Sikkim and North Bengal birding Trip-2012

Sikkim and Buxa (Rajabhatkhawa) Trip 1-3 December 2012

Entry gate- Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary-Besides some 32 varieties of Rhododendron, the sanctuary is know for Satyr Tragopan and many other birds.

Our stay at Okharey(Buji, Anjana, PheepRaj)

The Gems in this album were all collected during our trip to Sikkim and Buxa/ Rajabhatkhawa from 1st to 9th December 2012. Accompanied by my brother and field assistant-Buji and Anjana(my wife) we  first went to Kitam and Okhre in Sikkim. From there we went to Rajabhatkhawa (North Bengal) and were joined by Ishani(My daughter) and Rumpa(sister-in law). It was one of my most memorable trip, so far as birding is concerned. Sikkim is of course one of the most exciting places for birders but I had no idea that north-Bengal (dooars) is also a treasure waiting to be explored. We first went to  Kitam Bird Sanctuary which is easy to reach as it is a 5 hour drive from Bagdogra/Siliguri. We Spent two days in Kitam and one day in Okhare. The trip to Kitam was suggested by our friends Shri Ankit Sood and Panki Sood(Sood brothers of tirthan valley fame) who have done a wonderful work in Kitam developing eco-tourism in this area. 

After Sikkim, we also went to the dooars.( 5 to 6 hours drive from Siliguri). Buxa/Rajabhatkhawa is one of the pristine forest of the dooars which every bird watcher must visit.

Shooting birds is not easy despite the advent of high-tech cameras and lenses.It requires hard work,patience and luck. Despite the difficulties, when you  are finally able to capture the bird in your camera, the satisfaction and the joy of seeing the photograph again and again more than compensates all the hard work. 
As a photographer, for each successful snaps, you have some interesting story to tell. I would like to share with you the interesting incidents which led to shooting of each shot you see below.

LONG LIVE DUSTBIN'S OF INDIA.

white browed fulvetta

Spotted laughing thrush

To get the clear and sharp pictures of birds you can have to approach the bird as close as possible which is the most difficult part of the bird photography. This is all the more true for those who cannot afford prime telephoto lenses which are very expensive. The cheapest, nay a free substitute- for expensive lenses are the dustbins. Yes!  you heard me right. 

Dustbins are the most frequented place not only for crows, dogs and cows but also for many other beautiful birds. Therefore, for those interested in bird photography, but unable to afford costly telephoto lenses, they should actively contribute in creating more and more dustbins or at least try to preserve one. The White Browed Fulvetta above was shot near the dustbin of the dhaba, just outside the Barsey Rhododendron Santuary, SIKKIM from where we had come out very disappointed after having failed to sight any bird worth its name despite having trekked for many hours inside the sanctuary.

After coming out of the sanctuary, we ordered tea and Aloo paranthas in a dhaba near the main gate. The dhaba owner enquired if we had seen any SatyrTragopan, which is one of the star attractions of the Sanctuary. Of course, we said no. Next question was 'Spotted laughing thrush'? No again, was our answer. He could sense our disappointment and mentioned that we might get an opportunity to shoot closeups of "Fulvetta" and 'Spotted Laughing Thrush',  if we waited near the waste-bin. So we did. Within minutes appeared this fulvetta to nibble at the mound of rice thrown into the waste bin. Hardly had she left, appeared the majestic Spotted laughing thrush.(see above). Although fulvetta is a very nervous and jittery bird and hardly gives you time to even press the shutter button but the proximity gave us a wonderful opportunity to shoot the bird with photos of satisfying clarity.

common green magpie

The common green magpie is quite uncommon. We were lucky to get this in the kitam bird sanctuary, thanks  to Subhash(Mob 09735978838), our guide with very sound knowledge of the birds of the area.  Though we managed to sight two or three magpies a day before in the evening but could not succeed in capturing any in the camera. Even a fleeting glimpse of this beautiful bird was mesmerizing and we were assured of  better luck next day by Subhash.

One interesting behaviour of the Common green magpie is that it is most often found in the company of laughing thrushes. Therefore, next day, after the morning trip, as we were driving back to our hotel, we heard and then sighted a group of Greater necklaced laughing thrushes some 30 feet inside the jungles. Laughing thrushes are by nature noisy and hence easy to sight. Subhash predicted, that in this group we should find the green magpie also. Although we could hear and also see the laughing thrushes, we could only hear the calls of the magpie and despite efforts could not see any.

The hard work

To sight the magpie, we had to enter into the deep forest along the road and that appeared to be a difficult task because the thickets were apparently impenetrable. My field assistant (Ramashish) who carries the Nikon 400 mm (which weighs five kilos) and hence a mono-pod also(weighing another 2.5 kg) is restricted in his movement by their combined weight and hence decided to wait on the main road to try his luck with the magpie. Leaving behind Ramashish and Anjana on the main road, I, however, decided to go inside the forest to get a better shot at it( with a  less powerful lens it was necessary for me to reduce the distance between the lens and the bird).


Subhash suggested that we should not enter the forest from the main road as it may send the birds further deep into the forest. We, therefore, trekked further up the road and away from the bird to approach the target . Subhash and I, started inching towards the scene of action, all the while keeping an eye on the laughing thrushes. The task was  made further difficult because we had to walk without making any noise. This was impossible as the forest floor was laden with dry fallen leaves. The smallest of the sounds,  amplifies manifold in a forest and could have blown our cover. We constantly kept our eyes focused on the spot and every now and then could see the beautiful magpie foraging in the brances. Shooting the magpie now appeared a real possibility. We managed to finally snake and snarl our way near the spot and waited patiently behind a bush full of thorns. We were now tantalizingly close to the magpie but not close enough to take a shot at it. It was playing a game of hide and seek and not coming out in the open. My heart was beating so loud that I could hear it. 
We were not sure whether or not the thrushes or the magpie had detected our presence and therefore stayed put in the same place for almost five minutes. From their behaviour, it appeared that they had failed to notice us thus far. We waited with bated breath and prayed to God.

Our hard work was rewarded, as within minutes the magpie came out of the undergrowth and perched on a bough(see above). It was looking at me or so it appeared to me. I froze...... so as not reveal my presence but at the same time kept my eyes fixed on it. So many times have I flipped through the pages of Dr.Salim Ali's book admiring this beautiful bird. Yet when I actually saw it, it took me few seconds to realize that this was real and not a page of a book. I managed to extricate myself from the reverie and re-positioned to get a clear shot. I moved very very slowly to pick my camera to focus lest the magpie takes fright and vanishes again. My fears did't come true and the magpie continued to forage in the branches for a whole minute. I clicked a number of times and got few decent shots. Of course the photograph does't do full justice to the joy of having seen it with naked eyes from such close quarters. But having seen the bird and also managing to click it is always an achievement which I share with you all.
The climax(or Anti-climax)

I was feeling ecstatic at having shot a green magpie with tolerable clarity. At the same time, I was overcome with a feeling of disappointment  for I was not unaware of the guilt for not having bought my Assistant and thereby denying him a rare opportunity of shooting the Green Magpie. Naturally, I came out of the forest, controlling my emotion and thinking that I would only gradually unfold the success story so as to delay the disappointment of the young boy. However, to my shock and surprise, I found that he was jumping like a yound lamb and shouting incoherently. FROM HIS BODY-LANGUAGE I KNEW IT WAS BAD NEWS(no pun intended). The boy, who never moved an inch from the main road managed to click the bird much better than I because the disturbance(however little it may be) that Subhash and I had created while entering into the forest had actually moved the bird to the edge of the forest and exactly at the place where Anjana and Ramashish were waiting. The pictures of the green magpie that my field assistant finally clicked are one of the best that I have ever seen.
 शागिर्द का फोटू नहीं आये तो दुःख होता है। मगर शागिर्द का फोटू गुरु से अच्छा आ जाए तो और भी दुख होता है। 
For his photographs you may search "india nature watch' for Ramashish Roy.

******

 THANK YOU Mr.Policeman

The story of this crimson sun bird is also interesting. This was the day-one of our trip to Kitam. We were already in a trance, having sighted a Green billed malkoha (see below) and also the Common Green magpie(above) in quick succession. After this successful trip in the morning, we had returned by jeep to our hotel after almost four hours of trekking deep inside the jungle and were about to go to our room when, just opposite our hotel and adjoining the police station, we spotted this hibiscus tree full of blooms. Instincts told us that this is the crimson sunbird's favourite joint. In the nearby area there were no other hibiscus plant. However, we had to be sure whether or not the tree was frequented by sun birds. The problem was to find some local guy who could confirm our hunch. The only person we could find at that time was a serious looking policeman in that station who was sitting on the staircase and reading a newspaper.

A Policeman with interest in birds is the most unlikely combination but since time was running out and the sun almost going behind the mountains, I approached the policeman, mustering some courage.To the question whether he had seen any red coloured bird in that tree came the most surprising answer. This policeman cum bird enthusiast (Shri D.P.Singh) turned out to be an acute observer and told us that the bird we were looking for will be arriving shortly and we should sit down and wait. To our surprise, he turned out to be extremely friendly and pulled chairs for us and also ushered us inside the police station so that we could take a shot from a vantage position. Just as we were settling down for our preparation, came the bird to the tree-as predicted by Sh.D.P.Singh.You would not believe that when after about 20 minutes the bird disappeared and did not re-appear for a longtime this gentleman came out of the police station  and went down the hill to search for the bird to find out whether it was still there or retired for the day. This snap is dedicated to Shri D.P.Singh.

 *****

Green billed Malkoha

I was extremely lucky to open my account of this memorable trip to Kitam(Sikkim) on the day-one with this "Green billed malkoha".

We were walking towards the Kitam bird sanctuary,at 6.30 AM when we noticed some rustling of the dry leaves in the bushes adjoining the main road. After trying hard, we could not see the bird with the naked eyes. Peeping deep inside the bush with my binoculars, it appeared to bea  crow sized bird which in the early morning light appeared to be all blackish. Could it be the 'Coucal? I suddenly could see its eyes and in turn could not believe my eyes-Malkoha?? could I be right?.In my excitement, I could not even recall the name of the bird and could only manage to spurt out the sound of M. It was my field assistant Ramashish Roy, who as I have already told you, is improving very fast, under my strict supervision, who came up with the name of the bird. Credit goes to him that he could name it, by only hearing the incoherent description I could give him in that state of confusion. The boy, I tell you is really coming up well.

Just as our confusion was getting more confounded, the Malkoha came out of the bush, sat for a few seconds, on a perch  just in front of me and vanished again deep into the undergrowth, but not before it gave me this memorable shot. We thought that we were extremely lucky and perhaps will not get another chance to get to see this bird. Little did we know that four days later, in Rajabhatkhawa (which literally means 'The king ate rice') forests (North Bengal) we would again see and shoot this beautiful bird.

Brown parrotbill( a babbler)

This babbler was again a 'lifer' for us. Parrotbill is found only in Sikkim in India. Although it is a babbler and all its behavior is just like a babbler yet its beak is hooked as that of parrot.

Resting inside the Rhododendron Santuary(Buji's body building artefacts lying in front of me)

 Having read the above material you can see in the above picture the camera and lense alongwith the monopod which Buji has to carry. This was inside the Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary(on our way out).

Snow peaks as seen from the Sanctuary