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Birding
on a family trip to Kerala and Tamil Nadu 20 December 2005-13 January
2006.
Erik
Hirschfeld
The
main purpose of this trip was to spend quality family time (wife, three
sons 4-10) together and do some relaxing tourism in south India after a
busy autumn. As the rest of the family does not bird, birding
opportunities were restricted to early mornings, late afternoons and
sky-scanning/sea-watching when the kids were in the hotel pools or on
the beach. Having visited north India, Pakistan and China before for
hard-core birding, I made careful preparations and a priority list on
what I wanted to see on this trip. I did thus not spend much time on e.
g. waterbirds or detailed counts, instead I went for the species in the
following priority order: 1 endemics for southern Kerala, 2 south Indian
endemics which should be possible to get based in Goa, 3 subcontinent
endemics and 4 anything else that would be a tick for me. I did not
bring a telescope which would have been useful to have on a few
occasions (Gavi and beaches).
Itinerary et al
We flew
Lufthansa Copenhagen-Frankfurt-Madras and back which had the second best
deal of European airlines. Delta via Paris were slightly cheaper but as
they were in “Chapter 11” at the time so we did not wish to take the
risk of booking them.
The
trip was wholly arranged by Mr. Thomas Zacharias from Kalypso Tours (http://www.kalypsoadventures.com/).
He was incredibly professional, responding to email swiftly, sorting out
the few problems we had directly on site and understanding our needs
completely. He also knew quite a bit about birds and has bird guides
available although we did not use them. He arranged our transports,
which were in good vehicles and extremely punctual. Cars were modern
and spacious and transports would sometimes allow us time for
sight-seeing. Kalypso Tours is therefore highly recommended as a
reliable and professional tour operator.
20
December - Depart Copenhagen via Frankfurt to Chennai.
21
December – Arrived at our hotel Ideal Beach Resort after midnight.
Birding in the hotel area.
22
December – Left Ideal at noon, night train from Chennai to Cochin.
22 -
27 December - Stayed at Emerald Island homestay, near Allepey.
27 - 31
December – Green Mansions at Gavi, inside Periyar National Park.
1
January – 5 January – Hotel Samudra at Kovalam.
6
January- 9 January – Talayar tea Estate, northeast of Munnar.
9/10
January – Night train from Ernakulam/Kochin to Chennai.
10-12
January – Ideal Beach Resort.
13
January – Depart back to Copenhagen.
Birding
sites
Information on this was mainly collected through trip reports and “A
Birdwatcher’s guide to India”.
Ideal
Beach Resort (http://www.idealresort.com/iblocation.htm)
near Mamallapuram (Mahaballipuram), south of Chennai. – Seawatching very
unproductive. Hotel garden and ricefields on the west side of the coast
highway were worth exploring. The area just south of the village where
the Crocodile Farm is (c 8 km north on the toll road) was interesting in
the mornings. The only Woodshrike and Common Iora of the trip were seen
there. Sandy areas east of the toll road, some 2-5 km north held Blyth’s
Pipits, Tawny Pipit, Ashy-headed Finch Lark etc. The river mouth at
Kovalam had few waders.
Emerald
Island (http://www.emeraldislekerala.com/html/abus.htm)
in Backwaters. – I had no information here. Walking around and watching
the river mornings/evenings was basically it. I birded within 1 km from
the homestay. The garden of it held sunbirds, the only Forest Wagtail of
the trip, Stork-billed Kingfisher etc.
Gavi (http://www.homestayskerala.com/html/thek/gm.htm)
Periyar.–
This is
c 45 min jeep ride inside the park. Three rooms available, as well as
treks with overnight camping. Jeeploads of daytourists from Thekkady
came in around 9 and left around 15, but we were often alone there in
the evenings. Excellent place but food very basic and poor in variation
(often only one hot dish for dinner) so it is advisable to bring in
extra stuff unless you want to stick to chapati, dal, egg curry and
pineapple. No soft drinks, no sweets. There is one bird guide there,
Biju, and he was allocated us for treks etc during the whole stay. He
was very interested in birds and quite good at calls but had no
binoculars. We saw elephants on the way there and tiger had been spotted
a month previously very near the lodge. We saw some day-old tiger tracks
in the forest opposite the lake. Much birding was done along the road
leading to Gavi and around the lake, i e within 500 m from the lodge.
The old cardamom plantations of the adjacent village were extremely good
in the late afternoon. The grassy hills are also worth exploring as
there are reports of Grassbirds on the hill just behind Green Mansions.
I only managed to flush a number of Thick-billed Warblers out of it on
my several attempts. If we had not had kids with us, we would have done
a two-night camping trek here and spent two nights in the lodge.
Kovallam (http://www.ktdc.com/Samudra.htm)
– Hotel Samudra was our choice here and birding was not interesting at
all. It is probably possible to make excursions based here, but it feels
superfluous to go to Kovallam unless one is desperate for a swim. This
was the only hotel with underperforming staff, the service was in fact
quite appalling which is a pity as the premises are very nice (probably
the best beach) and the hotel - allegedly - a three star. Note that
Kovalam with one –l- in the species list refers to Kovalam north of
Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu.
Talayar
Tea Estate (http://www.homestayskerala.com/html/mun/talay.htm)
Near Munnar. – Misty place northeast of Munnar. 30-40 minutes to reach
Rajamalai National Park. Excellent place to stay in, super service and
one staff (Suresh) who was interested in birds. It is necessary to bring
a vehicle here if one wants to explore the area. Managed to bird along
the road towards northeast, a waterfall c. 10 min up the road could be
interesting if explored more, also the sandal wood forests along this
road would be worthwhile. At the checkpoint in the village some 40 min
away there were Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters. Two of the ornithological
highlights of the trip were in Rajamalai; Nilgiri Pipit and Tickell´s
and Tytler´s Leaf Warblers together. A stop at a small stream at a
school between Rajamalai and Munnar produced the only Blue-headed Rock
Thrush of the trip.
Books
I
decided to leave Kazmierczak et al and Grimmett et al at home (having
thrown away the “Pictorial Guide” when these two volumes appeared) and
brought P. Rasmussen’s 2005 guide with me. It is in two volumes: one
with plates (and, thankfully, maps on the facing page!) and one with
text, including interesting sections on Indian ornithology. Plates were
ok. The text was thorough but did not convey so much of field “feel” for
the birds, focussing more on plumage details which however was quite
helpful. Call descriptions were very thorough and often both
transliterated (presumably in American English) and with sonagrams. I
have always found sonagrams awkward but after a while I actually
thought they were helpful. Rasmussen also splits many taxa and has, in
some cases, detailed information on subspecies so this book is
definitely worth to buy.
More
information
Feel
free to contact me at
erik@hirschfeld.se.
Systematic list of species
The
value of counts in such non-systematic birding as I did is rather low,
so I just treat each species here rather generally. Taxonomy and names
follows Rasmussen.
Little
Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
Recorded at the lake in Gavi.
Indian
Shag Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
Seen in
Backwaters, Gavi, Chennai and Kovalam
Great
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Seen in
Backwaters, Gavi, Chennai and Kovalam
Little
Cormorant Phalacrocorax
niger
Seen in
Backwaters, Gavi, Chennai and Kovalam
Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster
One
backwaters.
Western
Reef Heron Egretta gularis schistacea
Samudra
beach, Kovallam.
Little
Egret Egretta garzetta
Common
in paddyfields.
Great
Egret Egretta alba
Quite
common in paddyfields
Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia
Common
in paddyfields.
Eastern
Cattle Egret Bubulcus (ibis) coromandus
Common,
recorded all days.
Grey
Heron Ardea cinerea
Singles
in backwaters.
Purple
Heron Ardea purpurea
Singles
in backwaters.
Indian
Pond Heron Ardeola grayii
Common,
recorded all days.
Asian
Openbill Anastomus oscitans
1
flying Mamallapuram.
Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus
1
flying Kumily.
Greater
Flamingo Phoenicurus roseus
1
Mamallapuram.
Unid.
Duck Anas sp
Several
flocks flying north at sea early mornings Mamallapuram, possibly
Garganey.
Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus
1
Mamallapuram, 1 Gavi.
Black Kite Milvus migrans
Common.
Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
Quite
common, Mamallapuram, Kovallam and along roads.
Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus
1 juv.
Gavi.
Crested
Serpent-Eagle Spilornis cheela
1 juv.
Gavi, 1 juv. along the road a few km northeast of Talayar.
Western
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus
1 imm.
Emerald Island.
Besra Sparrowhawk Accipiter virgatus
1 Emerald Island.
Shikra Accipiter badius
Common Mamallapuram, singles Emerald Island.
Black
Eagle Ictinaetus malayensis
Singles
daily at Gavi.
Booted
Eagle Hieraetus pennatus
Several
at Gavi.
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
1 Gavi.
Kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
Singles
recorded.
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
1 Gavi.
Grey
Francolin Francolinus pondericanus
Common
Mamallapuram, singles Emerald island.
Jungle
Bush-quail Perdicula asiatica
Singles
Gavi.
Painted
Bush Quail Perdicula erythrorhyncha
Male
and female Rajamalai, on the road at first checkpost.
Grey
Junglefowl Gallus sonneratii
Common
Gavi and Talayar area.
White-breasted Waterhen Ammaurornis phoenicurus
Singles
early mornings Emerald Island.
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
Small flock at Kovalam north of Mamallapuram.
Red-wattled
Lapwing Vanellus indicus
Quite
common Mamallapuram.
Pintail Snipe
Gallinago stenura
One
presumed this species flushed from paddyfield on Emerald island. Call
and field characters identical to those I am familiar with from the
Middle East, therefore assumed to be this species and not Swinhoe´s.
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata
Small flock at Kovalam north of Mamallapuram.
Common Redshank
Tringa
totanus
Small
flock Kovalam north of Mamallapuram.
Marsh Sandpiper
Tringa
stagnatilis
Several
on the road Emerald island – Aleppey.
Green Sandpiper
Tringa
ochropus
1
Emerald Island.
Common Sandpiper
Actitis
hypoleucos
Quite
common Emerald island, 2 Kovallam, singles Kovalam north of Mamallapuram.
Dunlin Calidris alpina
Singles Kovalam
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
Seen
along the road Mamallapuram – Chennai.
Brown-headed Gull
Larus
brunnicephalus
Small
flocks offshore at Kovallam.
Black-headed Gull
Larus
ridibundus
Small
flocks offshore at Kovallam.
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
1
Mamallapuram.
Swift Tern
Thalasseus bergii
Singles off Mamallapuram.
Common Tern
Sterna
hirundo
Small
flocks offshore at Kovallam.
Black-bellied Tern
Sterna
acuticauda
1
Emerald Island.
Whiskered Tern
Chlidonias hybridus
Common
Alleppey, Emerald Island and Kochin.
Domestic Pigeon
Columba
livia
Common.
Spotted Dove
Streptopelia chinensis
Common Mamallapuram, Kovallam and Talayar.
Emerald Dove
Chalcophaps indica
Singles
at Gavi.
Grey-fronted Green Pigeon
Treron
affinis
2 at
Gavi.
Mountain Imperial-pigeon
Ducula
badia
Singles Gavi.
Vernal Hanging Parrot
Loriculus vernalis
2
overflying Gavi.
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Psittacula krameri
Common Emerald island, Kovallam and Mamallapuram.
Malabar Parakeet
Psittacula columboides
Common
Gavi and Thekkady.
Southern Coucal Centropus (sinensis) parroti
Common Emerald island, 1 Mamallapuram (the latter looked small though).
Asian Koel
Eudynamys scolopaceus
Common
recorded all places.
Common Hawk-cuckoo
Hierococcyx varius
1
Emerald island, 1 Mamallapuram.
Spotted Owl
Athene
brama
Singles
Mamallapuram, Emerald island and Kovallam (in a hole in a palm at the
far end of the swimming pool at Samudra).
Indian
Little Nightjar Caprimulgus asiaticus
One or
two at Mamallapuram.
Indian
Swiftlet Aerodramus unicolor
Common
Talayar.
Indian
White-rumped Spinetail Zoonavena sylvatica
Common
Gavi and Thekkady.
Brown-throated Needletail Hirundapus giganteus
Singles
Rajamalai and Talayar.
Asian
Palm-swift Cypsiurus balasiensis
Common
Mamallapuram and Kovallam.
Pacific
Swift Apus pacificus
Small
flock in a quarry on the road Ernakulam-Gavi.
Little
Swift Apus affinis
Singles
Mamallapuram.
Crested
Treeswift Hemiprocne coronata
Singles
Thekkady.
Common
Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
Common
Emerald island
Stork-billed Kingfisher Pelargopsis capensis
Quite
common Emerald island.
White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
Common,
seen more or less daily except at Gavi.
Little
Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis
Seen in
pairs around Mamallapuram-Kovalam.
Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippensis
Common
Emerald Island.
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Merops leschenaultia
Common
at the first main village c 40 min northeast of Talayar.
Indian
Roller Coracias benghalensis
Singles
Mamallapuram and Emerald Island as well as along roadsides to/from
Kovallam and Ernakulam.
Hoopoe
Upupa epops
Singles
Mamallapuram.
Malabar
Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseus
Seen
every morning at Gavi.
Great
Pied Hornbill Buceros bicornis
5 in a
fig tree at Gavi. Definitely one of the most memorable observations..
Brown-headed Barbet Megalaima zeylanica
1 in
sandalwood forest northeast Talayar.
White-cheeked Barbet Megalaima viridis
Common
Emerald Island, Gavi and Talayar. Birds heard calling Kovallam may have
been Brown-headed as I never saw them.
Malabar Barbet Megalaima (rubricapillus) malabarica
Common
Gavi.
Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala
At
least 5 Emerald Island
White-bellied Woodpecker Dryocopus javensis
One old
cardamom plantations, Gavi.
Black-rumped
Flameback Dinopium benghalense
Singles
Emerald Island and Mamallapuram.
Greater
Flameback Chrysocolaptes lucidus
Singles
Gavi and Talayar.
Jerdon's Bushlark Mirafra affinis
Common
sandy areas around Mamallapuram.
Ashy-crowned Finch-lark Eremopterix grisea
Small
flock regularly sandy area north Mamallapuram.
Brown-throated Sand Martin Riparia (paludicola) chinensis
1 Gavi.
Dusky
Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne concolor
Common
Gavi, roosting in the bridge.
Barn
Swallow Hirundo rustica
Common.
Hill
Swallow
Hirundo
(tahitica) domicola
Common
Talayar, singles Gavi.
Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica
Common Mamallapuram, Gavi and Kovallam. Both streaked and unstreaked
subspecies.
House Martin
A flock of 25 daily at Gavi.
Forest
Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus
1
Emerald island.
White-browed Wagtail Motacilla maderaspatensis
Singles
Mamallapuram and Gavi.
Yellow
Wagtail Motacilla flava
Singles
at Emerald Island.
Grey
Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
Common
Gavi and, especially, Talayar.
Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus
Singles
on grassy hills in Gavi.
Tawny
Pipit Anthus campestris
2 sandy
area north of Mamallapuram.
Blyth's
Pipit Anthus godlewskii
2 sandy
are a few km north Mamallapuram.
Nilgiri
Pipit Anthus nilghiriensis
4-5
Rajamalai. I had prepared myself mentally for weeks for this species,
being prepared to use time-consuming “Richard’s Pipits-in-long- grass”
tactics. As we arrived at the upper checkpost at Rajamalai, one bird
was walking on the road, 2 metres from a guard. When I got out of the
car, there were several more, very confiding and even singing. One of
the highlights on this trip.
Orange
Minivet Pericrorotus(speciosus) flammeus
Singles
common Gavi, also at Talayar.
Pied
Flycatcher-shrike Hemipus picatus
2 old
cardamom plantations Gavi, singles Talayar.
Malabar
Woodshrike Tephrodornis sylvicola
Singles
at old cardamom plantations at Gavi.
Common
Woodshrike Tephrodornis pondiceranus
1 north
of Mamallapuram.
Asian
Paradise Flycatcher Terspiphone paradisi
Singles
Emerald island.
Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
Common.
Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer
Common
Mamallapuram, Emerald island and Talayar.
Yellow-browed Bulbul Iole indica
Singles
Gavi.
Square-tailed Black Bulbul Hypsipetes (madagascariensis) ganeesa
Common
Gavi and Talayar.
Common
Iora Aegithina tiphia multicolor
1 north
of Mamallapuram.
Brown
Shrike Lanius cristatus
Common
Gavi. One lucionensis seen at Mamallapuram.
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach
Common
Talayar.
Indian Blackbird Turdus (merula) simillimus
2 Gavi
and several along the road Talayar-Rajamalai. All seen well were quite
dark.
Malabar
Whistling Thrush Myophonus horsfieldii
Common
Gavi, singles Talayar area.
Asian
Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
1 ideal
Beach Resort.
Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassinus
Singles
Gavi.
Nilgiri
Flycatcher Eumyias albicaudatus
Common
Talayar.
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher Cyornis tickelliae
Several
in old cardamom plantations and village near Gavi.
Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis
Singles
Gavi and Talayar/Rajamalai.
Blue-headed Rock Thrush Monticola cinclorhynchos
1 male
at small stream school between Rajamalai and Munnar.
Indian
Blue Robin Luscinia brunnea
1 male
in the garden at Talayar.
Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis
Common
Emerald island, Talayar and singles Mamallapuram.
Indian
Black Robin Saxicoloides fulicatus
Singles
north of Mamallapuram.
Stonechat Saxicola torquata
1 male
Gavi.
Pied
Bushchat Saxicola caprata
Common
tea plantations Gavi and Talayar.
Kerala
Laughingthrush Trochalopteron fairbanki
Common
Talayar and Rajamalai. (previously Grey-breasted garrulax jerdoni)
Indian
Scimitar-babbler Pomatorhinus (schisticeps) horsfieldii
Common
Gavi.
Tawny-bellied Babbler Dumetia hyperethra
Singles
Gavi.
Dark-fronted Babbler Rhopocichla atriceps
Singles
Gavi.
Indian
Rufous Babbler Turdoides subrufa
Small
flock on the road Vandiperiyar-Gavi.
Jungle
Babbler Turdoides striata malabaricus
Mamallapuram and Talayar.
Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis
Singles
Mamallapuram.
Brown-cheeked Fulvetta Alcippe poioicephala
Singles
Gavi.
Zitting
Cisticola Cisticola juncidis
Common
in paddyfields at Emerald Island.
Ashy
Prinia Prinia socialis
Singles
Gavi.
Plain
Prinia Prinia inornata
Singles
Emerald Island and Mamallapuram.
Common
Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
Common
Emerald Island, Gavi and Mamallapuram.
Blyth's
Reed Warbler Acrocrephalus dumetorum
Very
common Mamallapuram.
Thick-billed Warbler Acrocephalus aedon
Common
on grassy hills at Gavi, i e same habitat as alleged Grassbirds.
Booted
Warbler Hippolais caligata
Common,
very common at Talayar.
Tickell's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus affinis
1 Gavi,
common Rajamalai.
Tytler's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus tytleri
1
Rajamalai.
Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides
Very common, recorded daily.
Indian
Yellow Tit Parus aplonotus
Singles
Gavi and Talayar.
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch Sitta frontalis
Several
old cardamom plantations Gavi.
Pale-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum erythrorhynchos
1
Emerald Island.
Nilgiri
Flowerpecker Dicaeum concolor
Several
at Gavi.
Purple-rumped
Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica
Singles
Mamallapuram and Gavi, common Emerald island.
Small
Sunbird Leptocoma minima
Common
Gavi.
Purple
Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus
Singles
Mamallapuram.
Loten's
Sunbird Cinnyris lotenius
Singles
Mamallapuram, common Emerald Island.
Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosa
Common
Gavi and Talayar.
Common
Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus
Common
Gavi and Talayar.
Indian
Silverbill Lonchura malabarica
Small
parties Mamallapuram.
Tricolored Munia Lonchura malacca
2
Emerald Island.
White-rumped
Munia Lonchura striata
1
Emerald Island.
Black-throated Munia Lonchura kelaarti
Several
Gavi and Rajamalai.
House
Sparrow Passer domesticus indicus
Common
in villages, not recorded daily.
Grey-headed Starling Sturnia malabarica
Small
flock at Emerald island.
Common
Myna Acridotheres tristis
Common
Mamallapuram, Kovallam and along roadsides.
Jungle
Myna Acridotheres fuscus
Common
Emerald island and Talayar.
Lesser
Hill Myna Gracula (religiosa) indica
Common
Gavi.
Indian
Golden Oriole Oriolus kundoo
Common
Mamallapuram and Emerald island.
Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus
Common
Gavi.
Asian
Fairy-bluebird Irena puella
Common
Gavi and Talayar.
Black
Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
Common,
recorded more or less daily.
Ashy
Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus
Singles
at Gavi.
Bronzed
Drongo Dicrurus aeneus
Singles
at Gavi.
Greater
Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus
Singles
Emerald Island and Gavi.
Ashy
Woodswallow Artamus fuscus
Common
Emerald Island and Mamallapuram.
Rufous
Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda
Singles
at Emerald island and Mamallapuram.
House
Crow Corvus splendens
Common
except Gavi.
Indian
Jungle Crow Corvus macrorhynchos
Common
Gavi and Talayar.
Total
of 175 species.
E-mail: erik@hirschfeld.se |
