Suman Paul
Suman Paul
Suman Paul
Suman Paul
12th July 2015th makumat UK
--
Grey-winged Blackbird (Turdus boulboul)- male.
My experience : During my first visit to the eastern Himalayas on a true birding trip in December-2008, this bird was high on my wishlist. We stayed at Rikisum in the outskirts of Lava for a few days, but cudnt spot this bird anywhere. I was very excited to see its cousin the glistening Blue Whistling thrush, as it came near our resort to feed on the left over food. We got some lovely birds on the Lava-Algarah road and Neora Valley. While returning to Mal Bazar via Gorubathan, we did some birding on the way and stopped the car at the probable bird habitats. But weather played spoilsport and soon the entire area was covered with dense mist. We had to wait till the weather became clear, and it started raining heavily. We were shivering in the biting cold and praying to God- so that we cud reach the station before sunset. The mist vanished gradually, but we experienced a hail-shower. The bonnet of the car was entirely covered with marble-sized hails. Thankfully the hail storm stopped after half an hour and Sun came out. We had come down only a few kms from Lava by that time.
In spite of this horrifying experience, our enthusiasm to watch birds didnt die down, and we still had one more hour in hand. So we got down from the car, and walked along a forest-trail. Bird activity increased a lot after the rains, and most of them were busy collecting food. Suddenly we found a black bird flew past and vanished into the thickets. We thought it was a whistling thrush- which is very common in the hills. We entered a garden and found that the bird was digging out worms from the moist mud. The unmistakable grey wings helped to identify the bird, and my birder friend -who had seen this bird earlier in Lava told me the name. I was elated to see this lovely lifer, although I cudnt get any decent shot with my digital 15x zoom camera. After birding for a few more minutes, we reached the station on time.
After three more years, I spotted the bird again on the Lava-Algarah road, and managed to take some shots from the car. The bird was feeding on bits of bread scattered by tourists on the roadside. The yellow eye-ring, Orange bill and bright grey wings have always fascinated me.
Last year, during my solo-birding trip to West Sikkim, I had the opportunity to spot this bird again at Okhray. A pair of these birds were foraging beside the road, and the male bird perched on a branch on noticing me. But it allowed me to go closer and I got some full frame shots. I left the spot without disturbing them, so that they could finish off their breakfast. I hope you have enjoyed reading my experiences of spotting this lovely hill bird on different occasions.
Location: Okhray. West Sikkim.
8000 feet.
May-2014
Canon 60D
Sigma 150-500mm.
regards....Shantanu.
Near by SultanpurNP Haryana India
--
|
