“Our first morning’s
birding, in the shola forests around the hill station at Ooty produced
memorable encounters with a host of South Indian specialities – our first party
of strutting Grey Junglefowl, our first demure Nilgiri and secretive
Black-and-orange Flycatchers, our first furtive Indian Blue Robin, our only
Nilgiri Blue Robins and our first troops of Nilgiri Langurs. Our first Painted Bush-quail encounter was
possibly our best (but was still too brief) while our first White-cheeked
Barbet took us a long time to find (in a tree with not too many leaves!) but
then performed admirably.
The following day we
descended a steep ghat road back to the plains, stopping to admire a pair of
Malabar Parakeets, then Grey-headed Bulbul, Changeable Hawk-eagle, a marauding
party of Bonnet Macaques and later a glowering Brown Fish-owl before an
elephant encounter forced a premature departure. On to Jungle Retreat where Indian Pittas serenaded our dawn and a
lucky few were treated to excellent studies of a party of normally very elusive
Red Spurfowl but sadly there was no beer available with which to celebrate
adding Jerdon’s Nightjar to our growing list.
Tawny Eagle, Large Grey Babbler, Blyth’s Pipit and innumerable others
were added next day before we saw a change of venue and pace as the moist
tropical monsoon forest at Topslip beckoned and the wildlife certainly
welcomed. A cosy pair of daytime
roosting Ceylon Frogmouths, majestic White-bellied Woodpeckers, several parties
of elusive Rufous Babblers and Malabar Wood Shrike were some of the immediate
highlights and White-bellied Treepies abounded, as did Wild Boar – at times it
was as much as we could do not to fall over the latter.
We were soon
on the move on again to Rajamalai on the Eravikulam plateau. Our local guide had staked out a cooperative
Malabar Whistling Thrush right outside our accommodation and this was just the
first of numerous exciting encounters near Munnar. We’d no sooner arrived at the sanctuary than Kerala
Laughingthrushes, a fantastically obliging White-bellied Blue Robin and several
Nilgiri Pipits were seen. Even the
park’s Nilgiri Tahr obliged. Another
guide then took us to a site for Nilgiri Woodpigeon and soon found us our
quarry. A party of exceptionally
inquisitive Wynaad Laughingthrushes welcomed us to Periyar where other goodies
included Malabar Thrush, Western Crowned Warbler and a heard only Ceylon Bay
Owl.
For those
staying on for the extension it was time to fly east to Chennai and out to the
tropical Andaman Islands for a marked change of pace. Dawn on the Andamans was earlier, significantly earlier, than on
the mainland and we made the most of the daylight, rapidly finding on most of
the available endemics. Some, such as
the Andaman Bulbul and Andaman Flowerpecker were common and easily found while
others like the Andaman Teal certainly weren’t, but even they eventually gave
themselves up and we came away having seen no less than 56 teal! Andaman Crake, normally the most elusive of
the Island’s endemics, even obliged on two consecutive days. We had equally superb views of the typically
evasive Andaman Woodpigeon and even managed to reel in all of the night birds –
Andaman Scops Owl first, then Andaman and Hume’s Hawk Owls, Andaman Nightjar
and finally the endemic subspecies of Oriental Scops Owl. Superb stuff and what a gorgeous supporting
cast of White-collared Kingfishers, Edible-nest Swiftlets at zero feet and
Black-naped Orioles at almost every turn…a great way to end off a very
successful and enjoyable tour.” Paul
Holt
Bird List:
The order, English and scientific names follow those
used
As on all Sunbird tours species are only included
on this list if they were seen, or heard, by the leader and at least one
participant.
Key to the status codes:
Column 1 = total number of days that the species was
recorded on the core portion of the tour
Column 2 = maximum daily count for that particular
species on the core portion of the tour
Column 3 = total number of days that the species was
recorded on the Andaman Islands extension
Column 4 = maximum daily count for that particular
species on the Andaman Islands extension
H = denotes a species that was heard but was not seen
(H) =
denotes a species that was heard more often than it was seen
|
Little
Grebe |
3 |
30 |
|
|
|
Tachybaptus ruficollis |
|
Spot-billed
Pelican |
1 |
22 |
1 |
600 |
|
Pelecanus philippensis |
|
Little
Cormorant |
6 |
40 |
1 |
400 |
|
Phalacrocorax niger |
|
Indian
Shag |
3 |
20 |
|
|
|
Phalacrocorax
fuscicollis |
|
Great
Cormorant |
4 |
20 |
|
|
|
Phalacrocorax carbo |
|
Oriental
Darter |
2 |
50 |
1 |
8 |
|
Anhinga melanogaster |
|
Little
Egret |
5 |
200 |
4 |
50 |
|
Egretta garzetta |
|
Western
Reef-heron |
1 |
10 |
|
|
|
Egretta gularis |
|
Pacific
Reef-heron |
|
|
2 |
2 |
|
Egretta sacra |
|
Great
Egret |
3 |
100 |
5 |
70 |
|
Egretta alba |
|
Intermediate
Egret |
5 |
2000 |
3 |
5 |
|
Egretta intermedia |
|
Grey
Heron |
4 |
6 |
1 |
20 |
|
Ardea cinerea |
|
Purple
Heron |
2 |
4 |
|
|
|
Ardea purpurea |
|
Eastern
Cattle Egret |
5 |
300 |
5 |
300 |
|
Bubulcus coromandus |
|
Indian
Pond-heron |
10 |
40 |
1 |
50 |
|
Ardeola grayii |
|
pond
heron sp. |
|
|
4 |
6 |
|
Ardeola sp. |
|
Striated
Heron |
|
|
4 |
2 |
|
Butorides striata |
|
Black-crowned
Night-heron |
|
|
1 |
10 |
|
Nycticorax nycticorax |
|
Painted
Stork |
|
|
1 |
50 |
|
Mycteria leucocephala |
|
Asian
Openbill |
2 |
3 |
1 |
100 |
|
Anastomus oscitans |
|
Woolly-necked
Stork |
2 |
5 |
|
|
|
Ciconia episcopus |
|
Glossy
Ibis |
|
|
1 |
40 |
|
Plegadis falcinellus |
|
Black-headed
Ibis |
|
|
1 |
50 |
|
Threskiornis
melanocephalus |
|
Eurasian
Spoonbill |
|
|
1 |
30 |
|
Platalea leucorodia |
|
Lesser
Whistling-duck |
|
|
1 |
4 |
|
Dendrocygna javanica |
|
Bar-headed
Goose |
1 |
49 |
|
|
|
Anser indicus |
|
Cotton
Teal |
1 |
100 |
|
|
|
Nettapus
coromandelianus |
|
Indian
Spot-billed Duck |
1 |
10 |
|
|
|
Anas poecilorhyncha |
|
Northern
Shoveler |
2 |
40 |
|
|
|
Anas clypeata |
|
Andaman
Teal |
|
|
1 |
56 |
|
Anas albogularis |
|
Northern
Pintail |
|
|
1 |
10 |
|
Anas acuta |
|
Garganey |
1 |
300 |
1 |
12 |
|
Anas querquedula |
|
Oriental
Honey-buzzard |
7 |
2 |
|
|
|
Pernis ptilorhynchus |
|
Black-winged
Kite |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
Elanus caeruleus |
|
Black
Kite |
6 |
40 |
2 |
20 |
|
Milvus migrans |
|
Brahminy
Kite |
9 |
20 |
2 |
8 |
|
Haliastur indus |
|
White-bellied
Sea-eagle |
|
|
5 |
22 |
|
Haliaeetus leucogaster |
|
White-rumped
Vulture |
1 |
3 |
|
|
|
Gyps bengalensis |
|
Short-toed
Eagle |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
Circaetus gallicus |
|
Andaman
Serpent-eagle |
|
|
3 |
2 |
|
Spilornis elgini |
|
Western
Marsh Harrier |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Circus aeruginosus |
|
Pallid
Harrier |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Circus macrourus |
|
Montagu's
Harrier |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
Circus pygargus |
|
Shikra |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Accipiter badius |
|
Eurasian
Sparrowhawk |
1 |
2 |
|
|
|
Accipiter nisus |
|
White-eyed
Buzzard |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
Butastur teesa |
|
Steppe'
Buzzard |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
Buteo buteo vulpinus |
|
Black
Eagle |
3 |
2 |
|
|
|
Ictinaetus malayensis |
|
Tawny
Eagle |
3 |
1 |
|
|
|
Aquila rapax |
|
Steppe
Eagle |
1 |
2 |
|
|
|
Aquila nipalensis |
|
Bonelli's
Eagle |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
Hieraaetus fasciatus |
|
Booted
Eagle |
1 |
3 |
|
|
|
Hieraaetus pennatus |
|
Changeable
Hawk-eagle |
|
|
1 |
2 |
|
Spizaetus limnaeetus |
|
Crested
Hawk-eagle |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
Spizaetus cirrhatus |
|
Osprey |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|