Like a magpie!

Jotirmay Thapliyal in Dehradun

Jotirmay Thapliyal in Dehradun

Ask Yashpal Negi how time flies, literally and metaphorically, he’d tell you: “like Mandkini Magpie.” Negi, a government school student in Ukhimath, would spend hours tracing the bird and then running around with it. Years later, when his forest-contractor father died following losses in his business because of strict conservation laws, Negi thought of doing something unthinkable: set up a bird watchers’ camp. He is only a matriculate, yet a qualified nature guide, the training for which he received from the Corbett National Park in 2000, shortly after Uttarakhand was formed. 

Negi’s Mandkini Magpie Bird Watchers’ Camp lies in Kankra Gadh in the Mandakini valley in Rudraprayag district of Garhwal hills on way to Kedarnath. “I was brought up amid natural surroundings. I have been a keen bird watcher. I could have gone to Delhi or any other big city for a job, like most paharis do. But I decided to flow against the stream and stayed on”, says Negi. The Mandkini Magpie became an instant hit with bird watchers. Soon his camp gained popularity and became a destination for some of the renowned bird watchers. But, then came the 2013 rain disaster. The Kedarnath valley was completely flattened, plunging Negi, into a financial crisis. 

The Mandakini in furious spate destroyed his camp which he had built brick-by-brick. The administration’s promised assistance never reached him. At the peak season, Negi earned as much as Rs 4,000 per day, but post-flood, he became jobless. The hardy pahari spirit stood him in good stead. He abandoned the riverside camp site and shifted to the safer Mukkumath village, about 15km from the Mandakini bank.

Four years later, Negi has recovered from the shock. His Mukkumath Magpie Bird Watchers’ Camp is packed round the year. He has even employed local boys who provide home food to the visitors. Apart from field visits that include close encounter with rich avian fauna of the region, all documented information about the birds of the region can be found in his camp.

“Negi has proved beyond doubt that he is a man of grit”, says Jayesh Patel, a bird watcher from Jamnagar (Gujarat), who has visited the camp as many as seven times. “Negi-ji has excellent knowledge about birds. Just hearing their calls, he can tell which species of bird is the nearest,” says Patel. “He has also stuck to the Garhwali cuisine at the camp, which is a delight for the visitors,” says Patel. 

The small Mukkumath village is rich in bird diversity. Thousands of birds from Tunganath and surrounding hills come to Mukkumath. Some of the rarely-seen birds such as Golden Bush Robin, Himalayan Bluetail, Scaly Breasted, Redstart and Wren Babbler are easily sighted at Negi’s camp.

Negi has also started a campaign to save sparrows, taking into account their dwindling numbers. He has built several artificial nests inside his camp, where a large number of sparrows live.