Located amidst the mountains of Bhutan and Kanchendzonga mountain ranges of Nepal, East and South Sikkim is a pristine place for nature lovers, birders and trekkers. Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary lies amidst this place. Aritar, Lingtam and Padamchen (or Phadamchen) are small hamlets lying in this wildlife sanctuary corridors. Presenting here the rarities and beauties that I have loaded in my memory in the month of January 2014.
Aritar:
I started my journey from Aritar and stayed their for three days in the month of January 2014. A region in East Sikkim of India under Rongli Sub-Division, is known for its natural and landscaped beauty. There are five birding trails around Aritar lake and homestays which are home for Blue-fronted Redstart, Himalayan Bluetail, White-crested Laughingthrush, Striated Laughingthrush, White-rumped Munia, Speckled Piculet, Whistler's Warbler, Dark-breasted Rosefinch, Speckled Wood Pigeon, Barred Cuckoo Dove, Little Bunting etc. Speckled Wood Pigeon was the highlights amongst all of the mentioned species. Amongst pigeons and doves Speckled Wood Pigeon is least photographed from Indian Subcontinent. I managed some decent shots though. Patience paid off. Two to three
full day stay at this place will give you immense opportunity
for birding. Whole day birding inside the park with
packed lunch and breakfast can be arranged without any
problem. In this case you can give your total attention onto
birding.
Speckled Wood Pigeon | © Dibyendu Ash @ 2014 (CC-BY-NC-SA)
Lingtam:
After spending three beautiful birding days, I moved out towards Lingtam. I already had a support their to stay at Lingtam. Everyday I used to have packed breakfast for morning birding in and around the four trails of Lingtam. The main highlights of this region were Black-throated Sunbird, Green-tailed Sunbird, Common Green Magpie, Brown Dipper, Crested Kingfisher, Little Forktail, Spotted Forktail, Slaty-backed Forktail, Greater Yellownape, Grey-hooded Warbler, Greenish Warbler, Red-tailed Minla, Hoary-throated Barwing, White-browed Fulvetta, Spangled Drongo, White-browed Cuckoo Shrike, Plumbeous Water Redstart, White-capped Redstart, Grey-headed Woodpecker and last but not the least Bay Woodpecker. Amongst Woodpeckers of Indian Subcontinent, Bay Woodpecker is least photographed. Though at dusk I didn't manage to have a decent image of the bird, I would give another try for the bird when I am in that place again. Backpack filled with a bottle of water and light snacks like biscuits gave me enough energy to walk for twelve hours. Two full day stay at this place will
give immense opportunity for birding. Whole day birding inside
the park with packed lunch and breakfast can be arranged without
any problem. In this case you can give your total attention onto
birding.
Phadamchen:
When my four days in Lingtam was over, my mind asked me "what next you would get?". Phadamchen or Padamchen was as glorious as it should be for birding. Spent five nights at Padamchen. For the first time I tasted Chang at Padamchen. "Chhaang" or "chang" (Tibetan: ཆང་), a fermented millet drink, served with boiling hot water. Generally Chaang is consumed through bamboo barrels, (called "Dhungro"). Now a days aluminium containers are also available. By the way moving on to the birds of Sikkim. Tastes awesome when consumed with roasted potatoes. Now coming to the key birds of Phadamchen for which one should give a must visit there are Blue-fronted-Redstart, Grey-Bushchat, Rufous-Sibia, Rufous-vented-Yuhina, Striated-Prinia, Strip-throated-Yuhina, White-collared Blackbird, Scaly Thrush, Black-throated Thrush, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, Blue-winged laughingthrush, Streaked Laughingthrush, Striated laughingthrush, Plain-backed Thrush, Large Niltava, Small Niltava, Black-throated Tit, Rufous-breasted Accentor, Red-tailed Minla, Hoary-throated Barwing, White-browed Fulvetta, Spangled Drongo, White-browed Cuckoo Shrike, Rusty-flanked Treecreeper, Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch, Whiskered Yuhina, Stripe-throated Yuhina and Rufous-vented Yuhina. Where Speckled Wood Pigeon was the highlight from Aritar and Bay Woodpecker, Brown Dipper and Forktails were the highlights from Lingtam; Padamchen or Phadamchen is the heaven for thrush family and Yuhinas.
Bird photographs: To check the bird photographs have a look at the album and GoingWild's Facebook album of Avian friends from the north-east of India.
Thank you all for your valuable time to read it.
For more upcoming trips visit us at: www.goingwild.in
