Birdwatching trip report - India

South India (Kerala, Tamilnadu & Karnataka) - February 11-19, 2006 Trip Report

I had been invited to participate in a 4-day Environmental Workshop in Bangalore in early February and decided I would extend my stay in India for some bird watching.  Originally, I planned to do a 3-4 day trip in the south followed by a second trip in the north which would include a visit to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. After researching my tour options, I contacted Kalypso Adventures to request a proposal for a southern Indian trip.  Commander Thomas Zacharias replied to my inquiry with such a fantastic proposal for a private tour , that I changed my travel plans to only do a southern trip.  Working with Thomas was a pleasure; he understood my concerns and worked with me to schedule a 9 day trip.   My associates in Bangalore had informed me prior to my trip that Kalypso Adventures was the best birding company in India, and I must agree! I can not thank Thomas enough for their efforts in putting together such a fantastic and memorable trip! Saturday, February 11- Flew from Bangalore to Kochi, drive to Munnar.  While in Bangalore, I had very few limited opportunities to go bird watching but was still able to spot 11 species, including the Black Kite, House Crow, Large-billed Crows, Pond Heron, Cattle Egret and Common Myna (I would see all 11 species again on this trip). I arrived in Kochi around noon, and was picked up at the airport by Joji, my driver for the first half of my trip, to begin the long drive to Munnar.  By the time we had reached the Munnar area late that afternoon, I had seen 21 new species, including my first Western Ghat’s endemic, the Malabar Parakeet. Other species included: the Indian Roller, Loten’s Sunbird, Plum-headed Parakeet, Steppe Buzzard (a recent split from Common Buzzard), Vernal Hanging Parrot, Scarlet Minivet, Plain Flowerpecker, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Hill Myna, Jungle Myna, Pacific Swallow and the Pompadour Green Pigeon.

In Munnar, we stopped at a single lane bridge, not far from the High Range Club, where I would be staying the next two nights, and picked up another nine species including my second endemic, the Grey-breasted Laughingthrush. Other species included: White-browed Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Tytler’s Leaf Warbler, Little Grebe, Indian Swiflet and House Swift.  Staying at the High Range Club was like going through a time machine back into the British Colonial period of the 1920’s, including Jacket & Tie required for dinner.  Adding to the experience, I met a retired British gentleman and his wife at the bar before dinner the first night and dined with them both nights. It was truly a unique experience!

Sunday, February 12 – Munnar Area. Munnar, a hill station in a tea growing region, is near the highest peaks in the Western Ghats. Early morning temperatures were around 14oC, very cold by Southern Indian standards. Before breakfast, we drove to Eravikulam National Park, which had been established to protect the endangered Nilgiri Tahr (one Tahr posed for us by the side of the road).  Park elevations were well over 2000 meters, the thin air made breathing difficult especially walking uphill from the parking area.  Although we only spotted eleven new species, 3 were endemics: the Nilgiri Pipit, White-bellied Shortwing and Broad-tailed Grassbird. Other species included: Grey Jungle Fowl, Pied Bushchat; Oriental White Eye, Common Buzzard, Eurasian Blackbird, and Plain Prinia. On the drive back to the High Range Club, we spotted a White-throated Kingfisher.

After breakfast our target was the Yellow-throated Bulbul, a south Indian endemic with an extremely limited and spotty distribution.  Our guide knew one location where this species could be found was about 56 kilometers east of Munnar, nearly a 2 hour drive along mountain roads over the boarder into the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu.  After crossing into Tamil Nadu, we began a winding descent down a mountain road. About halfway down we stopped and in less than 10 minutes, a Yellow-throated Bulbul flew into those trees. Up until this point, I didn’t understand why Munnar had been my first tour destination, especially since we had to drive through Thattekkad (our second stop) to get to Munnar.  The reason became obvious once we crossed into Tamil Nadu; the only location within driving range during my trip where we could expect to spot a Yellow-throated Bulbul was on this mountain road.  A road that was being widened and only open for travel on Sundays!  Thomas , knowing that this road was closed during the rest of the week, had planned my tour so that I would be in Munnar on a Sunday specifically for this opportunity to spot the Yellow-throated Bulbul. At this location, we also spotted another 4 new species: Laughing Dove, Oriental Honey-buzzard, Tawny-bellied Babbler, and Oriental Magpie Robin.  Turning back, we ate lunch in a small boarder village before driving back to Munnar. 

Back in the Munnar area, we stopped at several locations that our guide  had targeted specifically to look for several other Western Ghats endemics. We added another fifteen new species to my trip list, including 4 more endemics: the Crimson-backed Sunbird, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon and Black-and-Orange Flycatcher.  Other new species included: Red-rumped Swallow, Greenish Warbler, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Fork-tailed Swift, Common Chiffchaff, Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike, Thick-billed Flowerpecker, Dusky Crag Martin and Tickell’s Leaf Warbler.  We ended the day outside of the entrance to a roadside cave watching Indian Swiftlets fly into this cave to roost for the night.Monday, February 13 – Munnar AM, Drive to Thattekkad.  Before breakfast, our guide   informed me that our target species for this morning was the shy Malabar Whistling Thrush. 

Surprisingly we were barely out of Munnar when we stopped in front of a few houses in an area of deep shade. After listening for about a minute, our guide   began to whistle its call. Almost immediately, a male Malabar Whistling Thrush returned Eldo’s call and then appeared on a nearby roof top.  Then to our pleasant surprise, the bird flew down and landed on a fence post about 20 meters away and continued singing.  Unfortunately light levels shortly after dawn in this deep shaded area were just too low for me to get a good photograph with my camera of this beautiful black and dark blue species.  After observing the Malabar Whistling Thrush for a few more minutes, we then drove down the main road for about 10-15 kilometers into a forested area where we spotted another six new species: Golden–fronted Leafbird, Purple Sunbird, Ashy Drongo, Crimson-fronted Barbet, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon and Common Tailorbird.  On the drive back, we picked up four more new species in a meadow along the river not far from the High Range Club: the White-breasted Waterhen, Red-wattled Lapwing, Common Moorhen, and Brown Shrike.

After breakfast, we left Munnar and drove straight through to Thattekkad, arriving just before 1:00 PM.  Instead of staying at the Hornbill Camp as originally planned, Thomas was able to significantly upgrade my accommodations to the Periyar River Lodge, where I stayed for the next three nights. Although I had been treated very well by my hosts in Bangalore; staying at the Periyar River Lodge made me feel like I was a Maharaja.  If I had stayed there one more night, I may never have left. The staff couldn’t do enough for me, so I allowed them to select the menu for every meal, expressing my desire to experience their regional cuisine. It was a fantastic decision; their Chef was up to my challenge and every meal was a gourmet’s delight of flavors and textures. The view of the Periyar River from the Lodge’s front porch was also excellent; when I first arrived, an Asian Darter, Little Cormorants and River Terns could be seen sitting out on the rocks in the middle of the river. 

Elevations around Thattekkad were over 1500 meters lower then in Munnar and the local temperatures were significantly higher (well over 30 oC in the early afternoon).  So afternoon trips did not begin before 3:00 PM, when temperatures would start to slowly drop and the birds became more active.  The first afternoon, we drove to an area of tropical deciduous forest about 20 kilometers from the Lodge.  For an area of “dry woods”, I was surprised at how rapidly the vegetation could change in this area over relatively short distances and with only slight changes in elevation.  The area even hid a large marsh where we found Whiskered Tern, Bronze-winged Jacana and a noisy flock of Lesser Whistling Ducks. Since this was the dry season, may of the trees in this area had dropped their leaves, making it relatively easy to spot the birds. Cuckoos and Drongos were the most common species we encountered.  In total, we spotted another 33 new species including: Green Bee-eater, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Mottled Wood Owl, Shirka, Blyth’s Pipit, Ashy Woodswallow, Common Iora, Black-hooded Oriole, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Black Drongo, Bronze Drongo, Rufus Treepie, Grey-Bellied Cuckoo, Greater Coucal, Common Hawk Cuckoo, Asian Koel, Yellow-Billed Babbler, Thick-billed Warbler, Lesser Yellownape, Rufus Woodpecker, Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, and Streak-throated Woodpecker.   Just before sunset, on our way back to the Periyar River Lodge, we stopped just outside the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary to pick up one more new species: a Dollarbird sitting up on a wire.

Tuesday, February 14 – Thattekkad.   Our target area for this morning was the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary which did not open until about 9:00 AM, allowing me for the first time on the trip to have breakfast before we set out. The Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary truly lived up to its reputation as a birders paradise. The vegetation in the section of the Sanctuary we birded was tropical evergreen forest, and like the vegetation on yesterday afternoon’s trip, it seemed to change rapidly over relatively short distances with slight changes in elevation.  Flycatchers and other small, insect-eating species seemed to be the most common species we encountered.  Unfortunately, the evergreen vegetation also made spotting significantly more difficult, but   with a little patience and Eldo’s incredible spotting abilities, we had a very good morning. If Eldo could hear the bird, he typically was able to quickly locate it and then to direct me to its location.  The only species we missed that morning after Eldo had heard it was a Stork-billed Kingfisher that flew away before we could locate it. (I also learned just how incredible a guide Eldo was after retuning to the Periyar River Lodge about 4 hours later.  The other guest at the Periyar River Lodge was also a birder.  We had met him and his guide briefly near the Sanctuary’s entrance when it opened, and then I did not see him again until we were back at the Lodge about 4 hours later. He also had just returned from the Sanctuary having seen a total of 30 species; whereas my total that morning was over 60 species.)  I added another 30 more new species to my trip list including 2 endemics, the Malabar Grey Hornbill and the White-bellied Blue Flycatcher.  Other species included:  Collared Scops Owl, Indian Cuckoo, Greater Flameback, Jungle Owlet, Malabar Woodshrike, Crested Serpent Eagle, Rusty-tailed Flycatcher, Blue-throated Flycatcher, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Orange-headed Thrush, Black–naped Oriole, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Large Cuckooshirke, White-rumped Needletail, Flame-throated Bulbul, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Small Minivet, Rose-winged Parakeet and a rufus colored, male Asian Paradise-flycatcher.  While out in the forest, wee also heard a loud booming sound which Eldo identified as an Elephant alarm call.

In just 3 days of birding, I had already spotted over 140 species including 11 endemics, a pace that had even impressed Eldo.  In fact, we had been so successful that when we set out again that afternoon after 3:00 PM, Eldo decided to change tactics to target four specific species that could be found in the area.  Our first target was the Pale-billed Flowerpecker, India’s smallest bird.  Eldo knew a location for one specific flowering tree that attracted this species.  It took less then 5 minutes for a Pale-billed Flowerpecker to appear feeding among the tree’s flowers. Along the way, we also picked up 3 other new species: Green Sandpiper, Common Kingfisher and wild Rock Pigeons. (When I was a child, my family raised homing pigeons, and watching them grew into my current love for bird watching, so for me to finally see wild Rock Pigeons was special.) Shortly after spotting the Pale-billed Flowerpecker, a domesticated elephant was driven past us down into an adjacent lake for an afternoon bath close to where the Common Kingfisher was perched. I was surprised to see that the Kingfisher was not afraid our last second birding location, an area of mature evergreen forest on the side of a mountain, where Eldo knew that the Green Imperial Pigeon and the Mountain Imperial Pigeon both roosted up in the mature trees.  It took us about a half hour of searching along the side of the main road before we eventually heard the call of the Green Imperial Pigeon and located their roost in a tree on the down-slope side of the road. Shortly afterwards and a few 100 meters down the road, we heard and then were able to locate Mountain Imperial Pigeons roosting in a more exposed tree on the up-slope side of the road. On the walk back to car, a female Malabar Trogon landed on an overhead wire and posed for us. Unfortunately, it was close to sunset and light levels within the mature forest were too low for a good picture. Back at the car, we picked up torches (flashlights) and set out down a dirt road that lead to a very narrow jungle trail.  After at least 10 minutes of walking down this trail in the deepening twilight, we stopped; Eldo had a small tape recorder and proceeded to play the call of the Sri Lanka Frogmouth.  In less than 5 minutes, Eldo had lured a female to land in a small tree 4 meters from us. Using the light from Eldo’s torch, I was able to move to within 2 meters and take some close-up pictures of an active Sri Lanka Frogmouth.  On the drive back to the Periyar River Lodge, Eldo explained that the location of daytime roosts for several Sri Lanka Frogmouths, like the roost of the Collared Scops Owl, were well know in Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary. However, he felt the opportunity to observe and photograph this species at night when it was active, instead of just sleeping was worth the effort, and I have to agree.

Wednesday, February 15 – Thattekkad Area. All day, Eldo continued to select locations for specific target species.  Before breakfast, our birding location was to be the area around the Hornbill Camp, where an Indian Pitta was a regular morning visitor. While walking the dirt road into the Camp, we spotted another new endemic species– the White-bellied Treepie (my twelfth Western Ghats endemic for the trip).  Once at the Camp, Eldo quickly found an Indian Pitta foraging on the ground. Eldo sat me in a chair and then by flipping small worms towards it, proceeded to bring the bird to within a meter of my location.  Other species included:  Red Spurfowl, Black Bittern, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Chestnut-winged Cuckoo and Emerald Dove.  After breakfast, we drove to up to a large hydroelectric dam where we spotted a Besra, Changeable Hawk Eagle, and Eurasian Crag Martin.  That afternoon, we drove to location of evergreen forest not far from where we saw the Paled-Billed Flowerpecker the day before, our target a Black Baza, unfortunately this was one of the few species that we failed to find on the trip.  However, we did spot a Mountain Hawk Eagle and Crested form of the Changeable Hawk Eagle and probably the trip’s biggest birding surprise to Eldo, a male Malabar Trogon that sat and posed for us.  Eldo stated that this species was normally very shy and usually turned its back towards you. However, we got to within 7 meters of this bird, were I was able to take several pictures it from the front.  Our last location for the day was up another trail to a rocky, open hillside where Eldo expected to find several species of nightjars around sunset. We also spotted two other new species the Purple–rumped Sunbird and Rufus Babbler.  As the sun went down, we began to hear Nightjar calls coming from different directions not far from our location. Using Eldo’s torch we were able to locate first a Savanna Nightjar and then a Jerdon’s Nightjar, before making another nighttime trek back to the car.

Thursday, February 16 – Thattekkad AM, Drive to Ooty.  It would be a long drive up to Ooty, with a new driver (Benu) taking over for the rest of the trip.  I had my first opportunity to “sleep in” that morning and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before departing. The noisy antics of a flock of Plum-headed Parakeets, which had flown into the trees around the Lodge, provided entertainment. We set out for Ooty about 10:00 AM and would make several short stops along the highway.  Our first stop was by an open, marshy field where we spotted four more new species: Purple Heron, Little Ringed Plover, Purple Swamphen and Pheasant-tailed Jacana. 

Our second stop was at reservoir where we found a small flock of Spot-billed Pelicans. As we started traveling up into the mountains close to Ooty, troops of Bonnet Macaques became a fairly common sight along the side of the road.  We arrived in Ooty, about an hour before sunset. After checking in at the Howard Johnson Monarch Hotel, we only had time for some limited birding around the Hotel, picking up two more “new” species:  Ashy Prinia and the House Sparrow.  In the United States, the introduced House Sparrow is a common sight in just about every city, so I was very surprised that I hadn’t seen a House Sparrow, a native species, until my arrival in Ooty.

Friday, February 17 – Ooty AM, drive to Masinagudi.  Before breakfast we drove to several different locations around Ooty in search of 3 specific endemic species. The first new species we spotted was the Rufus-bellied Blue Robin (Brachypteryx major albiventris), which Eldo stated was a recent split from the endemic White-bellied Shortwing (Brachypteryx major major); however, it is the only split that I’ve had difficulty confirming.  The other two new species were the Wynaad Laughing Thrush and the Nilgiri Laughing Thrush.  We also saw a pair of Grizzled Giant Squirrels. After breakfast, we drove the short distance to Masinagudi, arriving in the area before noon. 

The region around Masinagudi was drier then the other regions I had visited, where it felt like almost every plant species had some sort of thorn. Herds of goats and cattle were common sights. Before checking in at the Howard Johnson Jungle Retreat, we stopped at several recently grazed areas and spotted another 21 new species including: Bonelli’s Eagle, Indian Robin, Bay-backed Shrike, Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch, Common Hoopoe, Speckled Piculet, Striped Tit Babbler, Coppersmith Barbet, White-bellied Drongo, Malabar Lark, Booted Warbler, Syke’s Warbler, Jerdon’s Bushlark, Crested Tree swift, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, and Tawny Pipit.

Later that afternoon after checking in at the Hotel, we visited several different areas of “Thorn Scrub” where we picked up another 22 new species including the Grey-headed Bulbul, the last of Western Ghat’s 16th endemic species.  Other new species included the Indian Peafowl, Brown Fish Owl, Booted Eagle, Blue-faced Malkoha, White-naped Woodpecker, Common Flameback, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Grey Francolin, Puff-throated Babbler, Yellow-eyed Babbler, White-rumped Shama, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, White-browed Bulbul, Indian Nightjar, Jungle Prinia and Eurasian Thick-knee.  On the drive back to the hotel at dusk, we also saw spotted deer and wild boar.

Saturday, February 18 – Masinagaudi AM, Mysore PM. Before breakfast, we travel to another area of “Thorn Scrub”, picking up another six new species: Lesser Cuckoo, White Wagtail, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Jungle Bush Quail, Verditer Flycatcher and Crested Goshawk. Then just after getting out of the bush and while walking along the road back to the car, we had our biggest surprise of the entire trip.  Out of nowhere, a Bull Elephant emerged from the bush onto the road less then 50 meters behind us. I had my personal best time in the 100 Yard Dash that morning, racing back to the car. Fortunately for us, the elephant decided to just disappear back into the bush. Although we had seen signs of overnight elephant activity in the area, until that moment when this elephant crashed out of the bush onto the road, roared and flared its ears out at us, Eldo and I had no idea that an elephant was still in the area.  I still have trouble believing that an elephant moving through thorn scrub was be so quiet that we could not detect its presence.

After breakfast, Eldo informed me that our initial targets would be vultures in the area around Masinagaudi.  We spotted 3 vulture species: White-rumped, Long-billed and Red-headed Vultures, and 4 other new species: Barred Button Quail, Wooly-necked Stork, Lesser Kestrel and White-eyed Buzzard.  We also came across several troops of Grey Langurs.

About 11:00 AM, after spotting our 3rd vulture species, Eldo informed me that we would be driving up to Mysore to look for waders, ducks and other waterfowl. Eldo also informed me that the site in Mysore would be well worth the 3 hours drive each way.  On the trip up to Mysore, we stopped at several roadside lakes/marshes, adding another 20 new species to my trip list including: Brahminy Kite, Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Egyptian Vulture, Black-headed Ibis, Black Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Grey Heron, Western Reef Heron, Asian Openbill, Garganey, Spot-bill Duck, Indian Cormorant, Wood Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark, and Yellow Wagtail. Arriving in Mysore, we headed for the location Eldo promised would be worth the trip- the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary. Eldo was right about this Sanctuary on the Banks of the Kaveri River! Getting into a boat, we were rowed a short distance up river, getting to within 5 meters of islets with low growing tree filled with wide assortment of nesting Herons, Egrets, Ibises, Storks, Spoonbills and Cormorants.  We added 6 new species to my trip list including while in the rowboat: Painted Stork, Eurasian Spoonbill, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Cormorant and Great Thick-knee. We also saw several trees that were filled with flying foxes. Large Marsh Crocodiles were basking on the rocks out in the river.  After returning from the boat trip, we spotted another 6 new species: Streak-throated Swallow, Wire-tailed Swallow, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Red-throated Flycatcher, Paddyfield Warbler and Pallid Harrier.  On the drive back to Masinagaudi, we picked up the last new species for my trip: Indian Grey Hornbill.  The birding part of the trip officially ended about an hour later, when we stopped in a small town to drop off Eldo at the local bus station. 

Sunday, February 19 – Drive to Bangalore.  After packing for my return trip home, I spent the rest of morning hours on the grounds of the Jungle Retreat trying to taking pictures of the resident birds including: Oriental Magpie Robin, Indian Robin, Red-vented Bulbul, Purple Sunbird, Purple-rumped Sunbird, Grey Francolin, Spotted Dove, White-bellied Drongo and Oriental White-eye.  That afternoon, my driver and I left the Jungle Retreat for the 5-6 hour drive up to Bangalore where I was dropped off at the Airport to catch a late night flight back home.  It was a fantastic trip, in about 7½ days of birding; I saw a total of 269 species in 53 Families, including all 16 Endemics.

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