Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary Day 2

After yesterday’s success, today was always going to be something of an anti-climax and so it proved, but during our morning in another section of forest we still pulled I some new birds, starting with an Orange-headed Thrush skulking in the shadows. One of my favourites was an inquisitive Heart-spotted Woodpecker that circled us a few times before alighting in a treetop below our vantage point on an ‘escarpmet’. 

Heart-spotted Woodpecker

With the early morning mist slowly receding and visibility improving we also enjoyed a close Green Warbler, both Thick-billed and Nilgiri Flowerpeckers and Purple Sunbird. Plenty of other birds were watched flying by, although we had much better views of them yesterday so we walked down to another rocky area to scan the forest edge. Here we had a Yellow-browed Bulbul, Little Spiderhunter, Loten’s Sunbird, Malabar Starling and an Indian Pygmy Woodpecker. 

Leaving here we walked back to the bus and had our picnic breakfast before heading down into the Bamboo forest for our first crack of the day at Wynaad Laughingthrush. With the news that Topslip NP is closed and therefore our best chance at this species already blown it was crucial we get this species here. However, we tried all morning and again in the afternoon to no avail, but spent most of the time fighting off the battalions of leeches that were drawn to our unprotected feet. I think they were using my trainers as some sort of subway snack station as I had 14 leech bites around my ankles from this walk – a little ‘heads up’ would have been appreciated! Anyway, we had Indian Scimitar-babbler and Dark-fronted Babbler here, but they were scant consolation. In the afternoon we tried again without any joy and again tried some owling but were met by a wall of silence so called it quits and returned to the lodge for dinner.