India Part 2

Thursday 20^th

Another early start as we were being picked up at 5.30 so we took a packed breakfast with us to the airport. We had a domestic flight on IndiGo to Kochi; our original flight was at 10am but they cancelled that and put us on the earlier one at 08:10. 

Leaving Mumbai

Coming in to land at Kochi

We landed at 09:50 but took an hour a get out of the airport as someone left their walking stick on the plane. We met up with our guide/driver for the rest of the trip, loaded up the car and headed off to our accommodation, a family-run homestay. We arrived in time for lunch where we were greeted by an Indian Giant Squirrel that was feeding a metre away off our balcony.

Indian Giant Squirrel

Huntsman Spider in our bathroom

We then got ready for our first afternoon birding in the Western Ghats at Thattekad Bird Sanctuary.

Forest stream

This area has a lot of regional endemics and it didn’t take long before we starting seeing some of them with Malabar Flameback, White-bellied Woodpecker,  Malabar Woodshrike, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher and a lovely pair of roosting Sri Lankan Frogmouths amongst other more widespread birds. 

Sri Lankan Frogmouth

White-bellied Woodpecker

Blue-eared Kingfisher

Brown-cheeked Fulvetta

Common Kingfisher

Indian Blue Robin

Female Malabar Trogon

Male Malabar Trogon

Asian Vine Snake

We stopped for coffee at a roadside café late afternoon which had a lakeside view and added Blue-tailed Bee-eater and Brahminy Kite.

Back at the homestay we went up on the rooftop terrace towards dusk where a Great Eared Nightjar flew over. We then did two very successful owling sessions either side of dinner, seeing Indian Scops Owl, Mottled Wood Owl, Brown Boobook, Oriental Scops Owl and a couple of other nocturnal critters.

Brown Boobook

Indian Scops Owl

Mottled Wood Owl

Oriental Scops Owl

Anamalai Pit Viper

Indian Giant Flying Squirrel

Friday 21st

After an early breakfast we spent the morning birding the local area of Thattekad from 7am. The first bird seen was Grey-fronted Green Pigeon, quickly followed by two Malabar Grey Hornbills, both regional endemics. We walked up an old lava flow to a viewpoint and were soon joined by a couple of other birding groups as this was clearly the place to stand while our guide went in search of a roosting Bay Owl. We also met a rather miserable Irish crew who then followed us around for the rest of the trip.

There were plenty of birds to see and photograph and the guide’s young son, a budding birder, found a distant pair of Brown Fish Owls. 

Brown Fish Owl

Crimson-backed Sunbird

Golden-fronted Leafbird

Orange Minivet

Malabar Grey Hornbill

Malabar Imperial Pigeon

Rufous-bellied Eagle

Brown Shrike ssp lucionensis

butterfly sp

Common Lascar

We went back to the homestay for lunch, stopping briefly for a couple of distant Asian Elephants in a river.

Asian Elephant

 We spent the rest of the afternoon birding from the rooftop of our homestay while our guide again went in a vain search for the owl.

Bonnet Macaque

Common Myna

Lesser Whistling Duck

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Cinereous Tit

Black-rumped Flameback

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Vernal (AKA Infernal) Hanging Parrot

Saturday 22nd

We went back into the forest after breakfast for a last bit of birding in the area but it was raining so we didn’t get too much. We left mid-morning and checked out and drove to our next destination, Periyar NP. We did a little bit of birding en route before arriving at the Abad Green Forest Resort late afternoon. We had a wander around the grounds, seeing our only Clamorous Reed Warbler of the trip.

Black-rumped Flameback

Heart-spotted Woodpecker

Plum-headed Parakeet

Shikra

White-bellied Treepie

White-cheeked Barbet

Two more as yet unidentified butterflies

Oriental Garden Lizard

South Indian Flying Lizard

We couldn’t get a drink at the hotel, nor at any of the subsequent hotels in Kerala as it had been a dry state up until July when the sale of alcohol was legalised, albeit with many restrictions. Most of the hotels don’t even any bar areas so they aren’t able to offer drinks.