingbeats and nasal calls are often your first clues, and fruiting trees can also host Green Pigeons that burst out in tight flocks, their subtle greens and yellows briefly catching the sun. These upper-storey birds establish Phato as a stronghold of classic lowland forest species. Waterholes and seasonal streams are the second major focus in winter. A single well-placed vantage can produce multiple kingfisher species: Crested Kingfisher on prominent rocks, Common or White-throated Kingfisher on lower perches and Pied Kingfisher hovering before diving. Around them, River Lapwings patrol gently sloping banks, wagtails work the edges, and egrets and herons feed in the shallows. This mix turns each water body into a concise lesson in habitat partitioning, ideal for both observation and photography. Raptors add drama and scale. Crested Serpent Eagles are frequent, often perched prominently above tracks, while fish eagles such as Pallas’s Fish Eagle or Lesser Fish Eagle may appear near larger waterbodies. Over open patches, Black-winged Kites and other smaller raptors hover or quarter low, contrasting with the broad, circling flights of the eagles above. Winter also improves the chances of encountering ducks and some migratory raptors, underscoring the seasonal richness of the zone. Inside dense sal stands, woodpeckers become the main attraction. Species like Grey-headed Woodpecker, Greater Yellownape, Greater Flameback and White-naped Woodpecker exploit different parts of trunks and branches, turning apparently quiet groves into a subtle, multi-layered soundscape of calls and drumming. In more open sections and along edges, Indian Rollers, drongos, Minivets, flycatchers and warblers fill out the birding day, with migrants adding to resident diversity through the cool months. A sensible winter strategy in Phato is to begin near waterholes at first light for kingfishers, waders and raptors, then use late morning to work slowly through sal forest for hornbills, woodpeckers and mixed flocks. What distinguishes Phato is not an entirely different species list from the rest of Corbett, but the unhurried, less commercialised context in which you encounter these birds. A winter safari here is best approached not as a checklist race but as a chance to experience the lowland Terai forest on its own terms: layered, vocal and rewarding to those who slow down and let the habitat reveal itself.