14 Nights
15 Days
Today is the first day of this tour and you will arrive in Cochin. Our tour representative will pick you up from Cochin Railway Station/ Cochin Airport. Later on, we will go on a bird-watching tour and spend some time in the outdoors looking for wading birds and shore birds. We will try to spot Little Ringed Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Asian Openbill, Temminck’s Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Little Stint, Black-winged Stilt, and Ruff, among others. After this bird-watching tour, we will leave for Thattekad.
We will stay in Thattekad for the next two days and go on bird-watching walks and drives. We will use both the morning and evening times for bird watching. We will hope to spot both diurnal and nocturnal bird species. These include Jungle Owlet, Orange Minivet, Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl, Grey-headed Bulbul, Indian Pitta, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Black-hooded Oriole, Rusty-tailed Flycatcher, Malabar Starling, Sri Lanka Bay Owl, Malabar Woodshrike, White-bellied Treepie, Thick-billed Warbler, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Common Emerald Dove, Malabar Trogon.
We will also try to find out other birds like the Malabar Whistling Thrush, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Brown Hawk-Owl, and Black-throated Munia. We will also try to spot more birds like the White-bellied Woodpecker, Plum-headed Parakeet, Brahminy Kite, Black-naped Monarch, Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Lesser Yellownape, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Fish Eagle, Indian Golden Oriole, Oriental Dollarbird, White-rumped Spinetail. One of the spectacular birds we hope to find out here is the Black Baza, which is one of the very unique raptors. Great Hornbill is also a magnificent bird we can spot here in the sanctuary. This bird is found in the Western Ghats and is a known seed-spreader.
One of the tough birds to spot here is the Sri Lanka Frogmouth. This bird is very tough to spot in the thick jungles and camouflage, but we can hope to spot one. The Sri Lanka Bay Owl is another bird that we can try to find out. This is also a tough bird to spot because of its camouflage. We can visit a water pond and try to spot passerine birds like Puff-throated Babblers, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Orange-headed Thrush, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Indian Blue Robin, Blue-winged Parakeet, Malabar Trogon, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher. We will also try to find out night birds by going on night drives into the sanctuary. We can spot Savanna Nightjar, Eared Nightjar, Eastern Barn Owl, Jerdon’s Nightjar, and Indian Nightjar.
We will go for a morning bird-watching walk and try to spot a few more birds in Thattekad Bird Sanctuary. Later we will proceed on our tour and visit another spectacular bird-watching destination, which is Periyar. We will spend the entire day doing bird watching and trying to spot as many birds as possible. On arriving in Periyar and checking into the hotel we can go in the afternoon and start to do bird watching. We will try to spot the Wayanad Laughingthrush in the dense woods and foliage. You will stay overnight in Periyar.
Today is a full day of bird watching in the Periyar National Park. The Wayanad Laughingthrush is a widespread bird of the Western Ghats but very tough to spot as it moves very swiftly in the undergrowth. Although this bird is our target we can spot others too like the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Great Hornbill, Little Spiderhunter, Black Baza, Nilgiri Thrush, Malabar Great Hornbill, Blue-winged Parakeet, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Crimson-backed Sunbird. Some birds like the Nilgiri Flycatcher are easy to spot due to their bright plumage. After a whole day of bird watching in Periyar, we will stay overnight in the hotel/ lodge/ resort in Periyar.
Today we will go for one last time bird watching in Periyar in the morning. Later we will proceed to Munnar, which is another bird-watching destination we will visit. Munnar has grasslands and thick forests which make ideal conditions for bird watching. We will hope to find many birds of South India during our bird-watching walks in Munnar. We can start bird watching in the afternoon and in the course of the next two days spend time bird watching in Munnar and nearby areas. We will spot the Nilgiri Tahr, which is found on cliffs and steep slopes. This is an endangered and endemic species of the Western Ghats and is found in areas around Munnar and Eravikulam National Park. We will stay for the night in Munnar.
Munnar area has some spectacular bird species. The adjoining Eravikulam National Park teems with rich birdlife and you will find many endemic bird species here. Our target species would be the Nilgiri Thrush, Broad-tailed Grassbird, Painted Bush Quail, Palani Laughingthrush, Nilgiri Pipit, and White-bellied Blue Robin.
But we can spot much more varied birdlife here than our bird checklist offers us in the hill plateaus, grasslands, and shola forests of Eravikulam National Park. The river streams that crisscross the national park are also the best spots to go for bird watching. You can spot Indian Blackbird, Rusty-tailed Flycatcher, Blue-capped Rock Thrush, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Yellow-throated Bulbul, Little Spiderhunter, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Hill Swallow, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Grey-fronted Green Pigeon, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Malabar Barbet, Crimson-backed Sunbird, Nilgiri Flycatcher. Note down the other birds you spot in your birding checklist. You will stay overnight in Munnar.
We will wake up early morning and try to spot some more birds in and around our resort. Later we will proceed to Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. We can do bird watching in the afternoon and try to spot birds like Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Western Crowned Warbler, Malabar Whistling Thrush, and Brown Fish Owl. But try to spot one bird that is very secretive and difficult to spot, and that is the Spot-bellied eagle owl. You can also try to spot Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel if you scan the tree foliage through your binoculars. You will stay for the night in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary.
After an early morning bird-watching tour we will now check-out from Chinnar and proceed to reach Ooty. On check-in at the hotel, we can do a bit of bird watching nearby. We hope to find beautiful birds like the Indian Blue Robin, Nilgiri Laughingthrush, and Black-and-orange Flycatcher. In the latter part of the day, we will explore the Shola forests in Ooty for more beautiful birds. We will target certain birds like the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Jerdon’s Leafbird, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Indian Blackbird, Nilgiri Blue Robin, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Painted Bush Quail, Hill Swallow, Nilgiri Thrush, Malabar Barbet. We can also discover other birds like the Black Eagle, Square-tailed Bulbul, Vernal Hanging Parrot, and Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike. You can also try and spot the Kashmir Flycatcher. Stay overnight in Ooty.
We will again go for bird watching in the forests in the morning and spot some birds here. Later check-out from Ooty and proceed to reach Mudumalai. After check-in at the hotel/ lodge/ resort in Mudumalai, we will spend the rest of the day on nature walks and leisure time in the hotel.
We will go for morning and afternoon bird-watching sessions in Mudumalai National Park. The grasslands, tropical forests, hills, and dense canopy of trees form the ideal place for bird watching in the Mudumalai area. We will target some endemic birds here and also try to spot birds near our hotel. The birds that we can hope to find are Streak-throated Woodpecker, Jerdon’s Bush Lark, Indian Nuthatch, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark, Yellow-billed Babbler, Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl, Brown Fish Owl, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Indian Pitta, White-rumped Vulture, Hume’s Whitethroat, Small Minivet, Red Spurfowl, Indian Vulture, Indian Nightjar, Nilgiri Flowerpecker, Orange-headed Thrush, Jungle Bush Quail, Booted Warbler, Blue-faced Malkoha, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Malabar Lark, White-browed Bulbul, White-bellied Minivet, Red Avadavat, White-cheeked Barbet, Grey Junglefowl, Blue-winged (Malabar) Parakeet, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Common Hawk-Cuckoo, Indian Peafowl. Overnight stay in Mudumalai.
Today we will go for a morning bird-watching session and find birds that we missed. Later check-out from Mudumalai and proceed to Mysore. We will make halts on this route and spot some birds like Small Pratincole, Red-naped Ibis, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, and Blue-winged (Malabar) Parakeet. You will check-in at the hotel in Mysore and stay here for the night.
Today we will visit the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary near Mysore and do bird watching here. We will do a boat ride in the Cauvery River and spot some birds. We can hope to see some magnificent birds like the White-spotted Fantail, Indian eagle owl, River Tern, Spot-billed Pelican, and Streak-throated Swallow. We will also try to spot birds like Woolly-necked Storks and Painted Storks. After this exciting bird-watching trip to Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, we will proceed to Bangalore. We will try to spot the Indian Vulture and White-Rumped Vulture if you are lucky. The evening is relaxation in the hotel in Bangalore and we will discuss our bird-watching sessions on this trip. We will stay overnight in Bangalore.
Today is the day of departure from Bangalore. You will proceed to Bangalore Airport/ Bangalore Railway Station and cherish many bird-watching moments of this tour.
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