Day 1-2: Kochi to Thattekad
Arrivals into Kochi international airport this morning. From here we drive inland to to the base of Kerala's Cardamom Hills to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary for a two-night stay. We will spend these two days exploring the magnificent lowland rainforest of the reserve, considered to be the richest bird habitat in peninsular India with affinities to the bird-rich Eastern Himalayas, where we expect to encounter our first endemics and other regional specialities. With the exception of those species confined to the shola forests of higher elevations, most of the birds endemic to the Western Ghats occur here and among our key targets will be White-bellied Treepie, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Malabar Flameback, Malabar Parakeet, Malabar Barbet, Dark-fronted Babbler and Crimson-backed Sunbird. We also hope to encounter an exceptional selection of night birds here, and will look for the elusive Spot-bellied Eagle Owl, Sri Lanka Bay Owl and Sri Lanka Frogmouth, as well as four species of nightjar. Other possibilities include Malabar Trogon, Great Pied and Malabar Pied Hornbills, impressive White-bellied and delightful Heart-spotted Woodpeckers, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Indian Pitta, Black-throated Munia, Asian Emerald Dove, Black Baza and Grey-headed Fish Eagle. The damp, humid forests are equally rich in butterflies, and as we explore on foot we will no doubt enjoy a wide selection of species including exquisite endemics such as Malabar Banded Peacock.
Day 3-4: Periyar National Park
We leave Thattekad in the morning of day 3, travelling south to Periyar National Park for a two-night stay. We will arrive at Periyar, our southernmost site, by midday to begin our exploration of this vast area of undulating terrain surrounding the Periyar reservoir. The rich forests and grasslands host a diverse avifauna which includes some of the most elusive endemics. In particular, we will spend time looking for Wayanad Laughingthrush, widespread throughout the Western Ghats but notoriously shy. Among the impressive selection of species we will come across we hope to find Malabar Pied Hornbill, Grey-fronted Green Pigeon, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Oriental Dollarbird, Orange Minivet, Malabar Woodshrike, Black Eagle, almost the full complement of endemic and near-endemic Bulbuls: endemic Grey-headed and Flame-throated, plus Yellow-browed and Square-tailed shared with Sri Lanka, and some sought-after winter migrants such as the striking Pied Thrush. As we explore forest trails on foot, we are also likely to encounter an abundance of mammals including the stately Gaur (Indian Bison), various deer, Nilgiri Langur, Indian (Malabar) Giant Squirrel and Travancore Flying Squirrel, with the potential to see Asian Elephant and packs of Ussuri Dhole (wild dog).
Day 5-6: Munnar
In the morning of day 5 we will make our way north into Kerala's Cardamom Hills for a two-night stay in the erstwhile colonial hill station of Munnar at 1,600m. Our journey will take us via Bodinayakanur (or Bodi for short) to look for the localised endemic Yellow-throated Bulbul in its preferred rocky scrub habitat in the rain shadow of the ghats. We will arrive in Munnar by midday, to spend these two days exploring the town and surrounding areas. Munnar is uniquely picturesque, surrounded by tea plantations that blanket the hills but with patches of native woodland and vegetated gullies where we hope to encounter Rufous Babbler, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Alpine and Blyth’s Swifts, Hill Swallow, Indian Swiftlet, and Painted Bush Quail. Further afield, in upland plateau grasslands and patches of shola, the native stunted temperate forest unique to these higher hills, we will look for White-bellied Sholakili, Palani Laughingthrush, the striking Black-and-orange Flycatcher, Nilgiri Pipit, the elusive Broad-tailed Grassbird, and endemic mammals such as Nilgiri Tahr and perhaps the elusive Nilgiri Marten.
Day 7: Munnar to Ooty via Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
We will set out early to spend the morning at Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, just north of Munnar. Chinnar lies in the rain shadow of the Western Ghats, and in the distinctly drier habitat here we will encounter here we will be looking for species that favour these conditions, such as Blue-faced Malkoha, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Speckled Piculet, White-cheeked and Brown-headed Barbets, Yellow-eyed and Yellow-billed Babblers, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Purple-rumped Sunbird, Nilgiri Flowerpecker, Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Brown Fish Owl and Mottled Wood-Owl. Later, we will continue on the long drive north to the former colonial hill station of Ooty for an overnight stay. At 2,268m Ooty is among the highest reaches of the ghats, home to some of the most restricted range endemics confined to these elevations. We will arrive in time to begin exploring remnant patches of shola for some of the most enticing endemics of the tour, including Nilgiri Sholakili, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Nilgiri Thrush and Nilgiri Laughingthrush.
Day 8-9: Mudumalai National Park
We will spend the first few hours of the day birding around Ooty, where other possibilities include Rusty-tailed Flycatcher, Blue-capped Rock Thrush, Southern Hill Myna, and the chance of wintering Kashmir Flycatcher. By mid-morning we will depart on the drive north, journeying down through the ghats to Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu for a two-night stay. We will spend the afternoon and all of day 9 birding in the dry deciduous forest and thorn scrub that dominates the landscape here in the rain shadow of the ghats. We will look in particular for endemics that favour these conditions, and are likely to come across several species new to the tour, such as Painted and Red Spurfowls, Grey Francolin, Malabar Lark, Sirkeer Malkoha, Indian Nuthatch, Puff-throated Babbler, Malabar Starling, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Asian Fairy Bluebird, the highly localised White-bellied Minivet, Scaly-breasted Munia, Yellow-throated Sparrow, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Loten's Sunbird, Orange-headed Thrush, Rufous-bellied Eagle and Jerdon's Nightjar.
Day 10: Mudumalai to Bangalore
Depending on group departure plans we may have time for some final birding at Mudumalai before leaving for Bangalore. Spend the final night of the tour in Bangalore.
Day 11: Depart Bangalore
Departures from Bangalore (Bengaluru) international airport this afternoon.
Post-tour extension / Linked tour (Endemics of the Andaman Islands):
This tour can be combined with our tour Endemics of the Andaman Islands to create a comprehensive 14 night/15 day Southern India birding tour that covers the endemics of both regions. These can be further combined with Sri Lanka: Endemic Birds and Mammals, to create a tour that covers the entire southern portion of the Indian subcontinent and its speciality species. If combining tours, we will take a morning flight to Port Blair on South Andaman on day 11.
Pre-tour extension to Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary (Forest Owlet):
Add this short pre-tour extension for a chance to add the highly localised endemic Forest Owlet and Vigors's Sunbird.
Pre-tour Extension Day 1: Arrival in Mumbai
Arrivals into Mumbai international airport today.
Pre-tour Extension Day 2: Tansa
We will have a very early start this morning, driving east out of the city to spend the day exploring the extensive Teak and Sal forests of Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary. Our main target here will be the localised endemic Forest Owlet, which was rediscovered as recently as 1997 after being feared extinct for over a hundred years. Tansa is perhaps the best place to see this oddly diurnal species, and we have a very good chance to find it perched out in the open both morning and late afternoon. We should also see several restricted range species endemic to peninsula India or the Western Ghats, including Malabar Trogon, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Jerdon’s Leafbird and Malabar Parakeet. In particular, we hope to see Vigors’s Sunbird, a Western Ghats endemic restricted to the northern part of the range and not available throughout the main tour. These deciduous forests host a diverse selection of birds that will provide a good introduction to the more widespread species of peninsular India, including birds such as White-eyed Buzzard, Crested Serpent Eagle, Black Eagle, Tickell's Thrush, Tawny-bellied Babbler, Black-hooded Oriole, Ultramarine and Taiga Flycatchers, Indian Grey Hornbill, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Crested Treeswift and both Spotted and Jungle Owlets, some of which may also not be so readily available further south along the Western Ghats. We will return to Mumbai late evening.
Pre-tour Extension Day 3 / Main Tour Day 1: Mumbai to Thattekad
We will fly to Kochi this morning, meeting up with any remaining main tour group members and departing together for Thattekad.
