Birding Trip Report North Bengal & Sikkim, India; November 2003
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North Bengal & Sikkim, India; November 2003 Birding Trip Report North Bengal & Sikkim, India; November 2003 CONTENTS Introduction ......................................................................................................2 Itinerary............................................................................................................3 Site Details.......................................................................................................6 Systematic List...............................................................................................11 Other Wildlife .................................................................................................37 References.....................................................................................................38 Contacts.........................................................................................................39 December 2003 Mike Prince 2003 Page 1 of 39 North Bengal & Sikkim, India; November 2003 INTRODUCTION This is a report on a birding trip to North Bengal and Sikkim. A preliminary week was spent birding in North Bengal by Sujan Chatterjee and Mike Prince before meeting up with Bikram Grewal, Bill Harvey, Alpana Khare and Sumit Sen for a week in Sikkim followed by a few more days in North Bengal. The first week was mostly an exploratory visit to sites not generally known for birding but still easily accessible. The rest of the trip visited better known sites, although there are relatively few reports available for this time of year. Logistics regarding sites visited, travel and accommodation were organised largely by Sujan and Sumit in conjunction with Raj from Help Tourism, and we are all grateful to them. A total of 324 confirmed species were recorded including a number of globally threatened and rare species in India. This was an excellent total of species for the time of year and considering that the habitats visited were quite restricted: we only did one afternoon visit to a wetland. Various photos from the trip are available online – see the Contacts section for links. Sujan, Raj, Bill, Alpana, Bikram, Sumit and Mike at Gorumara Jungle Camp. December 2003 Mike Prince 2003 Page 2 of 39 North Bengal & Sikkim, India; November 2003 ITINERARY The map below shows our planned itinerary and key birding sites. The main sites birded each day are highlighted in bold in the detailed daily itinerary. 6 November 2003 Mike flew from Delhi to Bagdogra and met Sujan who had taken (Thursday): the overnight train from Kolkata. Drove to Suntalekhola with time for about two hours birding there in the late afternoon. Stayed at Suntalay Khola Wilderness Camp. 7 November: Morning birding at Suntalekhola, on the fringe of the East Nar Range of the Neora Valley National Park. From late morning onwards rain set in and so little was accomplished during the rest of the day. Stayed at Suntalay Khola Wilderness Camp. 8 November: Morning birding from Suntalekhola to Samsing. Drive to Bindu. Afternoon birding forest area between Bindu and Todey. Stayed at Shivaji Tourist Inn, Bindu. 9 November: Morning birding forest edge at Todey. Afternoon birding at Bindu, including a walk over the barrage into Bhutan. Stayed at December 2003 Mike Prince 2003 Page 3 of 39 North Bengal & Sikkim, India; November 2003 Shivaji Tourist Inn, Bindu. 10 November: Early morning left Bindu for the drive to Karmi Farm near Kolbong, via Bijonbari. Stopped en-route briefly at Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary and near Kalijhora. Afternoon birding around Karmi Farm. Stayed at Karmi Farm. 11 November: Whole day birding around Karmi Farm. Stayed at Karmi Farm. 12 November: Early morning birding at Karmi Farm before driving to Tiger Hill, Darjeeling. Afternoon birding at Tiger Hill. Stayed at Mayfair Hotel, Darjeeling. 13 November: Early morning birding at Tiger Hill, followed by “full English breakfast” at Keventer’s in Darjeeling! Late morning drove to Kalijhora. Sumit flew to Bagdogra from Kolkata, Alpana, Bikram and Bill from Delhi, and they drove to Kalijhora. Whole group met there for some birding in the late afternoon. Stayed at Kalijhora Forest Rest House and PWD bungalow. 14 November: Early morning birding at Kalijhora, then drove into Sikkim, stopping to have lunch in Legship. Continued on to Pemayangtse for some late afternoon birding there. Stayed at Mount Pandim hotel, Pemayangtse. 15 November: Early morning birding from Pelling to Sangachoeling monastery, followed by late morning at Pemayangtse. Afternoon some of us birded at nearby Rabdentse. Stayed at Mount Pandim hotel. 16 November: Some of us went back to Sangachoeling for the early morning, whilst others stayed at Pemayangtse. Left late morning for the drive to Khecheperi Lake where we birded for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Stayed at the Trekkers Hut. 17 November: Morning birding in forest around Khechepuri Lake, followed by drive to Mount Narsing, Rabangla. Poor weather (low cloud, strong wind) meant that birding was restricted to an hour or so in the afternoon at Mount Narsing. Stayed at Mount Narsing, Rabangla. 18 November: Morning birding in Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary followed by drive to Gangtok, arriving just after dark. Stayed at ? by the Tashi view point, just outside Gangtok. 19 November: Morning birding just outside, and briefly inside, Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary. Drove to Rumtek and birded the road towards Song in the afternoon. Stayed at Shambhala Resort, Rumtek. 20 November: Some of us again birded the road towards Song from Rumtek, having first tried a difficult track up into the forest above the road. Others spent the early morning in the botanical garden near the Shambhala Resort. Then drove back to North Bengal in time for a couple of hours late afternoon birding along the December 2003 Mike Prince 2003 Page 4 of 39 North Bengal & Sikkim, India; November 2003 Lava to Algarah road. Stayed at Lava Forest Rest House. 21 November: Whole day birding in the Neora Valley National Park. Morning spent in the upper Neora Valley, afternoon lower at Rashet. Stayed at Lava Forest Rest House. 22 November: Early morning birding along the Lava to Algarah road, plus the track into the forest from near the Forest Rest House. Then drove to Gorumara National Park and spent the afternoon birding from the Khunia watchtower. Sujan briefly went to Samsing for a meeting with the Forest Department there. Stayed at Gorumara Jungle Camp. 23 November: Early morning birding in Gorumara National Park from the main watchtower at the Rhino Observation Point, followed by the watchtower at Jatraprasad and the road between. Some of us took an elephant ride into the grassland and along the river. Needed to reach our planned overnight halt at Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary before dark so set off late morning, but en- route we heard that we had lost our booking at the Forest Rest House there since some Forest Department officials were visiting. A hasty change of plan made us visit the Teesta Barrage at Gazoldoba for the afternoon before returning to Gorumara Jungle Camp for a second night. 24 November: Early morning birded the Mahakal Trail at Gorumara before briefly visiting the Rhino Observation Point and Jatraprasad watchtower inside the National Park. Then drove to Bagdogra airport for early afternoon flights to Kolkata (Sumit) and Delhi (Alpana, Bikram, Bill, Mike). Sujan took the overnight train to Kolkata. December 2003 Mike Prince 2003 Page 5 of 39 North Bengal & Sikkim, India; November 2003 SITE DETAILS Site information is generally well described in Kazmierczak & Singh [7]. This does not include all sites visited; in particular the excellent lowland reserves of Gorumara National Park and Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, plus the Teesta Barrage at Gazoldoba are not covered. In addition the first week was spent mostly exploring little known sites. The following sections provide information for all sites visited; where the site is included in Kazmierczak & Singh [7] only brief notes are given here. Suntalekhola, West Bengal Suntalekhola is situated in West Bengal at an altitude of 750 metres. It is 75 kilometres from Bagdogra Airport. We did our birding on the south-eastern fringe of the Neora Valley National Park. A trail leads to the left from the first bend of the tar road approached from the bungalows and ends at Lava after a three-day trek (which needs permission from the Wildlife Department). The trail leads steeply through thick broadleaved tropical and semi-tropical forests via Mouchouki, Rechila Top (4500m), Alubari and Pankhasari Ridge. Four double room cottages with non-attached toilets are available at Suntalay Khola Wilderness Camp. Selected sightings: Grey Nightjar, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Maroon Oriole, Grey- chinned and Short-billed Minivets, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Slaty-backed Forktail, Sultan Tit, Ashy Bulbul, Yellow-vented, Golden-spectacled and Chestnut- crowned Warblers, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush, Long-tailed Sibia, White- naped and Black-chinned Yuhinas. Samsing, West Bengal Samsing is the Range Office of the Neora Valley National Park, 3kms before Suntalekhola. Some mature broadleaved trees and some scrub surround the Range Office and the Forest Rest House. It is generally good for bee-eaters and orioles amongst other species. Selected sightings: Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Green-billed Malkoha, Thick-billed Warbler. Bindu, West Bengal At 600m, Bindu is a small village on the border with Bhutan. It is 80kms from Siliguri and has developed based on a hydroelectric (hydel)