As the time passes by so as water flows through Teesta river; but the birds of the Himalayas are always there in the beautiful state of Sikkim. The beauty of birding in Sikkim is beyond the description of any poetic narration. As soon as your step into the state via Rongli, you will start noticing activities and movements of bird and other fauna life in hamlets. This year in the month of March, I had a tour to Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary. A birding team from Mumbai , along with two lady from Puna joined me during this tour.
As they came from south-western part of India, they had to avail flight in order to save time. Thus, previous night (24th March) one team stayed at New Jalpaiguri at Hotel Tirupati (http://tirupatilodge.com/ - 9641144244) and another team stayed at Royal Sarovar Portico in Siliguri(http://www.sarovarhotels.com/siliguri-hotels/royal-sarovar-portico). Our scheduled commencement of the tour was 25th March early morning. We picked up first team from Hotel Tirupati and second one from Royal Sarovar Portico by 9 AM.
As the season started with bumper sightings of Little owl and Himalayan Serow in the month of Feb; month of March was no less than that. The luck continued favoring in terms of bird sightings. In the month of March, tour duration in Pangolakha WLS were between 25th to 29th. The days were partly clear and sunny during mornings. By 11 pm, clouds would pack birding in upper elevation; that time we continued our birding to lower elevations. Himalayan Musk Deer, Moupin's Pika, Yellow-throated Marten marten are the names of few from mammalian fauna; whereas, Himalayan Monal (all 4 days sighting), Fire-tailed Myzornis, Tufted Duck, Fire-tailed Sunbird are among the avian fauna that the team got during this bird photography tour.
Have a look at the day-wise itinerary in the month of March that we followed:
- 25th March 2016 - Morning pick up from hotels between 8 to 9 AM. After crossing Rongli, we started birding. We just had 2-3 hrs of birding time on that day. Overnight we stayed at home stay at Zuluk. We did birding on the way coming up to Zuluk. Overnight we rested in home stay at Zuluk.
- 26th March 2016 - Very early morning we went out for birding. Halted at Laxman Chowk, Lungthung. At place we took put stopped for tea and breakfast. We took our lunch at home stay after returning back from morning birding. After a while, we moved out around 3:30 PM for afternoon birding session at lower elevation; which lasted for about two hours or so. Overnight at home stay at Zuluk.
- 27th March 2016 - Same as that of 26th March; but concentrated on different trails - Lungthu, Dhupidara. Afternoon birding downhill in and around Phadamchen, Nimachen, Suchachen forest block.
- 28th March 2016 - Full day outing; took breakfast and lunch outside. Day was sunny and clear. Drove up to Bedang Tso and found some high land species.
- 29th March 2016 - Morning birding till 9 AM we spent our time up to Kanchi Golai; which is 5 kms away from Zuluk. Post breakfast we checked out around 10 AM from home stay. Did birding on the way up to Rongpo till mid day (1 PM). From Rongpo Post lunch we drove to New Jalpaiguri.
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| Gorgeous Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus) from recent birding tour to Pangolakha in the month of March (25th - 29th) of 2016. |
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| Fire-tailed Myzornis (Myzornis pyrrhoura) - habitat shot on Rhododendron shrubbery. |
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| Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus) female ♀
Who are most beautiful
- Males or females?
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| Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschus leucogaster) - One of the most elusive and elegant mammal from higher ridges of East Sikkim - Pangolakha WLS from March 2016 tour. |
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| Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) - Post winter, summer migration starts from March-April. We just saw an individual in the last week of March, during the birding tour. Though post autumn gathering in lowlands in and around salt-pans, coastal belts and inland water ways are common. For breeding they choose shallow brackish water highland lakes of Himalayas. Photographed it fromPangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, East Sikkim. Date: 27.03.2016; Place: Near Tso Bedang (a high alt marshland), East Sikkim |
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| Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - Another tiny little cutie, which forages in and around open forests and human habitat in gullies and stone gaping of walls.
Date: 25th March to 29th March
Habitat:
Temperature Range: -10°C ~ 15°C
Altitude Range: 3000' to 13500' (from MSL)
Bird Checklist (As per Birds of Indian Subcontinent field guide by Richard Gmimmett, Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp):
Mammal checklist (as per the Indian Mammals | A Field Guide by Vivek Menon):
Participants:
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- Where to Stay: Stay options are very limited. Arrangements are made in prior notice only. On twin and triple sharing basis home-stays are arranged for enthusiasts by GoingWild.
- Best time to visit: Try to avoid this place in the months of monsoon, otherwise it is a premium location for rest eight months. Early October to late May is the best time for birding and bird photography. Even last weeks of September are considered good for pheasants.
- Point of Contact: Send a mail to support@goingwild.in
- One can also reach to +91-9681417974 (Dibyendu Ash) or +91-8017804277 (Soumyajit Nandy) or +91-9163631493 (Tamanud Mitra) for guided birding all over the Old-Silk Route. Arrangement for clean and subtle home-stays, dedicated car for entire birding trip along with a naturalist-cum-birder are done by GoingWild.
Have a look at the photographs taken by birding participants:
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