We spent our final morning around Ooty back in the Botanical Gardens. We hoped the early morning and lack of people would mean more birds but sadly the birding was still fairly steady and we saw only a few species of note. Hill Swallow was a new species for me, with a small group flying overhead but that was the only lifer for the morning. Otherwise good species included Black-and-orange Flycatcher, Nilgiri Flycatcher and Nilgiri Flowerpecker. Additional trip ticks included Ashy Prinia and Ashy Drongo, and we added a new mammal with a rat that was feeding in the ditch outside our hotel.
At 10:00 we headed back to the hotel and arranged our things ready for our taxi to arrive at half-past. Initially it looked like he had not come, but after a quick phone call we discovered he had been waiting just a little down the road and not at our accommodation. Still, the real shock was when about half an hour into the drive, we discovered we were not going to the right village. Fortunately we had not made any significant detour yet, but our driver was still unsure of what to do next. After a call to his boss, the issue was smoothed out and in the end we were still able to make it to our pickup location on time.
The pickup location for our next destination, Ela Blooms, was necessary due to the appauling state of the road required to reach the lodge. We had to travel for half an hour on one of the worst roads any of us had ever endured. Fortunately once we arrived we found ourselves surrounded by stunning forest nestled among the peaks. We were told that it was not possible to take the trail uphill for our main target that afternoon, so instead concentrated on birding back down the road.
The forest was in good condition and we had our first encounters with some of the lowland targets for this trip with Yellow-browed Bulbul and Malabar Imperial Pigeon. At the turnoff to the lodge, there was a fruiting tree full of Grey-fronted Green Pigeons and Square-tailed Bulbuls, although this latter species was common throughout, and in the understorey below we had brief views of an Orange-headed Thrush. Additionally there was a group of three Bonnet Macaques and two Indian Giant Squirrels also gorging themselves on the fruits Other birds of interest included our first Crimson-backed Sunbirds, and two nice leaf-warblers with Large-billed Leaf Warbler and Western-crowned Warbler.
Ooty Botanical Gardens: Grey Junglefowl, Feral Pigeon, Spotted Dove, White-breasted Waterhen, Indian Pond Heron, White-cheeked Barbet, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Ashy Drongo, House Crow, Indian Jungle Crow, Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Cinereous Tit, Ashy Prinia, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Hill Swallow, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Tickell's Leaf Warbler, Greenish Warbler, Indian White-eye, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Indian Blackbird, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Black-and-orange Flycatcher, Blue-capped Rock Thrush, Pied Bush Chat, Nilgiri Flowerpecker, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Common Rosefinch,
Ela Blooms: Grey-fronted Green Pigeon, Malabar Imperial Pigeon, White-cheeked Barbet, Common Flameback, Peregrine Falcon, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Square-tailed Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Greenish Warbler, Large-billed Leaf Warbler, Western Crowned Warbler, Indian White-eye, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Orange-headed Thrush, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Crimson-backed Sunbird, Grey Wagtail,
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