Prelude:
The forest inspection bungalow sat in quietude amid jackfruit, mango and mahogany trees. Insects hovered in plenty under the tube-light and crawled all over the walls and the white marble floor. I stepped out on the porch and with my cup of piping-hot instant coffee. The air was still and sultry, yet pleasant. We walked towards Girish’s homestay located on the fringe of the sanctuary under the faint luminescence of the moon that occasionally peered through the canopy of the trees.
Girish and the Malabar Gliding frogs:
After reading a few blogs that spoke highly about his birding expertise I had cherry-picked Girish from the handful of guides at Thattekkad. Girish’s family comprised of his wife, two kids, his mother Sudha and his 90 year old grand-mom. A lawyer by profession, he was a cheerful man in his forties. Thattekad being his birthplace, he had developed a keen interest in birding since childhood. Sudha, a soft spoken and energetic lady, was a bird enthusiast too! Interesting conversations unfolded around Thattekad and its ecosystem. Girish’s home, painted in electric blue, nestled cozily in the forest canopy. An army of Malabar frogs dwelling in his courtyard had taken me by complete surprise! With their smooth and vivid green body, yellow feet and bulgy yellow eyes, they looked like characters out of a fairy tale. Gliding frogs are tree frogs that can make gliding jumps of upto 12 meters, approximately 100 times their length. This rare specie is found only in the Western Ghats.
Urulathanni : Early next morning, we headed to Urulathanni, approximately 7 kms from the sanctuary. A kilometer of walk through teak and rubber plantations, followed by a moderately climb bought us to a rocky patch with a clearing. From this elevation, we could get unrestricted views of the entire forest and the mountains enclosing it. A small tribal hut sat at the extreme corner of the rock patch Girish mentioned that the hut was in the elephant and leopard crossing zone, but the tribal family of four along with their dog, were well adapted to the lurking dangers. This spot was bustling with flower-peckers, minivets, starlings, hill mynas, parakeets, sunbirds, drongos, hornbills and others birds. Girish sped like a superfast train, spotting and identifying birds by their flight and calls, while I struggled to keep up with his pace. Eventually, when the heat became unbearable, we started to descend into the lower terrain.
The Srilanka Frogmouth : ‘I can’t see them’ I whispered anxiously. ‘Go closer, be careful not to touch the branch though’, instructed Girish. I inched further towards a petite tree where I noticed a withered leaf ruffle for a split-second. I could finally spot the pair of Srilankan Frogmouths roosting on a fragile branch. One of them had impersonated a dead leaf dangling in the wind! They duo was glued to each other, so perfectly camouflaged and motionless that if not for Girish, I would have never been able to identify them, even at such close proximity. Srilankan Frogmouth is one of the tougher birds to spot due to its plumage that resembles dried leaves. More so, these are nocturnal and usually perch at the same spot for long hours with slight or no movement. Its elongated eyes, wide beak and frog-like appearence it makes it beautiful and weird at the same time! We tracked down more frogmouths as we moved ahead on the trail. It wasn’t surprising that we bumped into all of them at the exact same spots over the next couple of days.
The mysterious hooter and Jerdon’s Nightjar: Noon was well-spent near a placid lake which had a colony of bee-eaters and swallows. As the sun began to set, we returned to the woods to hunt down the Jerdon’s Nightjar. Our attention was diverted by a dull, spooky and intermittent ‘wooooh-woooh-wooooh’ that echoed from a distance. “I think its a Spot-bellied Eagle Owl”, Girish’s eyes lit up with excitement! We hastened through the bushes and thorny shrubs, in the direction of the call. Each time we felt like we were close enough, the hooting would pause and continue, but farther away. This hide and seek continued for sometime, until we eventually gave up! As we returned to the spot for the nightjar, Girish began playing its call on his phone repeatedly. Pointing towards a fork of branches nearby, he confidently implied, “It would fly around here anytime now and sit on either of these branches for a few seconds; be ready”. And as though Girish had some premonition, a beautiful Jerdon’s Nightjar sat on the exact same branch for a few seconds before disappearing into the woods. This prophecy was too good to be real!
Tracking down the Trogons : A faint ‘eaw eaw’ lead us offtrack and down a gentle slope to the base of the jungle, where the ground was moist and laden with leeches. Albeit my efforts and repeated pleas from my husband, I just couldn’t pull my attention off the blood suckers. In the bargain, we lost track of the Trogon. I looked down, pulling away from the annoyed look on his face, only to find that three leeches had already crawled up my left foot. We continued off-road following its calls and just as we were about to connect back to the trail; we chanced upon a beautiful pair of Malabar Trogons in front of us! The male was handsome, with a bright crimson front, black head and white collar. The female had a chrome yellow chest while the head and collar were brown. Malabar Trogons are resident birds of the Western Ghats. Due to their shy nature, they are usually found in thick canopies. Even with such striking colors, they blend well with their surroundings since their backs are camouflaged! For me, these were no less than the birds of paradise.
Salim Ali bird trail :On the last day, we explored the Salim Ali trail inside the Thattekad sanctuary with Sudha. She knew in and out of the forest. Her enthusiasm was addictive and her passion for birds was evident! We followed her to a small watch tower inside the forest, beyond which the trail passed through dense bamboo trees before opening into a long and narrow trail lined with tall trees on either sides. This was a great spot for racket tailed Drongos, woodpeckers and white-bellied treepies, of which, the later can only be found in Western Ghats.
With the last bird on my wish-list ticked off, it was time to leave. An unexpected overcast bought along a light drizzle and whiffs of cool winds, rejuvenating Thattekad almost instantly. From deep within the woods, we again heard the ‘wooooooh-woooooh-woooooh’ piercing through the silence of the jungle. The mysterious owl though, had made up its mind to maintain its inconspicuousness.
About Thattekad: Thattekad is a dense evergreen forest situated approximately 65 kms to the east of Cochin in Kerala. More commonly referred to as The Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, it is considered to have the richest bird habitat in the peninsular region of India with close to 280 reported species(resident and migratory). In the local dialect, Thattekad translates into ‘Thatte- plate’ and ‘Kad-forest’. The topography of Thattekad comprises of flat rocks and hence the name. Also, the pristine Periyar river branches into and cuts through the sanctuary. Few rare birds endemic to western ghats can be found here. Urulathanni is the richest in terms of bird species and population, in my personal opinion.
Best time to Visit : Oct through March. To skip the crowd of birdwatchers, one may visit in April, though most migrant birds return from Thattekad by then but resident birds can be sighted in plenty.
How to reach :
By Air : The nearest airport is Cochin. Private taxis could be booked to reach Thattekad.
By Rail : Aluva is the closest station. Hire a private taxis or take a bus hereon
By bus : Overnight bus from Bangalore to Koothuparamba- local bus to Kothamanagalam- local bus to Thattekad.
Where to stay : You can choose to stay in Girish’s homestay. If you are on a budget, try the Forest Inspection bungalow. In both cases, advance booking is strongly recommended. Alternatively, one can stay in Kothamangalam. For Forest IB contact Mani @ 8547603174
Where to eat : the nearest eatery joint is 3 kms away. Thattekad is mostly rural, hence no big hotels in the vicinity. Kothamangalam is a slightly bigger town, 12 kms away.
Guide info : Girish @ 9847034520.
Essentials : A good telephoto lens above 500mm, tripod, binoculars, sunscreen, light, camouflaging clothes, cap, 2 litres of water, umbrella ( it may rain post March), leech socks (if visiting pre/post monsoons)
My list of identified birds species at Thattekad: 66.
Photo credits : Mihir Vilekar and self
- Srilanka Frogmouth -male and female (lifer)
- Malabar Trogon Male- male and female (lifer)
- Jerdon’s Nightjar (lifer)
- White-bellied Treepie (lifer)
- Malabar Grey Hornbill
- Rufous Treepie
- Vernal Hanging Parakeet
- Malabar Parakeet (lifer)
- Red Whiskered Bulbul
- Red Vented Bulbul
- Yellow Browed Bulbul
- Flame Throated Bulbul
- Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
- Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo
- Black Drongo
- Drongo Cuckoo (lifer)
- Streak-throated Woodpecker (lifer)
- Yellow-crowned Woodpecker (lifer)
- Lesser Yellow Naped Woodpecker (lifer)
- Lesser Goldenback Woodpecker
- Heart-spotted Woodpecker
- Bar-winged Flycatcher (lifer)
- White-bellied Blue Flycatcher (lifer)
- Little Cormorant
- Little Egret
- Great Egret
- Darter
- River Tern
- Spot-billed Pelican
- Cotton Pygmy Goose (lifer)
- Bronze-winged Jacana
- Lesser Whistling Ducks
- Coppersmith barbet
- Grey Shrike
- Bay backed shrike
- Wood Shrike
- Asian fairy Bluebird-male and female
- Black Hooded Oriole
- Magpie Robin
- Hill Myna
- Orange Headed Thrush
- Spotted Dove
- Yellow-footed Green Pigeon
- Imperial Green Pigeon (lifer)
- Pompadour Green Pigeon
- Blyth’s Starling (lifer)
- Brahminy Starling
- Jungle Babbler
- Common Kingfisher
- Pied Kingfisher
- Stork-billed Kingfisher
- White throated Kingfisher
- Minivet- male and female
- Green Bee-Eater
- Chestnut Headed Bee-Eater
- Blue Cheeked Bee-Eater
- Grey Tit
- Red-Rumped Swallow
- Flowerpecker
- Indian Nut thatch (lifer)
- Jungle Owlet
- Sunbirds
- Indian Coucal
- Jungle Fowl
- Red-wattled Lapwing
- Hoopoe