A 15 day tour of the southern ranges of the Western Ghats in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, incorporating visits to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Periyar Tiger Reserve, Munnar and Eravikulam National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Anaimalai and Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuaries, Ooty, and Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.

Species highlights:  28 regionally endemic and near-endemic species, including Black and Orange Flycatcher, Kerala, Wynaad, and Black-chinned Laughingthrushes, White-bellied and Nilgiri Blue-robins, Nilgiri Thrush, Indian Broad-tailed Grass-warbler, and White-bellied Treepie, plus Ceylon Frogmouth, Ceylon Bay Owl, Malabar Trogon, and Malabar Pied Hornbill among a host of species shared only with Sri Lanka, Nilgiri Tahr, and Nilgiri Langur.

Best season to visit:  November to March

2009-10 scheduled tour dates:  Sunday 6th December - Sunday 20th December 2009

Tour price:  on request - please contact us for availability & prices

The Western Ghats, a range of low mountains extending for almost 1000 miles parallel to the west coast of peninsular India and down into Sri Lanka, are home to the South Western Ghats Montane Rainforest eco-region, renowned as one of the most ecologically rich regions in the world.  Although the latitude falls here in the tropics the area exhibits extra-tropical climate due to altitudinal influence.  The unique admixture of temperate and tropical qualities so created, coupled with high fertility generated by the intensity of India’s southwest monsoon, enhances the endemic values of the area, bestowing this region with incredible species diversity and a remarkable degree of endemism. Among these endemic species are no less that 28 endemic and near-endemic birds, with a further 13 shared only with Sri Lanka, making the Western Ghats one of BirdLife International’s most significant Endemic Bird Areas in the whole of Asia.  Our itinerary takes us through a 350km stretch of the southern ranges of the ghats from the steamy tropical rainforests of the foothills to the unique montane shola ecosystem of the high ranges.  Endemics are accompanied throughout by winter migrants, with excellent opportunities for mammal viewing in some of India’s most scenic locations.

Days 1-3:  Kochi – Thattekad

Arrive in Kochi.  Drive inland to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary at the foot of Kerala’s Cardamom Hills (2hrs) to spend the remainder of the day, along with a further two full days, birding in this small patch of lush lowland forest.  Officially named Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary in honour of the eminent Indian ornithologist, Thattekad is situated on the banks of the Periyar River, preserving the last remnant of a habitat that was once extant across much of the region, now largely converted to agricultural land and extensive plantations.  The gently undulating terrain is densely covered with tropical deciduous and evergreen forest dissected by waterways, riverine vegetation, and patches of scrub and grassland, its birdlife rich and varied as a result.  Specialities here include endemics such as White-bellied Treepie, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Grey-headed Bulbul, and Malabar Parakeet, among Dollarbird, Black-naped and Black-hooded Orioles, Tickell’s and Blue-throated Flycatchers, Speckled Piculet, Malabar Trogon, Black-throated Munia, Red Spurfowl, the striking Black Baza, Grey-headed Fish-eagle, and Crested Serpent-eagle.  The sanctuary and surrounding areas are exceptional for night birds which we will place particular emphasis on finding during our stay here.  These may include Ceylon Frogmouth, Grey and Great-eared Nightjars, Brown Fish Owl, and Oriental Scops Owl, with the chance of rarer Mottled Wood-owl, Oriental Bay Owl, and Forest Eagle-owl.

Days 4-5:  Periyar

Depart for the drive southwards to Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve (4hrs), one of the oldest protected areas in India extending protection to almost 800 sq km surrounding the Periyar Lake.  Periyar is perfectly placed to find almost all ornithological specialities of the Western Ghats, complemented by other resident species and seasonal migrants.  The close proximity of low-lying plains to areas of higher elevation presents a remarkable variety of habitats, and although evergreen or semi-evergreen rainforest makes up 75% of the entire protected area this is interspersed with grassland, riverside scrub, and patches of dry deciduous forest – a variety reflected in an impressive birdlist of over 315 species, including half of peninsular India’s endemics and near-endemics.  We have the remainder of day 4, plus all of day 5 to explore the enormously productive forest areas, focusing on specialities of such lowland habitats before beginning the ascent into the higher ranges of the Western Ghats on day 6.  Key endemics here include Malabar Barbet, Small Sunbird, Nilgiri Flowerpecker, Malabar Woodshrike, Flame-throated Bulbul, and Malabar White-headed Starling, which associate with species such as Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Scarlet and Small Minivets, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Black-naped Monarch, and Asian Fairy Bluebird in mixed foraging flocks.  Other species include Mountain Imperial Pigeon, White-bellied Woodpecker, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Great Pied Hornbill, Black Eagle, and the chance of some of the park’s 50+ mammals, including Gaur, Dhole, Asian Elephant, and the endemic Nilgiri Langur, with a rare chance of Tiger.

Days 6-7: Munnar & Eravikulam

Journey up through the dramatic scenery of the foothills of the ghats into the Kannan Devan Hills to spend the remainder of day 6, plus the following day, at Munnar (4hrs) and Eravikulam National Park, with time en-route at Bodi Ghat, one of the most reliable localities for sightings of the highly localized Yellow-throated Bulbul.  Munnar is uniquely picturesque, and although the vast expanses of tea estates that envelop this colonial hill station have all but decimated the natural vegetation of the area the vista they have created is spectacular, while the resultant combination of open grassland, vegetated gullies, and patches of woodland shading cardamom crops has allowed a variety of species to flourish here.  Kerala and Black-chinned Laughingthrushes, Malabar Whistling-thrush, and Indian Scimitar-babbler can be found foraging in the understorey, while Alpine and Fork-tailed Swifts, Brown-throated Needletail, Indian Swiftlet, and Pacific Swallow are regularly seen over the hillslopes.  Nearby Eravikulam preserves the largest and least least-disturbed patch of the montane Shola (stunted forest) grassland ecosystem unique to the southern portion of the Western Ghats, once prevalent throughout Munnar and in the upper reaches of the Nilgiri and Anamalai Hills but largely devastated in the bid to raise tea plantations.  The interspersion of forest within the extensive rolling montane grassland creates a mosaic of habitats which encourages species diversity, and this environment is home to some of the most restricted range of endemic species having affinities only in the distant evergreen forests of northeast India or Southeast Asia, and in many cases nowhere else in the world.   Key species here include White-bellied and Nilgiri Blue-robins, Black and Orange and Nilgiri Flycatchers, Kerala, Black-chinned, and Wynaad Laughingthrushes, Nilgiri Pipit, the nomadic Nilgiri Woodpigeon, and the elusive Indian Broad-tailed Grass-warbler, alongside the endemic Nilgiri Tahr and Dusky Striped Squirrel, and butterflies such as the Red-disc Bushbrown, confined solely to the Shola-grassland ecosystem.

Day 8-9: Anaimalai & Parambikulam

Depart for Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, more commonly known as Anaimalai, spending time birding en-route in the riparian forests of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in the rain shadow of the ghats.  The afternoon of day 8, and all of day 9, will be spent exploring Anaimalai and contiguous Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuaries, situated in the lower altitudes of the Palghat Gap where the Shola-grassland gives way to deciduous forest and bamboo brakes invaluable to a new combination of species absent or more difficult to find at elevation.  The natural vegetation is a combination of Malabar and Deccan elements which have endowed the sanctuary with rich floral diversity that is reflected in the extraordinary faunal variety.  Most importantly, isolated patches of evergreen forest within Anaimalai are home to a small population of Lion-tailed Macaque, endemic to the Western Ghats and one of the world’s rarest primates.  Key birds here include endemics and near-endemics such as Grey-breasted Green-pigeon, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Rufous and Dark-fronted Babblers, and Malabar Grey Hornbill, alongside Heart-spotted and Rufous Woodpeckers, Lesser Yellownape, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Emerald Dove, Puff-throated Babbler, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Lesser Hill Myna, Orange-headed Thrush, and Indian Pitta.

Day 10-11: Ooty

Depart for Ooty (3hrs), birding en-route through the transition from lowland forest to montane Shola vegetation in the rolling Nilgiri Hills.  Like Munnar, the hill station of Ooty was originally developed by the British as a summer retreat to escape the oppressive heat of the plains, and although the surroundings here have been largely deforested in favour of tea plantations a few small fragments of montane Shola forest remain.  We have two days to explore the enduring forest for more altitude-dependent restricted range endemics, in particular Nilgiri Woodpigeon, Black and Orange Flycatcher, Nilgiri and Wynaad Laughingthrushes, Nilgiri and White-bellied Blue Robins, and Nilgiri Thrush.  Other key species at Ooty include Black Bulbul, White-spotted Fantail, Western-crowned Warbler, Tickell’s and Large-billed Leaf-warblers, Common Rosefinch, Forest Wagtail, Indian Blackbird, Blue-capped Rock-thrush, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, and overwintering Kashmir Flycatcher, for which Ooty is one of the most reliable sites in southern India.

Day 12-13: Mudumalai

Depart for Mudumalai National Park (2hrs), part of the larger Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in the northern part of the southern ghats, to spend two days birding in some of the finest forest remaining in southern India.  The reserve extends from the moist tropical forest of the windward western slopes of the ghats to the tropical dry forest of the leeward eastern slopes, and at first glance the habitat here is noticeably drier in comparison with the hills and lowlands further south with the selection of resident species dissimilar accordingly.  The sanctuary is an established stronghold of the near-threatened and sporadically distributed White-bellied Minivet, alongside Tawny-bellied and Yellow-eyed Babblers, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Blue-faced and Sirkeer Malkohas, Yellow-crowned, Streak-throated, and White-naped Woodpecker, Grey Francolin, Red and Painted Spurfowls, Painted Bush Quail, and a limited selection of endemics including Malabar Lark, Grey-headed Bulbul, and Malabar Woodshrike.  Mudumalai hosts as many as 35 Tigers, and although these are notoriously difficult to see here the reserve also hosts one of the largest populations of Asian Elephant in India, alongside a host of other mammals including Hanuman Langur, Sambar, Wild Boar, and Malabar Giant Squirrel.

Day 14: Mudumalai – Kochi

Depart Mudumalai for the return drive to Kochi along the Keralan coast, birding en-route.

Day 15: Depart

Depart Kochi on your onward journey.

ACCOMMODATION

We will use comfortable birding lodges, guesthouses, hotels, and wildlife lodges, a simple yet comfortable and enviously situated plantation homestay at Anaimalai, and wonderfully restored colonial heritage homes and planter’s lodges in the higher hills, all with private en-suite facilities. 

TRANSPORT

We will use jeeps, cars, or minibus to travel, and for drives through larger reserves to cover distance.  Most of our birding will be on foot at all sites included in the itinerary.

CLIMATE          

Lowland sites are expected to be warm to hot by day, accompanied by high humidity in moist forest areas, and with cooler nights and early mornings.  The higher hills at Munnar and Ooty will be markedly cooler, creating agreeable conditions for birding by day followed by clear frosty nights.  Although almost all precipitation falls during the monsoon light showers are possible at any time and should be anticipated, even in the dry winter months.

For more detailed information, or to book a place on this tour, please contact us.