Sometimes people get confused about Sandakphu and Singalila. Well, Sandakphu is a part of Singalila National Park and Sandakphu is not the only one destination of Singalila. Singalila National Park area starts from Tumling. In this blog, I’ll share how we have planned and executed the Singalila Birdwatching Trip. This piece of content is going to be a must-read for those who are planning to have a Singalila trip in recent future. I’ll share my full planning, itinerary, and bird list.
What is the difference between a trek and a trip
I did two different types of the tour in a single place. I did one trek and one birdwatching trip. The main differences are like –
1) Treks have one main purpose which is to reach the summit point while in birdwatching trips the main focus is birds, not the route.
2) Treks have a long distance to cover in a single day but in birding trips, we stay at one or two places and search the birds following the jungle trails.
3) Usually trekkers and backpackers love to complete their trek simply. They don’t spend too much on their stay or food. In contrast, birding trips tend to go on the costlier side because we stay in a single place for 2-3 days so we seek a more comfortable stay instead.
4) Trekkers may have basic food like rice, roti or dal, chicken or egg after the whole day trek whereas in contrast birding tourists enjoy a 4 square meal including breakfast lunch, dinner, evening snacks, and tea multiple times. Well, they are not foody, they are only performing their trips in a more comfortable way.
5) Time is important for spotting birds. I have spent several hours standing still in a bush or hiding myself so that birds can not identify me and come closer while trekkers have one single purpose which is to move and reach their target spot.
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Sandakphu Trek How to do
Targeted spot and targeted species are sounding the same but those are immensely different.
Our Journey Starts From Manebhanjan
We have started our journey from the gateway of Singalila i.e Manebhanjan. Northeasttravels arranged our trip. Owner Mr. Dipankar Roy himself is a birder for the past 15 years and he joined in our trip. We have booked a bolero car from there and it will take us to Sandakphu via Tumling and Gairibas. 2nd day we will stay at Tumling and our third stay will be in Gairibas. We have decided to stay at Sandakphu for 2 nights.
Singalila Birdwatching Trip – Itinerary
| Tumling | 2 Nights |
| Gairibas | 1 Night (2 nights would be preferable) |
| Sandakphu | 2 Nights |
Tumling Birds – Singalila National Park
Tumling is a small hamlet in Jogmai VDC, Ilam District of Nepal.
A tourist attraction in Eastern Himalayas at an altitude of 2970m, its population is composed mostly of Gurung families, with the total population being a mere 15 in number. Tumling is a beautiful place though not a forest-type habitat.
There are two or three popular homestays in Tumling to live in. We stayed in Siddhartha Lodge. It is near the main road and a moderate place to spend one-two night. We couldn’t do much birding on that day because of the bad weather and time constraints, except a couple of White collard Blackbirds and a Yellow-billed Blue Magpie which are residents of that place.
We already had our lunch in Druk homestay Manebhanjan to save time for further birdwatching in Tumling. We reached Tumling in the afternoon. The weather was not so clear and cloud formation already started.
We checked in to the homestay and was taking photographs here and there. Suddenly our guide Shering daju rushed to us and cried that he could spot a Red Panda. The red panda is an endangered species and very hard to spot. We were quite lucky to get this beautiful species on the first day of our trip.
The next morning has bright weather and we immediately started our birdwatching. The day started with lots of plain mountain Finch. There was a flock of nearly 500 birds. They are not very colorful but watching them in a flock is really a treat to the eyes. We got Pink-browed rose finches male and female also in that flock.
I never have seen a White-capped redstart nest. We got one male bird collecting nesting materials rigorously and building his nest. We always got this bird near a water body but to my surprise, I have found that it is building its nest away from any large water body.
After breakfast, we did one more round. We took the main road and started walking and scanning the trees and branches. We got several warblers and some other birds too. We spotted one Spotted nutcracker on a top perch. It was not shy and gave us enough time to capture it through our lens.
We got an unusual call from a branch. The first part of the call is quite different from the second part of the same call. It is a tiny bird screaming. Grey-sided bush warbler was our lifer. I remembered this bird only for its distinct call.
Here is a complete list of the birds we get in Tumling
| Hill Partridge (Arborophila torqueola) | 2 |
| Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) | 3 |
| Large Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx sparverioides) | 3 |
| Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) | 8 |
| Great Barbet (Psilopogon virens) | 1 |
| Darjeeling Woodpecker (Dendrocopos darjellensis) | 1 |
| Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) | 2 |
| Yellow-billed Blue-Magpie (Urocissa flavirostris) | 3 |
| Eurasian Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) | 1 |
| House Crow (Corvus splendens) | 3 |
| Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) | 12 |
| Coal Tit (Periparus ater) | 1 |
| Green-backed Tit (Parus monticolus) | 2 |
| Whistler’s Warbler (Phylloscopus whistleri) | 2 |
| Gray-sided Bush Warbler (Cettia brunnifrons) | 1 |
| White-browed Fulvetta (Fulvetta vinipectus) | 1 |
| Whiskered Yuhina (Yuhina flavicollis) | 3 |
| Stripe-throated Yuhina (Yuhina gularis) | 2 |
| Rufous-vented Yuhina (Yuhina occipitalis) | 1 |
| Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron erythrocephalum) | 1 |
| Hoary-throated Barwing (Actinodura nipalensis) | 1 |
| Spotted Laughingthrush (Ianthocincla ocellata) | 1 |
| White-collared Blackbird (Turdus albocinctus) | 3 |
| Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) | 3 |
| Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher (Ficedula strophiata) | 2 |
| White-capped Redstart (Phoenicurus leucocephalus) | 1 |
| Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata) | 1 |
| Gray Bushchat (Saxicola ferreus) | 1 |
| Gray Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) | 1 |
| Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) | 2 |
| Pink-browed Rosefinch (Carpodacus rodochroa) | 2 |
| Plain Mountain Finch (Leucosticte nemoricola) | 500 |
We had a delicious lunch in Siddhartha lodge. The food was quite tasty and got the flavor of homemade cuisine.
The afternoon was not very good for birdwatching because of the bad weather. The night was filled up with rain and got power cut.
The next morning we spent one-two hour to do birdwatching and started for Gairibas.
Gairibas Birds – Singalila National Park
Gairibans (2621 m), located near the India – Nepal border, is a small settlement inside the Singalila National Park in the Darjeeling Sadar subdivision, Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a roadside halt along the trekking route from Manebhanjan to Sandakphu. This place is quite remote and popularly known as a Red Panda habitat and as a Red Panda rescue center.
We stayed in GTA trekkers hut. The stay itself was quite fascinating. It was my long-term wish to spend a night amidst the deep forest. GTA hut is maintained by West Bengal Govt. It has only solar light. Rooms and corridors have wooden floors. When you open a window a splash of Singalila forest greenery would welcome you. You need not to watch other homestays/ hotels from your balcony. It is the one and only place to stay. There is another homestay called Magnolia homestay which has electricity but it is far away from here and that was in Nepal.
The ambiance was awesome and adventurous. A pair of Kalej pheasants welcomed us. We did a little bit of birding here because of the poor weather. We got many birds here.
The night was also very enchanting. We were having our tea and snacks. Suddenly a shrill call was coming from the jungle. We immediately identified it as a Grey nightjar. We have tried but couldn’t find it.
We had only one solar bulb in our room which went off after 10 p.m
Here is a bird list we got in Gairibas
| Hill Partridge (Arborophila torqueola) | 2 |
| Satyr Tragopan (Tragopan satyra) | 1 |
| Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) | 2 |
| Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) | 4 |
| Barred Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia unchall) | 1 |
| Large Hawk-Cuckoo (Hierococcyx sparverioides) | 1 |
| Gray Nightjar (Caprimulgus jotaka) | 2 |
| swift sp. (Apodidae sp.) | 5 |
| Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) | 3 |
| Great Barbet (Psilopogon virens) | 1 |
| Darjeeling Woodpecker (Dendrocopos darjellensis) | 2 |
| Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus speciosus) | 3 |
| Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) | 1 |
| Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) | 2 |
| Yellow-billed Blue-Magpie (Urocissa flavirostris) | 2 |
| Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) | 15 |
| Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis) | 1 |
| Yellow-browed Tit (Sylviparus modestus) | 1 |
| Coal Tit (Periparus ater) | 1 |
| Green-backed Tit (Parus monticolus) | 1 |
| Ashy-throated Warbler (Phylloscopus maculipennis) | 1 |
| Buff-barred Warbler (Phylloscopus pulcher) | 1 |
| Tickell’s Leaf Warbler (Tickell’s) (Phylloscopus affinis affinis/perflavus) | 1 |
| Green-crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus burkii) | 1 |
| Whistler’s Warbler (Phylloscopus whistleri) | 1 |
| Chestnut-headed Tesia (Cettia castaneocoronata) | 1 |
| White-browed Fulvetta (Fulvetta vinipectus) | 3 |
| Brown Parrotbill (Cholornis unicolor) | 2 |
| Black-throated Parrotbill (Suthora nipalensis) | 3 |
| Rufous-capped Babbler (Cyanoderma ruficeps) | 1 |
| Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler (Pomatorhinus superciliaris) | 2 |
| Rufous-winged Fulvetta (Schoeniparus castaneceps) | 2 |
| Scaly Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron subunicolor) | 2 |
| Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron erythrocephalum) | 3 |
| Rufous Sibia (Heterophasia capistrata) | 3 |
| Hoary-throated Barwing (Actinodura nipalensis) | 1 |
| Blue-winged Minla (Actinodura cyanouroptera) | 1 |
| Chestnut-tailed Minla (Actinodura strigula) | 8 |
| Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea) | 7 |
| Spotted Laughingthrush (Ianthocincla ocellata) | 4 |
| Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) | 2 |
| Blue Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus caeruleus) | 2 |
| White-browed Bush-Robin (Tarsiger indicus) | 2 |
| Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher (Ficedula strophiata) | 4 |
| Plumbeous Redstart (Phoenicurus fuliginosus) | 1 |
| White-capped Redstart (Phoenicurus leucocephalus) | 2 |
| Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus) | 1 |
| Gray Bushchat (Saxicola ferreus) | 2 |
| Black-throated Sunbird (Aethopyga saturata) | 1 |
| Green-tailed Sunbird (Aethopyga nipalensis) | 3 |
| Gray Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) | 1 |
| Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) | 5 |
| Gold-naped Finch (Pyrrhoplectes epauletta) | 2 |
The next morning we started searching for the Satyr Tragopan but only heard his call. It was exactly like a child crying in a shrill voice.
That day we started after noon. To Sandakphu. We had our breakfast here. We stopped in Kalipokhri. Kalipokhri (3186 m) is a small Himalayan village inside the Singalila National Park in the Darjeeling subdivision, Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies on the trekking route from Mane Bhanjang to Sandakphu (the highest peak in West Bengal), and is roughly halfway between the steep final stretch of the trek from Gairibans to Sandakphu.
The word, “Pokhri” means “lake” and “kala” means “dark” in Nepali, and the village is named after a local lake with dark waters or a lake whose water is dark in color. We finished our lunch midway in a homestay. It was simple and best in taste.
Sandakphu Birds – Singalila National Park
Sandakphu is a dream destination for birdwatching. The ideal time is March or April. I had a Sandakphu trek in October. I got very good weather but could spot only 2-3 birds. In April I spotted more birds than in October though the weather was not very good. This is the magic of the month.
We got these birds near our homestay. We stayed in Sherpa Chalet.
It was a triple-bed and front view room. For all the detailed price and booking procedures please watch my Singalila birdwatching videos.
We spotted fire-tailed sunbirds several times in top perch. The colorful male bird was displaying himself so he grabbed the top perch of the silver far tree. We got this bird easily, but this is not true for the Golden Bush Robin.
This male bird was very shy. Even the female bird didn’t come out frequently, but not like the male one. We could manage to get a glimpse of the female bird. They liked to hide in the bushes following their name bush robin. The next morning we got a decent photograph of this bird.
On this day weather became too bad. Hailstorms and thunderstorms started along with severe rain. Birding became almost impossible. We got Red-headed bullfinch pair near our hotel. They were searching for food in the mud and dust near the hotel kitchen. We got many birds from our hotel balcony.
Here is a bird list we got in Sandakphu
| Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) | 6 |
| Coal Tit (Periparus ater) | 1 |
| Green-backed Tit (Parus monticolus) | 1 |
| Gray-sided Bush Warbler (Cettia brunnifrons) | 1 |
| White-browed Fulvetta (Fulvetta vinipectus) | 1 |
| Black-faced Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron affine) | 2 |
| Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron erythrocephalum) | 1 |
| Spotted Laughingthrush (Ianthocincla ocellata) | 4 |
| Golden Bush-Robin (Tarsiger chrysaeus) | 4 |
| Fire-tailed Sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda) | 4 |
| Rufous-breasted Accentor (Prunella strophiata) | 2 |
| Rosy Pipit (Anthus roseatus) | 1 |
| Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) | 2 |
| Collared Grosbeak (Mycerobas affinis) | 5 |
| Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus) | 3 |
| Pink-browed Rosefinch (Carpodacus rodochroa) | 1 |
| Red-headed Bullfinch (Pyrrhula erythrocephala) | 2 |
| Plain Mountain Finch (Leucosticte nemoricola) | 30 |
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