Thattekkad Birding

Thattekkad birding takes place in Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, also called Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, in Kerala, on the Periyar River near Kothamangalam. Thattekkad is famous as the bird sanctuary of Dr Salim Ali, India’s best known ornithologist, who called it the richest bird habitat in peninsular India. The sanctuary is lowland evergreen and moist deciduous forest, with the Periyar River, Bhoothathankettu dam backwaters and forest trails giving a mix of forest, river and open water birding in a compact area.

The star birds are Malabar trogon, Ceylon frogmouth, Sri Lanka frogmouth, Oriental dwarf kingfisher, Malabar grey hornbill, Malabar pied hornbill and a long list of Western Ghats forest birds. Night birding is a special feature here, with frogmouths, nightjars and owls, including brown fish owl and Oriental scops owl, seen on evening walks. Day birding adds barbets, woodpeckers, drongos, flycatchers, bulbuls and sunbirds in mixed flocks, and the Periyar River adds kingfishers, herons and river birds.

Thattekkad birding suits Western Ghats birders who want lowland forest birds without high altitude trekking, photographers who want trogons and frogmouths in forest light, and travellers combining Kerala birding with Kochi city. It pairs with Parambikulam and Valparai for hill forest birds, and with Munnar for high altitude shola birds. Two mornings plus one evening night walk give a much better list than a single morning visit.