At Gajoldoba, I had a beautiful morning session with countless pochards, lapwings, grebes and all the migratory ducks.  It was a fantasy experience to quietly float through the water while observing these birds up close. I was lucky to get Greater Scaup, and was waiting for Smew until  it was decided to call off the morning session to have lunch.

We had lunch at the Boroli Resort & Restaurant, followed by some scrumptious jaggery rasgulla(s). The point is that after the delectable desert, I was starting to feel a little lazy and unfocused, that's when our guide Sandeep Ramz, called out to see a Spot-winged Starling.

Back on my toes, I went outside to the parking lot where I observed a Spot-winged Starling perched on a Bombax ceiba tree that was in full bloom.

The Spot-winged Starling was enjoying on the blooms of this enormous tree, which was in full bloom, on rather high branches. After a little wait, it descended to smaller lower branches. With my eyes rolling over the flowers and my neck tilted up towards the blossoming tree, I began spotting several birds, from the topmost branch to the lowest. They were coming in groups and flying away just to come back again in a few mins. 

After 15 minutes in the midday sun and a neck tense towards the sky-high Bombax ceiba, I was ready to resume my quest for Smew by returning to the Teesta waters.

I named the event "Double Dhamaka" since watching these birds on the Bombax ceiba was a soul-satisfying experience while still enjoying the taste of jaggery rasgulla(s). 

Due to technology limitation, I am able to present a few show-stopper birds on Bombax ceiba rather than the flavour of the delectable jaggery rasgulla(s).

PS: For those few curious readers, I was not lucky to see Smew, even after long wait. I imagine that this Bombax ceiba tree and I will cross paths a few more times in the future.