27 Dec 13 - Down To The Wire

Back to Chiriya Tapu for the final morning to try to see the Andaman Crake that call occasionally late on the previous evening. Despite a couple of hours searching we had no joy & no response to the tapes. Its seemed very dry everywhere & it wouldn't be the first tropical country where birds seem to stop calling in response to dry weather. I was trying to only focus on the search for the Andaman Crake, but couldn't resist one final distraction by these great Andaman Woodpeckers.

Andaman Woodpecker: Now you see me

Andaman Woodpecker: Now you don't (trying the Ostrich ploy)

Eventually we split up for the final 2 hours before having to head to the hotel to collect our bags and leave for the airport. Fortunately after a short while, a shout from Brian had me leaving my patch of forest, as Brian & Vikram had found a pair of Andaman Crakes. I had always thought they were going to look good & I wasn't disappointed: one of the birds of the Andaman section of the trip. The pair fed, quite happily in the forest for 30 minutes or more, but never close & always behind some vegetation (thus, not making the photography easy). These poor photos give some idea of how tricky the birds were to get onto as they moved slowly, but deliberately, through the forest and never close to the road. Any attempts for us to have tried entering the forest would have quickly flushed them.

Andaman Crake

Andaman Crake

Andaman Crake

Some final thoughts about the Andamans. Basically, birders will focus on the Andaman endemics. About 4 or 5 days will be needed to see the majority of these species, but several are tricky especially: Andaman Barn Owl (very tricky), Andaman Scops Owl (seemed the least common of the 4 small Owls), Andaman Nightjar (we tried for it at dusk twice, but only saw it once) & Andaman Crake (clearly not easy while we were there). I'm glad we had 5 days of birding, as we were clearly struggling with the Andaman Crake. There are also a number of other endemic subspecies on the Andamans which are potential splits in the future. Perhaps the most likely (for me) is Walden's (Oriental) Scops Owl which Clements has yet to split. There are also a few other species, that will be of interest to Indian listers, but these weren't priorities to Brian or myself as we had seen them in other SE Asian countries.

Apparently, there are good diving sites & nice island retreats elsewhere in the Andamans, but we didn't have time for either. Port Blair isn't the greatest of towns, but was cleaner & more laid back than other Indian towns of a similar size & is a good base for the forest birding sites. I enjoyed the extra birding around Gandhi Park, not to mention finding a flock of at least 125 vagrant Daurian Starlings. There must be potential for other vagrants to India on the islands given the relative closeness to Burma. What was surprising when comparing the Andaman forests with SE Asian forests, was the general lack of small understorey species. I'm sure the nearest Burmese forests, would have had a good selection of Babblers & Warblers filling these niches.

If anybody wants more information about birding on the Andamans, then leave me a post on the blog with your email address & I'll get in touch. However, I would recommend that you wouldn't go far wrong to contact Vikram Shil (natureland@rediffmail.com +91 (0) 9434262681 or  +91 (0) 9474214272) & plan your trip based upon your birding priorities & his availability. He is a good bird guide, knows the sites well & works hard to find birds. Finally, he is a very likeable guy. 

Vikram

26 Dec 13 - New Day, Same Stuff

After Santa failed to deliver the hoped for Andaman Crake, then it was back to Chiriya Tapu to try to again. We spent some time in the area where Dave Willis had seen a pair the previous week. While we had no joy with the Crake, there was an very showy Orange-headed Ground Thrush in the same area.

Orange-headed Ground Thrush: Whilst not uncommon in Indian forests, they can be hard to see well

Orange-headed Ground Thrush: A great forest Thrush to see

Long-tailed Parakeet

Vernal Hanging-parrot: Infernal Hanging-parrots are commonly seen in flight, once the call is learnt. But they generally live up to their nickname as they are usually high up in tall trees & difficult to photograph. So it was a surprise when this curious bird came to check us out & pose for the camera

What I've enjoyed about having the camera is seeing fine details I would never have noticed in the field. Here are a few examples.

White-bellied Swiftlet: Showing the darker patch around the eye

White-bellied Swiftlet: Showing the pale rump

Andaman Woodpecker: Look at that yellow eye ring

Andaman Treepie: Another yellow eye ring

Finally, it was time to knock the Andaman Crake search on the head, until another failed attempt in the afternoon (when we briefly heard a different individual, but again which would show itself). But before we headed off to Port Blair for lunch, there was time for a quick drink stop near the coast.

Coastal mangroves: Guess this was another area devastated by the tsunami

Stork-billed Kingfisher: Nearby in better mangroves was this great Kingfisher

Seaplane: This looks like a practical way to move around the islands

24 Dec 13 - I Thought Punk Died Out At The End Of The 70s

Another early start to get to Chiriya Tapu soon after dawn. The forest birding was as good as the previous morning, but with a handful more cars on the road. When a tuk-tuk appeared & stopped, we expected the usual Indian gorping & greeting of "What is your good name" or "From what country are you coming" etc ad nauseum, but it was Dave Willis who was on an extended trip to the Andamans, along with another Indian birder from SW India. After paying their driver off, we had another couple of pairs of eyes on the road that morning.

Andaman Woodpecker: The star of the morning's birding. I thought the Punk look had ended in the 70s!

Andaman Bulbul: Couldn't resist for photos of this great looking Bulbul

White-headed Starling: I'm sure they want to be Woodpeckers as they were frequently clambering around the trees looking for food

Monitor Lizard sp.: This was about 2 ft long

Just in case you're wondering why some of the photos are cropped: The trees round here get big

Me: With essential forest birding kit of bins, camera & coffee cup

We finally pushed onto the coastal edge, but didn't linger long before finding another woodland patch to look for Andaman Crake. The best thing about looking for Andaman Crakes is your focusing on the ground & not 30 or 40 metres up in the tree tops. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any Crakes.

Collared Kingfisher: One of the few birds on the coastal edge

Forest Wagtail: A shy skulking forest species

Andaman Shama: Always happy to see Shama's. They are very elegant & good songsters & they keep fairly low down

As we were leaving Chiriya Tapu to head back to Port Blair for some food, we bumped into a Violet Cuckoo. This is a miniature Asian Cuckoo that I've not seen for over a decade. It is a difficult bird to see in India, given its limited resident range of the Andamans & Nicobars, as well as being a scarce summer visitor to parts of NE India.

Violet Cuckoo

After a break for lunch, we were back at Chiriya Tapu for the late afternoon. The highlight was our first Andaman Cuckoo Dove.

Andaman Cuckoo Dove: I'm always surprised about how small headed Cuckoo Doves are

Obviously we looked for Owls again given it's dark soon after 17:30.

Oriental (Walden's) Scops Owl