Coronation Bridge
Gateway to the North-east

I spent seven days in North Bengal visiting Gorumara (plains), Tinchuley (6000 ft), Loylegaon (6500 ft) and Kalimpong (4000 ft). The attached list of 113 birds were observed during the trip. 

The weather throughout the trip was beautiful with stunning views of the Sinaglila range on all days. I birded all mornings and spent the rest of the day with the family. The best bird on the trip was a small flock of Cutias at Loylegaon, my first encounter with this species. The sight of raptors of different species flying and playing together at Tinchuley was also memorable.

Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive Bagdogra airport (p.m.) and travel by road to Gorumara ( 2 hrs). Stay at Gorumara Jungle Camp run by Help Tourism.
Day 2: Gorumara Range office (for woodpeckers) and Gorumara National Park visit in the morning. Drive to Tinchuley to arrive before lunch (4 hrs.). Stay at Gurung Village Resort, Tinchuley. 
Day 3: Birding in and around Gurung Guest House, Tinchuley. Night at Tinchuley.
Day 4: 5 hour drive to Loylegaon via Kalimpong and Algarah Road, Lava. Stay at DGHC Dafey Munal Lodge, Loylegaon.
Day 5: A.M. Birding at Jhandidara peak. Afternoon drive to Kalimpong. Stay at Orchid Resorts, Kalimpong.
Day 6: Birding in and around Kalimpong. Short visit to Relling to check the location.
Day 7: Morning birding Kalimpong. Depart for Bagdogra Airport for flight to Kolkata.

Highlights:
Day 1: A night safari drive yielded no birds but a couple of Jungle Cats and an unidentified carnivore (possibly a large Civet) were of interest.
Day 2: The Range Forest office is a great place to see woodpeckers at the crack of dawn, and I was rewarded with a pair of Greater Flamebacks and Greater Yellownapes. Inside the National park, the usual crowd of pigeons at the salt lick had Green Imperial and Yellow-footed Green with Oriental Turtle Doves. An Oriental Pied Hornbill came to sit a few feet away at the watchtower and Indian Peafowl were common at the eastern end of their range. A feeding Black-naped Monarch and Crimson Sunbirds were of note as was a soaring White-rumped Vulture. Before leaving Gorumara Jungle Camp the sight of a over-flying Common Buzzard was very satisfying. The drive to Tinchuley had a roadside roosting Mountain Hawk Eagle and a pair of Steppe Eagles.  
Day 3:  A pair of Wedge-tailed Green Pigeons, an Eurasian Sparrowhawk and a male Kalij were the only birds of note on a disappointing morning.
Day 4: The disappointments of the previous day were forgotten when the day broke with a small flock of Streak-breasted Scimitar Babblers, a Crimson-breasted Woodpecker which gave crippling views and the spectacular air show put up by a pair of Oriental Honey Buzzards (orientalis), a pair of ruficollis Honey Buzzards, a pair of Sparrowhawks and a Red-headed Falcon all diving and mock fighting over the Himalayan amphitheatre. The drive to Loylegaon had a Black Eagle on Algarah Road to close a raptor-filled morning.
Day 5: Loylegaon is easily becoming a most desirable destination for birders. Added to the Rusty-bellied Shortwing from a April visit were a small flock of Cutias on the road leading down from Jhandidara. Stunning and utterly memorable birds. Golden-throated Barbets, Little Bunting, Mrs Gould's Sunbird, Grey-chinned Minivet, Striated Bulbul, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker and Striated Laughingthrush all added to a great mornings birding at this location.
Day 6: Orchid Retreat, where I stayed at Kalimpong, is at 4000 feet on the road from Kalimpong to Algarah. The resort is located in a large horticultural nursery and seemed like an ideal place to look for birds. Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Golden-spectacled Warbler, Rufous-bellied Niltava, Asian Barred Owlet were easily seen, as were large flocks of Scarlet Minivets and numerous Grey-headed Canary Flycatchers.
Day 7: A Speckled Piculet to start off the morning on the last day and a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo to close it, I could always ask for more, but there is always a next time.

 

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The trip was arranged by Help Tourism

Sumit K. Sen
Kolkata, India
November 2004