First Masked Finfoot Trip with BirdingBD Tours - February 2024 Trip Report
BirdingBD Tours arranged this Masked Finfoot Trip in sundarbans on February 15-16-17 from Dhaka. Guests were mostly Bangladeshi Birdwatchers and Only International Guest was Mr. Avijit Ganguli from Kolkata, India, Masked Finfoot was a long-time dream for him.
We Started from Dhaka on evening of 15th and Boarded Ship by Midnight.
We arrived at the Location at about 8 AM, we’d finished our breakfasts before then and hopped on the Smaller Boat for Canal Cruise. It was Low Tide going on so most side canals were too shallow to access or check. Several Brown-winged Kingfishers and Black-capped Kingfishers kept giving great Views, followed by a Large Saltwater Crocodile. We photographed a nice Short-toed Snake Eagle flying over us which was many of the our Lifer since it’s a National Rarity and very scarcely seen in BD.
We kept looking and after about two hours we spotted our first Masked Finfoot, a nice sub-adult female. We stopped at about 200m from the bird and silently kept watch. The Bird initially went in but soon came out and started foraging. We took photos and videos and saw it cross a small creek and then it vanished around the corner. We waited some more then started exploring more. We saw one Small-clawed Otter there also.
After lunch and a brief rest time we went in a small channel again looking for Nocturnal Birds, it was still high tide so not much of the banks were exposed. We managed to Photograph a nice Streak-breasted Woodpecker male, heard multiple Buffy Fish Owls from distance and few Mangrove Pittas. We looked for the The Night Heron & Fish Owls in complete silence and using torch lights but no luck, banks were still submerged. After about two hours we returned to Ship for the day.
Next morning we could hear Indian Nightjar and Large-tailed Nightjars calling from nearby forest patches. We entered the main channel before sunrise and kept going. We found one Male Masked Finfoot this time sitting right by a canal, we snapped few quick shots and waited from far. It decided to start swimming and then Ran over water then flew and vanished in mist on the other side. We decided not to chase after it. We found a buffy fish owl here also, we all saw it but not great photographs. Several Spotted Deers, more Saltwater Crocodiles gave great views, one Crested Serpent Eagle with puffed Crest sitting right by the bank was Great and we had fun photographing it.
We then went to check on yesterday’s spot again, waited for about two hours but found no activity there so decided to return to ship.
We then went to a nearby Boardwalk but sun was high up by then so bird activity was very low. Few Greenish Warblers, Greater Flamebacks, Small Minivets were active. We saw few ospreys here and a grey-headed fish eagle flying over us high up.
We checked few more canals around, found few more of the regular Kingfishers, Verditer Flycatchers, Water Monitor Lizards etc then decided to return to ship for Lunch. After lunch we started our return journey. Saw one White-bellied Sea Eagle adult, another Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Black-naped Orioles, Pacific Golden Plovers etc. We arrived at Town around sunset and started our Return Journey to Dhaka, arrived at early morning of 18th. Everyone got at least Two Lifers. Trip was successful as we showed our guests 2 Masked Finfoots on 2 days, got the Buffy Fish Owl also along with the surprise Snake Eagle, White-bellied Sea Eagle etc.
Checklist of Birds Seen:
Lesser Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna javanica
Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus
Oriental Turtle-Dove Streptopelia orientalis
Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Red Collared-Dove Streptopelia tranquebarica
Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis
Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus
Masked Finfoot Heliopais personatus
Gray-headed Lapwing Vanellus cinereus
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Little Cormorant Microcarbo niger
Striated Heron Butorides striata
Indian Pond-Heron Ardeola grayii
Great Egret Ardea alba
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Crested Serpent-Eagle Spilornis cheela
Short-toed Snake-Eagle Circaetus gallicus
Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
White-bellied Sea-Eagle Icthyophaga leucogaster
Gray-headed Fish-Eagle Icthyophaga ichthyaetus
Oriental Scops-Owl Otus sunia
Buffy Fish-Owl Ketupa ketupu
Asian Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
Brown-winged Kingfisher Pelargopsis amauroptera
White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata
Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris
Greater Flameback Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus
Streak-breasted Woodpecker Picus viridanus
Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri
Blossom-headed Parakeet Psittacula roseata
Mangrove Pitta Pitta megarhyncha
Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus
Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis
Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus
Common Iora Aegithina tiphia
Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
Bronzed Drongo Dicrurus aeneus
Hair-crested Drongo Dicrurus hottentottus
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus
Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda
Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos
Asian Tit Parus cinereus
Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer
Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides
Pin-striped Tit-Babbler Mixornis gularis
Abbott’s Babbler Malacocincla abbotti
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch Sitta frontalis
Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnia malabarica
Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis
Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassinus
Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla
Pale-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum erythrorhynchos
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Dicaeum cruentatum
Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus
Crimson Sunbird Aethopyga siparaja
Other Wildlife seen:
Saltwater Crocodiles
Ganges River Dolphin
Spotted Deer
Rhesus Macaque
Small-clawed Otter
Please contact for small team Masked Finfoot Trips in Bangladesh Sundarban in 2026-27 info@birdingbd.com
