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Western Ghats 13 – 28 Jan 2019

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WESTERN GHATS

13 – 28 JAN 2019

The endemic Black-and-orange Flycatcher (GM)

Killian Vaucher (KV) & Gabriel Marcacci (GM)
Contact: [email protected]

Western Ghats 2019

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this trip was not a full birding trip, but to conduct bird surveys in organic tea plantations in the Nilgiri mountains. Although within these two weeks we spent only five days outside the plantations, we still managed to see all Western Ghats endemics except the ultra-skulking Nilgiri Thrush, the Wynaad Laughingthrush as well as the two recently split Laughingthrushes which are rather unaccessible at the moment anyway.

TRANSPORT

We mostly used taxis kindly arranged by our hotel. Taxis may be the best option regarding the cost/flexibility ratio to travel the Western Ghats. Note that even though the distances between birding sites seem to be rather short, driving the curvy roads of the mountains takes a lot of time. Almost all the sites are accessible by public transport, which would be a cheaper option, but more time costly.

DIRECTIONS

To find our way to most of the sites we only used the smartphone application MAPS.ME, allowing to take easily GPS points, markers, etc. This is a free application on which you can download freely the maps of all the countries of the world (and most are very accurate, even in remote areas). You will find precise GPS coordinates in this report. The taxi drivers know their area very well including most of the birding sites.

ACCOMODATION AND FOOD

In India, food is great! We did not suffer any food poisoning during all our stay and every meal was delicious. We only stayed at four different places that we already booked in advance. However, we could have easily found nice hotels day-to-day.

SECURITY

Southern India is totally safe, and we did not have any bad experience. The potential risk comes more from wild animals (mostly elephants which are surprisingly abundant there). As a consequence, you cannot walk and explore freely most of the forest areas, especially by night, and you often need a local and/or special permission.

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VISA

You need to get your visa before arrival. The easiest option was to get granted e-visa which allow you to end the procedure on arrival. Be sure to use the official website

when you applicate for the e-visa (https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html) and

be careful to print your e-visa application which you will need to present at the immigration on arrival. A two months with two entries visa (the minimum possible) costed us 70 USD.

MONEY

ATM are widespread and most big hotels and facilities do accept credit card. At the time of our visit 1 USD ≈ 70 Indian Rupee (INR).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank Pavan Sukhdev, who proposed us this project and warmly welcomed us in his wonderful homestay, and Stephan Lorentz for his advice.

REFERENCES

We used three trips reports found on cloudbirders.com (VERHELST 2017, BRECKENRIDGE 2017 and MERRILL 2017) together with ebird to have up-to-date

information. As literature, we used “Birds of Indian Subcontinent” (Grimmett et al.

2011).

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VISITED SITES

THATTEKAD

  • We stayed
  • two
  • nights
  • in
  • Jungle
  • Bird
  • Homestay

(http://junglebirdhomestay.blogspot.com/) which we absolutely recommend: although accommodation and food were rather basic, we were living with Gireesh’s (the owner) family in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Gireesh and his mother are both bird guides and they perfectly organised everything (early breakfast, driving to other spot, night sessions). Birdwatching with Gireesh is a great experience on its own as he is never tired (he is also working as a lawyer between two birding sessions) and so enthusiastic (even more than us) to spot the birds! It costed us around 30 USD/day/pers. for food and accommodation with 15 USD extra for each excursion at

Urulanthanni (to pay the vehicle and the “entrance fee”). It is possible to contact

Gireesh by email ([email protected]) or directly by whatsapp (+91 98470 34520) and we would recommend to book in advance as there are usually many Indian photographers coming at this place.

Around Thattekad, we visited Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary (490 INR/pers.) where we have seen most of the target species including White-bellied Treepie, Indian Pitta, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Malabar Parakeet, Malabar Woodshrike, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Malabar Starling, Southern Hill Myna, Grey Junglefowl, Rufous-bellied Eagle, etc. The entrance of the sanctuary (10.131026, 76.688183) is only at 300 meters from Jungle Bird Homestay. Before entering the sanctuary, you need to get a ticket (490 INR/pers.)

at Thattekad Bird Sanctuary reception just next to Gireesh’s place. Note that Salim Ali

closes at 5:30pm. We also explored a track in nice forest starting just the other side of the Periyar River (10.127184, 76.683837) which does not require any special fee to access it. Here, the White-bellied Treepie seemed to be easier to find than in Salim Ali.

Malabar Barbet (left, GM) and Urulanthanni (right, GM)

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It is also the only place we recorded the difficult and very localized Grey-headed Bulbul and several Blue-faced Malkoa.

THATTEKAD - URULANTHANNI

We visited this place which is about 20-30 minutes’ drive from Thattekad twice during day time and once for a night session. You cannot access the area without a local guide because of the high abundance of elephants. The birds were a bit different from Thattekad with Malabar Barbet, Grey-fronted Green Pigeon, both Purple-backed & Loten’s Sunbird, Flame-throated Bulbul, Orange Minivet, Dark-fronted Babbler, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Orange-headed Thrush and Vernal Hanging Parrot being quite common. It was also the best place for White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Malabar Trogon, Sri Lanka Frogmouth and Sri Lanka Bay Owl (see paragraph below). It was also an excellent place for woodpeckers with 6 species recorded within one hour: Blackrumped Goldenback, Greater Goldenback (ssp socialis “Malabar Goldenback” sometimes referred as potential split endemic to southern India), Heartspotted Woodpecker, White-bellied Woodpecker, Lesser Yellownape (ssp chlorigaster “Indian Yellownape” potential new split endemic to peninsular India) and Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker. But the main reason to visit Urulanthanny is without any doubt to have a chance to see its superstar: the mythical Sri Lanka Bay Owl. Indeed, Urulanthanni might be the best spot on earth to see this scarce and very localized species. Therefore, we spent two and a half day looking for it (it had not been recorded for five days) and we finally found it roosting our last morning! We enjoyed the privilege to have prolongated view of this truly magical bird perched a few meters above us.

Note: Urulanthanni used to be a relatively good spot for the Wynaad Laughingthrush which favours bamboo thickets but we could not reach this area because of the high elephant activity in this sector.

THATTEKAD – NIGHT SESSION

When visiting Thattekad, you must plan to allocate your evening for night sessions as most of Southern Indian night birds are occurring in the area. We spent the first

evening in the other side of the Periyar River where we recorded Jerdon’s and Great-

eared Nightjar, Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Indian Scops Owl, Jungle Owlet and a distant Sri Lanka Bay Owl calling. We tried the Bay Owl in Urulanthanni the second evening where we had great views of the impressive Spot-bellied Eagle Owl. Great-eared Nightjar and Brown Fish Owl were present around Jungle Bird Homestay. Mottled Wood Owl and

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Jungle Nightjar also occur on the other side of the river (10.116149, 76.67589) and

Gireesh knows a Brown Wood Owl’s roosting spot.

It was such a relief when we finally found after much effort this roosting Sri Lanka Bay Owl during our last morning in Urulanthanni.

MUNNAR - POTHAMENDU

Munnar is located at 1500 meters asl and offers the opportunity to find most of the

Western Ghats’ highland endemics. The landscape is dominated by shaded plantations

such as tea and cardamom, shola forests and grasslands. Birders usually visit two sites: Pothamendu and Eravikulam National Park. After reading several trip reports stating that birding the crappy spot behind the toilet of the too crowded Eravikulam NP was not mandatory to see all target species, we decided to give up this place and focus on Pothamendu area. Staying two night at the Shamrock Holiday Home (rather cheap and nice hotel, 20 USD/night/pers.). We spent most of our time birding the last 500m of the access track to Deshadan Mountain Resort. It turned out to be the right decision as we easily found all the target species: Palani Laughingthrush, White-bellied Blue

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Robin, Black-and-Orange Flycatcher, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Indian Black-lored Tit, Square-tailed Bulbul, Indian Blackbird, Black Eagle, Malabar Whistling Thrush, etc. We walked up to the grassy ridge above Deshadan Mountain Resort (access path here: 10.055814, 77.073108) early morning where we easily saw the usually difficult Broad-tailed Grassbird coming to the playback just as we went out of the forest (10.055977, 77.073391). As we climbed higher to a big boulder with a nice

view (10.057692, 77.073935) we spotted several Nilgiri Pipits and Tickell’s Leaf

Warbler and a family of Painted Bush Quail. Although most birders go for Eravikulam NP early morning and try the Grassbird in the afternoon, we suggest to do the opposite (or to even skip Eravikulam NP) as the Grassbird might be easier early in the morning.

White-bellied Blue Robin (left, GM) and a conspicuous Malabar Whistling Thrush (right, KV) just under Deshadan Mountain Resort

Painted Bush Quail (left, GM) and the view over the ridge (Broad-tailed Grassbird habitat) from the large boulder (right, GM)

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CHINNAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

We just made five minutes stop en route (10.296086, 77.181017) where we directly found both White-browed and Yellow-throated Bulbul. If we would have more time, we would have loved to explore this sanctuary as the habitat looked very inspiring.

KOTAGIRI

According to ebird, Kotagiri might be a reliable spot to see the scarce Kashmir Flycatcher. We birded the area (11.414846, 76.866191) only for two hours and did not find any flycatcher. We still got a male Nilgiri Blue Robin, a flying Hill Swallow and the only Red-headed Vulture of the trip.

O’LAND PLANTATION STAYS

O’Land (11.253392, 76.737576) is an organic estate which cultivates tea, coffee, pepper and is also a superb eco-lodge perfectly situated in the southern slope of the Nilgiri mountains. We spent 10 days exploring the 100 ha of the plantation as we were asked to conduct bird surveys in order to increase the birding list of this place which aim to attract more birdwatchers. This place was surprisingly remote and wild as it is located at the upper edge of a large rainforest patch. The plantations are eco-friendly managed, thereby allowing lot of animals such as Indian Gaur, Asian Elephant, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Dhole, Porcupine as well as several species of deers and monkeys to live within the estate. We recorded 97 species including some difficult or endemic species like Great Hornbill, Pied Thrush, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Orange-headed Thrush, Indian Blackbird, Yellow-throated Bulbul, Square-tailed Bulbul, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Rufous Babbler, Dark-fronted Babbler, Indian Scimitar Babbler, both Nilgiri and

Verditer Flycatcher, Malabar Parakeet, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Tytler’s Leaf Warbler,

Black Eagle, Orange Minivet, Malabar Woodshrike, Malabar, Coppersmith and Whitecheeked Barbet, Indian Black-lored Tit, Grey Junglefowl, Red Spurfowl. Nilgiri Laughingthrush, Black-and-Orange Flycatcher, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Malabar Pied Hornbill and Jungle Nightjar have been recorded by other birdwatchers. Furthermore, although we were disappointed with most places visited in the Nilgiri mountains

because of the very low bird activity, we observed in O’Land the highest bird activity

of the whole trip. It was such a pleasure to explore this well preserved and quiet habitat comparing to the artificial and crowded Doddabetta Peak. If you are looking for a quiet retreat with nice birding opportunities, we definitely recommend to visit

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O’Land Plantation Stays (we truly loved it!). And last but not least: they served the best food we had in India! Please visit their website if you are interested:

http://olandplantation.com/.

Rufous Babbler (left, GM) and the highly localized Yellow-throated Bulbul (right, KV) A record shot of one of the two maled Pied Thrush (left, GM) and the huge Great Hornbill (right, KV)

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The stunning Malabar Parakeet (left, GM) and our lovely terrace at O’Land (right, GM)

COONOOR – SIMS PARK

We spent one afternoon birding this city park aiming in finding Nilgiri Laughingthrush in order to skip Doddabetta Peak on our way to Mudumalai. We did not see any laughingthrush but six very confident Black-and-Orange Flycatchers as well as some Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Puff-throated Babbler and Indian Blue Robin. We do not recommend visiting this place unless you are missing one of these targets.

OOTY

During our stay in India, Cairn’ Hill was closed due to an unfortunate accident

between a tourist and an Indian Gaur. We found Ooty area largely degraded with forest dominated by invasive species such as Eucalyptus and Pine trees. The landscape in Coonoor – Kotagiri area seemed more preserved.

OOTY - DODDABETTA PEAK

This place might be one of the worst birding spots we have ever seen: the gates opened at 8:00 am and it quickly became awfully crowded. All of the access track to the viewpoint was covered with shops and food trucks. Birding there is like birding in a crappy music festival. We tried to escape the crowd by crossing the fences and walking downhill the viewpoint toward Ooty (11.400073, 76.735161) but bird’s activity was desperately low. The worst thing was that our main target species, the Nilgiri Laughingthrush, was mysteriously so common and abundant, behaving like cities pigeons and eating craps between food trucks. Nilgiri Wood Pigeon and Indian Blackbird were both also surprisingly common. Although we have seen easily our

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targets species, we did not enjoy this place at all. If one has more time, we would recommend to bird more pristine habitat nearby like Avalanche National Park.

OOTY – BOTANICAL GARDEN

We birded the awfully crowded botanical garden for just half an hour: the time needed to localize a pair of Nilgiri Blue Robin which appeared suddenly just in front of us even though the habitat did not look totally appropriate.

MUDUMALAI TIGER RESERVE

We spent only one night in Mudumalai sleeping at Jungle Hut. The area appeared to be well protected and the government seemed to have recently implemented several new restrictions: it was totally forbidden to do night sessions within AND outside the reserve boundaries (we were even denied to use our spotlights from the car on the access road to Jungle Hut). Actually, from 6pm, everybody needs to be within their whatever accommodation’s compounds. Night-safaris do not exist anymore (officially

– there still are unofficial safaris starting from Masinagudi after dusk…) and all day-

safaris are conducted by the government. Moreover, most of the lodges in the area were closed due to conflict with elephants (they appeared to be situated on an elephant migratory corridor). However, we were allowed to bird the access road Masinagudi – Jungle Hut freely during day-time. Finally, as we were staying only one night, we were running out of time – a not comfortable feeling when birdwatching. We then do recommend to stay at least two days to explore this area.

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MUDUMALAI – JUNGLE HUT

The perfect place to stay. Although it is rather expensive (100-150 USD/day for 2pers., including all meals), it was definitely worth it. The staff was very nice and helpful, food was great and the lodge itself really nice. But staying at Jungle Hut mostly allowed us to bird the thick bamboo patch within the compounds in order to see the mytical and ultra-skulking Nilgiri Thrush. Exploring this patch for three hours (one in the afternoon and two in the morning) yielded in Forest Wagtail, White-rumped Shama, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Orange-headed Thrush, Puff-throated Babbler and several Indian

Pittas, but sadly no sign of a single Nilgiri Thrush… Other good birds in the lodge’s

garden were a stunning Indian Nuthatch, a female Taiga/Red-breasted Flycatcher and Oriental and Indian Scops Owl.

View of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve from Temple (“Bokkapuram”) Hill (left, GM) and Malabar Lark (right,

GM)

MUDUMALAI - TEMPLE HILL

It took us 20 minutes to walk form Jungle Hut to the temple above Bokkapuram. Malabar Lark was easily found on the rocky slope (11.542103, 76.645043). Were also present Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Hill Swallow, Yellow-billed Babbler, Bay-backed Shrike and Brahminy Starling. We did not have the time to go further to look for the White-bellied Minivet.

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MUDUMALAI - SAFARI

We did the 2,5 hours safari which costed 2950 INR/car (we could have shared our car with other people to reduce the price). We started at 4:30pm and came back at

7:15pm. The safari is actually not going within the reserve boundaries but in the “buffer

zone” south of the reserve. From the car, we managed to find some good birds including two families of Jungle Bush Quails, a flying unidentified Button Quail, a pair of Painted Spurfowls climbing a big boulder, several Indian Vultures, lot of Bay-backed Shrikes, a lone bull Indian Gaur, three dozen Spotted Deers, a single Sambar and six Asian Elephants.

Asian Elephant (left, GM) and view of Malampuzha lake (right, GM)

MALAMPUZHA LAKE

We birded the lake for two hours on our way back to Cochin airport. We decided to visit this place because of sightings of both Black-bellied Tern and Nilgiri Thrush on ebird. Although this place seemed to have a great potential, we did not have enough time to explore it properly. We still managed to add several last-minute species for our trip list including three Small Pratincoles which concluded this very pleasant trip through the wild and beautiful landscapes of the Western Ghats.

SPECIES SEEN

We recorded 244 species during our two weeks short trip, including all Western Ghats endemic excepted Nilgiri Thrush, Wynaad Laughingthrush and the two newly discovered Laughingthrushes (still not available). Moreover we dipped White-bellied Minivet and Jungle Nightjar in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve due to lack of time. We present you only a detail species list for the Western Ghats and India endemics.

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Painted Bush Quail: two families seen at Munnar (above Deshadan Mountain Resort) and one family en route between Coonoor and Ooty.

Painted Spurfowl: a pair seen during the Safari in Mudumalai.

Red Spurfowl: one seen at O’Land.

Grey Junglefowl: commonly seen in Thattekad, Munnar, O’Land and Doddabetta Peak. Nilgiri Wood Pigeon: seen easily at Munnar, O’Land and Sims Park (Coonoor). Nilgiri Imperial Pigeon: only one seen at Urulanthanni and one at Munnar.

Grey-fronted Green Pigeon: common at Thattekad. Malabar Parakeet: common at Thattekad and O’Land.

Sri Lanka Bay Owl: one heard at Thattekad and one seen at Urulanthanni.

Spot-bellied Eagle Owl: one seen at Urulanthanni.

Sri Lanka Frogmouth: several seen or heard both at Thattekad and Urulanthanni.

Jerdon’s Nightjar: two seen at Thattekad.

Indian Swiftlet: common at Thattekad and Urulanthanni. Blue-faced Malkoha: four at Thattekad (other side of Periyar River). Drongo Cuckoo: one seen at Thattekad and one at O’Land.

Malabar Trogon: a pair seen at Urulanthanni.

Malabar Grey Hornbill: common at Thattekad and Urulanthanni. White-cheeked Barbet: common at Thattekad, Urulanthanni and O’Land. Malabar Barbet: common at Thattekad, Urulanthanni and O’Land.

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Greater/”Malabar” Goldenback: common at Thattekad, Urulanthanni and O’Land. Lesser/”Indian” Yellownape: a few seen at Thattekad, Urulanthanni and O’Land. Indian Pitta: seen at Thattekad, Urulanthanni and Jungle Hut.

Malabar Woodshrike: seen at Thattekad and O’Land.

Orange Minivet: commonly seen at Thattekad, Urulanthanni and O’Land. White-bellied Treepie: a few seen at Thattekad (Salim Ali and other side of Periyar River). Indian Yellow Tit: commonly seen at Munnar and O’Land. Malabar Lark: easily seen at Temple Hill. Grey-headed Bulbul: heard at Urulanthanni and only one seen at Thattekad on the other side of Periyar River.

Flame-throated Bulbul: commonly seen at Thattekad and Urulanthanni. Yellow-throated Bulbul: two seen in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and two at O’Land. Yellow-browed Bulbul: commonly seen at Thattekad, Urulanthanni and O’Land.

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  • Download Trip Report

    Download Trip Report

    INDIA: WESTERN GHATS AND NILGIRI ENDEMICS SET DEPARTURE TRIP REPORT 12 – 25 JANUARY 2020 By Dylan Vasapolli Malabar Trogon was one of the trip’s main targets and showed well on a number of occasions. www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | TRIP REPORT India - South: January 2020 Overview This two-week set-departure tour takes in the best of southern Indian birding and gives one access to nearly all of the Western Ghats endemics. Beginning in Bangalore the tour gradually moves southward, first to Mysore and the excellent Mudumalai area, and, following some time here, to the high-elevation town of Ooty, where a number of prized endemics await in the Nilgiri Mountains. Continuing on our southward trajectory we move across the Palghat Gap into the Anaimalai Hills to the south, which have their own suite of endemics, and we focus our time on birding around Topslip, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, and the town of Munnar. The tour then progresses to the Kerala coast, where our remaining days are spent birding arguably the best birding area in southern India, Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, before the tour comes to an end in Kochi. The Critically Endangered (IUCN) White-rumped Vulture is perhaps best sought in southern India. This tour would see a small group joining, with only two participants, Danny and Ira. The tour went smoothly, with little interruptions from the weather; however, the Pongal festival did prevent us from gaining entry into several areas, although fortunately in the end this didn’t cost us any particular bird species. The birding was extremely successful, and we did very well throughout the tour, finding almost all of the possible Western Ghats endemics and our targets generally, as evidenced by our commendable trip list, totaling over 270 species.
  • Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in India Priority Sites for Conservation

    Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in India Priority Sites for Conservation

    IMPORTANT BIRD AND BIODIVERSITY AREAS IN INDIA Priority sites for conservation Second Edition: Revised and Updated Volume II Asad R. Rahmani, M. Zafar-ul Islam and Raju M. Kasambe Maps prepared by Mohit Kalra and Noor I. Khan Team Members Noor I. Khan, Siddesh Surve, Abhijit Malekar and Nandkishor Dudhe Significant Contribution to this edition Anwaruddin Choudhury, Arvind Mishra, Ajai Saxena, Dhananjai Mohan, Himmat Singh Pawar, Intesar Suhail, Khursheed Ahmad, Neeraj Srivastava, P.O. Nameer, Manoj Nair, Mrutyumjaya Rao, Praveen, J., Sanjeeva Pandey, S. Subramanya, Satya Prakash Editors Gayatri Ugra and Maithreyi, M.R. Layout and Design V. Gopi Naidu With major sponsorship from Pavillion Foundation, Singapore Recommended citation: Rahmani, A.R., Islam, M.Z. and Kasambe, R.M. (2016) Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in India: Priority Sites for Conservation (Revised and updated). Bombay Natural History Society, Indian Bird Conservation Network, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife International (U.K.). Pp. 1992 + xii © 2016 Authors. Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai-400001, INDIA. Telephone: 0091-22-28429477 and 0091-22-22821811. Fax: 0091-22-22837615. Email: [email protected]; websites: www.bnhs.org and www.ibcn.in Bombay Natural History Society in India is registered under Bombay Public Trust Act 1950: F244 (Bom) dated 06th July 1953. ISBN: 978-93-84678-02-9 Cover Photographs: Design and collage by Gopi Naidu conceptualized by IBA Team. First published: 2004 by IBCN: Bombay Natural History Society. Second Revised Edition: 2016. Printed by Akshata Arts Pvt Ltd. 22, A to Z Industrial Estate, G.
  • Southern India, February 25Th to March 13Th 2003

    Southern India, February 25Th to March 13Th 2003

    Birding Southern India (M. Grundsten, Sweden) 2003 Southern India, February 25th to March 13th 2003 Front page Great Indian Bustard, Ardeotis nigriceps, north-west of Rollapadu, Andra Pradesh, February 27th, increasingly rare and now critically endangered, known from just a few sanctuaries. One of three birds seen. Most oftenly observed at Desert NP, Rajastan, NW India. Participants Måns Grundsten (compiler) & Johan Ställberg, Stockholm, Sweden. Version 2, 2014. Highlights • Spotting a Lesser Florican at Rollapadu! Truely one of Indias most elusive and seldom-seen species. • A royal party of three magnificent Great Indian Bustards west of Rollapadu. • The impressive harrier-roost at Rollapadu where 300 Montagu's and Pallid gathered at sunset. • Flocks of buntings at Rollapadu; Black-headed, Red-headed and best of all Grey-necked. • The cute endemic Black-and-orange Flycatcher at Ooty. • Shola-birding at Cairnhill Forest with endangered Black-chinned Laughingthrush, Nilgiri Blue Robin and Thrush. • Three Tawny Eagles soaring at Masinagudi. • Scrambling our way upward from the Jungle Hut and finally rewarded with Nilgiri Pipit at the summit. • A scarce Gaur running away above Jungle Hut. • A roadside early-morning black-eyed Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl near Theppakadu. • Indian Pittas, Indian Blue Robins and Orange-headed Thrushes in dried river beds around Masinagudi. • Bamboo-bound cool-looking Grey-headed Bulbul at Nadugani. • Natarajan finding a day-roosting Sri Lanka Frogmouth at Top Slip. • Black-headed male Malabar Trogon at Top Slip. • Night-walk at Top Slip with Common Hawk Cuckoo 'brain-fever'ing, and lots of calling nightjars and owls. Introduction The Western Ghats is home to many endemic birds and offers many fantastic birding experiences.
  • India: the South - Western Ghats and Nilgiri Endemics

    India: the South - Western Ghats and Nilgiri Endemics

    INDIA: THE SOUTH - WESTERN GHATS AND NILGIRI ENDEMICS 11 - 25 JANUARY 2021 9 - 23 JANUARY 2022 8 - 22 JANUARY 2023 The stunning Malabar Trogon is one of our targets on this trip. www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | ITINERARY India: The South This two-week tour will focus on the many specialties that southern India has to offer in a small- group atmosphere, perfect for the forested environments we will bird in. The tour commences on the coast at Kochi (also known as Cochin), a large sea-port city in the state of Kerala and an ancient city of high value on the old spice-trading route, and finishes at the city of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), the capital of the state of Karnataka. Our journey will take in the vast splendor of the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills, where we will also enjoy a steady stream of Western Ghats and Nilgiri endemic birds and other wildlife as well as an excellent supporting cast of overwintering migrants and resident birds. Some highlights on this tour are likely to include Black-and-orange Flycatcher, Indian Blue Robin, Nilgiri Blue Robin, White-bellied Blue Robin, Nilgiri Thrush, Nilgiri Laughingthrush, Palani Laughingthrush, Wayanad Laughingthrush (formerly called Wynaad Laughingthrush), White-bellied Treepie, Malabar Woodshrike, Malabar Barbet, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Nilgiri Pipit, Sri Lanka Bay Owl, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Blue-winged (Malabar) Parakeet, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Malabar Trogon, Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Indian Pitta, Painted Bush Quail, Red Spurfowl, Great Eared Nightjar, White-bellied Minivet, and, with luck, Indian Vulture and White-rumped Vulture (both Critically Endangered IUCN) and the rare migrant Kashmir Flycatcher.
  • Pollinators! Not Just Bees!, Pp

    Pollinators! Not Just Bees!, Pp

    Communicating Science for Conservation Vol. XXXIII, No. 3, March 2018 ISSN 0971-6378 (Print); 0973-2543 (Online) Communicating science for conservation Vol. XXXIII, No. 3, March 2018 ISSN 0971-6378 (Print); 0973-2543 (Online) Contents Fantastic Facts Pollinators! not just bees!, Pp. 1-5 Activity Hawk Moth Mask, P. 6 Small Mammal Mail Palm Squirrel: A status update of Funambulus palmarum in Gujarat, India -- Reshma Solanki, Kartik Upadhyay, Mittal Patel, Rahul Bhatt & Ranjitsinh Devkar, Pp. 07-11 Reptile Rap Beaked Worm Snake: Record of Grypotyphlops acutus at Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad, Telangana -- B. Laxmi Narayana, P. Venkateshwarlu, K. Swamy, G. Surender, R. Sravan Kumar & V. Vasudeva Rao, Pp. 12-14 King Cobra: Occurrence of Ophiophagus hannah in Papikonda National Park, Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh -- Kumpatla Balaji & Jarugulla Eswar Satyanarayana, Pp. 15-18 Burmese Python: New sighting record of Python bivittatus in Sumera Block, Jawan, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India -- Shaikh Rahim Rashid & Jamal Ahmad Khan, Pp. 19-22 Bird-o-soar Diversity and status of avifauna in Doddabetta hills and surrounding areas of Udhagamandalam, Nilgiris Plateau, Western Ghats, Southern India -- A. Samson, B. Ramakrishnan, S. Karthick, P. Santhosh Kumar, M. Ilakkia, A. Chitheena, J. Beulah Bha & P. Ravi, Pp. 23-36 Western Yellow Wagtail: Photographic record of leucistic Motacilla flava from Porbandar, Gujarat -- Dhaval Vargiya, Pp. 37-39 ZOOREACH Activities Human Elephant Coexistence: Creating awareness to the school children of Erode district -- Rengasamy Marimuthu, Pp. 40-43 Field Reports World Wildlife Day celebration at Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve by Rengasamy Marimuthu & A. Madhivanan, Pp. 44-46 World Wildlife Day celebration Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad by B.
  • Southern India & Sri Lanka

    Southern India & Sri Lanka

    Spot-bellied Eagle Owl (Alec Gillespie) (all other photos by D.Farrow unless indicated otherwise) SOUTHERN INDIA & SRI LANKA with the Andamans Islands 16 NOVEMBER - 12 DECEMBER 2018 LEADER: DAVE FARROW This years’ tour to Southern India and Sri Lanka was once again a very successful and enjoyable affair. A heady brew of wonderful birdlife was seen, rich in endemics, beginning with our extension to the Andaman Islands where we were able to find 20 of the 21 endemics in just three and a half days, with Andaman Masked Owl, Andaman Scops and Walden’s Scops Owls, Andaman and Hume’s Hawk Owls leading the way, Andaman Cuckoo Dove, great looks at Andaman Crake, plus all the others with the title ‘Andaman’ (with the fairly predictable exception of the Woodpigeon!) and a rich suite of other birds such as Long-tailed Parakeets and Mangrove Whistler. In Southern India we birded our way from the Nilgiri Hills to the lowland forest of Kerala finding Painted and Jungle Bush ! ! 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Ultimate Sulawesi and Halmahera www.birdquest-tours.com Quails, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Malabar Flameback, Malabar Trogons, Malabar Barbet, Blue- winged Parakeet, Grey-fronted Green Pigeons, Nilgiri Woodpigeon, Indian Pitta, Jerdon's Bushlarks, Malabar Larks, Malabar Woodshrike and Malabar Whistling Thrush, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Black-and-Orange, Nilgiri, Brown-breasted and Rusty-tailed Flycatchers, Nilgiri and White-bellied Blue Robin, Wynaad, Nilgiri and Palani Laughingthrushes, Dark-fronted Babblers, Indian Rufous Babblers, Western Crowned Warbler, Indian Yellow Tit, Indian Blackbird, Hill Swallow, Nilgiri Pipit, White-bellied Minivet, the scarce Yellow-throated and Grey-headed Bulbuls, Flame-throated and Yellow-browed Bulbuls, Nilgiri Flowerpecker, Loten's Sunbird and the stunning endemic White- bellied Treepie.
  • Southern India January 23-30, 2008

    Southern India January 23-30, 2008

    Southern India January 23-30, 2008 Mikael Käll & Anders Blomberg, Sweden Satyan and Baby at Top Slip. Photo: Mikael Käll January in SW Sweden is usually cold, moist, windy and pretty unpleasant altogether, and birding is dull to say the least. This January, however, we were invited to join a delegation from Chalmers University of Technology to the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore for a Systems Biology workshop, which gave us the irresistible possibility to combine exciting science with some superb birding. Although we only had a few days to spend, we managed to visit some really special sites and see >200 species, including a number of endemics. We are indebted to superb birding guide Satyan Meppayur and Kalypso Adventures for the success! Further questions regarding the tour can be obtained from Mikael Käll ([email protected]). Jungle Owlet, Glaucidium radiatum malabaricum, at Top Slip. Photo: Mikael Käll Itinerary Jan. 22 Early morning flight from Göteborg via Frankfurt to Bangalore. Jan. 23 Arrive in the middle of the night. Workshop at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore all day. Jan. 24 ~1 hour birding at the nice campus before breakfast, then workshop all day. Jan. 25 ~1 hour birding at the campus in the morning. Picked up by Satyan at lunch, then drive to Mysore via Kokkare Bellur and Ranganathittu, where we took a short boat ride. Night at Green Hotel, Mysore. Jan. 26 Checked out some wetlands close to Mysore in the morning, then drive straight to Masinagudi. Checked in at our very nice small lodge "The Wild".
  • Hite-Bellied Woodpecker 3

    Hite-Bellied Woodpecker 3

    Southern India 9th to 20th November 2013 Sri Lanka Frogmouth by Markus Lilje Tour Leaders: Markus Lilje and Clayton Burne Trip report compiled by Markus Lilje Top 10 Birds of the tour as voted by participants: 1. Sri Lanka Frogmouth 6. Heart-spotted Woodpecker 2. Indian Pitta 7. White-bellied Woodpecker 3. Grey Junglefowl 8. White-bellied Treepie 4. Malabar Barbet 9. Crimson-backed Sunbird 5. Black-and-orange Flycatcher 10. Nilgiri Blue Robin Tour Summary The Indian subcontinent is a remarkable place for so many reasons, home to over one billion people and all set to overtake China as the most populous country on earth. Reading the stats and figures does not leave one with any great expectations, and yet how wrong the numbers can be! India must surely be one of the finest countries in the world to explore, a sensory overload in so many ways. Traveling through the southern region not only produced many super endemics and highly localized birds, but also showcased some of the most beautiful mountain scenery. Our adventure started in Spot-billed Pelican by Markus Lilje Bengaluru where we immediately made our way out of the confines of the fast-growing city, with all its construction and confusing roads and into the countryside. Our first birding stop provided us with a few highlights in the mid- to late morning in the village of Kokkare Bellur, which is famous for its nesting colony of Spot-billed Pelicans. We had some exceptional views of this species on nests as well as flying overhead at very close range.