Thattekkad diaries. The final bird count.

One of the things which i learned in Thattekkad was the importance of recognising the bird calls. Thattekkad forest is dense & it is very difficult to spot the birds like how i do in Bharatpur or Sultanpur etc, were all the birds are in the open & the vegetation is not thick.

Observing & birding with Girish, really showed me the importance of identifying bird calls. 9 out of 10 times Girish identifies birds by their calls. First he identifies the call & then zeroes in on the possible location.

Another highlight of this trip is; This is the first time that my bird count went over 100.......... as i got my list together, the final bird count goes like this :

1. Rufous Treepie
2. White Bellied Treepie
3. Racquet Tailed Drongo
4. Ashy Drongo
5. Bronzed Drongo
6. Black Drongo

7. Malabar Grey Hornbill

8. Black Naped Oriole
9. Black Hooded Oriole
10. Eurasian Golden Oriole

11. White Breasted Kingfisher
12. Common Blue Kingfisher
13. Pied Kingfisher
14. Jungle Babbler
15. Yellow Billed Babbler
16. Puff Throated Babbler
17. Dark Fronted Babbler
18. Indian Scimitar Babbler
19. Asian Brown Flycatcher
20. Asian Paradise Flycatcher

21. Blue Throated Flycatcher
22. Brown Breasted Flycatcher
23. Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
24. Rusty Tailed Flycatcher
25. White Bellied Blue Flycatcher
26. Orange Headed Thrush
27. Malabar Whistling Thrush

28. Blue Bearded Bee Eater

29. Green Bee Eater
30. Heart Spotted Woodpecker

31. White Bellied Woodpecker
32. Lesser Yellow Naped Woodpecker
33. Black Rumped Flameback
34. Streak Throated Woodpecker
35. Brown Capped Pygmy Woodpecker
36. Greater Flameback

37. Plain Flowerpecker
38. Pale Billed Flowerpecker
39. Green Imperial Pigeon
40. Mountain Imperial Pigeon
41. Pompodour Green Pigeon

42. Spotted Dove
43. Hill Mynah
44. Common Mynah
45. Grey Jungle Fowl

46. Red Spur Fowl

47. Chestnut Tailed Starling
48. White Cheeked Barbet
49. Crimson Fronted Barbet
50. Yellow Browed Bulbul
51. Ruby Throated Bulbul

52. Red Whiskered Bulbul
53. Grey Headed Bulbul
54. Red Vented Bulbul
55. Red Wattled Lapwing
56. Scarlet Minivet

57. Small Minivet
58. Greenish Warbler
59. Forest Wagtail
60. Crimson Backed Sunbird
61. Purple Rumped Sunbird

62. Loten’s Sunbird
63. Little Spiderhunter
64. Malabar Parakeet
65. Plum Headed Parakeet

66. Rose Ringed Parakeet
67. Vernal Hanging Parrot
68. Black Headed Munia
69. Brown Cheeked Fulveta
70. Golden Fronted Leaf Bird
71. Asian Fairy Blue Bird

72. Eurasian Black Bird
73. Koel
74. Black Naped Monarch
75. Dollar Bird
76. Malabar Trogan
77. Jerdon’s Night Jar
78. Indian Pitta
79. Srilankan Frog Mouth
80. Intermediate Egret
81. Whiskered Tern

82. River Tern
83. Little Cormorant
84. Pond Heron
85. Darter
86. Bronze Winged Jacana
87. White Breasted Waterhen
88. Ashy Wood Swallow
89. Red Rumped Swallow
90. Indian Swiftlets
91. Brown Shrike

92. Large Wood Shrike
93. Large Cuckoo Shrike
94. Drongo Cuckoo
95. Crested Goshawk
96. Black Baza
97. Black Eagle
98. Crested Serpent Eagle
99. Booted Eagle
100. Brown Fish Owl
101. Mottled Wood Owl

102. Brown Hawk Owl
103. Jungle Owlets
104. Oriental Honey Buzzard
105. Shikra
106. Brahminy Kite

It was truly amazing to be in the midst of all this.................

Thattekkad diaries. Part 6.

Today is going to be last morning in Thattekkad. After a quick round of birding we plan to head towards Nedumassery airport for our journey back.

Girish's grand mother was not feeling well, so understandably he was not in his elements, plus he wanted to keep the walk short, more over news had come in from the watch tower that an elephant was really close at the entrance. We saw an Indian Pitta, then had amazing views of a Blue Bearded Bee Eater.

I also saw something which i had never seen before........... a large spider rolling back its web. Just like a fisherman rolling back his net after fishing. The spider must have made its web the evening before, must have fed on all the insects caught in the web in the morning, then right before our eyes, it was rolling its web back into its mouth.......... truly an amazing sight.

A Black Baza was far away, as we were walking we could hear the elephant really close. Then we decided it was time to walk back.

Came back to our rooms & we packed up & soon it was time to leave. We thanked Girish for his boundless energy & amazing birding skills, his mother (Sudha) & wife (Sandhya) for all the care & warmth, and to Girish's little daughter. As we were leaving, i asked Girish "What about the Brown Hawk Owl" ?? Immediately he ran to its likely place, & told us to wait. We saw him jumping in joy, then i knew the Brown Hawk Owl was there. So finally just as we were leaving we got to see the Brown Hawk Owl.

Surely in every sense this trip to Thattekkad was one of my best birding trips. I hope to be back there next year to see the many birds we did not get to see like the Nilgri Fly Catcher, Malabar Shama, Wynad Laughing Thrush, Rufous Bellied Eagle, Spot Bellied Eagle Owl........et al

Goodbye Thattekkad !!

Thattekkad diaries. Part 5

Today morning we went again to the Orulanthany forest, but this time to the dense area.


On our way Girish told us to be careful about Leeches. We saw the Rusty Tailed Fly Catcher for the first time. The forest was really thick & beautiful. I could see Leeches climbing up my shoes every minute. I became very frisky & I found it difficult to concentrate on the birds. So we decided to move to the less dense forest, where there will be no Leeches. As we came out Girish said wait.......... it is a Little Spider Hunter.

It was again a very beautiful bird. (which birds are not beautiful ???) It was enjoying itself on a banana flower, using its long beaks to take in the nectar.

We were able to watch the Southern Birdwing, a butterfly with a wingspan of 140-190mm, it is the largest butterfly found in Southern India.

Then we spend the rest of the morning watching different Bulbuls out of which the Yellow Browed Bulbul & the Grey Headed Bulbul were quite stunning. Minivets kept us engaged, so also was a Brown Capped Pygmy Woodpecker. By afternoon, exhausted we returned to our rooms.

In the evening we went to see the Mottled Wood Owl again.

This time we managed to take some snaps, before it flew away again !! On a distance i was able to see a Black Eagle. The rest of the evening we spent looking at all the water birds, watching all the fish in the Periyarenjoying the beauty of this largest river in Kerala, we watched the River Terns fishing. Our bird count was touching hundred, but i have not yet seen the Brown Hawk Owl. Well, everyone who reports on Thattekkad, says it is the first bird they saw. Unfortunately it has not been in its usual perch. I am hoping to see it before i leave tomorrow

Thattekkad diaries. Part 4

I became unwell, with a stomach bug. So we decided to rest it out in our rooms. Did not go birding in the morning. But by evening, even though i was feeling very weak, i was determined to go birding. Plus we were again going in search of the Mottled Wood Owl. Again Girish & myself scanned all the possible trees for about an hour, but could not see anything. We gave up & was going to check out the Indian Pitta & the Jerdon's Night Jar again.

While walking an birder from Australia had observed some bird excreta under a tree & she said in Australia it means there definitely is an Owl roosting on the tree. Girish 's eyes lit up & in a jiffy he spotted the Mottled Wood Owl

sitting there & looking down at us. But unfortunately it just gave us glimpse & flew away. We searched again for an hour but could not see it. But atleast we got a clue of its possible roost, we made plans to come tomorrow, just to see the Mottled Wood Owl again.

Thattekkad diaries. Part 3

As usual we were up by 6.15 am & off for birding at around 6.45. This time into the nearby Orulanthany forest. Some of the trees were unimaginable. The base of the trees was so big, probably it would take 5-8 people with their arms outstretched to be able to hug the tree !!

Plus they were also so tall. Thattekkad is a tropical evergreen forest. Some of the tree species were Vellapine (Vatera indica), Bhadraksham (Eleocarpus tuberculatus), Cheeni (Tetrameles nudiflora) Thambakom (Hopea parviflora), Nedunan (Polyanthia fragrans), Anjily (Artocarpus hirsuta), Rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia) , Venga ( Prerocarpus marsupium), Elavu (Bombax cebia), Teak (Tectona grandis) Maruthi (Terminalia paniculata) Thembavu (Terminalia tomentosa) Venteak ( Lagerstroemia lanceolata).

The calls of the Puff Throated Babbler were really beautiful, plus it was a really cute bird.

Suddenly i saw something. I pointed out to Girish........ he jumped up in joy and he announced it is a male & female of Malabar Trogon.

A truly beautiful bird, with amazing colours !!

We saw the Asian Fairy Blue bird. Then suddenly the heart stopping moment came when we saw the Heart Spotted Woodpecker. It was really small & it was busy on a very tall tree (all of our necks very paining), infact i was getting irritated when everyone around me saw it, but i was not been able to see it. Finally my binocs closed in on it, a very tiny wood pecker.

Then we went to sit on some rocks, with the forest all around us, lovely White Cheeked Barbets, then the While Bellied Woodpecker made an reappearance, entertained us for a good 10 mts. It was really nice sitting on the rocks & watching all the birds chirping away. They were all so active. Then by mid afternoon we returned back to our rooms.

I have heard about Banana leaves been used as a plate, so this was first time for me to enjoy a nice lunch on Banana leaves, with no curries streaming out of the leaves!!

In the evening Girish promised us to show all the Fly catcher's. After our walk through the forests, while coming back we got excellent views of Asian Brown Fly Catcher, Asian Paradise Fly Catchers, Blue Throated Fly Catchers, Brown Breasted Fly Catchers & the Tickell's Blue Fly Catcher.

We just waited quietly, near some water on a rocky area, most of these birds were coming in to have a dip in the water.....................

Plus we could see & hear the Green Imperial Pigeon & the Mountain Imperial Pigeon. So that was yet another fruitful day of birding !!

Thattekkad diaries. Part 2

I was up at 6.15 am, we had a cup of tea & headed for the sanctuary. We saw many different Fly Catchers. We had very good views of the Crested Goshawk. Could not believe such a small raptor, which is capable of lifting off a rabbit.


But the highlight was when we saw one of the biggest woodpeckers, The White Bellied Woodpecker. The sound of the tapping which it made on the tree was amazing.

We also got to see for the first time The Malabar Squirrel. It was huge, sitting & enjoying some berries on a tree. We returned to our rooms by mid morning.

Girish said we will meet again at 4 pm & if our luck is with us we might get to see the Mottled Wood Owl. I couldn't wait !!!

We left at 4pm & scanned all the possible trees for about an hour for the Mottled Wood Owl, but luck was not with us, so we gave up the search.

We went to a lake nearby, we saw some waterbirds. The Whiskered Tern, the Ashy Wood Swallow, the Red Rumped Swallow. Then while walking back Girish said, now that it is dusk, this is the habitat of the Indian Pitta & there may be a chance to see it very clearly. We had seen it last year in Masinagudi. But Girish told us the characteristics of the Indian Pitta & how difficult it is sometimes to sight. Infact there was an an Australian birder who had come to Thattekkad just to see the Indian Pitta, she went about 4 days with Girish & unfortunately never was able to sight the Pitta. Suddenly Girish said in his usual style ...... wait........... told us to look ahead & there is a Pitta sitting.

All three of us were looking, looking, could see nothing, we thought the Pitta is on the ground, but this one was sitting on a branch. Suddenly it flew to a nearby tree, that is when we saw it in all its brilliance. A truly awesome bird. it kept us really engaged for about 15mts. Infact we got four different sightings in the next 15 mts. It was quite dark by then, so it was difficult to get any clear snaps

Then Girish said it is time now for the Jerdon's Night Jar. Since we could hear the metronomic calls nearby. I thought of the Night Jars i had seen in Bharatpur. I remember seeing them always sleeping. A flash of a bird passed by us, Girish said ..... here it is the Jerdon's Night Jar.

I said........ what ?? Can it be so active ?? Girish said of course, they sleep in the day, but as dusk settles in; they start their hunt. It was unbelievable to see this bird so active. Diving & swooping away at insects at will. Then it got too dark & it was time for us to get back.

Plus we had a bonus.......... while watching out for the Night Jar's, we saw two Brown Fish Owls really low in flight.

So, it was time to return back to our rooms, I am hoping to get to see the Mottled Wood Owl in the coming days and also had heard so much about the Malabar Trogan, Malabar Shama & about the Heart Spotted WoodPecker........ & i cannot wait for tomorrow morning !!

Thattekkad diaries. Part 1

From the snow in the Himalayas, i was off the very next day to the sea sides of Kerala to spend a few days with my grand parents. After a stay which involved a lot around food & eating, it was time to say goodbye to my grand parents in Calicut. We boarded the train for our journey to Alwaye, from where we took a cab to reach the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary in Thattekkad.


I had heard my parents talk so much about Thattekkad, i was quite excited at the prospects of been in the midst of all the birds & the thought of the chance to see the the Black Baza was just too much. It was afternoon by the time we reached Thattekkad, we had a quick lunch of rice & fish curry, our host & guide Girish had told us we can go into the sanctuary by 3.30 pm. I was waiting impatiently.

As soon as we entered the sanctuary we saw the Malabar Grey Hornbill, Black naped Orioles & the White Bellied Treepie. Suddenly Girish called out & said ......... Its the Black Baza !!

All of us could not believe our eyes. Here is the bird we have been waiting to see, suddenly making a appearance. That too within our first 10 minutes in the sanctuary, we could not believe our luck. It was beautiful, with a lovely crest, which was flaying in the air. I managed to take a couple of photographs, before it flew away. It was truly an unforgettable moment. (and to think of it we never saw the Baza sitting for the next five days of our stay !!!)

Then i got to see for the first time the Sri lankan Frogmouth.


A very unusual looking nocturnal bird. Girish told us to be very careful & not to touch or move any branches of the trees while observing the bird. Because once it flies away, then it becomes very difficult to sight it again.


The calls of the White Bellied Treepie were just too much. I was wondering who is a better mimic........ the Drongos, or the Tree pies or the Hill Mynahs ??

After birding for about a couple of hours, it was getting dark and also there was an single wild elephant somewhere close by. We reluctantly headed back to our rooms.