Padamchen / Phadamchen, Zuluk / Dzuluk, Thambi, Dhupidara / Lungthung, Lungthu, Gnathang / Nathang | April 2015

As I have mentioned in my earlier blog post regarding the ecology of Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, nothing changes much at this higher altitude above 10,000 ft, except climate. The month of November 2014, (if you have gone through previous blog) was quite comfortable, not much cold was there; but the months of April in the places at and above Zuluk (9,700 ft), Thambi view point (11,200 ft), Dhupidara (11,500 ft), Lungthu (12,500 ft), Nathang valley (13,500 - 14,000 ft) was too much chilling thus proper warm cloths were very much required. HAS (High altitude sickness) or AMS (Acute mountain sickness) can affect one, while out for birding, without proper warm vests and jackets.

The months of January and February are mostly inaccessible at this altitude. Most of the major birding starts in this area from the months of March and April. Partly clear weather and the onset of monsoon keeps the avian fauna busy for this time only. Bird activity rises at its peak in the 2nd and 3rd week of April. Though too much rain is unexpected, but no one can guarantee the gathering of cloud formation and thereby creation of low pressure head against higher hills of Bhutan. Thus if it rains in the lower altitude below 9,000 ft; hail storm along with knee deep snow fall is a must, above 10,000 ft. Frankly speaking, one should never be disappointed if such situation takes place; rather they should convert this thing as an opportunity - How?

Under this kind of circumstances, birds from extremely high altitude (i.e. on and above 13,000 ft) come down below 10,000 ft. This miniature bird fall gives rise to bird count and enhances the list, where a good birder can list something unexpected too.

This was the situation on 16th of April '15, around 04:45 PM in the evening and the outcome was a flock of Plain Mountain Finch, Altai Accentor and Rufous-breasted Accentor (See the image).

Sudden cloud formation against Bhutan hills - rain in lower altitude - This was the situation in Zuluk in the afternoon on 16th April '15. The flock of birds arrived from higher altitude beside the homestay. What a luck!

Main passageway of the homestay was block for 30 mins until the snow melted down. In Nepalese language, slight snowfall or hails are called 'Ola'; whereas in Uttarakhand Garhwali people call it 'Pala'.

When the snow almost melted down and hail storm stopped; Accentors came to the verandah of the rooms adjacent to it. If the blog seems boring to you, stop reading it and close the tab! Otherwise continue ....

Very little snow was there in Verandah. See the next image where you will see the flock of birds consisting of species like Plain Mountain Finch, Rufous-breasted Accentor and most important one Altai Accentor.

Mixed flock of Accentors and Finches

Altai Accentor - From the mixed flock; the ultimate outcome due to sudden outburst of weather

Some classy catches in terms of birding (mostly bird photography) are listed below:

Rufous-capped Babbler - A tiny gem from the jungles of Northeast India has been in my wish list. It is tough to get them in open; but I consider myself lucky.

Fire-tailed Myzornis - Everytime I take photograph of this bird and I rediscover something new from it. In my 62 birding days in Sikkim I saw it only 7 times.

Mandelli's Leaf Warbler - My confusion was - Hume's or a Mandellie's? ID help: Tim Inskipp. Split based on zoogeographic barrier 'P. h. madellii'

                   

Kalij Pheasant - In the early morning on 21st April '15, when I was getting down from Zuluk to Rongli, Nima daju saw a murgi like creature beside the bush thickets while I was still sleeping; he pointed it out and called me; took this image from the car. Since, we were in a hurry we left the flock of 6 birds there and moved down.In Uttarakhand, what we see is of "Hamiltonii" subspecie with white crest; but here in Sikkim it is of "Melanota" subspecie with black crest. Photographed one is male (♂).

Black-throated Parrotbill - Small and cute! As that of Myzornis and small babblers, they also dwell in bamboo thickets. heart emoticon you cutie smile emoticon

Hoary-throated Barwing - Why the bird is called "Barwing"? see its throat coloration also! 　. Hoary-throated Barwings are plenty across bamboo thickets; they forage mostly in mixed flock with scimitar babblers.

Brown Parrotbill - During my solo birding trip of 9 days, I have spotted the location; when rest of the birders joined me in the trip on 11th day, they saw it too in the same location

Himalayan Monal (male ♂) - On 23rd April afternoon, took the shot when co-birders Rajesh Panwar, Sheela Panwar, Udayan Behura and Tanuja Sethi accompanied me. Rajesh and Sheela are the most renowned birding couple in Uttarakhand, who spend more than 300 days per year for birding only. Udayan and Tanuja hail from Odisha, and are some of the best marksman till date I experienced on field.  

Golden-naped Finch - A black one, this finch is way too different looking than that of others and that is what makes it a special kind. It was really a difficult exposure time considering the coloration of the bird. Though +1/3rd exposure value was set, still some details are missing in it, underexposing would kill the bird. Kevin Smith, a birder from UK says, "I have the opposite with white Gannets and dark Puffins against white sea cliffs..Try to visit on overcast days"

White-browed Rosefinch - The day before this prized catch, it rained heavily all over the night. Though it is unlikely to rain in the third week of April, but no one can guarantee. As soon as, sun came out on next day morning, bird activity rose at its peak following the sunshine throughout the slope. Thus don't be disappointed when you see a gloomy sky; be hopeful always. If sun comes out for a half an hour window, probably you would experience the best bird activity, than that of those days when it is fully sunny.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow - What would you do when you are going to photograph birds in snow? Would you overexpose or underexpose? wink emoticon A little overexpose if necessary - say +1/3 or +2/3; otherwise against high contrasting background birds will appear darker. By chance, if you are looking for details of the bird and underexpose; then there would be only you responsible for killing the bird image. Keep your hands steady, even if you are getting slower shutter speed, you can still manage some shots. n

Enjoy birding in snow!!!

Yes, in India too one can do the same, as that of others do while out in foreign location. Here are the images of birds in snow and birders enjoying a totally new experience. Here, you don't have to trek or hike at higher altitude, birders and tour participants would go by dedicated car and would get down from the car if necessary.

Sometimes it is better to take a habitat shot than of capturing portraits of the birds. A lonely plain mountain finch on a tree branch when snow flakes are everywhere covering the faces of folks around.

Night scape from Nathang Valley (at 13,500 ft)

Udayan Sarathi, Tanuja Sethi from Odisha at Nathang

Early morning old tibetan monastery at Nathang

Check the list of birds - <Birdlist>

It is not only birds that we saw, some mammalian fauna has been documented too during this trip. Hope you will enjoy the beauty of some of the rarest and least photographed mammalian species from Sikkim.

Yellow-throated Marten - My first ever Marten from Pangolakha. In Uttarakhand, Chopta-Tungnath area during Summer and in the foothills during winter these mammalian specie is recorded; whereas in Sikkim they are least seen and not much photographed. I consider myself lucky on this occasion.

Siberian Weasel - (WPA ii) - An elusive mammal; active during early morning and late afternoon.

Bhutan Giant Flying Squirrel - A totally nocturnal mammal; photographed on the way to Old Silk route.

Himalayan Niviventer - Beside pikas, they also inhibit higher altitudes of Sikkim Himalayas.

Some images and videos captured by tour participants in April:

Rajesh Panwar & Sheela Panwar:
Himalayan Monal
White-browed Fulvetta
Spotted Laughingthrush

Tanuja Sethi:
Sikkim Diaries!

Udayan Sarathi:
Rufous-breasted Accentor
Snowfall at Nathang
Cloudpass at Zuluk

Other Helpful Information:

1. Where to Stay: Stay options are very limited. Arrangements are made in prior notice only. On twin and triple sharing basis homestays are arranged for enthusiasts by GoingWild.
2. 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 November to late May is the best time for birding and bird photography.
3. 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 homestays, dedicated car for entire birding trip along with a naturalist-cum-birder are done by GoingWild.

Hope you enjoyed the reading, feel free to share!

Birding at Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary (ii) | Padamchen / Phadamchen, Zuluk / Dzuluk, Gnathang / Nathang | November 2014

This is the place bounded between Bedang Tso or Bedang lake and Nathu La complex of North-east Sikkim. The total area that falls under upper Pangolakha region can be segmented broadly into five different regions based on human habitat.

• Nimachen - Nimachen is a small hamlet after Lingtam on Old-Silk Route at an altitude of 6000 ft. The famous Keokhola falls which mixes with Rangpo river below passes through this area. This place is at a distance of 4 Km from Lingtam.

• Padamchen (or Phadamchen) - Padamchen, is a small hamlet in the old silk route, at a distance of 5.5 Km from Nimachen, which has 60 families and a small school along the northern slope of the hill. Entire population in this hamlet is as many as 300 as of 2014. Altitude of Padamchen is around 7000 ft and mostly covered by temperate broadleaf forests with thick undergrowth vegetation.

• Zuluk (or Dzuluk) - Zuluk has an army cantonment set up along side a very small human population. Stay options in Zuluk are homestays only. This place is at an altitude of 9000 ft and mostly covered by pines and steppe grassland. Few places have isolated forest patch due to ease of army surveillance. The main attraction of this area is the zigzag road. On clear days one can see the magnificence of mighty Kanchenjunga from a nearby Tambi viewpoint. This place is at a distance of 10 Km from Padamchen. Few areas in Zuluk are restricted for photographers, since those areas lie under army surveillance. From Padamchen to the highest point at Zuluk, one will cover more than 5000 ft within an hour car drive. All credits go to the magnificent zig-zag road architecture by BRO.

View of Himalayas from Thambi | Matrix panorama of 23 images | Taken during birding tour of Nov '14 | GoingWild

• Gnathang Valley - Gnathang valley, in one word, is a heaven! As soon as you cross Laxman Chowk, you will notice that vegetation in most of the places are covered by rocky outcrops, rhododendron shrubbies, steppe grassland and high-altitude marsh land. Gnathang Valley is at a distance of 22Km from Zuluk but lies above the snowline, ice shield covers this place for almost four months. When monsoon takes over lower regions, snow blisters and hail storm would take place in this area during that period. Altitude of Gnathang Valley is around 14000 ft and oxygen level is also lower by 1/3rd than that of plains. Since this place is a must visit for high altitude birders, GoingWild mentors will assist you for your successful birding trip in this cold desert climate.

Gnathang Valley | Photographed during birding tour of Nov '14 | GoingWild

• Kupup - Kupup is the last bordering village in Old-Silk Route at an altitude of 14200 ft and at a distance of 18 Km from Gnathang Valley. Jelep La pass (now in China) and Bhutan hills are within one's visible range. Though few places have restricted access for photographers, most of the places are so beautiful, that, it will be a memory to cherish all over your life. 

For birding and bird photography, this place is truly a heaven in East Sikkim.

Click here >> Bird list consisting of 63 Birds.

Below are the 6 Key species that has been photographed in this area in the month of Nov '14:-

Black-eared Shrike Babbler

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Winter Wren

Himalayan Buzzard

Rufous-breasted Accentor

White-spectacled Warbler

A special finding during the birding trip - Himalayan Brown Goral (Naemorhedus goral)

Himalayan Brown Goral (Naemorhedus goral)

Also, we saw 8 Monals in three days, here are some sample images attached together:- 

Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus)

Other Helpful Information:

1. 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.
2. 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 November to late May is the best time for birding and bird photography.
3. Point of Contact: Send a mail to support@goingwild.in
   One can also reach to +91-9681417974 or +91-8017804277 or +91-9163631493 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.

Frontiersmen of the History of Indian Ornithology

This writing would be about those who were more into ornithology than that of birding and bird watching in India. Ornithology is a subject which explains the systematic study of zoology of birds; whereas birding is a type of observation on natural history events of avian fauna. Now a days, a new niche has been generated whose point of interests are even more specific than the birders; they are the "Bird Photographers". Thus if Ornithology is considered to a super-set and then Birding, as a natural history event keeping, is just the subset of ornithology. Whereas, Bird photography as it turns out today, could be termed as a junction bridge, which is an improper subset of both Birding and Ornithology, but acts as a correlative between "Ornithology" and "Birding", if done ethically and cordially.

The evolutionary study of ornithology in India has a series of mile long past events. In ancient literature like Vedas, the brood parasitism of Cuckoo or the mating display of Indian peafowl had been noted. Most recent significant contribution towards ornithology started when European settlement or colonization had started at the 17th century. In the beginning ornithology for most of the enthusiasts were just a past time hobby of collecting bird eggs, bird nest or taxidermy of game birds. Later, this culture of collection of taxidermy specimens, curiosity and prolific interest made it a subject of study for zoology.

In the beginning of twentieth century, a new genre of enthusiasts formed as that of passionate ornithologists of previous generation, who were mostly interested into either watching the birds using field scopes or recording their voice using voice recording devices. In that aspect bird photography or video creation may be termed as a new generation hobby.

Now, "Bird Painters" should never be discredited; their contribution towards both "Ornithology" and "Bird Watching" had lead towards the genre of "Bird Photography" when camera equipment became easily available, with lesser available time to pursue passion, for the general public.
Earlier, either, bird photographers had to observe the species for a long time, or they used taxidermy stuffed bodies of birds as a subject of painting. Most of the time, due to inaccuracy of processing of stuffed body, the taxidermy corpses used to be deformed. Otherwise, since during painting, the painter had to memorize from past about the description of the bird; thus most often paintings were erroneous.

After the independence, India had some notable father figures, who contributed towards Indian ornithology. From time to time they contributed towards the systemetic survey towards conservation, classification of specie taxanomy, thereby writings in journals, regional field guides and books; which in turn enriched Indian ornithology.

• Humayun Abdulali (ornithology, natural history, wildlife conservation, taxonomy)
• Salim Ali (Father of Indian Ornithology)
• Anwaruddin Choudhury (An expert on the fauna of North-East India)
• J. C. Daniel (An acclaimed naturalist and ornithologist)
• Zafar Futehally (An Indian naturalist and ornithologist)
• Bikram Grewal (A renowned ornithologist and writer of several ornithology books)
• Dharmakumar Singhji (Bhavnagar crowned prince and an esteemed bird of his time)
• Himmat Singhji (Kutch prince, politician and a notable birder from western India)

Unless interested, one can skip from here, rather going through further on this topic. Here in this blog, we will see the name of those ornithologists, birders and bird watchers, after whose names "English Name Nomenclature" of the birds of Indian subcontinent had been done as per "Birds of the Indian Subcontinent" by Richard Grimmett • Carol Inskipp • Tim Inskipp.

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Alexander von Nordmann (Image Source: Wikipedia) Nordmann's Greenshank

Alexander Wilson (Image Source: Wikipedia) Wilson's Storm-petrel

Allan Octavian Hume (Image Source: Wikipedia) Hume's Groundpecker Hume's Short-toed Lark Hume's Owl Hume's Hawk Owl Mrs Hume's Pheasant Hume's Whitethroat Hume's Wheatear Hume's Leaf Warbler Hume's Bush Warbler Hume's Treecreeper Mrs Hume's Pheasant

Brian Houghton Hodgson (Image Source: Wikipedia) Hodgson's Bushchat Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo Hodgson's Treecreeper Hodgson's Redstart Hodgson's Frogmouth

Coenraad Jacob Temminck (Image Source: Wikipedia) Temminck's Tragopan Temminck's Stint

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Colonel William Vincent Legge  (Image Source: fingalvalleyhistory) Legge's Hawk Eagle Legge's Flowerpecker

Daniel Giraud Elliot (Image Source: Wikipedia) Elliot's Laughingthrush

Edgar Leopold Layard (Image Source: Wikipedia) Layard's Parakeet

Édouard Ménétries (Image Source: Wikipedia) Ménétries Warbler

Eduard Friedrich Von Eversmann (Image Source: Wikipedia) Eversmann's Redstart

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Henry Morris Upcher (Image Source: BBC) Upcher's Warbler

Harriet Robert Tytler (Image Source: Wikipedia) Tytler's Leaf Warbler

Gustav Radde (Image Source: Wikipedia) Radde's Accentor Radde's Warbler

George Montagu (Image Source: Wikipedia) Montagu's Harrier

Frank Kingdon Ward (Image Source: ornaverum) Ward's Trogon

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Franco Andrea Bonelli (Image Source: Wikipedia) Bonelli's Eagle

Francesco Cetti (Image Source: Wikipedia) Cetti's Warbler

Ferdinand Stolička (Image Source: Wikipedia) Stolicka's Bushchat

Edward Blyth (Image Source: Wikipedia) Blyth's Kingfisher Blyth's Reed Warbler Blyth's Leaf Warbler Blyth's Tragopan Blyth's Starling Blyth's Pipit

Howard Saunders (Image Source: Wikipedia) Saunders's Tern

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Jerome Alexander Sillem (Image Source: Wikipedia) Sillem's Mountain Finch

Johan Coenraad van Hasselt (Image Source: strangebehaviors.wordpress.com) Van Hasselt's Sunbird

Johann Friedrich von Brandt (Image Source: Wikipedia) Brandt's Mountain Finch

John Gould (Image Source: Wikipedia) Mrs Gould's Sunbird Gould's Shortwing

John James Audubon (Image Source: Wikipedia) Audubon's Shearwater

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Karl Ernst von Baer (Image Source: Wikipedia) Baer's Pochard

Karl Kessler (Image Source: Wikipedia) Kessler's Thrush

Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein  (Image Source: Wikipedia) Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse

Otto Finsch (Image Source: Wikipedia) Finsch's Wheatear

Peter Simon Pallas (Image Source: Wikipedia) Pallas's Fish Eagle Pallas's Gull Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler Pallas's Sandgrouse Pallas's Fish Eagle Pallas's Reed Bunting

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Philip Lutley Sclater (Image Source: Wikipedia) Sclater's Monal

Robert Swinhoe (Image Source: Wikipedia) Swinhoe's Minivet Swinhoe's Snipe

Samuel Tickell (Image Source: Wikipedia) Tickell's Blue Flycatcher Tickell's Leaf Warbler Tickell's Thrush

Theodor von Heuglin (Image Source: Wikipedia) Heuglin's Gull

Thomas Caverhill Jerdon (Image Source: Wikipedia) Jerdon's Babbler Jerdon's Baza Jerdon's Bushlark Jerdon's Courser Jerdon's Leafbird Jerdon's Nightjar Jerdon's Bushchat

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William Edwin Brooks (Image Source: Wikipedia) Brook's Leaf Warbler

William Henry Sykes (Image Source: Wikipedia) Sykes's Lark Sykes's Nightjar Sykes's Warbler

William Louis Abbott (Image Source: ansp) Abbott's Babbler

William Thomas Blanford (Image Source: Wikipedia) Blanford's Snowfinch

Johann Anton Güldenstädt (Image Source: www.christies.com) Güldenstädt's Redstart

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Edward George Bulwer Lytton (Image Source: Wikipedia) Bulwer Petrel

Armand Barau (Image Source: Wikipedia) Barau's Petrel

Louis Antoine François Baillon (Image Source: Wikipedia) Baillon's Crake

Joan Gideon Loten (Image Source: Wikipedia) Loten Sunbird

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Few more ornithologists and birders whose images are not found anywhere are listed below

Hugh Whistler 
Whistler's Warbler

Frank Finn
Finn's Weaver

Louis Mandelli
Mandelli's Leaf Warbler

Claudia
Claudia's Leaf Warbler

Nicholas Aylward Vigors
Vigors's Sunbird

Christian Jouanin
Jouanin's Petrel

Alex Macqueen
Macqueen's Bustard

Charles Henry Tilson Marshall
Marshall's Iora

Peter Gustaf Tengmalm
Tengmalm's Owl

Szechenyi
Szechenyi's Monal

Godlewski
Godlewski's Bunting

Richard
Richard's Pipit

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About GoingWild:
Photographing Wildlife and adrenaline pump is synonymous. This rush and the tremendous biodiversity of mother earth offers immense opportunities to quench our thirst of clicking wildlife and give us many reasons for GoingWild.

We are a team of photographers with years of experience in birding and wildlife photography under our belt and thus our tours are not mere wildlife or birding excursions but much more than that. We take religious care to afford the best available means to the participants of our tours at remote locations for their utmost satisfaction. With individual attention to each of our participants we share our expertise to bring the best out of their equipment, so that the images made in the tours are nothing less but memories to cherish.All that you need to do is travel with GoingWild and we look after everything else.

Being in wildlife photography for years we have developed an extensive understanding of all the locations and its wildlife where we plan our tours. Our long term association with the wild and the practice of framing our tours to promote responsible and sustainable wildlife tourism has also helped us in making strong bonds with guides and trackers who have profound knowledge about the wildlife in their areas. GoingWild tours are accompanied by expert wildlife photographers, who not only take you a step closer to understand the wildlife but also make the best images out of it.


Alongside of Wildlife Photography tours and Birding tours we also organize photography workshops. We customize tours for corporate bodies,educational institutes,families and individuals as well.

We promise the best on our tours to bring you the joy that only the wild can bring!
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• Point of Contact: Send a mail to dibyendu@goingwild.in or support@goingwild.in mentioning your interest for birding and wildlife photography related queries.
One can also reach to +919681417974 (Dibyendu Ash) or +918017804277 (Soumyajit Nandy) or +919163631493 (Tamanud Mitra) for guided birding cum bird photography cum wildlife photography here. Arrangement for clean and subtle mud huts / eco-camps / eco resorts, dedicated boat for entire birding trip along with a naturalist-cum-birder are done by GoingWild.