1 Jan 14 - Indian Health and Safety Bingo

We left as soon as breakfast had finished as it was a several hour journey to get to Parambikulam Tiger Reserve for early afternoon. Overall, a dull journey livened only by playing a game of "Indian Health & Safety Bingo".

A good score here at this "he who dares wins" (or occasionally gets seriously hurt?) road junction

Somehow they all carried on moving like starlings in a tight flock

Bonus points here for sitting side saddle

More points for side saddle & two passengers

A top score here for three passengers

A highly commended award goes to this single driver

Using a cow on the road means other drivers will try to avoid you to avoid the bad luck of hitting a sacred animal (obviously the cow will be more important than the cart driver)

The overloading award for the day

Eventually, we arrived at the Top Slip Tiger Reserve (in Tamil Nadu) & saw our first decent forest of the day. Frustratingly, we weren't allowed to stop in the first 10 miles after the gate checkpoint until we reached the checkpoint, where we left Top Slip (in Tamil Nadu state) & cross into the adjoining Parambikulam Tiger Reserve (in Kerala state). Soon after that was what looked to be another checkpoint, but it was actually the office for our accommodation for the next 2 nights.

Some fancy art work at Top Slip

Finally at Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

The accommodation consisted of 2 beds in a tent on a solid base, with a brick bathroom at the back. All this was underneath a solid thatched roof. We were told to put all our edible bits into a steel cupboard as there were rats getting into the tents. The guy proudly showed us the hole where there were getting in. We asked why it wasn't blocked & was told it would be when the tents are replaced later in the year. Insisting this wasn't good enough, we told him to block it now with a large stone & we were rat proof for the next 2 days. A typical lack of initiative for a government run place in India. Once the hole was blocked, it was perfectly adequate accommodation for the next 2 days.

Parambikulam is a tented camp: The tents are under thatched roofs, with a brick bathroom attached. Inside the accommodation was quite comfortable

Despite the camp being well established, the outside cupboard & this stool had only just arrived

Back to the Health & Safety Bingo: Something to definitely avoid

Fortunately, as we crossed over into Kerala we started to see some birds with an Asian Openbill & a Black Eagle flying over. There was a reasonable selection of species around the tented camp. In late afternoon, a local forest guard took us to a nearby clearing, which provided views around the edges of the adjacent forest. The highlights were our first Malabar Starlings & White-bellied Treepie, as well as a good selection of other species. On the far side of the clearing, we could clearly hear a commotion from the local Nilgiri Langurs about 50 metres into the forest. We didn't want to explore on foot (& wouldn't have been allowed to anyway). At the time, the guard through it was probably a Leopard, but the following morning he went into that area & found a dead Sambar Deer which meant it was a Tiger that was involved (as Sambar are too big for a Leopard to kill). Glad I saw a female Tiger & 3 cubs on the first trip to India, otherwise being so close to a Tiger & not seeing it would have been harder to accept.

Asian Openbill

Black Eagle

Indian Peacock: Male. Am I on Brownsea?

Indian Peacock: Female 

Red-wattled Lapwing

Blossom-headed Parakeet: Male

Blossom-headed Parakeet: Female

Malabar Parakeet: This is a female as she has a black bill, an orangey red billed male was photographed at Jungle Hut (see Dodging Elephants Blog)

Small Green-billed Malkoha: This Southern Indian & Sri Lankan endemic is also known as Blue-faced Malkoha

Jungle Owlet: This is a fairly common diurnal hunting Owl

Hoopoe

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch: One of the best Asian Nuthatches

Indian Golden Oriole

Ashy Drongo

Common Myna

Malabar Starling

Nilgiri Langur

Wild Boar: There were a number around the camp who clearly figured that humans were safer than Tigers & Leopards

Wild Boar: The ones around the camp were generally approachable

Indian Giant Flying Squirrel: We spotlit several of this excellent mammal after dark. They are obviously vegetarian

Indian Giant Flying Squirrel: This photo clearly shows the skin around the legs which allows this Squirrel to glide

28 Dec 13 - Dodging The Elephants To See The First Nilgiri Endemics

In mid afternoon, we met Vinod for our first birding into the bamboo and tree covered hillside behind Jungle Hut. To assist us we had a local Jungle Hut guide, who knew both the sites & local species and it was an additional pair of eyes & ears for Asian Elephants. There was plenty of evidence that Asian Elephants fed in these areas & whilst mainly at night, there was no guarantee that we wouldn't encounter them. The following day, I couldn't resist introducing Vinod to my sense of humour, explaining how we had gone birding that day after lunch without a guide & seen an Elephant. He was getting more & more worried as I explained how I staked it & got some photos, which I then showed him.

Elephant: This was the nearest we came to seeing Elephants here, but plenty of droppings seen, some worrying with plastic in them

The slopes behind Jungle Hut had some stunning stands of Bamboo

Spotted Dove

Malabar Parakeet: Male eating seed pods

Malabar Parakeet

Blossom-headed Parakeet: Also know as Plum-headed Parakeet

Note, a lot of my English names for Indian birds on this blog still reflect the original name I got to know the species as (generally the UK field guides or the Ali & Ripley Pictorial guide to the Birds of India) which had the great advantage of species being in a traditional & sensible order. I found it was incredibly frustrating when preparing for this trip & reading reports, that many reports had followed the order & names in the Inskipp Indian Handbook, which randomly seemed to move families around (which I'm sure the authors thought was justified at the time). Guess there was a lot of adverse comments about this, resulting in a more traditional order in the more recent paperback issues. While the order had been improved a bit, it had left a big legacy of reports adopting that temporary order. Also there were still some odd names in that book & adopted also by the Rasmussen book, certainly no dafter in my option that any names I use. So you will see good old fashioned English names like Avocet on this blog rather the names used in the field guides following the trend that all names have to be prefixed to avoid possible confusion (even when there are no confusing species in the continent). I also have a strong dislike for the modern naming convention of removing the early Ornithologist's from bird names. Given the widespread use of Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler in European field guides, it's depressing to see this being called Rusty-rumped Warbler in both recent guides (thus in a stroke of a pen doing away with both the sub family name & related Ornithologist). Anyway, will get off this hobby horse now, before I get accused of being a Daily Mail reader or UKIP voter (both of which are far from the truth). So back to the birds on the slopes.

Small Green Barbet: Also know as White-cheeked Barbet

Rufous Woodpecker: A locally common species around the bamboo stands

Orange Minivet: Male - A few years ago this was the Western Ghats and Sri Lankan subspecies of Scarlet Minivet, but it is now treated as the monotypic Orange Minivet

Orange Minivet: Female

Red-vented Bulbul: This was a common secondary habitat species

Rufous-tailed Flycatcher: Also known as Rusty-tailed Flycatcher

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher: The clear orange throat separate this from Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher

Yellow-billed Babbler

Puff-throated Babbler: Great to watch this excellent Babbler feeding under a small bush 

Puff-throated Babbler: This was one of the best birds of the Western Ghats for me

Indian White-eye: White-eyes are one of my favourite families

Cinereous Tit: Another recent split from the previously more widespread Great Tit

Nilgiri Flowerpecker

We had to leave the forest by 17:30 as the Asian Elephants tend to move down the slope to feed at night. They weren't the only mammals to become more active as dusk approached with small parties of Chital Deer moving into the open grassy edges to the camp where I guess they felt a lot safer.

Chital Deer: Also know as Spotted Deer or breakfast (by the local Leopards & Tigers)

Tufted Grey Langur: I find Mammal taxonomy even harder to keep on top of than birds. It seems the Grey Langur of the India Subcontinent is now split into 7 species & I believe this is Tufted Grey Langur

Indian Giant Squirrel: We ran into this metre long species on a number of days & always great to see. After a few frames using the motor wind, the green nut was eaten