Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary (Thattekad)

Left at 6am with a packed breakfast and drove for around 45 minutes to an area outside of Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, seeing Malabar Grey Hornbill, Shikra, Dollarbird, Brahminy Starling and the endemic White-cheeked Barbet along the way. We followed a wide path into the forest, seeing our first Plum-headed Parakeet, Grey-fronted Green-Pigeon and scoping a Malabar Barbet perched in the treetops. A group of endemic Rufous Babblers came in to check us out, there was a Nilgiri Flowerpecker, and then we walked up to a nice viewpoint situated on a huge flat rocky area overlooking the surrounding forest. 

Malabar Barbet

With scopes at the ready we enjoyed a great couple of hours here as numerous birds perched in the treetops in the early morning sunshine and we saw endemics such as Malabar White-headed (Blyth’s) Starling, Small (Crimson-backed) Sunbird, Malabar Barbet, Malabar Flameback, Malabar Parakeet, Flame-throated Bulbul and Orange Minivet.   Other species seen included Crested Goshawk, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Indian Golden Oriole, Indian White-rumped Spinetail, Indian Swiftlet, Ashy Drongo, Greenish Warbler, Cinereous Tit, Common Hill Mynas and Purple Sunbird.

Once things had quietened we walked back into the forest and tried to find a calling White-bellied Woodpecker, but all we had was a flyover appearance. Some calling Indian Elephants had me a little concerned so we walked in the opposite direction and came across a large feeding party. Amongst all the Greater Racket-tailed and Bronzed Drongos was a pair of Malabar Woodshrikes, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Brown-cheeked Fulvettas, Dark-fronted Babbler, a brief Grey-headed Bulbul, an even briefer Rusty-tailed Flycatcher, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, more Malabar Starlings, and another Heart-spotted Woodpecker to add to the bird found by Maggie a little earlier. 

Ceylon Frogmouths

A pair of Ceylon Frogmouths were roosting right next to us as it turned out and looked very cute indeed huddled together. Then a female Malabar Trogon appeared and we followed her out onto the main path where the male showed fantastically well as he excavated a nest hole in a dead tree stump overhead. 

Malabar Trogon

So by now it was 11am and getting rather warm so we walked back to the minibus, hearing an Indian Pitta on the way and returned to the lodge for lunch.

At 2.30pm we set out for our afternoon excursion beginning with a day roosting Mottled Wood Owl – wow! In the vicinity were also Green Bee-eater and Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker. 

Mottled Wood Owl

We then spent the next few hours walking along a trail through dry deciduous woodland seeing our first White-bellied Treepie, Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, Green Bee-eater, Rufous Woodpecker, Black-hooded Oriole, Indian Blackbird, as well as Brown-backed Needletail, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Plum-headed Parakeet, and scores of Jungle Babblers. So not a bad first day on the mainland.

Andamans Day 5

So we headed back to the marsh again this morning, stopping at a pool where a Yellow Bittern was scoped and a nice Watercock was seen feeding in a patch of grass at the water’s edge. 

Watercock

At the marsh we enjoyed cracking views of Ruddy-breasted Crake and Slaty-breasted Rail walking along the muddy edge of a pool, which also held several Grey-headed Swamphens, Pintail Snipe, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Kingfisher and Oriental Reed Warbler. Out on the mudflats Curlew Sandpiper, Temminck’s Stint and Black-tailed Godwit were new trip ticks, whilst Lesser Sandplover, several Long-toed Stints, Black-winged Stilt and Common Greenshank were all nice to see again.

Nice close Brown-backed Needletails today...

From here were had one final bash at Chiriyatapu and as luck would have it an Andaman Cuckooshrike was finally spotted and everyone managed decent scope views before it disappeared. Phew, what a relief! So with just the woodpigeon left we had an hour to find it, but alas it was not meant to be and we had to tear ourselves away and return to the hotel for lunch and to pack in readiness for our flight to Chennai and onward connection to Cochin in the Indian state of Kerala. After a short delay we eventually reached the Soma Birds Lagoon Lodge just after 10pm.

The Andamans Day 4

Left at 5.30am and caught the ferry again, seeing Edible-nest Swiftlet,  before heading to Mount Harriet in search of the missing endemics but to no avail. In fact the forest was quiet with just a few Large Cuckooshrikes, Black-naped Orioles, although nice looks at Andaman Treepie were much appreciated. So we drove to a different area, stopping along the way to scope the endemic davisoni local race of Crested Serpent-Eagle sat in a tree out in the rice fields. And then we spent the rest of the morning walking our socks off trying to find some feeding flocks but we were just plain out of luck, and frustratingly found several Crested Serpent-Eagles and not the endemic variety we wanted, along with numerous Changeable Hawk-Eagles and a White-bellied Woodswallow.

Andaman Teal

Driving back to Port Blair we stopped at a large pool and marshy area to scope a flock of Andaman Teal and found the area to be alive with birds. In pretty quick time we scored Grey-headed Swamphen, several Long-toed Stints, Marsh Sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover, Slaty-breasted Rail, Black and Yellow Bitterns, Intermediate and Great Egrets, Watercock, Dusky, Black-browed and Oriental Reed Warblers - the latter two species you just would not find on the Indian mainland. A very brief Lanceolated Warbler, calling Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler and Ruddy-breasted Crake necessitate a return visit first thing tomorrow. 

Anyway we reached the hotel just after 3pm for a very late lunch and shortly after headed straight out for one last try of the nightjar. Along the way, and I still cant believe it, we finally found our Andaman Serpent-Eagle perched right over the road in Chiriyatapu Forest – a place we’ve visited numerous times already!

Andaman Serpent-Eagle

Anyway, the nightjar didn’t show but did call at 5.30pm for a few minutes before going quiet as it has done the past 3 nights.

The Andamans Day 3

We caught the 5am ferry to the other side of South Andaman Island and drove to a superb stretch of roadside forest where we literally spent the next four hours trying to find Andaman Crake. Well we certainly heard several, even got quite close to one or two, had one individual sneak up behind us allowing only myself and Vikram views, and tried and tried again at various spots along our walk. It was getting tedious to say the least and I’m pretty sure everyone had had enough and would have been glad to give up but just before 10am we gave it another go and followed a narrow trail inside the forest. This time after a few bursts of tape a stunning vision of bright chestnut and black & white barring walked sedately into view – ANDAMAN CRAKE! What a relief and this bird casually began to feed right in front of us and I daren’t raise my camera to take a photo, it was that close. It was on view for a couple of minutes before slowly making its way into denser vegetation and onto my group’s life lists. So with that done we drove further and walked through another patch of forest, getting nice looks at more White-headed Starlings, Andaman Drongos and plenty of common species, although Large Cuckooshrike was a new bird for the trip. We kept on looking for new birds to no avail and finished the morning session with a large mixed feeding flock that we scanned for Andaman Cuckooshrike without any joy.

Andaman Masked Owl - our 5th species of owl on the Andamans

 After lunch we were picked up at 3pm and drove back to Chidiyatapu Forest and were not surprised to see how quiet it was. But we walked a little along the road before staking out the nightjar and only hearing it call again. However, we finished the day off with a flourish when an Andaman Masked Owl flew right at us and landed just a couple of metres above our heads before flying off to a more reasonable perch to stare balefully at us. What a cracker and a great way to end a rather tough day’s birding.

Andaman Islands Day 2

Left the hotel at 5.30am and drove back to Chidiyatapu Forest, seeing Pacific Golden Plover and Yellow Wagtail along the way and followed the road for several kilometres. We had a great few hours with lots of bird activity, lovely light and a very pleasant temperature. More Andaman Drongos and Andaman Treepies were seen, although not as many as yesterday. Instead we enjoyed our first Andaman Flowerpeckers, followed by cracking views of a fine male Andaman Woodpecker, whilst nearby several Andaman White-headed Starlings were feeding close to the road. The same spot also held Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Black-naped Oriole, and an Andaman Coucal. 

Andaman Woodpecker

Freckle-breasted Woodpecker

A huge fruiting tree held lots of Green Imperial-Pigeons and as we watched them also saw a few Andaman Green-Pigeons. Further on the often tricky Andaman Cuckoo-Dove posed for a several minutes above the road and there was also several Andaman Bulbuls, another Freckle-breasted Woodpecker and more Andaman Flowerpeckers feeding in the same vicinity. 

Andaman Cuckoo Dove - honest!

A little further along the road we had superb views of a pair of Andaman Shama frolicking beside the road. Breakfast overlooking a patch of water was enlivened by a group of Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters, a female Andaman Woodpecker posing at the top of a dead tree and flyover Changeable Hawk-Eagle and Brahminy Kite. Other species seen this morning include a flock of Brown-backed Needletails, Glossy Swiftlet, Olive-backed Sunbird, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Red-breasted, Long-tailed and Alexandrine Parakeets, Small and Scarlet Minivets, Brown Shrike, Oriental White-eye, and several Asian Glossy Starlings.

Then we drove to a further patch of forest close to the coast and a short walk failed to produce any crakes, but having a splendid Violet Cuckoo teed up in the scope was ample compensation. In fact it gave walk-away views and we ended up at a very nice beach area where we enjoyed a nice cup of coffee before returning to the hotel for lunch.

After lunch at the hotel we returned to the same forest and just as soon as we got out of the cars a pair of Black Bazas were spotted circling overhead and a pair of Black-naped Monarchs showed well. We walked along the road a short distance but things were predictably quiet so drove on to another patch of forest. We walked around a park area and toyed with several calling Andaman Crakes – or were they toying with us? Anyway, we never saw one and left at dusk but did see our first Orange-headed Thrush feeding out on the open. We drove on to the nightjar spot but only heard it again, but the day finished off on a high with an Andaman Scops-Owl posing in the spotlight at our first attempt. Nice!

The Andamans

After a long night’s sleep we enjoyed a decent breakfast before driving to the airport for our 12.05pm flight to Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. It took just over two hours and upon arrival we found the permit formalities to be a relatively quick affair and we soon had our luggage and met up with our excellent local guide, Vikram. A short drive took us to our hotel in the town and we quickly unpacked and got our birding gear together before driving to Chidiyatapu Forest. Along the way we stopped along the coast to scope Pacific Golden Plover, both Greater and Lesser Sandplovers, Pacific Reef Heron and Collared Kingfisher. A flock of Andaman Drongos was our first endemic tick, quickly followed by several Andaman Treepies accompanying them. There was lots of activity and we followed this flock along the road, seeing Common Emerald Dove, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Red-breasted Parakeet, a few flyover Common Hill-Mynas, brief Andaman Woodpecker, and eventually a couple of us got on Andaman Cuckoo-Dove, possibly the hardest endemic to find. An Andaman Coucal also tried to get itself run over by one of our vehicles, and needless to say it didn’t hang around for good views!

As the light began to fade we drove further, stopping to look at a Stork-billed Kingfisher perched above the road and some Glossy Swiftlets flying over, before continuing on to the Andaman Nightjar site. At dusk one began calling inside the forest and we got really excited, but only Stephen caught a glimpse of it before it disappeared for good, although a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo was quite spectacular as it flew over our heads. A very frustrating experience but we soon put this to the back of our minds as a Hume’s Hawk Owl began calling, it wasn’t responsive at all, but a calling Walden’s Scops-Owl was a lot closer and we managed to track it down after a lengthy battle. Well it was right over our heads and only about 10 feet away – but what a cracker. 

Walden's Scops-Owl

Whether you split this from Oriental Scops-Owl or not, to get such brilliant close views is a real privilege. So we drove a little further and my driver then spotted a Hume’s Hawk-Owl perched on telegraph wires beside the road and we had cracking views of two birds in the spotlight. Wow! Further on it didn’t take long to find an Andaman Hawk-Owl, and although it was a little shyer than his cousin we enjoyed repeated views of it perched in nearby trees as well as flying around us on several occasions. So we were very happy with this and returned to the hotel for dinner. But I couldn’t understand why the restaurant of the hotel wouldn’t serve us beer with our meal, when there was a bar just a few floors below…?

Back in India....

Well it's been a while since my last blog post, but after a nice break I find myself back in India once again, this time at the start of my South India and Andamans tour. So let's get cracking...

Following an overnight flight via Dubai we arrived at Chennai around 8.15am and made our way to the delightful Hotel Pride. Meeting up with Pete & Margaret from Australia we had a little siesta followed by lunch before heading to Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, a little over 2 hours drive away. Arriving at 4pm we walked along the bund, shaded from the sun by large trees and thoroughly enjoyed our time watching the activity at the largest breeding rookery I’ve ever seen in Asia…! I mean there are 1000’s of birds nesting on the bushes out in the lake and they are not too far away to get a sensory overload of sound and smell..! The majority of species are made up of Painted Storks and Asian Openbills, with slightly lesser numbers of Black-crowned Night-Herons, Black-headed Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbills, Great, Little and Indian Cormorants, and flocks of Glossy Ibis continually flew over. Masses of locals were also visiting today but it didn’t hamper our short birding session and we also pulled out Striated Heron, a few Oriental Darters, Indian Golden Oriole, Common Hawk Cuckoo at close range, Southern Coucal, Asian Koel, a pair of White-throated Kingfishers positively glowing in the late afternoon sunshine, our first Yellow-billed Babblers and a nice close perched Shikra. In the rice fields were lots of Indian Pond-herons, as well as Grey Francolin, Indian Spot-billed Duck, Indian Roller, White-browed Wagtail, Wood Sandpipers, Red-wattled Lapwings and Blue-tailed Bee-eaters.

Returning to the coach an Oriental Magpie Robin, Indian Robin and an unobtrusive Blyth’s Reed Warbler were seen.  And that was our day so we returned to the hotel and enjoyed a delicious hot buffet dinner.