BIRD of the DAY: Steppe Eagle
Today the two us went for an early morning walk (with the tourist dog) to say goodbye to the Himalayas. We were very close to the Nepal border here in Hilley. We passed Roy, washing the vans again - this wouldn't last long as we would be travelling through major road construction after lunch. We had good views of the mountains - they didn't disappoint us. On the way back we talked to some smiling girls waiting for their school bus.
Back at the homestay, Sue was checking a poster of birds of Sikkim.
After breakfast our hosts kindly presented us with friendship scarves before we left. This homestay was certainly a highlight for us.
Now we were in for a challenging morning drive as we headed for Siliguri, a city across the Sikkim border, in West Bengal. We did stop for a bit of birding and Barbara was able to give two charming school boys Canada pencils.
Then we experienced the familiar tight turns on narrow mountainous roads and the hair raising passing.
Check out this video to really experience this drive:
https://youtu.be/3cUzdQJEBgk
We ran into major road construction on our way to Siliguri. It was very slow and very dusty for a few hours.
Finally, we stopped at Melli on the border of West Bengal where Shyam looked after our paperwork. We watched some Assam macaques and did a bit of birding.
Underway again, we passed several Steppe Eagles in a tree alongside the river.
Then we stopped for lunch at a restaurant by the busy Teesta River where we could bird from the window while eating. As well as birds we could see people washing, bathing and fishing in the river and trucks hauling gravel from the river bed.
Siliguri is in the Siliguri Corridor, or Chicken's Neck, a narrow stretch of land in West Bengal. It is the major city in this area that connnects Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim,
Darjeeling hills, Northeast India and the rest of India. It is a politically sensitive area with a high police and army presence.
We finally made it to Siliguri. The driving was still a challenge in the city too. .
Another exciting driving video:
https://youtu.be/WGn8ExBE6Cc
We saw our first Indian Roller and Common Hoopoe on a wire beside an army base. I guess we shouldn't have taken photos ....
We arrived at the Cindrella Hotel, Sevok Road. It was time to say thanks and goodbye to Roy. He would be going home to clean the van and get ready for a driving trip with a group to Bhutan. He likes Bhutan and gave us some coins from there. We would miss him tomorrow as we would be flying to Assam for more birding and wild animal sightings... maybe we would see a tiger!
As soon as we settled into our hotel room in Siliguri, we decided to check out the hotel grounds for birds. Bill had packed his bathing suit as the Cindrella has a pool (it is much warmer here), but unfortunately for him, the pool was being cleaned/repaired. We did see a coconut tree. And we spotted House Sparrows nesting on the hotel window ledges, and a variety of other birds. Sharon reported that there were Asian Pied Starlings. Alan spotted an Oriental Magpie Robin and a Black-crowned Night-Heron in a tree.
We visited the busy street entrance at our hotel - a hotel security guard was on duty.
In the early evening, hotel staff were busy at work with their bamboo brooms. We got together for listing and dinner in the hotel dining room.
Birds in the Photos Today
Steppe Eagle
Blue-fronted Redstart
Indian Roller
Common Hoopoe
Asian Pied Starling
House Crow
House Sparrow
Brown Shrike
Blue-throated Barbet
Spotted Dove
Jungle Myna
Red-vented Bulbul
Oriental Magpie Robin
Black-crowned Night-Heron