Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher in the backyard: A Record

Peeking out of the window this morning, on the usual reflex to check the fruiting Peepal tree in the vicinity, found this welcome addition to the mix of activity - a Blue-throated Blue Flycatcher, a winter visitor from the Himalayas/passage migrant through the Chennai area. This obliging individual (typical of its kind), caught some insects for breakfast (possibly lacking in the usual smoky flavour given the unexpectedly cleaner air in the location) and supplemented this diet with some of the fruit as well. This sighting gave more than the usual pleasure of seeing a pretty bird in the backyard, coming as it did, in the background of what seems to have been a poor year for passerine migrants to this part of the world and also livening the day while under the pandemic shutdown. Migrants like this also tell a larger story - records of what/whether/when/how many suggest clues into the ecological changes in their breeding and wintering grounds and their migratory paths, as well as the importance of urban green spaces, which can host a surprising variety of wildlife.

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Stump-tailed Macaque, Golden Langur and other wildlife of Assam, Feb 2020: Trip Report

Author & Naturalist: Ravi Kailas (ficustours@gmail.com)

A report based on a mammal-watching oriented guided trip (with a focus on Primates) to the lowland forests and floodplains of the Bramhaputra in Assam, northeast India. Mammal Highlights included superb species like Gee's Golden Langur, Stump-tailed Macaque and Western Hoolock Gibbon among six species of primates, One-Horned Rhinoceros (aplenty) among large congregations of herbivores at Kaziranga, Smooth-coated Otter and Ganges River Dolphin. Other highlights included Pallas's Fish Eagle, Great Pied Hornbill, Assam Roofed Turtle?, Brahminy Worm Snake and the lovely, albeit sometimes incorrigibly leech infested, lowland forests of the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary. Mark's in-depth knowledge about the primates of the region (and the world!), and excellent local guides everywhere, enriched this productive trip even further.

The distinctively stocky Stump-tailed Macaque - one of the highlights from the trip

Dates

22nd to 27th Feb 2020

Locations

Kakaoijana Reserve Forest; Kaziranga NP and Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

Tour Participants

Mark Spence, a keen primate enthusiast who has travelled extensively in search of the some of the Earth's most elusive simians and their 'lesser' cousins, especially through the steamy jungles of south-east Asia.  This was an extension of his with us in India, immediately following a brief visit, to the Western Ghats of south India, which produced 5 primates among 21 species on mammals. Please read a report from this leg here.

Detailed Report

Day 1, Kakoijana Reserve Forest

Having arrived in Guwahati the previous evening, after a full day of air travel (and airports) from the distant southwest corner of the country, a relaxed start to the morning for the 3 hr or so drive to Ashtha Nature's Home at Abhyapuri - our host in the vicinity of Kakoijana. The drive through a rural landscape peppered with forested hills - including monocultures of Sal - was peaceful but not especially productive for wildlife. However, on the cusp of entering Abhyapuri, crossing an inevitably long bridge across the Brahmaputra, a few moments looking into the centre of the river produced the enigmatic and endangered Ganges River Dolphin. We counted four individuals in a small section of the river, occasionally surfacing for breath, showing up momentarily over the river's grey waters, before diving back into darkness. In our brief time looking, one showed up especially nicely, with its snout fully exposed - the most satisfying view possible of these river dolphins, which are largely hidden under murky waters.

Golden Langur were relaxed in a village adjacent to the Kakoijana Reserve Forest

We checked-in at our hotel around noon and upon the advice our local guide, we head straight to Kakoijana Reserve Forest, for any remaining Golden Langur activity before they rested in the heat of the afternoon. Just a few minutes into a trail along the forest, we came across a troop of these endangered, attractive monkeys, feeding in a patch of forest that is probably the most reliable location, globally, to see this range-restricted species. The 500 or so Golden Langur known from this highly modified reserve forest, are a remnant from what was originally a contiguous range along riparian forest in Western Assam leading into hills of Bhutan. While normally idyllic, our local guide assured us, tunes blared out from the adjacent village in celebration of Mahashivarathri (a religious festival celebrated through India), as we watched the langur nonchalantly going about their feeding and grooming routine, regardless.

The lair of the Golden Langur as seen from adjacent fields

A flycatcher from among the modest forest birding we managed at Kakoijana

A brief break for lunch followed, in the typical resting time for the monkeys, and we returned around 330 PM on what turned out to be a cloudy evening, to find the same troop of langur, but now inside a village, adjacent to the forest. We watched them for an hour or so until they disappeared into hidden tree-tops to roost for the night. Walking along the forest trails around dusk, on a faintly drizzly evening, produced our first 'forest' birding experience on the trip and we saw Dark-sided?, Grey-headed Canary and Verditer Flycatchers, Spangled Drongo, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker and Blue-throated Barbet among common countryside birds. The forest itself was largely teak dominated (planted) with patches of natural vegetation along forest streams. We focussed our efforts along these streams in the hope of seeing Crab-eating Mongoose, but although we saw crabs (and prawns, tadpoles, fish) in the streams, we had no luck with the mammal. Later, in the dark, our first snake of the trip, a fast wiggling, worm-like, Brahminy Blind Snake as it crossed the forest trail, and a handful of frogs in the forest streams. Some bat activity along a copiously flowering tree, a lone Common Palm Civet and an orange eye-shine at Sambar eye-level capped the late evening mammal list from a forest where we had little prior expectation of nocturnal mammal potential.

Day 2, Kakoijana and drive to Kaziranga

We were at Kakoijana by 0630 for another date with Golden Langur and upon a brief search in the cool of the morning, found the a troop as they became active with the rising heat of the morning sun, well within the village. Earlier, a little walk along the forest trail produced some distant, hidden macaques which we identified as Rhesus (could it have been Assamese?). Birds added colour to the scene, as we watched the langur, and included Blue-throated Barbet, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Grey-winged Blackbird, Greater Flameback, Chestnut-tailed Starling and Black-hooded Oriole. The impending long drive to Kaziranga, capped our morning effort at 0830, but that was plenty of time to enjoy the antics of our star simian here, one final time.

Up close and personal with Golden Langur, in the village adjacent to Kakoijana

The eight hour plus drive to Kaziranga was interesting for a variety of birds, especially in the swampy habitat beyond Guwahati and produced innumerable Lesser Adjutant Stork, Asian Openbill and Black-shouldered Kite and Pied Harrier. There was a profusion of flowering Silk Cotton trees in this rural landscape, continuing into Kaziranga. Reached the fringes of Kaziranga around 1630, and the abundance of wildlife it hosts was immediately obvious with herds of Asiatic Wild Buffalo, Hog and Swamp Deer, One-Horned Rhinoceros, Capped Langur, Bar-headed Goose and Wooly-necked and Lesser Adjutant Storks seen on the way to Wild Grass Resort, our host for the night.

Lesser Adjutant Stork

Day 3, Kaziranga

0600 start on a cold morning towards the Bura Pahar Range, on the western fringes of Kaziranga. The hour and half drive to the range entrance produced Capped Langur, Rhesus Macaque, Hog Deer, Wild Pig, One-Horned Rhinoceros, Hog, Barking and Swamp Deers, Asiatic Wild Buffalo and Hoary-bellied Himalayan and Malayan Giant Squirrels, but no Hoolock Gibbon, which are sometimes seen along this busy main road. Birdlife was typically excellent, and included a pair of Great Pied Hornbill, Lineated, Coppersmith and Blue-throated Barbets gorging on a fruiting ficus, Grey-chinned and Scarlet Minivets, Bar-headed Goose, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Crested Serpent Eagle and Asian Barred Owlet among others.

Great Pied Hornbill on a fruiting fig tree

Hog Deer

Black Giant Squirrel

Entered the safari road inside the park at 0745, while it was quite sunny, but still with a nip in the air. The initially forested road, via a swamp, towards the Bramhaputra, produced more Capped Langur, several Hog Deer, and a lovely family of Smooth-coated Otter, clambering up the banks of the river to sun bathe. The route then followed the typical elephant grass dominated habitat of Kaziranga and we saw a handful of One-Horned Rhinoceros - uncharacteristically (for Kaziranga) wary of safari vehicles, in this little visited part of the park - Hog and Swamp Deers, Wild Pig, Rhesus Macaque and the pervasive calls of gibbon from the forested hills. Birdlife was typically excellent and included Pallas's Fish Eagle (feeding on what looked like an Asian Openbill kill), Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, various ducks, Striated Grassbird and Golden-fronted Leafbird among others. Exited the zone around 1130, when it was bright, sunny and warm.

A somewhat wary One-Horned Rhinoceros in the little visited Bura Pahar Range

Smooth-coated Otter on the banks of the Bramhaputra

A quick turnaround to enter the popular Central Zone of the park at 1400 (when the gate opens for the evening safaris). Many more vehicles than at Bura Pahar. This zone is a mix of grassland, swamps and woodland with notably high numbers of (very relaxed) rhinos. We also saw Smooth-coated Otter, Asiatic Wild Buffalo, the sole Asiatic Elephant from here, virtually hidden in the tall grass, Hog and Swamp Deers and Hoary-bellied Himalayan Squirrel among the mammals. Memorably we saw about 40 or so turtles (Assam Roofed Turtle?), basking in the warm afternoon sun, on fallen logs along a water channel. Birdlife was once again abundant, and included Pallas's Fish Eagle (including in a nest with two chicks), Slender-billed Vulture, Cinereous Vulture, Crested Serpent Eagle, Spot-billed Pelican, Green-billed Malkoha, Rose-breasted Parakeet, various ducks and waders and numerous Asian Openbill and Lesser Adjutant Storks. Exited by 5 PM, a strictly enforced closing time for safaris in the park.

Pallas's Fish Eagle nest with chicks

Slender-billed Vulture

Day 4, Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

One of the trails at the lovely, lowland forest of Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

0400 from our resort in Kaziranga for a 2.5 hour drive to Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary. Post formalities/a cup of black tea from a local vendor set out on a trail looking for the primate riches of this lovely, albeit tiny, island-like sanctuary of lowland forest (dominated by the tall Hollong tree, rich in epiphytes, ferns and lianas but surrounded on all sides by tea plantations/rural landscape with a rail-track running through). Our local guide, Jivan Bora and accompanying forest guard, Sharma, did not take long to locate a delightful family of Western Hoolock Gibbon, just stirring to life in the cool of the morning. We watched this family of an adult pair with a sub-adult and a baby offspring, deftly avoiding missiles from above, as they took care of their first order of business of the morning from high in the canopy, before swinging, all arms and legs, between trees feeding on forest fruit and resting in-between. After an eye (and camera) full of these acrobatic animals, including of an amusing interaction between the baby gibbon and a Black Giant Squirrel, we spent sometime with a family of Capped Langur in the vicinity. A short break for our (delicious) breakfast of Puri and Guguni at a mobile restaurant at the entrance of the park and it was time to look for the bear-like Stump-tailed Macaque - one of our main targets in the sanctuary. This sanctuary is known to host three very large troops of 60+, 180+ and 260+ individuals, but their daytime nomadic, foraging habits in dense forest undergrowth makes them one of the more difficult macaques to track - as we found out in the next hour or so looking, stumbling through thick undergrowth, looking for uprooted plants on which they feed (key evidence of their presence), but with no luck. On our way back to the park entrance, along the railway track that cuts through the park, we came across a troop of Capped Langur active on the forest edge along the track. While the forest was filled with bird calls (including of Red-headed Trogon and Asian Barred Owlet) in the morning, the high canopy and dense undergrowth ensured that we saw few, including Greater Yellownape Woodpecker, Ashy Drongo, flock of Scarlet Minivet, Blue-winged leafbird and a flycatcher sp. Exited the park around 1015 to sit out the warmth of the late morning at the Gibbon Homestay - where we were greeted by Diganta Gogoi, a cool glass of home-brewed rice wine and a large Indian Rat Snake foraging in the farmland adjacent to the homestay - our host for the next two nights.

Western Hoolock Gibbon (male)

Capped Langur

Indian Rat Snake

Re-entered the park around 1400, in a concerted effort to find Stump-tailed Macaque, stumbling deeper off-trail into the forest, initially scouring the forest where a troop was spotted recently, and later in the evening, in known roosting trees of this troop. Nothing to show for the effort though, except a leech bite, a sting from a nettle, Leopard Cat scat and a handful of birds such as Greater Flameback, Lineated Barbet and Yellow-footed Green Pigeon (generally subdued in this department as well). Sadly, we also came across a Capped Langur, lying battered on the railway track - a significant threat to wildlife both as a source of mortality as well as a hard boundary fragmenting an already modestly sized forest -  possibly an individual from the troop we saw in the morning.

Typical leftovers from foraging Stump-tailed Macaque - key evidence to their presence

Day 5, Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

An elephant occupying the trail ahead at Gibbon WLS

Western Hoolock Gibbon (female)

Overnight rain ensured a damp, cool forest when we entered the park at 0700, still focussed on finding the elusive Stump-tailed Macaque. Almost as soon as we entered, a large, evidently aged Asiatic Elephant occupied the trail ahead of us, pausing our advance for a few minutes, before we ventured deep into the forest and through thick bamboo on a leech infested, mucky trail. After about 2 hours looking, unsuccessfully, stumbling onto the main trail with innumerable leeches accompanying their breakfast host (on yours truly especially, sans leech socks), we found the same family of gibbon from the previous morning, just as news arrived that the macaques had been heard in another part of the forest. Rushed to the site via the entrance, past a distraction of Rhesus Macaque, speeding on motorbikes along the slippery, main forest road, for a couple of kilometres. Bikes parked, stumbling off trail through dense primary forest, onto evidence of Stump-tailed Macaque (very recently uprooted plants), soon led us bang in the centre of a huge troop of these bulky primates. We followed them as they moved (and countless appearing seemingly from nowhere), incessantly, (mostly) along the forest floor, initially very shy, but later bolder. Very vocal, and much interactions between individuals like typical macaques, but such different habitat use and such a distinctive appearance with so much character! After a very satisfying hour or so with the macaques, notwithstanding the less than ideal environment for humans to venture in pursuit of rare monkeys or otherwise, we found our way to the forest road, unsurprisingly, not before losing it in the featureless interiors of this dense forest. On the other side was a troop of Pig-tailed Macaque, much more obliging in the low canopy of the forest edge and our 5th primate from the sanctuary. Exited the sanctuary around 1130, to culminate a very satisfactory morning and onto a well earned breakfast cum deleeching/otherwise self-grooming experience at our lodge.

One of those rare occasions when a Stump-tailed Macaque showed itself out in the open

A typical view of these macaques through the dense undergrowth of primary forest

.....................

With all realistic target species from here already (satisfactorily) recorded, we entered the park at 1530 for a two hour or so leech free amble along the main forest road, on a cloudy evening. A troop of Rhesus Macaque at the entrance followed by a trio of very skittish Orange-bellied Squirrel traversing the trunks and branches of tall rainforest trees and more Capped Langur were among the mammals this evening. The puddles of water on the road attracted flycatcher-like birds for a dip, but id was confounded by poor light and the rather brief visits by the birds before they disappeared into the undergrowth. There were, however, some easier (and commoner birds) on the canopy - Ashy, Spangled and Greater Racket-tailed Drongos and Red-breasted Parakeet to name a few - that obliged with better views on our last effort on this productive trip.

List of Mammals Seen

Golden Langur Trachypithecus geei
Capped Langur Trachypithecus pileatus
Stump-tailed Macaque Macaca arctoides
Northern Pig-tailed Macaque Macaca leonina
Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta
Western Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock
Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus
Hoary-bellied Squirrel Callosciurus pygerythrus
Orange-bellied Squirrel Dremomys lokriah
Black Giant Squirrel Ratufa bicolor
Asiatic Elephant Elephas maximus
Greater One-horned Rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis
Asiatic Water Buffalo Bubalus arnee
Swamp Deer Rucervus duvaucelii
Hog Deer Axis porcinus
Indian Munjtac Muntiacus muntjak
Ganges River Dolphin Platanista gangetica
Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata
Indian Flying Fox Pteropus giganteus
Indian Wild Pig Sus scrofa

Nomenclature as per Menon, V., 2014. A Field Guide to Indian Mammals. Hachette India. ISBN 978-93-5009-760-1

Logistics Etc

Kakoijana 

We stayed at the rather simple, but adequate accommodation at Astha Nature's Home (Abhyapuri), located about 15 kms from forest patch Kakoijana. Food was simple, local style and tasty.

Our host for this brief leg of the tour was the excellent Ankur Burman, who operates a regionally focussed travel outfit, freelances as a guide, owns a restaurant serving Assamese cuisine (Green Chilly Restaurant, where we had a hearty lunch) and works for a wildlife conservation organisation called Aranyak. Do get in touch with him for your local travel needs (including for safaris in Manas NP and the rest of Assam), taxi bookings, cycling expeditions, camping experiences and other locally oriented experiential travel  - +91 97063 42001/+91 60013 04125.

Kaziranga

We stayed at Wild Grass, the pioneer of eco-tourism in Kaziranga, located close to the Central Zone of the park. The accommodation, is rustic, clean and comfortable and meals are simple, local style and tasty. Mr Manju Baruah, one of the owners, has a wealth of knowledge about the park and its wildlife. Wild Grass also arranges safaris and in and around Kaziranga. Do get in touch via email: wildgrasskaziranga@gmail.com or call their manager Dilip Gogoi: +91 87618 33837 for more information.

Although, we tried and did not succeed, Parti-coloured Flying Squirrel are known to visit the rural landscape around Wild Grass.

Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

We stayed at the Gibbon Homestay, about 10 Kms from the Gibbon Sanctuary, offering clean, comfortable, modern rooms and hearty, local style meals. The host, Diganta Gogoi (+91 99544 03770), a guide himself (though we used another person this time), arranges all the logistics here.

We were guided by the superb Jivan Bora, but for whose excellent tracking skills and dedication, the Stump-tailed Macaque would have remained elusive. Do get in touch with him for your guiding needs at Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary: +91 99570 83689.

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Western Ghats: Lion-tailed Macaque, Brown Palm Civet and other endemic mammals, a trip report

Author: Ravi Kailas (ficustours@gmail.com)

A brief, mammal watching oriented guided tour, with a focus on endemic primates, to the Anamalai mountains of the southern Western Ghats, produced all primates of the region (including Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur and Slender Loris), Brown Palm Civet and Nilgiri Tahr among 21 species of mammals. While birding was decidedly incidental, we did manage to see regional specialities like Painted Bushquail, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Malabar Trogon, Malabar and White-cheeked Barbets, Malabar Parakeet, White-bellied Treepie, Nilgiri Flycatcher and Blue-faced Malkoha. Notably the forests were largely devoid of Phylloscopus warbler activity, as is otherwise typical of this time of the year - a reflection of subdued bird migration to the broader region, in the winter of 2019-20? It was great to host Mark and Andreas on this productive, albeit, brief leg of their respective trips and to learn about some lesser known wildlife from their travels to far-flung wildernesses in southeast Asia and around the world.

 Lion-tailed Macaque, a Western Ghats endemic and flagship for rainforest conservation, from one of the forest patches in Valparai

Dates

18th to 21st February 2020

Participants

Mark Spence and Andreas Jonsson, both keen mammal watchers. Mark had a pre-travel target list to observe and photograph all the primates from South, and further on, in Northeast India (trip report). Andreas has specific interests on the wild cats of the world and was looking to add to his already considerable list of sightings in a visit to the Eastern Himalayas, between his travels with us here in south India and Gujarat (report in subsequent post). I joined them after their rather productive, 3 day, unguided portion of the trip to the wildlife rich forests of Kabini and Bandipur, which produced a handful of Tiger and Leopard (almost unsurprisingly these days!) among other megafauna typical to Peninsular India.

Tour Locations

Sethumadai, Top Slip & Valparai

Detailed Report

Day 1, Sethumadai

An uneventful drive to Sethumadai, after lunch at the charmingly peaceful Silver Tips Cafe near Kotagiri, where I joined Mark and Andreas enroute from Bandipur, to arrive at Serenity, Top Slip - our well located (on the fringes of the forested foothills of the southern Western Ghats) host for the night at - around 1730. A brief, pre-dusk foray along the mixed  forests, laden with vines and woody liana, produced the ubiquitous (typically outside forests in peninsular India) Three-striped Palm Squirrel and a nesting Crested Hawk Eagle among a handful of commoner birds.

Cynopterus sp, active on a fruiting Singapore Cherry tree, soon after dusk

Later, at dusk and beyond, the Singapore Cherry trees within the resort compound attracted some bat activity, of which at least one species seemed to be either Lesser or Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat. Jerdon's Nightjar and Spotted Owlet added to the list of flying (or perching) large vertebrates within the resort premises. An after dark foray into the forest edge produced the first regional speciality mammal - a Slender Loris barely showing its face (initially only to Mark, though we were all looking) through dried leaf and a dense network of vines in the canopy. Despite a patient wait for the animal to show better, we remained luckless (including on a second attempt on the way back). The early hours of the night also produced Asian Palm Civet, Gaur, Brown Fish Owl (along a canal with copious water) and Jerdon's Nightjar.

Spotted Owlet

Day 2, Top Slip and Drive to Valparai

At the entrance to the Anamalai Tiger Reserve at 7 AM, when the road to Top Slip opens for traffic in the morning. Surprisingly a handful of vehicles waiting to enter already - uncharacteristic for a non-holiday season weekday - lowering our hopes for cats or Sloth Bear on the 10 km or so drive through the forest to the Top Slip Reception Centre. As per expectation, turned out to be a quiet drive with only commoner mammals, including South-eastern Langur, some hybridised troops (with former and Nilgiri Langur - common on this route), Indian Giant Squirrel, Bonnet Macaque, Munjtac, Chital and Wild Pig.

A walk through an evergreen patch at Top Slip

Reached the Top Slip reception area around 8 AM and after about 30 mins or so with the formalities associated with trekking permits (which we luckily managed, despite a general ban due to a recent forest fire) we set out into a nearby patch of evergreen forest, led by a couple of tribal guides (the real experts of the forest, especially significantly, on the art of avoiding head on encounters with elephants inside these dense jungles!). Entering this dark grove, we were immediately transported into another world of tall buttressed trees, bird sounds from high in the canopy, much mammal scat/spoor (civet, porcupine, gaur, elephant, leopard, tiger, dhole, sloth bear ... varying from recent to days old) and spiders, ants and skinks on the forest floor. Despite evidence of diverse mammal life, we only saw Indian Giant Squirrel, some fast disappearing shapes of Nilgiri Langur and some unidentifiable bats flying out the hollows in fallen logs. Birdlife was typically healthy including a mixed flock of Orange Minivet, Ruby-throated and Yellow-browed Bulbuls, Verditer Flycatcher, and Greater Racket-tailed and Ashy Drongos, a large flock of Malabar Grey Hornbill, White-bellied Treepie (nest building evidence), a pair of very vocal White-bellied Woodpecker, both male and female Malabar Trogon (thanks to the sharp eyes of Mark!) and Black Eagle. We exited around 1120, as the heat of the day put paid to the morning activity, even within the shade of the evergreen forest patch.

Some evidence of Brown Palm Civet, among several such signs of various mammals during our walk at Top Slip

One of our tribal guides on the walk at Top Slip

Post lunch, we once again entered the Anamalai Tiger Reserve around 1530, this time towards the plantation-forest matrix around Valparai. In the initial series of hairpin bends, is a regular site for Nilgiri Tahr and we found a pair grazing, nonchalantly, by the roadside. While not an especially satisfactory sighting of a wild animal, a significant endemic species of the Western Ghats nonetheless. This relatively busy road also produced some good views of Nilgiri Langur, as well as Indian Giant Squirrel (feeding on a copiously flowering Cullenia tree), and Bonnet Macaque, but no Lion-tailed Macaque in their regular haunts. A detour to a plantation forest, however, ended up productive, for a troop of Lion-tailed Macaque winding down for the evening. Soon after dusk, this tiny patch of forest came alive with Indian Giant Flying Squirrel, a Brown Palm Civet trotting across the road into tea bushes, Sambar, Munjtac and Gaur. Highlights from the incidental birding from the late afternoon, into the night, included a Crested Goshawk, uncharacteristically immobile, sitting on the edge of a busy main road, Large Hawk Cuckoo and Blue-faced Malkoha.

A flowering/fruiting Cullenia exalirata - a keystone food resource for mammals in the southern Western Ghats

A Crested Goshawk, uncharacteristically immobile on the edge of a busy main road

A very brief post dinner walk around our accommodation for the night, Puduthottam Annexe, located within a plantation forest, produced one more Brown Palm Civet, briefly appearing out of tea bushes and a couple of Indian Giant Flying Squirrel, ending quite a productive day in the Western Ghats.

Day 3, Valparai

The day started off with a 2 hour walk inside the forest-plantation matrix of Puduthottam Estate, on an unusually windy, but clear morning. While the hope was to observe the habituated Lion-tailed Macaque troops that are known from here, the walk proved rather unproductive except for Munjtac, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Indian Giant Squirrel and the endemic Jungle Striped Palm Squirrel. Birdlife was also somewhat subdued, possibly by the windy conditions, and included Grey-fronted Green Pigeon, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Blue-capped Rock Thrush and Malabar and White-cheeked Barbets plus a backlit raptor confounding ID between Oriental Honey Buzzard and Bonelli's Eagle.

Jungle Striped Palm Squirrel

A little later, while exiting the Puduthottam Estate, we came across a 16 member troop of Lion-tailed Macaque, busy raiding the food waste around a small settlement - the bane of wildlife habituated to humans and macaques are especially inclined towards the easy food around humans. Sadly, despite best efforts by conservation groups, this is a routine affair here. Later, some of the macaques seemed to balance their junk diet with Avocados, from among several non-native trees planted in this heavily human modified landscape. After an hour or so watching the macaques and an Indian Giant Squirrel, Black Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, Grey Jungle Fowl we decided to wait out the heat of the afternoon until the next foray.

Black Eagle

A dominant male Lion-tailed Macaque of a troop very habituated to people

We left Monica Bungalow, our accommodation for the day, at 1500 towards slightly higher ground at Iyerpadi Shola (on the Pollachi-Valparai Road). This lovely patch of forest is connected all the way to high altitude montane habitats of these ranges, but we were here just for better views of Nilgiri Langur (of specific interest to Mark). A relatively cooperative troop of Nilgiri Langur allowed healthy observation and photo ops, and we also saw Lion-tailed Macaque here (not a regular patch for them), Indian Giant Squirrel and the superb Mountain Imperial Pigeon, while a Malabar Grey Hornbill played hide and seek. Later we moved towards the Anamalai Club in hope of seeing Ruddy Mongoose - a regular in the vicinity, but no luck this evening. There were, however good views of Jungle Striped Palm Squirrel, a pair Sambar Stag, Painted Bushquail, Rufous Babbler and Booted Warbler while waiting.

Nilgiri Langur

Sambar 

We were back at the plantation-forest site (same as last evening for Lion-tailed Macaque) at dusk, for the creatures that emerge in the dark and were immediately greeted by a smallish dark shape disappearing into the forest (Brown Palm Civet? Brown Mongoose?). This was followed by general commotion in the undergrowth and persistent alarm call from Grey Jungle Fowl. An effort towards a closer look was effectively thwarted by the thick vegetation, but we could hear an animal, of considerable size, very close, and very restless. After few moments pondering, it struck our collective consciousness that it was wiser to not hang around so close to this unknown creature, and momentarily, we found ourselves on 'safer' ground! A bunch of mystery animals to kick off the evening, followed by one more orangish animal zipping across the road (Stripe-necked Mongoose?). Everything was easier to recognise later that early evening though, including several Indian Giant Flying Squirrels, Sambar and Gaur.

Indian Giant Flying Squirrel

Day 4, Valparai-Coimbatore Airport

An early start to the morning to reach the Coimbatore Airport in time for flight transfers. The hour and half through through the forest road, in the dark, bereft of traffic, was surprisingly quiet, with only Indian Hare, Sambar and some early stirrings from South-eastern Langur at the break of dawn. We reached the plains around sunrise and stopped for a very decent cup of south Indian style coffee and vadai at a conveniently located Gowrikrishna outlet, close to the entrance of the Reserve. From there it was onto Assam (for Stump-tailed Macaque, Western Hoolock Gibbon, Gee's Golden Langur, Indian Rhino among its other wildlife riches) for Mark and me, and, for Andreas an adventure in the Eastern Himalayas, looking for some of the most elusive wild cats in the World, before he joined me again in Gujarat (for Striped Hyaena, Indian Wolf, Desert and Indian Foxes and Jungle Cat among others)

List of Mammals Seen* 

Three-Striped Palm Squirrel Funambulus palmarum
Jungle Striped Squirrel Funambulus tristriatus
Indian Giant Squirrel Ratufa indica maxima
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista philippensis philippensis
Nilgiri Langur Semnopithecus Johnii
South-eastern Langur Semnopithecus priam
Lion-tailed Macaque Macaca silenus
Bonnet Macaque Macaca radiata
Grey Slender Loris Loris lydekkerianus

Indian Flying Fox Pteropus giganteus
Lesser/Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat Cynopterus sp.
Indian Hare Lepus nigricollis
Spotted Deer Axis axis
Indian or Red Munjtac Muntiacus muntjak
Sambar Rusa unicolor
Gaur Bos gaurus
Stripe-necked Mongoose Herpestes vitticollis
Brown Palm Civet Paradoxurus jerdoni
Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus
Indian Wild Pig Sus scrofa
Nilgiri Tahr Nilgiritragus hylocrius

Nomenclature as per Menon, V., 2014. A Field Guide to Indian Mammals. Hachette India. ISBN 978-93-5009-760-1

*This list could have been realistically bolstered with Ruddy Mongoose, Dusky Striped and Grizzled Giant Squirrels, but for a specific focus on primates, which did not allow for extra time to look for these species.

Logistics Etc. 

Sethumadai

Accommodation Serenity Top Slip: Very well located on the edge of the foothill forests of the Anamalais. Very quiet, rustic and semi-rural charm with home style local meals and comfortable accommodation in spacious rooms. Please note that while the surrounding forests are easily accessible from here, there are some restrictions on movements, especially after dark. Elephants are frequent visitors to the landscape at certain times of the year, so best to take adequate note of their whereabouts in the landscape before venturing out.

Top Slip

Located well within the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, protecting evergreen, deciduous and bamboo dominated forests. Among the few places where one can walk through a tiger reserve, although with several restrictions on timings etc. imposed by the forest department. A tribal guide, arranged by the forest department, will accompany on the walks and permits have to be arranged at the reception centre at Top Slip. There are a handful of stay options offered by the Forest Department, but none are well maintained. However they do offer the option of easier access to these forests, rather than coming in from the plains .....

Please note, that as with most reserves through India, entrance and camera fees for foreigners, their cameras and the vehicles they travel in are considerably higher (here it is, currently, INR 500 for each of those) than those for Indians. Please be prepared with cash/for the associated rude shock! Trekking permits are INR 1000 for upto 5 persons for upto 2 hours.

Valparai

Accommodations:

Puthuthottam Annexe: Located within a relatively large patch of plantation forest, and home to a large troop of Lion-tailed Macaque among a cross-section of the typical wildlife of this landscape. Two rooms in a single building, offering comfortable accommodation and hearty meals (largely local/Pan Indian, but also some continental options)

Monica Bungalow: . Located within a small forest fragment, with some regular wildlife visitors. Well furnished Swiss Tents and amply spacious rooms within the plantation bungalow. Meals as per Puthuthottam.

Do get in touch with reservations for Briar Bungalows for more information.

The Valparai landscape is dominated by tea and to a lesser extent other plantations. However this plantation dominated extent is surrounded by the Anamalai Tiger Reserve and adjacent forests in Kerala, making it a thoroughfare for large wildlife, while several smaller endemics of the Western Ghats also find refuge in the modest forest fragments within the landscape. As with Sethumadai, exercise caution while exploring the area for wildlife, since frequent human conflict with Elephant, Gaur, Sloth Bear and Leopard are known from this area. 

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Great Indian Bustard and more at Desert National Park, winter 2019: Trip Report

Author: Ravi Kailas (ficustours@gmail.com)

The critically endangered Great Indian Bustard at the Desert National Park

Travelling to the extremities of a country as large as India always produces birds (and other wildlife) that are regional specialists - either as an extreme of their global range or local endemics. The Thar Desert, in the extreme northwest of India, is one such location, with a handful birds that are restricted to the arid habitats of the region. The Indian Bustard, the only significant global population of which is found here, is however, on this list for the wrong reason. This large, slow-reproducing, arid-grassland specialist was once widespread through much of Western and Peninsular India (where the appropriate habitat existed), however its current range is an artefact of severe pressures on its habitat over the last few decades. Any naturalist travelling to the Desert National Park, is inevitably on a pilgrimage to see among the last remaining wild Indian Bustards, and we saw about 10% of the estimated world population of this majestic species in a brief, birdwatching oriented trip in January this year! There were other attractions too,  including the delightful Greater Hoopoe Lark, Bimaculated and Desert Larks, various raptors (vultures, Aquila Eagles, Lagger and Peregrine Falcons, Long-legged Buzzard among others), Indian Eagle Owl, Trumpeter Finch, Demoiselle Cranes, MacQueen's Bustard and Indian Eagle Owl. Mammals included Desert and Indian Foxes, Indian Gazelle and Indian Desert Jird, with no special effort looking, except incidental to birding. The trip also included a brief visit to the lovely Akal Wood Fossil Park near Jaisalmer, the superb Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park in Jodhpur and a couple of hours to watch the Demoiselle Crane congregation at the village of Keechan. The desert landscapes were a mixture mesmerisingly pristine in the confines of the NP to glaringly modified for tourism and agriculture, outside of it. The weather was cloudy and drizzly - not uncommon for the time of the year - for large parts of the visit, culminating in a dust storm on the day of our departure.

Dates: 

8th to 12th January 2019

Tour Locations: 

Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park, Jodhpur; Keechan Village; Desert National Park, Sudasiri Range; Kabha Fort; Jamda Village; Netsi

Detailed Report

Day 1, January 8th 2019:

Overfed by a king size (delicious) Rajasthani Thali at the famous Gypsy Restaurant in Jodhpur, dragged self to what turned out to be a lovely experience at the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park - an extent of rocky desert near the Jodhpur Fort, replanted with native vegetation of the Thar Desert and a natural museum for the geological highlights of the region. Was led by Harsh Vardhan Rathore, who expertly interpreted the brief history of the park and correlated it with its rather longer, fascinating natural history. While the habitat promised more, our brief foray produced only a handful of commoner birds, while some superbly camouflaged Northern House Gecko entertained by hiding in plain sight in the cool walls of an Aqueduct.

The landscape at the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park

Day 2, January 9th 2019:

Joined a larger group of birders in the morning and having fortified ourselves with a breakfast of hearty Onion Kachori at Kanji sweets, we journeyed along the desert landscape towards Jaisalmer with a detour towards Keechan - a site famous for congregations of Demoiselle Crane, which are attracted here by a historic tradition of villagers feeding the cranes. Arrived here by 1030 AM and enjoyed a lovely spectacle of hundreds of cranes drinking of a village pond. Other birds in the vicinity included Common Chiffchaf, Brown Rock Chat, Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Teal, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Little and Temminck's Stint, Grey-throated Sand Martin, Ruff, Greater Flamingo, Northern Pintail and Ruddy Shelduck.

Demoiselle Cranes at Keechan

We returned to the road past noon, and a 6 hour or so drive to the Pal Rajah Desert Camp, through sparsely populated desert produced several Variable Wheatear, Long-legged Buzzard, Lagger Falcon, Indian, Cinereous, Red-headed, Eurasian Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, Steppe and Tawny Eagles, Desert Courser, several Indian Gazelle and Nilgai and a pair of Desert Foxes. The habitat transformed to less inhabited, pristine desert after passing the town of Jaisalmer, with sand dunes interspersed with sparsely vegetated desert.

Long-legged Buzzard in the Desert Landscape near Jaisalmer

Day 3, January 10th 2019:

A pristine sand dune within the Desert National Park

A 45 min drive in an open vehicle to enter the heart of the Desert National Park (Sudasiri Range) at 0730, coinciding with the break of dawn on a cold, clear morning. Habitat a mixture of pristine dunes and extents of sandy desert vegetated with grasses, shrub and rocky desert with Euphorbia. Some of these patches are fenced as havens for nesting Great Indian Bustard, in an otherwise open landscape with significant pressures from cattle grazing and feral dogs.

Desert Fox

DNP is one of the best places to see Laggar Falcon within India

Chinkara were the most commonly seen mammal in the landscape

Asian Desert Warbler

Highlight birds from the morning included a group of 8 Indian Bustard (3 Male/5 Female), Trumpeter Finch, Desert Lark, Black-crowned Sparrow Lark, Red-tailed, Isabelline, Desert and Variable Wheatears, Eurasian Griffon, Egyptian and White-rumped Vultures, Long-legged Buzzard, Steppe Eagle, Short-toed Snake Eagle and Lagger Falcon. Mammals included several Chinkara and a lone Desert Fox late in the morning. Exited around 1 PM.

Male Indian Bustard

Egyptian Vulture

Trumpeter Finch

Indian Fox in fading light

Evening ride in a similar habitat produced a group of 3 Indian Bustard plus 1 male in flight, Trumpeter Finch, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Grey Francolin, Green Beeeater, Cinereous and Eurasian Griffon, Egyptian Vultures and all the Wheatears from the morning. 2 Indian Foxes appeared at dusk and delightful sunset hues, with fading light highlighting ripples on the dunes brought an end to a productive day.

A lovely evening at DNP

Day 4, January 11th 2019:

A full day outing from 0645 towards the village of Netsi - an Oasis in the Desert on a cloudy, cold morning, with overnight rain - and from there to Ramgarh and culminating in the rocky desert landscape around Kabha Fort. Landscape a mixture of sandy/rocky, scrubby desert and farmland.

Desert Lark

Bimaculated Lark

Bird highlights included Lesser Whitethroat, Desert, Greater Hoope and Bimaculated Larks, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Greater Imperial Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Laggar Falcon, Indian Eagle Owl,  Cream Courser and Red-tailed Wheatear. A significant miss at Netsi was of the Black-bellied Sandgrouse, which are known from the location.

Greater Hoopoe Lark

Cream Coloured Courser

Only a smattering of Chinkara showed among mammals.

Indian Eagle Owl

Day 5, January 12th 2019: A late start to the day at 0745, which started out dramatic - cloudy, with distant lightning and a sandstorm - a special atmosphere in the desert!

A dramatic dust-storm kicked off the final morning of birding

Black-crowned Sparrow Lark

A drive towards and around Kabha Fort produced a Tawny Eagle (which confounded ID in the darkish weather and damp light, with superficial resemblance to a dark morph Long-legged Buzzard and Greater Spotted Eagle). Bird Highlights pre-lunch included Red-tailed Wheatear, Cinereous Vulture and a Pair of Indian Eagle Owl (in what appeared to be an ancient cemetery close to the Kabha Fort). Overall a slow morning on our last session of birding, possibly exacerbated by poor weather).

Tawny Eagle

Indian Desert Jird

Later, on the drive to Jaisalmer railway station, an active Desert Jird colony by the road side, in a landscape which had (surprisingly) filled up fast with lakes and fast flowing streams, given the modest quantum of rainfall that seemed to have fallen overnight.

Logistics Etc

The trip was organised by Nature India and led by Adesh Shivkar and Mandar Khalidkar - both outstanding bird guides and hosts.

To access the desert landscape and NP, we stayed at the Pal Rajah Resort, superbly located on the fringes of the Desert NP and a private dune in its backyard. The accommodation here was a simple, but comfortable, mixture of Swiss tents and local style mud-houses (warmer), with ensuite toilets. Meals were hearty, local-style and vegetarian.

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