Western Ghats - 3rd December (Day 9)

We were up at 05:45, loaded the car and then drove to Cairn Hill Park just outside of Ooty to get better views of a couple of the endemics to be found here after our last visit on 1st December when the weather was terrible. As we entered the park there were three Black-and-Orange Flycatcher showing very well, albeit in rather dark forest conditions. We also caught up with Nilgiri Robin and Nilgiri Laughingthrush once again but the light levels were far too low for decent photographs – it was nice to see the birds when it was not pouring with rain through. We then headed for the Ooty Botanical Garden for around an hour, this is where a Kashmir Flycatcher usually winters but we had no luck with this bird but did see Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Greenish Warbler, Oriental White-eye, Nilgiri Flycatcher and Nilgiri Flowerpecker amongst the well-kept gardens with local people enjoying Sunday and taking innumerable ‘selfies’.

Black-and-Orange Flycatcher - Cairn Hill Park, Ooty

Black-and-Orange Flycatcher - Cairn Hill Park, Ooty

Nilgiri Robin - Cairn Hill Park, Ooty

Greenish Warbler - Ooty Botanical Garden

Greenish Warbler - Ooty Botanical Garden

Nilgiri Flowerpecker - Ooty Botanical Garden

Oriental White-eye - Ooty Botanical Garden

Oriental White-eye - Ooty Botanical Garden

Large-billed Crow - Ooty Botanical Garden

Large-billed Crow - Ooty Botanical Garden

Great Tit of subspecies mahrattarum - Ooty Botanical Garden

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch - Ooty Botanical Garden

Nilgiri Flycatcher - Ooty Botanical Garden

Greenish Warbler - Ooty Botanical Garden

 Ooty Botanical Garden

Outskirts of Ooty

Bonnet Macaque - Mettupalayam viewpoint

Lady selling flowers at the Mettupalayam viewpoint

Wild Gaur outside of Ooty

Wild Gaur outside of Ooty

Entrance to Anamalas Tiger Reserve

Asian Elephant in the Anamalas Tiger Reserve

Playful young Bonnet Macaques - Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

Green Imperial-pigeon - Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

 Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

We then headed on the long drive to Munnar in the knowledge that we had probably faffed around too late in the park to get to Munnar at a sensible time. We passed through spectacular mountain landscapes clad with tea plantations, and plantation forest but sadly with little remaining natural forest. We stopped at Chinnar Wildlife Park just across the state border in Kerala. This is a site where roosting Spot-bellied Eagle Owl is seen but we had no luck and it materialised that the bird had not been seen for a few weeks. We did see Green Imperial-pigeon, Brown-headed Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, Yellow-browed Bulbul and brief views of Yellow-throated Bulbul but we were a little disappointed that the Eagle owl was not present. From the Chinnar Wildlife Park we had a 56km drive to Munnar, this took around 2.5 hours due to slow winding road with moderately heavy traffic and the whole journey was a bit of an ordeal so we were glad to arrive at the Hotel Tea County in Munnar at 20:30.

Links to Other Days of the Trip (Click to View)

• Day 1 – International flight from London Heathrow.
• Day 2 – Landed Chennai then flight to Port Blair. Birding on Andaman Islands PM.
• Day 3 – Andaman Islands.
• Day 4 – Andaman Islands.
• Day 5 – Andaman Islands.
• Day 6 – Travel day from Port Blair (Andaman Islands) to Ooty (Western Ghats). 
• Day 7 – Birding Ooty then on to Mudumalai. 
• Day 8 – Birding Mudumalai then drive back to Ooty.
• Day 10 – Birding Munnar area.
• Day 11 – Drive from Munnar to Periyar Tiger Reserve.
• Day 12 – Periyar Tiger Reserve. 
• Day 13 – Drive from Kumily to Thattekkad.
• Day 14 – Thattekkad area. 
• Day 15 – Thattekkad area then travel to Chennai.
• Day 16 -  International flight.