Birding in The Nilgiris : Ooty, Kotagiri, Coonoor

The Nilgiris beckoned; how are we, mere mortals, to say no! I was on a birding trip to The Nilgiris in answer to this call, along with my friend Kumar. Our first major birding stop in the trip was Masinagudi. You can read about our experience there from my previous post here.

We had said goodbye to Siddhan, our guide from Masinagudi, some time after noon. A quick lunch and we were off towards Ooty. The route we took was the one going up Kalahatti ghats. It is shorter and faster than the one compared to the Gudalur route. However this route is not for all. The road up the ghat is quite steep and has 36 hairpins. You can literally hear your engine revving up as you do most of the driving up on your lower gears. I was passing through on this road after almost a decade. I was impressed by how the road was all done up, and reasonably broad. But of course one still needs to be careful and sensible when driving.

Kumar was in his elements driving up the ghats. I happily sat in the side passenger seat and enjoyed the view. A bit after crossing the Kalahatti Falls, we saw a part of the mountains still holding a patch of the blooming Neelakurunji (Strobilanthes kunthianus).

The Neelakurunji is a shrub found in the Shola forests of the Western Ghats, that blossoms only once in 12 years. The flower is of a purplish blue shade. It is thought the name of Nilgiris (literal translation is “blue mountain”) for these mountain ranges came owing to these flowers.

The year 2018 was the year when the Neelakurunji was to bloom again in its cycle. We were surprised (but happy) to see these flowers in bloom as it was almost the end of its blooming period. However we did not to stop for any pictures while going up. We decided to take them on our way back instead.

Ooty was much cooler than Masinagudi. The temperature had dropped around 5 degrees already when we were done with the drive up the ghat. It was of course going to even cooler as night approached. Driving through, I could see that Kumar was getting nostalgic. He had spend most of his childhood in Ooty, as his father used to work there. We took a slight detour off the main road and into the area where he had lived. It was a beautiful and very quite place.

Our base for the next two nights was to be Kotagiri. This was almost an hour’s drive away from Ooty. But before we moved on to Kotagiri, we were going to do a bit of birding around the Botanical Gardens in Ooty. So that is where we went.

Ooty Botanical Garden

It was late afternoon when we entered into the Botanical Garden. Being a Sunday, there were plenty of people around. So we did not bother to try and bird in the grounds close to the entrance. Instead we walked on and up to the rear. This area was less noisy. Slowly the birds started to make their appearance. The first to come were some Oriental White-eyes. A walk near a small water body yielded a Grey Wagtail exploring its bank. We moved on further up in the hope of finding an area with even lesser people. Suddenly the activity started to pick up. The Red-vented Bulbuls were in a playful mood. They were soon accompanied by Cinereous Tits and Grey-headed Canary Flycatchers. It is always a joy to way these beautiful and cute birds.

We walked ahead till we reached a gazebo. It was just us there. Here we saw a few Velvet-fronted Nuthatch. But the main bird that we were hoping to see was the Black-and-Orange flycatcher. But it was not to be. We could hear it call several times when we were there. However it refused to show itself. Time was running out for us as we needed to head off to Kotagiri. So we headed back to the car in the hope that our chances of seeing one would be better the next day.

Virtual Tour

Here is a short virtual tour of the walk through the Botanical Gardens

Coonoor

We met our local guide, Mr. Aggal Sivalingam, by 6:30AM near our place of stay in Kotagiri. The morning was cold. So the cup of hot tea and freshly made pakodas (fritters) tasted even better in this chill.

The drive to Sim’s Park, our destination in Coonoor for the morning, took around 45 minutes. The ride had us seeing a Grey Junglefowl climbing the hill side as well as a Stripe-necked Mongoose crossing the road. Reaching there we were one of the early bird(er)s, so to speak, at Sim’s Park. I had heard of it being a great place for birding. So being actually here, had me filled with anticipation. Aggal was confident on getting some of target endemics here. Well, that was indeed good news, as far as I was concerned 🙂 .

The first of the targets that we got was the Nilgiri Flycatcher. It was partly hidden inside a pine tree; a female specimen. Here is another one we got later in the session.

Our next one, was the much awaited Black-and-Orange Flycatcher. And what a show they put on. Of course, full credit goes to Aggal, who really knew their pattern, behaviour and the usual spots. Here are some of their photos.

A walk around the area with the flycatchers had us seeing several Indian Blue Robins and Cinereous Tits.

Suddenly a loud and familiar call caught my attention; a Large-billed Leaf Warbler. My attempts to see one in Bangalore over a couple of outings in the past few weeks, had not met with success. So getting to see one here would be fantastic. Success does come with perseverance. I managed to see it and get some photos of it as well 🙂 .

An Indian Yellow Tit and several Vernal-hanging Parrots joined the party. There was also an Indian Scimitar Babbler calling and going about its morning search for food near the stream. Another spot gave us fantastic views of a Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher. It was amazing to see if fly off quickly from its perch, catch an insect and then return back to the same perch.

A Spot-breasted Fantail decided to come and entertain us at the same spot. It went about hopping from one perch to another, each type spending a few seconds there fanning in tail. What a pleasure it was to watch it in action!

A branch above the bush where the fantail was playing, had a Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon.

Scanning the other tree tops yielded the resident Crested Goshawks. The angle of the light was however not conducive to getting a good photograph.

There was not one, but four; 3 perched and one in flight. I wondered how they all lived together; may be some were “teenagers” who would move out soon 🙂 .

It was not just birds that were interesting. Some of the other sights were that of a nest of Flying Ants and the World Map.

We decided to call it a wrap around 11AM.

Virtual Tour

Here is a short video that I made from the visit.

Around Kotagiri

Kotagiri and its surrounding area, are great places to bird. Of course one needs to know the potential spots. This is where having a local guide like Aggal really helpful. Some of the spots were a little away from the main road or in someone’s private property. Not only does he try and show them to you, but also tries to let you take decent photographs of them. What more could one ask 🙂 . Here are some of the birds that we saw.

The star has to be the Kashmir Flycatcher. It is unlike most other flycatchers; a very restless bird. We got to see a female.

There was also a Greenish Warbler adding the confusion of trying to spot the Kashmir Flycatcher

Another spot later in the evening had us getting fantastic views of birds like the Southern Hill Myna, Malabar Parakeet and a Streak-throated Woodpecker.

We heard an Indian Pitta calling while enjoying the sights of the woodpecker. A Grey-headed Bulbul also called and took flight from one tree to another; but not perching to allow a photograph.

Besides the birds at the spot, we were also enthralled by a Barking Deer, grazing in the bushes and periodically looking at us.

We decided to head off to another spot that had the potential of it being visited by a Leopard. Aggal had mentioned that he been seeing Leopard markings for a few days now. And there was a chance of it visiting one of its vantage spots. That is where we were heading to. But it was not be. Well, one can only try. We did, however, get to see an Indian Gaur roaming around the tea gardens that we were walking in. Man, they were big!

The morning session of the next day was to look for the Nilgiri Sholakili, the Nilgiri Laughingthrush and the Painted Bushquail. Of course any others were welcome. Before we headed out we got good views of Hill Swallows. Most were hawking insects on the wing. But one decided to perch briefly in front of me.

We got to see the first two targets around Longwood Shola forest.

We also saw a couple of Tickell’s Leaf Warbler and a Booted Warbler. We could also hear several Large-billed Leaf Warblers calling.

For the Painted Bushquail we had to go a place near agricultural fields. We did not get to see any. But we go some fantastic views of a male Red Avadavat.

Doddabetta Peak, Near Ooty

We paid a visit to this peak as we were heading back to Bangalore from Kotagiri. It is very popular with tourists coming to Ooty. From a birding perspective I had heard it was a sure shot place to get to see the Nilgiri Laughingthrush. And we sure did. We reached the place around noon. Our sighting the birds started right near the car park. They were several that we spotted eating of the leftovers thrown by the visitors; “fast food” I guess for them 🙂 . Don’t know if it has any biological impact on them though.

Another bird that was completely at ease around the humans, was the Indian Blackbird.

We were wondering why we had not seen any eagles. Lo and behold, a Black Eagle decided to take away any disappointment we may have had, as we were on the outskirts of Ooty.

Summary and Recommendations

There are some very colourful and pretty birds to see in the region. Of course, one must do their homework on the potential sites where they may be found. Even then, having a local expert like Aggal, increases your chances of seeing them. I am sure we would not have been able to see some of the rarities like the Kashmir Flycatcher, had it not been for him. He is also considered one of the best for the region.

If you have only limited days to spare for birding, I would recommend Sim’s Park to Ooty Botanical Garden. The number of the local specialties and the chances of seeing them is higher in a smaller area. Moreover, Ooty gets really crowded owing to it being more popular with tourists.

The region has several avian “hotspots” that we were not able to visit owing to lack of time. Many also need special permission; something which many officials are weary of giving sadly.

Bird Checklist

Here are the list of birds that we saw in the trip.

1	Greater/Common Flameback
2	Ashy Drongo
3	Indian Paradise-Flycatcher
4	Large-billed Crow (Indian Jungle)
5	Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher
6	Cinereous Tit (Great Tit)
7	Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
8	Red-whiskered Bulbul
9	Green/Greenish Warbler
10	Oriental White-eye
11	Pied Bushchat
12	Grey Wagtail
13	House Sparrow
14	Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
15	Long-tailed Shrike
16	Hill Swallow (House Swallow)
17	Jungle Myna
18	Grey Junglefowl
19	Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon
20	Spotted Dove
21	Crested Goshawk
22	White-cheeked Barbet (Small Green Barbet)
23	Rose-ringed Parakeet
24	Vernal Hanging-Parrot (Indian Lorikeet)
25	Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike
26	Orange Minivet
27	Spot-breasted Fantail (White-spotted Fantail)
28	Indian Yellow Tit
29	Tickell’s Leaf Warbler
30	Greenish Warbler
31	Large-billed Leaf Warbler
32	Indian Scimitar-Babbler
33	Oriental Magpie-Robin
34	Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
35	Nilgiri Flycatcher
36	Indian Blue Robin
37	Black-and-orange Flycatcher
38	Blue-capped Rock-Thrush
39	Indian Blackbird
40	Nilgiri Flowerpecker
41	Scaly-breasted Munia (Spotted Munia)
42	Kashmir Flycatcher
43	Asian Emerald Dove
44	Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
45	Streak-throated Woodpecker
46	Plum-headed Parakeet
47	Malabar Parakeet (Blue-winged Parakeet)
48	Indian Pitta
49	Common Iora
50	Grey-headed Bulbul
51	Red-vented Bulbul
52	Asian Fairy-bluebird
53	Southern Hill Myna
54	Purple Sunbird
55	woodpecker sp.
56	House Crow
57	Booted Warbler
58	Nilgiri Laughingthrush (Nilgiri Chilappan)
59	Nilgiri Sholakili
60	Red-wattled Lapwing
61	Malabar Lark
62	Ashy Prinia
63	Paddyfield Pipit
64	Red Avadavat
65	Black Eagle