Gangtok: Nature Nestled in Between Markets

Within its winding, hilly and ever packed roads, Gangtok has hidden pockets of magic that steal one's breath.

It could be the mist that drapes itself on the slopes of the Himalayan foothills gently like a veil. Or the way the Kanchenjunga range teases one with glimpses, ducking back behind clouds like a child playing peekaboo. Perhaps it is the unexpected sight of alpine swifts fluttering and chirping in the doorways of stores and houses or the way a seemingly barren tree comes to writhing, wriggling and cheerful life when a foraging party of warblers, tits and sparrows descends on it.

A short walk right behind Gangtok's M.G.Marg leads to a magical grove called the Nam Nang (mis-spelled as Nam Nam on Google maps) observation point.

The entrance to Nam Nang is a nondescript pathway along a larger road, opposite the Sikkim Legislative building and next to the Gangtok ropeway. In the early morning mist, the pathway is enchanting:  black-lored tits fly above you and foraging parties of laughing thrushes and leothrixes are found right by your feet, under bushes or in little garbage heaps by the side of the pathway. The black-lored tits are the size of a sparrow, or are perhaps plumper, and chirp and flit like them. 

The pathway takes you by the foraging sites of innumerable species. As you walk in, the sheer number of birds- on the path, by the bushes next to you, by the garbage heap on the side of the path, and at various levels of trees- is thrilling. Bird song rises and falls as the various flocks move from one site to another. 

Many yellow-billed choughs can be seen. They are not in the least shy. They have a curious screechy call and show a scissoring motion of their tail:

 

Interestingly, we saw the same scissoring tail movements, albeit much more rapid, and the utter lack of self-consciousness in another entirely unrelated bird in Uttarakhand, a few weeks later. A plumbeous redstart and its female counterpart were happily exploring and making fly-capturing sallies in a fast flowing stream on our way to Triyoginarayan in Uttarakhand. Sometimes, bird species may have very little in common, but they exhibit such similar personalities and behavior that you are irresistibly reminded of the one when you see the other!

Birds seen at Nam Nang (around 7am on a sunny day):

a) Black lored Tit

b) Chestnut headed laughingthrush, with a darker olive green coloring than in the Collins' bird book.

c) Red billed leothrix

d) White cheeked bulbul

e) Many that are merely descriptions but failed to be identified, given lack of binos and my rather abysmal eyesight. 

For the sake of chronology and completeness, I will break the remainder of this article as per the areas we visited and our experiences therein.