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Birds in our Garden

We were not aware that there were so many different species of birds visiting our garden. Of course, birds have always been an integral part of our garden and forest area but we did not see them as a serious attraction for a specific group of hobbyist called "bird watchers". It all started when Mr. Sumit Sen came and stayed at the Orchid Retreat with his family. Sumit, we found out, is an expert on birds of the Indian subcontinent. He hosts www.kolkatabirds.com and frequently visits far flung areas in the eastern Himalayas and the Northeast region of India. All this in pursuit of a hobby called bird watching! The website abounds in trip reports and bird images. Meeting Sumit changed our perception of birds and we have been looking at our bird wealth with a little more respect. Books have been added to our library and we have started photographing visitors and residents. Some pictures are reflected in this page. Most of our photographs have been a mixed output of blurred images of fluttering wings and red hot eyes peering out of pitch black silhouettes. We are learning. Hopefully, we will, be able to put up images of all the birds that are visitors or residents of our garden and woods. Sumit put up a page in his website recording his visit to The Orchid Retreat and has pictures of the birds he photographed in our garden. Look up the report at:
http://www.kolkatabirds.com/hillbirdsofind/kalimpong.htm

Note: Sumit has given us permission to add this link

List of Birds spotted in our garden by a group of bird enthusiasts who stayed with us from 15-17 March 2005

1.Greater Yellownape Woodpecker; 2.Great Barbet, 3.Golden throated Barbet, 4.Blue throated Barbet, 5.Large Hawk Cuckoo, 6.Slaty headed Parakeet, 7.Himalayan Swiftlet, 8. Asian Barred Owlet, 9. Eurasian Sparrowhawk, 10. Common Buzzard, 12. Large billed Crow, 12. Grey Treepie, 13. Ashy Drongo, 14. Spangled Drongo, 15. Blue whistling thrush, 16. Large Niltava, 17. Small Niltava, 18. Grey headed Canary flycatcher, 19.Oriental Magpie Robin, 20. White-capped Water Redstart, 21. Velvet fronted Nuthatch, 22. Greenbacked Tit, 23. Barn Swallow, 24. Himalayan Bulbul, 25.Red Vented Bulbul, 26. Black Bulbul, 27. Oriental White eye, 28. Common Tailor bird, 29. Lemon-rumped Wabler, 30. Hume's Wabler, 31. Greenish Wabler, 32. Eastern Crowned Wabler

The list is growing as confirmed by subsequent visitors and the novice birder watchers at The Orchid Retreat

List of books on birds of the region available in the Library:

1. Birds of the Indian Subcontinet: Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp
    

2. Birds of Bhutan (Timeles Field Guides): Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp & Richard Grimmett
    

3. Birds of Nepal (With reference to Kashmir & Sikkim): Robert L. Flemming Sr., Robert L. Fleming, Jr., & Lain Singh Bangdel
    

4. Field Guide to the Birds of the Eastern Himalayas: Salim Ali

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