India is a bewildering place for a birdwatcher, not least because of the sheer number and diversity of habitats and species. So, the wishlist gets longer and longer without much time to make a dent in it. But sometimes, things just beautifully fall into place, just like they did last December. A two (and a half?) legged birding trip, with Sriram and me producing the always-on parts and other dear friends joining in selected scenes. It all began with the West Bengal foothills of Rongtong, where we were joined by childhood friend Krishnan, on his first ever birding trip. Bagdogra airport saw us connecting with Parag Gurung, local bird guru and our leader for the next 4 days.
We headed to Rongtong first, to a delightful little homestay run by a group of even more delightful ladies. They fed us a sumptuous lunch post which the logical option should have been a snooze instead of a birding sojourn. But we were conscientious birders after all, so we headed out for an afternoon walk. We stopped at what seemed like a nondescript tea-stall and I wondered what the tea-break was for; but the action lay behind and underneath. On the slopes behind the stall, they'd created a small hide overlooking the valley. The place was frequented by Common Green Magpies and Greater-necklaced Laughers, neither lifers for me, but both important photo targets. As we settled down in anticipation, the first visitor was our old friend, the ubiquitous Blue Whistling Thrush. We obliged him with a few photos, but were actually waiting for main course. Which stubbornly refused to appear, causing some anxiety. But when the first dish came, man did it wow! the Common Green Magpie came, posed, strutted and did its stuff in full view. A bird with 'Common' in its name but its appearance is anything but. A truly spectacular species.
Ice broken, the Greater-necklaced Laughingthrush also graced the audience with their presence and a few photos later, we were well satiated. We headed back out for a little drive to see what else we could get. A Red Junglefowl floated in and out of frame and a Great Hornbill gave us distant sightings, so it was a very happy bunch of birders that came back to the homestay, to tuck into yet another delicious meal, so kindly served by the ladies. For Krishnan, it was his first ever birding experience (still not sure what he made of it) and for the two of us, it was business as usual in birding paradise!
The next morning was spent in and around the tea gardens that dot Rongtong, hoping amongst other things for some raptors - Sriram has a huge raptor-fetish and I'm not averse either to helping myself to a sighting or two. However, it was the smaller birds that really obliged - a beautiful Yellow-vented Flowerpecker was joined in the sighting by a Plain Flowerpecker, and both put on a really good show. Further down and a Grey Bushchat raised some hopes of being a rare bird, which were quickly quelled. A flock of Scarlet Minivets flitted about the trees, resplendent in their spectacular colours. All of which made for a very satisfying morning of birding. And now it was time to head to the second leg - the Senchal hills near Darjeeling.
The name Senchal is more familiar to birdwatchers, other tourists know the area as Tiger Hill, which gives grand views of some of the world's highest peaks, including Khangchendzonga up close and a more distant Mount Everest. However, we were only interested in the birds, specifically a couple of Parrotbills and a laughingthrush of particular interest. The latter, a Grey-sided Laugher was known to frequent a hide near the shops below Tiger Hill, along with a family of Hill Partridges. We waited for a bit and quite quickly saw a pair of beautiful Hill Partiridges. The female was more amenable to a pose, the male was more shy but we did get some decent photos nevertheless. The laughers didn't show up, and our spirits dimmed with the local shopkeeper said they hadn't been visiting for a few days. We occupied ourselves with a walk down the hillside to see what we could find.
Parag led us up a little slope to the hillside and we waited near a clump of bamboo. And within a few minutes, our calls were answered in the form of a mega-lifer - a flock of Great Parrotbills! We knew there was a chance, but hadn't hoped for such a sighting even with the slight mist that hovered around. And it was a very happy bunch that made their way to a rather cold Darjeeling to hunker down for the night. And cold it really was, but our evening sightings had certainly warmed our hearts! The next day dawned with a Grey-sided hope, but more on that later.
First up, we chose to avoid the tourist crush up to Tiger Hill and went looking for birds in the valley below. Finding nothing of note, we headed back to the Hill and once again were defeated by the Laugher. Determined to make the most of the situation, we walked up on the path upwards and were rewarded by sightings of Brown Parrotbill and White-browed Fulvetta. Mount Khangchendzonga rose up in all its might in front of us as we crested the hill and we spent a few awestruck, fan-boy moments just lapping it up. On our way down, a Scaly-breasted Wren Babbler called incessantly and we decided to investigate. As we sat on our haunches in front of a particularly interesting patch, the bird was right behind us, less than 6 feet away! We moved a bit to allow it some space and it returned our favour with a grand sighting. Lovely little fella!
Parag took us for a walk, to try and look for some rarer birds, but apart from a flock of White-throated Laughers, who dominated visual and audio, we had to move further down the valley to encounter some other species, albeit still commoners; a Rufous-breasted Accentor and female White-browed Rosefinch helped close the afternoon and this leg of our North-east trip with a broad smile and some decent pictures. We stayed that night near the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, in a lovely little homestay, with some outstanding food. The appetiser had done its job, bring on main course - Namdapha!
We left, like with most places, having planned a repeat. In the monsoons of 2024.
Rongtong/Senchal Trip Guide
Getting there
Bagdogra is the nearest airport, New Jalpaiguri (in Siliguri) the nearest railhead and Siliguri and Darjeeling are the nearest towns.
Stay
Darjeeling being the tourist hotspot it is, has all kinds of options, but we birders prefer smaller, quieter, and more local homestay options. Which are available aplenty here. Your guide will make all arrangements
Naturalist (guide)
We went with Parag Gurung, local to the area and highly recommended by none other than Lakpa. Parag is not much of a talker, but he more than makes up with his expertise, he knows the area and the birds better than most and has incredible bird sense and work ethic. You cannot go wrong with him. You can reach Parag on +91 9475624816
In addition to morning and afternoon safaris, you can also do half and full days in the forest, though it is restricted to very few vehicles. The rules are more cumbersome now, but they still give you advantages that the regular safaris don't - like being able to choose which zones you want to go to (at least for part of the day)
 |
| Brown Parrotbill |
 |
| Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler |
 |
| Plain Flowerpecker |
No comments:
Post a Comment