Birding Trip to West Sikkim Trip Report by Geetha Jaikumar: April 28 – May 8, 2013 Four of us – Dr. Arun, Gayathree Krishna, Jaikumar and I – headed for West Sikkim to experience the grandeur of Sikkim’s unspoilt wilderness and of course to savour the abundant avifauna of the Eastern Himalayas! Making a stopover at Bagdogra – both to and from West Sikkim – was a wise decision. One, the roads are not that well-maintained in Sikkim and two, Bagdogra Army Transit Camp (courtesy Gayathree’s army connection) where we stayed was lush and green and excellent for birding. We start our bird list with the breathtakingly beautiful Blue Throated Barbets and went on to see Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, White Throated Fantail, Great Tit, lots of Pied Starling and many others – in all, a healthy tally of 24 birds in just half a day’s halt each way at Bagdogra. Incidentally, did you know that while Common Mynas nest in tree holes, the Pied variety build theirs with huge bundles of untidy gra...