A birding incident that gives me goosebumps----
Did you ever have an eerie feeling while birding?? I have such an experience. I still dont find any proper explanation of that incident. Sharing it with all of you.
I searched for this bird in the hills of Tunganath-Chopta two years back in vain. I was very eager to get it during my Sikkim trip. I visited Hilley- a place located at an altitude of abt 9000 feet and decided to stay there for a week. I had no idea about the area and its birds. Hilley is a beautiful little hamlet admist the forested hills- entirely isolated from modern civilization.
The resort manager had some knowledge about the birdlife of that area, and I came to know from him that this species is seldom seen in the bamboo forests behind the forest office of Versey Rhododendron Sanctuary. But he told me that it tries to maintain a safe distance from human, thereby making photography difficult. And he also informed that I had to reach the spot just after sunrise- as this bird generally comes out when there is no disturbance around. I used to reach the spot before 5.30am- as the sun rises early in west Sikkim. This particular bird was high on my wishlist, but i cudnt get a single glimpse of this species - even after waiting for two consecutive days at the probable site. I lost all hope of getting the bird. I just couldnt accept the fact that i had to leave Hilley without getting this beautiful bird- inspite of staying there for five days.
On the third day i was waiting at that spot before entering the Sanctuary for the morning birding session.
To my utter surprise, just a single bird arrived from the bamboo thickets, it came so close to me, that at first I cudnt focus on the birds and had to reduce the focal length of my lens to 350mm. It was busy picking up some food from the ground, almost ignoring my presence- as if to give me the shots i was longing for and once i had taken the shots, it vanished into the forest. Everything happened very fast. The whole incident seemed very surprising and divine to me...and quite interestingly the bird was not spotted again during the next few days of my stay. I get goose-bumps whenever i think about this eerie birding moment. Now i strongly believe, when u want something with all your heart, you will definitely get it.
Spotted Laughingthrush- close up shot
Location: Hilley. Sikkim.
May-2014
Canon 60D
Sigma 150-500mm.
regards
Shantanu.
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