 It had been a while since the monsoons made me hibernate in to raincoats and sweaters. Karnataka forest department’s latest rule of banning tourism in Karnataka during July, and a change in job, kept me away from my world for a while. This trip report is a union of two weekends that I spent in various parts of the Nilgiri Bio-sphere. A satisfying birding trip to Ooty and surrounding areas with Harsha J and a mind-blowing trip to Eravikulam National Park in the Idukki district of Kerala with a wildlife enthusiast and friend – Gautam Shah, forms my trip report that tries to describe my experiences of Nilgiri’s hills, gorges, sholas and deciduous forests of Bandipur National Park, Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Ooty, Avalanche, Munnar, Eravikulam National park and the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Ooty and around
 It was a lazy Saturday morning and I was reading the news paper when Harsha, an ace naturalist called up to check on my weekend plans. He was here for an entire week and was free over the weekend. Nature lovers hardly need an excuse to submit their lives to Mother Nature and within the next few hours we ended up at the gates of Bandipur National Park for a routine evening safari. Harsha was an employee of the Jungle Lodges’ instance in Bandipur a couple of years back and he hadn’t visited the park ever since. My two months of inactivity with respect to this park seemed like decades and I was so excited to re-visit the place. In fact our aim was to look for the Nilgiri Laughingthrush the next morning in Ooty. Our evening safari in Bandipur was customary. We knew that we wouldn’t sight much as it was pouring constantly. An albino bat was sighted late in the evening and that was probably the most unique and special sighting of all in this safari.
  Gaur, elephants, peafowl, jungle fowls, sambar, chital and langur greeted us well. When Harsha is around, the birding perspective gets so enlarged that even on a very ordinary and mediocre safari, one would have sighted and documented various chirping beauties of the park. We camped at a friends place in the edge of masinagudi town and at the foot hills of Nilgiris. The next morning was bright and sunny and the ascend to ooty started just after sunrise. We had to drive past the 36+ hair pin curves and it was during this drive in the ghats that photographic opportunities are abundant. We stopped at various spots in the Sirgur area and had glimpses of beautiful birds I had only seen in the books so far. The highlight was the Vernal Hanging Parrot - Loriculus vernalis and the Crimson-backed Sunbird - Leptocoma minima which would hang around a particular area. Very soon we drove up the “Dodda betta” or the big hill in Ooty where we were assured of the Nilgiri Laughingthrush sighting. It was an amazing drive in the morning and the Nilgiri Laughingthrush appeared exactly where it was supposed to be sighted. (Dodda betta)
 Great tits, Nilgiri laughingthrush, Oriental white-eyes and the black birds were so comfortable with humans that one had to just have 200mm lenses to photograph these. We were thrilled by the laughingthrush sighting and were surprised by its friendly nature here. Most of the times we found it on waste dumps and our aim of the trip got instantly accomplished. We soon got down the hill and visited the Botanical garden in Ooty. The beautiful black-bird calling constantly attracted our attention. Harsha immediately recorded the calls and made the bird hear its own call. It was an amazing five minutes of conversation with the bird that led us towards a Nilgiri fly-catcher that was hiding behind the bushy trees.
 After a brunch we quickly did a drive towards Avalanche. Harsha carried a birding book that had all the descriptions of areas where these amazing birds could be found. We followed instructions and ended up at the right spots. After spotting loads and loads of oriental white-eyes, the Nuthatch and the Grey-headed Canary flycatcher we wrapped up our birding trip and started descending the Kalhatti ghats. On the way back, sighting of the golden-fronted leafbird and loads of bulbuls got us back to the base after which we got back to Bangalore. This birding trip to the Nilgiris ignited a great perspective in me and I had a lot to gain from the professional naturalist’s exposure, which I think would help me in my further pursuits in Wildlife Photography.
Eravikulam, Munnar – Idukki district, Kerala.
  Spanning across 97 sq. km area, the Eravikulam national park is the home of the highly endangered Nilgiri Tahr (Hemitragus hylocrius). The Tahr is endemic to the southern Western Ghats and relates to the Himalayan Tahr. The adult male is referred to as the “saddle back” which is much bigger than the females and has a silver tinted patch on its back. During the monsoons, the Nilgiri Tahr mate in order to give birth during the January-february season. Less than 700 individuals inhabit the park and is one of the main attractions for nature lovers here. About 120 species of birds have been recorded which include endemics like black and orange flycatcher, Nilgiri pipit, Nilgiri wood pigeon, white bellied shortwing, Nilgiri verditer flycatcher and Kerala laughing thrush. Endemics confined to the shola-grass land ecosystem like the red disk bushbrown and Palni fourwing are among the 100 odd butterflies listed inside the park.
  The shola-grassland ecosystem is a strange admixture of temprature and tropical qualities due to the combined effects of altitude as well as latitude. It is exceptionally rich in orchids and balsams. The spectacular mass flowering of the shrub neelakurunji (Phlebophyllum kunthianum) takes place in the grasslands in cycles of the 12yrs. The next neelakurunji 'outburst' is due in the year 2018. (One just happened in 2006)
  Gautam Shah, a wildlife enthusiast from Mumbai was my company for this trip and we boarded the flight to Cochin from Bangalore on Friday evening. We stayed at a hotel in Cochin and the next morning we reached Munnar for breakfast. We were accommodated at the Kannan Devan Hills club, guest house and we headed towards Raja Malai, the tourism zone of the eravikulam national park.
  Munnar being a honeymoon destination was at its best in the monsoons with amazing greenery and drizzle all through out the day. We had to drive till a certain point and get in to a forest department bus to ascend the Raja Malai. There are continuous buses to the top of the hill from the foot hills and after a certain point; tourists are expected to hike up the hill and reach a curve beyond which the road is closed for public. I was so desperate to see the Nilgiri tahr that thoughts of not seeing them seemed unbearable. I just heard from a friend that he hadn’t sighted many in the last few days over there.
 Being Lucky – seemed to be an understatement. The Nilgiri Tahr, small, big, male, female, kids (young ones are called Kids) were all waiting for me to click pictures of them. Perched at perfect spots with a gorge or the hill in the background, sitting at the edges of the cliff and constantly scratches their backs, preening their skin and playing with each other, the Nilgiri Tahr were a treat to watch.
  The entire morning, Gautam and I were happy to spend with the Tahr. Out of no where it started pouring like a tap and it was tough protecting the camera/lenses and the tripod. The rains here are like frequent outbursts which arrive suddenly and stop in a few minutes. But it is enough to scare the tourists back to the base or to the vehicles. We climbed down that afternoon and had a quick lunch and a short nap at the hotel. Again the same evening, we climbed the raja malai and the tahr was at the edge of the cliff in front of an amazing background formed by the blurred distant mountain, tea-estates and clouds that were passing by. Situated at least 2000 meters above sea level the place was out of the world.
 It was time to capture some photographs of the endangered goats in action. While at least 4 saddle backs were leading the herd, a lot of females and kids were playing in the grassland. Plenty of juveniles were seen fighting with each other as a part of play and it was wonderful to watch the suckling rush to their mothers for a quick drink. At one situation a mother was seen feeding her little one at the edge of the rock with the cloud in the background making it the photograph of the trip for me. Plenty of young tahr was also seen mating and mounting on each other. Interestingly I watched the saddle back urinate on its own body and it was amazing to see the way he used his own urine as an attraction agent (Body spray)
  It was a satisfying day at the Raja Malai and it ended with a lot of chatting with the local forest guards, the officer and the wildlife warden Mr. Roy Thomas of the Munnar division. He suggested we visit the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary the next morning and he had instructed the office in chinnar to let us take a trek inside the park.
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary – Kerala/Tamilnadu border
  Driving down the munnar hills, we spotted plenty of birds and appreciated the mesmerizing landscape all through out the drive. We hired two tribal guides and ventured in to the rain-shadow forests of Chinnar for a trek spanning a couple of hours. Chinnar is well known for its giant squirrels. Next to a stream we trekked along to find the Stork-billed Kingfisher, the small blue and the white-throated kingfisher along with other birds like the forest-eagle owl, scarlet minivets, purple sunbirds and even a flying lizard was spotted from a very close distance.
  Vijayan, our tribal guide spotted a grizzled giant squirrel which was similar to the Malabar giant squirrel except for the light brown/cream color coat. The squirrel was extremely shy and sprinted atop trees and branches to hide away from us. Not very far from that spot, we also found an anxious Malabar giant squirrel sleeping on a tree at least 100 feet away and were already wary of our presence. We got back to Munnar for a late lunch and spent the night in Cochin before flying to Bangalore the next morning.
Our trip to Eravikulam just introduced us to this place and we hardly saw a fraction of the actual park. The Wildlife Warden humorously told us that his park cannot be appreciated in a day or two. Hence a bigger meaningful trip to this heaven would make total sense. Having said that, what ever we enjoyed and had a glimpse of was overwhelming and the moments we spent with the Tahr were truly amazing.
Click here for all Photographs
Birds sighted
Changeable Hawk-eagle, Spizaetus cirrhatus
India peafowl, Pavo cristatus
Streak-throated Woodpecker, Picus xanthopygaeus
Oriental Magpie Robin, Copsychus saularis
Grey Junglefowl, Gallus sonneratii
Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis
Spotbill, Anas poecilorhyncha
White-throated Kingfisher, Halcyon smyrnensis
Painted Spurfowl, Galloperdix lunulata
Blue-winged Parakeet, Psittacula columboides
Red-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer
Red-whiskered Bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus
Vernal Hanging Parrot, Loriculus vernalis
Yellow-throated Bulbul, Pycnonotus xantholaemus
Black Bulbul, Hypsipetes leucocephalus
Crimson-backed Sunbird, Leptocoma minima
Purple Sunbird, Cinnyris asiaticus
Purple-rumped Sunbird, Leptocoma zeylonica
Common Iora, Aegithina tiphia
Common Blackbird, Turdus merula
Nilgiri Laughingthrush, Garrulax cachinnans
Great Tit, Parus major
Nilgiri Flycatcher, Eumyias albicaudata
Oriental White-eye, Zosterops palpebrosus
Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, Culicicapa ceylonensis
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Sitta frontalis
Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis
Emerald Dove, Chalcophaps indica
Nilgiri Woodpigeon, Columba elphinstonii
Jungle Myna, Acridotheres fuscus
Common Myna, Acridotheres tristis
Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata
Golden-fronted Leafbird, Chloropsis aurifrons
Tawny-bellied Babbler, Dumetia hyperythra
Jungle Babbler, Turdoides striata
Yellow-billed Babbler, Turdoides affinis
Rufous Treepie, Dendrocitta vagabunda
White-bellied Drongo, Dicrurus caerulescens
Rose-ringed Parakeet, Psittacula krameri
Painted Bush Quail, Perdicula erythrorhyncha
White-browed Wagtail, Motacilla madaraspatensis
Green bee-eater, Merops orientalis
Little Swift, Apus affinis
House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
Jungle Crow, Corvus macrorhynchos
House Crow, Corvus splendens
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Hemipus picatus
Scaly-breasted Munia, Lonchura punctulata
Black-headed Munia, Lonchura atricapilla
Ashy prinia, Prinia socialis
Brahminy Kite, Haliastur indus
Black Kite, Milvus migrans
Stork-billed Kingfisher, Pelargopsis capensis
Small Blue Kingfisher, Alcedo coerulescens
Nilgiri Pipit, Anthus nilghiriensis
Blue-faced Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus viridirostris
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Dicrurus paradiseus
Scarlet Minivet, Pericrocotus flammeus
Mammals
Sambar deer - Cervus Unicolor
Chital – Axis axis
Gaur – Bos gaurus
Elephant – Elephas maximus
Indian Giant Squirrel, Ratufa indica (Malabar)
Wild boar (Sus scrofa)
Langur - Semnopithecus hypoleucos
Bonnet Macaque, Macaca radiata
Stripe-necked Mongoose, Herpestes vitticollis
Golden Jackal, Canis aureus
Nilgiri Tahr, Nilgiritragus hylocrius
Grizzled Giant Squirrel,Ratufa macroura
Reptiles
Flying lizard - Draco
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Cheers,
Jayanth Sharma
jay@wildlifetimes.com
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