“We heard from some bird watching colleagues about Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus ginginianus) collecting at the main rubbish dump site just outside Pokhara and made an attempt to find it. It is located 2-3 km north of the city. The dump does not smell much but the dust can choke you.
“We saw in excess of 75 Egyptian Vultures and numerous Black Kites (Milvus migrans). Of interest was the complete absence of crows and the large number of White Wagtails (Motacilla alba). No other vulture species present.
“Light is very strong at this open dump site and, together with the dust, makes photography a challenge. I am not sure what the birds feed on here as there are people processing the rubbish and rotting material is limited.
“The Egyptian Vulture is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
“N. p. ginginianus is said to have an all yellow bill in comparison to N. p. percnopterus but almost all birds I saw had a grey-white tip to the beak.”
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
10th November 2017
Location: Pokhara, Gandaki Zone, Western Region, Nepal at 900m ASL
Habitat: City Rubbish Dump Site
