Bird Watching in Sikkim

TRIP 2: MARCH 2022

Our first trip with Lakpa (in 2019) was covering only the North Sikkim so this time we decided to cover the east and west sikkim too alongwith the Gurudongmar area which we missed last time. Since we were staying in Kalimpong for 3 months, so decided to cover entire Sikkim in this trip. 

10 nights 11 days 

Covering entire Sikkim - pick and drop from Kalimpong  

3 nights in Okhrey - covering Hilley and Barsey areas

3 nights in Padamchen - covering Zuluk and Gnathang valley areas

1 night in Mangan 

3 nights in Lachen - covering Thangu and Gurudongmar

Hoary-throated Barwing

Pygmy Blue flycatcher

Himalayan Forest Thrush

Spotted Laughingthrush

Golden Bush Robin female

Brown Parrotbill

Grey-sided Bush Warbler

Black-faced Laughingthrush

Large-billed Crow

Green-tailed Sunbird female

Yellow-browed Tit

Green-tailed Sunbird male

Rufous-winged Fulvetta

Dark-breasted Rosefinch male

Blue-fronted Redstart female

Long-tailed minivet female

Alpine Thrush

Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush female

Blue-fronted Redstart female

Black-headed Shrike Babbler

Grey Bushchat female

Grey Bushchat female

Himalayan Monal

Rufous-breasted Bush Robin male

Hodgson's Treecreeper

White-browed Rosefinch female

Brown-throated Treecreeper

Large Niltava

Russet Sparrow male

White-collared Blackbird female

Blue-fronted Redstart male

White-collared Blackbird female

Grey Bushchat male

Ashy Drongo

Spot-winged Grosbeak male

Fire-breasted Flowerpecker male

Red-billed Leiothrix

Small niltava female

White-capped Water Redstart

Plumbeous Water Redstart female

Plumbeous Water Redstart male

Rusty-fronted Barwing

Fire-breasted Flowerpecker female

White-naped Yuhina

White-gorgeted Flycatcher

Red-faced Liocichla

Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker male

Scaly Laughingthrush

Striated Laughingthrush

Red-billed Chough

Rufous-necked Snowfinch

White-rumped Snowfinch

Groundpecker

Horned Lark female

Robin Accentor

Snow Pigeon

Red-billed Chough

Solitary Snipe

Hume's Short-toed Lark

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Maroon-backed Accentor

Maroon-backed Accentor

Spotted Nutcracker

Plain Mountain Finch

Yellow-cheeked Tit

Blue-winged Laughingthrush

Chestnut- crowned Laughingthrush

Whistler's Warbler

Hume's Short-toed Lark

Alpine Chough

Little Owl

Guldenstadt’s Redstart

horned lark male

Horned Lark female

White-rumped Snowfinch

white-rumped snowfinch

Horned Lark male

Rufous-necked Snowfinch

Rufous-necked Snowfinch

Hume's Groundpecker

Hume's Groundpecker

Himalayan Swiftlet

Rufous-bellied Niltava

White-collared Blackbird male

Russet Sparrow female

Russet Sparrow male

Spot-winged Grosbeak female

Bar-throated Siva

Stripe-throated Yuhina

Green-tailed Sunbird male

Green-tailed Sunbird male

Fire-tailed Sunbird male

White-browed Bush Robin female

White-browed Bush Robin female

Common Kestrel male

Collared Scops Owl

Himalayan Wood Owl

Great Parrotbill

Alpine Thrush

White-browed Rosefinch male

Himalayan Monal

Rufous Sibia

Scaly-breasted Wren Babbler

Rufous-breasted Accentor

Rufous-breasted Accentor

Brown-throated Treecreeper

Brown-throated Treecreeper

Long-tailed minivet male

White-throated Laughingthrush

Mountain Hawk Eagle

Rufous-breasted Bush Robin female

Green Shrike Babbler

Golen-breasted Fulvetta

Hume's Bush Warbler

Rufous-vented Yuhina

Himalayan Bluetail female

Yellow-browed Tit

Chestnut-crowned Warbler

black-throated Prinia

White-browed Fulvetta

Himalayan Vulture

Black-throated Tit

Rufous-throated Wren Babbler

Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler

Slender-billed scimitar babbler

Grey-sided Bush Warbler

Olive-backed Pipit

Some Mammal Sightings (Primarily in Gurudongmar, Gnathang Valley and Okhrey):

Black-lipped Pika

Wooly Hare

Tibetan Gazelle female

Tibetan Gazelle juv

Tibetan Gazelle male

Himalayan Goral

Himalayan Goral

Wooly Hare

Wooly Hare

And lastly a very very rare butterfly sighting too in Mangan, 

Common Tan Wave

And finally some landscapes, 

View from our room @ Padamchen

View @ Thangu valley 

@ Gnathang valley

View @ Zulluk 

@ Okhrey 

TRIP 1: APRIL 2019 

6 nights 7 days 

Bird watching from Gangtok to Lachen to Thangu, North Sikkim

Pick and drop from Bagdogra Airport (Siliguri) 
Elevation of 5,500 feet to 14,000 feet.
With guidance from Lakpa Tenzing, spotted 40 lifers with some amazing sightings.
Enjoy the Images below.

The luckiest sighting was of the Grandala, as if it was only waiting for us to say goodbye. Usually they migrate up to the higher altitudes by the 1st week of March however this year for some strange reason they were still available to be spotted, albeit only once.

Grandala Male (lifer)

Grandala Females and Male (lifer)

Some extensive trekking and mountain climbing was needed to spot the Blood Pheasant. By the time we climbed the mountain and got to a vantage point to click it, I hardly had any muscle strength left in me, even to pick up my super light-weight 400 f/4 gear and start shooting. However they obliged us with a lovely sighting for a few seconds, just enough to click both male and the female.

Blood Pheasant Male (lifer)

Blood Pheasant Female (lifer)

Trekking doesn't seem to end with the sighting above and every bird was a new challenge thereon. This time it was about crossing the river stream. The most excruciating feeling was of the foot deep inside the freezing water of the river stream, coming right down from Gurudongmar Lake. Being a birder for 5 years, I even forgot that I have to maintain my silence to reach the proximity of the Ibisbill. But the reward of the intense pain was a beautiful sighting of this camouflage bird amongst the boulders.

Ibisbill (lifer)

Ibisbill (lifer)

The first attempt to click the Black-throated Parrotbill was futile as it only gave a chance of approximately 1 second to click before it flew off. The last day we again got lucky and this time it was there to be clicked for more than a couple of seconds.

Black-throated Parrotbill (lifer)

Lakpa says, good things happen in birding to good people. I am not sure about the good people part, but we definitely got lucky with some great sightings and this time it was the White-browed Piculet which just landed in front of us without any effort.

White-browed Piculet (lifer)

Golden-breasted Fulvetta (lifer)

Nepal Fulvetta

Blue-winged Siva (lifer)

Mrs Gould's Sunbird Male (lifer)

Mrs Gould's Sunbird Female (lifer)

Black-throated Sunbird Male (lifer)

This rare Black-throated Prinia which usually won't come out of the bushes, was there to be clicked in full breeding plummage trying to woo the female.

Black-throated Prinia (lifer)

White-browed Rosefinch Female (lifer)

Dark-breasted Rosefinch Female (lifer)

Plain Mountain Finch (lifer)

White-throated Dipper (lifer)

This sighting of White-throated Dipper (rare brown morph) was definitely the biggest catch. So similar to Brown Dipper yet so different. Some sightings are recorded in Leh Ladakh and luck was on our side when we managed to click this subspecies in North Sikkim.

White-throated Dipper (rare brown morph) - NOT Brown Dipper (lifer)

Darjeeling Woodpecker Female

Darjeeling Woodpecker male

Rufous-bellied Woodpecker Female

Rufous-capped Babbler (lifer)

Green Shrike-babbler

White-browed Shrike-babbler (lifer)

Black-eared Shrike-babbler Female (lifer)

Red-tailed Minla (lifer)

Blue-capped Rock Thrush Male

Blue-capped Rock Thrush Female

Black-winged Cuckooshrike (lifer)

Verditer Flycatcher Male

Rufous-breasted Accentor

Rufous-fronted Tit (lifer)

Rufous-vented Tit (lifer)

White-winged Grosbeak Male

White-winged Grosbeak Female

Northern Raven

We got the news that the locals spotted the Tibetian Snowcock about 300 metres above Thangu. I decided to trek all the way up to spot the bird, since the roads were closed because of heavy snowfall. Coming from Hyderabad, leading a sedentary lifestyle, and all of a sudden a vertical trek and climb of 300 metres was excruciatingly painful. After about half an hour of the stressful trek, I was down on all-four doing monkey crawling since the vertical elevation behind me was too scary to look back to. Snowcock was nowhere to be seen but managed to get a full frame shot of Red-billed Chough in a blizzard of snowfall.

Red-billed Chough (lifer)

Himalayan Bluetail Male

Rosy Pipit

Blyth's Leaf Warbler (lifer)

Whistler's Warbler (lifer)

Ashy-throated Warbler

Red Crossbill Male (lifer)

Red Crossbill Female and Male (lifer)

Oriental Turtle Dove

Himalayan Buzzard (lifer)

Blue-fronted Redstart Male

Grey-cheeked Warbler

Golden-throated Barbet

Himalayan Swiftlet (lifer)

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Scarlet Minivet Female

Short-billed Minivet Female

Ashy Drongo

Long-tailed Minivet Male

Bay Woodpecker (lifer)

Maroon Oriole

White-tailed Nuthatch

Large Hawk Cuckoo (lifer)

Spangled Drongo (lifer)

Crested Serpent Eagle

Great Barbet

Little Pied Flycatcher (lifer)

Rufous Sibia

 Some Mammal Sightings:

Orange-bellied Himalayan Squirrel 

Some Yaks were coming over to us to get the taste of salt (We came to know that all herbivores need their quota of salt to survive). But we even encountered a Yak that came charging towards us, maybe it was territorial.

Yak

Himalayan Grey Langur

 Some Landscapes:

Thangu

Thangu

Lachen

Lachen

Lachen