29 March 14 - Indian Owl Fest

I've just completed writing the last post for the Indian trip which visited Calcutta, the Andamans, the Western Ghats, Gujarat & Rajasthan. Out of the 420 species of birds seen, I managed to photograph 342 species (over 81% of species seen). However, to spin these photos out a bit further, I've decided to pull together some posts on particular themes. So here is the first of them on the Owls seen on the trip. On the trip I managed to see 11 or 12 species of Owl depending on taxonomy & all species seen were photographed. On the Andamans, I saw Orintal (Walden's) Scops Owl which Clements currently lumps as a subspecies of Oriental Scops Owl, but Rasmussen splits. I can't tick it at the moment as I also saw Oriental Scops Owl in the Western Ghats & I keep to a Clements taxonomy for simplicity.

I can't tick this Owl at Periyar

India is a great country for seeing Owls & seeing them well. In most countries, Owls are something you look for at night & we did see several species after dark. However, due to the large game animals & the number of sites I visited which are Tiger reserves, then looking for Owls after dark is often not possible (the Andamans being the main exception on my trip). But the result is the local Indian guides have become good at finding Owls in daytime roosts, where with care, you can get some good photos & more importantly not disturb the Owls. I'll leave you to enjoy the Owls.

Andaman Scops Owl: Jirgatna, Andamans (23 Dec 13)

Indian Scops Owl: Nominate subspecies bakkamoena, Thattekad, Western Ghats (5 Jan 14)

Indian Scops Owl: Subspecies gangeticus, Bharatpur, Rajasthan (28 Jan 14)

Bruce's Scops Owl: Desert Coursers, Gujarat (14 Jan 14)

Oriental Scops Owl: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (2 Jan 14)

Oriental Scops Owl: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (2 Jan 14) 

Oriental (Walden's) Scops Owl: Chiriya Tapu, Andamans (24 Dec 13)

Rock Eagle Owl: Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (29 Dec 13) 

Rock Eagle Owl: CEDO, Gujarat (19 Jan 14)

Dusky Horned Owl: Bharatpur, Rajasthan (28 Jan 14)

Brown Fish Owl: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (2 Jan 14)

Jungle Owlet: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (1 Jan 14)

Jungle Owlet: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (2 Jan 14)

Spotted Owlet: Subspecies brama, Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (29 Dec 13)

Spotted Owlet: Subspecies indica, Desert Coursers, Gujarat Ghats (14 Jan 14)

Andaman Boobook: Chiriya Tapu, Andamans (22 Dec 13)

Hume's Boobook: Chiriya Tapu, Andamans (22 Dec 13)

23 Dec 13 - Out For A Duck

After some lunch in the hotel it was time to head out again. This was going to be different birding as the main target was Andaman Duck. This is a small endemic Duck that likes pools around mangroves. The first stop were some pools a few miles outside of the capital with a selection of wetland species including Great White Egret, the tiny Cotton Pygmy-geese, Lesser Whistling-ducks, Grey-headed Swamphen & Moorhen.

Intermediate Egret: Note, the more rounded head, straighter neck, shorter, thicker bill & gape line not extending past the centre of the eye 

Great White Egret: Note, the kinked neck, longer bill & gape line extending to the rear of the eye

Lesser Whistling-duck: Looking very elegant as it came into land

Lesser Whistling-duck: The reason for the elegant landing becomes clear when you see how crowded the water it is trying to land in

Cotton Pygmy-goose: This cracking Duck is even smaller than a Teal

Grey-headed Swamphen: This is the poliocephalus subspecies

Moorhen: This is the widespread orientalis subspecies which occurs from Seychelles, the Malaysian Peninsula, Indonesia & the Philippines

Carrying on along the road, we came to one of several areas of new low lying pools created by the 2004 tsunami which flooded a lot of coastal land. This created a lot of new habitat for Herons, Waders & Andaman Teal. Talking to Vikram, despite the high impact of the flooding on these low lying areas, there was little loss of life in the Andamans, but there was a significantly higher loss of life in the neighbouring Nicobar islands.

Andaman Teal: This is a small nocturnal Duck which feeds in rice fields, but can be seen during the day. The bumps in the mud are because this was a coconut plantation before the tsunami

Andaman Teal: The adults have the most white in the face

Carrying on along the road finally brought us to the same forest patch we had been birding in during the morning, just in time for another spell of searching for Owls. First up was Walden's Scops Owl. In the past it has been generally treated as a subspecies of Oriental Scops Owl, but given its distinctive calls, it is probably best considered as a separate species from Oriental Scops Owl.

Oriental (Walden's) Scops Owl

Andaman Scops Owl: This small Scops Owl is much darker than Oriental (Walden's) Scops Owl

Andaman Scops Owl: I can only assume this odd posture was due to the Owl trying to shield its eyes. It did allow a nice view of the open wing