Early in March I joined four other birders on an organised trip to Kerala. I’ve been birding in Sri Lanka and done a couple of trips to Northern India but never been to the South. So this was a chance for me to catch up with some southern endemics. It was a very enjoyable trip with good company, sharp eyes and excellent birding. We were pretty successful with the endemics too.
Photos taken using Swaro ATS65HD/Coolpix995 combo.
Here's how it went.
Sunday 11 March
Arrival in Cochin and met by our guide, Sudeesh. We were all keen to get started so after a somewhat unnecessary breakfast stop we set off for our first destination at Kottayam where we’d be staying at the Coconut Lagoon hotel.
http://www.heritagehotelsofindia.com/india/coconut-lagoon-resort.html
Birding as we drove we soon picked up the likes of indian roller and green bee-eater while at a roadside stop we found what turned out to be the only yellow-wattled lapwing of the trip. Of course you can’t stop for everything so we pushed on to our destination.
At Kottayam a short boat trip took us to the hotel. After checking in it was time to explore. In the hotel grounds we found species which were to become familiar throughout the trip like long-billed and purple-rumped sunbirds, black-hooded oriole and oriental magpie robin.
An extensive marsh to the rear of the hotel was absolutely teeming with birds. A mix of great, little and intermediate egrets, purple herons and indian pond-herons. There were hundreds of whiskered tern, purple swamphen and lesser whistling-duck with smaller numbers of cotton pygmy-goose, garganey, pheasant-tailed and bronze-winged jacanas. I found the only spot-billed duck of the trip.
Late afternoon we got back on the boat to visit the nearby Kumarakom Bird Reserve. It proved to be rather disappointing and virtually birdless with the highlight being indian flying fox.
Sadly this session demonstrated that our guide was out of his depth. Not his fault though as he was a last minute replacement when our intended guide was taken ill with jaundice. We were his first ever group, he was just starting out and didn’t own a pair of binoculars. For five birders hoping to mop up southern indian endemics this was a bit worrying though he was to prove sharper on his home territory.
Frustratingly another Naturetrek group, who by their own admission weren’t too bothered about what birds they saw, were assigned a well motivated, experienced and professional guide in Lester Perera.
Photos taken using Swaro ATS65HD/Coolpix995 combo.
Here's how it went.
Sunday 11 March
Arrival in Cochin and met by our guide, Sudeesh. We were all keen to get started so after a somewhat unnecessary breakfast stop we set off for our first destination at Kottayam where we’d be staying at the Coconut Lagoon hotel.
http://www.heritagehotelsofindia.com/india/coconut-lagoon-resort.html
Birding as we drove we soon picked up the likes of indian roller and green bee-eater while at a roadside stop we found what turned out to be the only yellow-wattled lapwing of the trip. Of course you can’t stop for everything so we pushed on to our destination.
At Kottayam a short boat trip took us to the hotel. After checking in it was time to explore. In the hotel grounds we found species which were to become familiar throughout the trip like long-billed and purple-rumped sunbirds, black-hooded oriole and oriental magpie robin.
An extensive marsh to the rear of the hotel was absolutely teeming with birds. A mix of great, little and intermediate egrets, purple herons and indian pond-herons. There were hundreds of whiskered tern, purple swamphen and lesser whistling-duck with smaller numbers of cotton pygmy-goose, garganey, pheasant-tailed and bronze-winged jacanas. I found the only spot-billed duck of the trip.
Late afternoon we got back on the boat to visit the nearby Kumarakom Bird Reserve. It proved to be rather disappointing and virtually birdless with the highlight being indian flying fox.
Sadly this session demonstrated that our guide was out of his depth. Not his fault though as he was a last minute replacement when our intended guide was taken ill with jaundice. We were his first ever group, he was just starting out and didn’t own a pair of binoculars. For five birders hoping to mop up southern indian endemics this was a bit worrying though he was to prove sharper on his home territory.
Frustratingly another Naturetrek group, who by their own admission weren’t too bothered about what birds they saw, were assigned a well motivated, experienced and professional guide in Lester Perera.