The Phobjikha Valley is the winter home for about 300 black-necked cranes, an endangered species with at most 6,000 birds. These particular birds breed in northern Tibet.
- Phobjikha Valley panorama
The lower 10-15m of the hills or mounds in and around the valley (kame terrace) is composed of sandy silt (48% silt, 52% sand) saturated with water that seeps out in contact with the impervious clay glacial moraine of the valley floor turning it into a marshy wetland with scattered shallow ponds–ideal habitant for the wintering cranes. They forage on plant roots and tubers, insects, snails, shrimp, fish, frogs, lizards, voles, and waste grains.
I spent a day in the valley hiking, birding, and visiting the Black-Necked Crane Information Center and a nearby monastery. Before breakfast we strolled along the paved road on the west side of the valley hoping to see the cranes leave their rookeries to begin a day of grazing in the fields. For some reason I expected something akin to the the dawn takeoff at Bosque del Apache in New Mexico when large groups of birds leave the ponds for the fields.
Morning Take-off at Bosque del Apache
Instead, the cranes mostly left in small groups of two and three; the largest I counted was seven. Since the rookeries were on the other side of the valley and it was dark and slightly foggy, I have no pictures.
After breakfast we rambled along the Gangte Nature Trail, a 2.5-mile semi-circular trail that crossed the valley and then followed the edge of the valley along the hillsides until it reached Gangte Goemba. We stopped to identify birds unknown to us, take pictures, watch the cranes, and generally enjoy this beautiful place on a warm, sunny day.
Gangtey Nature Trail Map
The center of the valley was very marshy.
Marshy wetlands of Phobjikha Valley
We often had to jump from tussock to tussock to get to the Khewang Lhakhang. The lhakhang was built in the late fifteenth century by Thulku Penjor Gyeltshen, the reincarnation of the Tibetan saint Kuenkhen Logchen Rabjampa, using Tibetan laborers.
Khewang Lhakhang
The monks who have lived in the old Tibetan-style building for centuries
Old Khewang Lhakhang
are getting new Bhutanese-style quarters.
New building at Khewang Lhakhang
Nearby there is a very old chorten and a small hillside village.
Village and Chorten
In this part of the valley we saw many Oriental Skylarks
Oriental Skylark
and passed several farmhouses.
Phobjikha Valley Farm
Farmers were out working in their potato fields–the primary cash crop for the valley. This was one of the few places I saw tractors during my entire trip.
Farmers in their fields
Trailside Chorten and Prayer Flags
From here we had a good view of the cranes grazing in the fields.
Black-Necked Cranes Grazing
Every once in a while a small group would take off, heading for one of the higher, shadier and, therefore, cooler side valleys.
Black-Necked Cranes Aloft
While we were sitting and watching the cranes, a few women walked by carrying huge bundles of dead ferns, pine needles and other forest detritus to be used for feeding their farm animals.
Walking Trees
Hillside trail above the crane rookery
Soon thereafter the trail entered the forest (blue pine, fir, hemlock, larch, birch, rhododendron and maple) where clearly years of harvesting the understory for forage had left it picked clean.
Pine forest free of understory
Many trees were draped in a lichen called “Old-man’s Beard,”
Old-man's Beard
and we saw a Grey-Crested Tit.
Grey crested Tit
When we emerged from the forest we walked along a farm track, some of which was covered with several inches of dust.
Valley Farm
Then we climbed again to the road leading to Gangte Goemba where there was a large chorten.
Chorten near Gangte Goemba
As we walked down to meet our van and driver, we saw a White-browed Wagtail.
White-browed Wagtail
Driving back to the hotel, we found a group of three cranes, including a juvenile, in a farmyard along the road.
Pair of Cranes with Juvenile