For our first full day at Thatekkad we went out birding with Gireesh to an area where we hoped to find the Sri Lanka Bay Owl, but spoiler alert, we failed to find it. This was a shame but we have two more days to try and track the bird down, and in the meantime we did have some excellent birding today, with many species that we wanted to see safely under the belt.
First we had a male White-bellied Blue Flycatcher male that
we found in an area that we were checking for the owl. Next we went to an area
where there was an active nest of Legges Hawk Eagle and could see an adult
perched in the open canopy and a large chick in the nest itself. Continuing
round the corner where a lava flow rises above the canopy and here we managed
to find some other goodies, such as Malabar Barbet and Fork-tailed Drongo
Cuckoo. We spent some time in this area and had some good birding. As it
started to get warmer we returned inside the forest to search for other birds,
starting with a roosting Sri Lanka Frogmouth, which was one of my most wanted
birds for the day. Gireesh knew where they would be, and so it transpired with
one a little concealed but nice and close to the path. The morning continued but
birding slowed down as it got warmer, the only other bird of note was a Blue-eared
Kingfisher which was fishing as we passed.
By 10:30 we had wrapped up, with the heat and humidity
already too much so we headed back to the room for breakfast and to see out the
worst of the afternoon heat. In the afternoon we opted to visit a feeder hide
called Eld Hose which saw us visit from 15:00 until 17:30. The hide was
absolutely fantastic with birds arriving all the time and showing fantastically
well at the feeding site. In the end we managed 26 species at the hide,
including some others not actually using the hide facilities. Multiple species
of flycatcher were using the hide, including my first Blue-throated Blue-Flycatcher,
among Tickells Blue Flycatcher, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Brown-breasted Flycatcher
and Rusty-tailed Flycatcher. The best highlights at the feeder however were a
handful of Orange-headed Thrushes, ample Malabar Starlings, our first Red
Spurfowl of the trip, and a tick for me, and the undoubted highlight an Indian
Pitta that came out and started feeding in the open, wagging its tail the whole
time. In addition we had a White-bellied Woodpecker come and sit in the rubber
plantation behind the hide. An absolutely fantastic!
At night we went out with Gireesh again to try and find some nightbirds and mammals. Sadly however we turned up absolutely nothing. It is possible that the increase in humidity after dark did it for us, but whatever happened we saw nothing and very little responded to playback.
Thatekkad Sanctuary: Lesser Whistling Duck, Red Spurfowl, Grey-fronted Green Pigeon, Malabar Imperial Pigeon, Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Sri Lanka Frogmouth, White-breasted Waterhen, Oriental Darter, Little Cormorant, Indian Pond Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, Legge's Hawk-Eagle, Malabar Trogon, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Common Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Malabar Barbet, White-cheeked Barbet, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Malabar Flameback, Black-rumped Flameback, White-bellied Woodpecker, Blue-winged Parakeet, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Indian Pitta, Small Minivet, Indian Golden Oriole, Malabar Woodshrike, Ashy Drongo, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Rufous Treepie, Large-billed Crow, Cinereous Tit, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Flame-throated Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Large-billed Leaf Warbler, Puff-throated Babbler, Jungle Babbler, Yellow-billed Babbler, Southern Hill Myna, Malabar Starling, Orange-headed Thrush, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Oriental Magpie-Robin, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Rusty-tailed Flycatcher, Purple Sunbird, Little Spiderhunter, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Grey Wagtail, White-browed Wagtail,
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