Masinagudi, A woodpecker’s paradise

31st Aug and 1st Sep 2022

As regular visitors to Nilgiris, Masinagudi had been on our birding list. We were able to contact our naturalist, Siddhan Kuruvi, a few days before our trip. With his help, we were able to fix our transport and stay which made it easy to travel. This blog by Thomas also gave us lot of information before we went to Masinagudi.

We started from Coimbatore late morning and parked our car in Ooty. Siddhan was there to pick us up in a Jeep. We started our journey to Masinagudi at 3PM after lunch in Ooty. As soon as we turned into the road to Masinagudi, we saw Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher, Booted Warbler, Niligiri Laughingthrush and Orange Minivet. As we started going deeper in the jungle, the dusk was upon us. We were still able to see Southern Hill Myna, perched on a tall tree, calling loudly. Another notable sighting was Yellow Billed Babbler, which was on the ground close to us. It had a white head, making it look different from a Jungle Babbler. At dusk we saw a Spotted Owlet perched on a wire. We were unable to get a photo due to dark conditions. We saw a baby Bear, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Spotted and Sambar Deer among animals

It was a long day and we retired in a guest house in Masinagudi. Next day was again going to be a long day full of birding.

eBird list here and here

Next day, we were up at 6AM and Siddhan came to pick us up in his Jeep from the guest house. As we started, we saw several Black Rumped Flamebacks on a single tree. Later in the day, we saw other species on woodpeckers such as Speckled Piculet, Brown Capped Pygmy Woodecker, Yellow Crowned Woodpecker and Greater Flameback. We saw a Spotted Owlet on the ground, patiently waiting for food. Our most important sighting of the day was Malabar Lark, an endemic and endangered species. It was hopping about on the ground. It has a crest on the head and that is why, it is also called Malabar Crested lark.

As we made our way back to the guesthouse, we were incredibly lucky to see the results of Moyar valley conservation project for ourselves. We saw Indian Vulture and several White Backed Vultures for several minutes, perched in a number of trees. Luckily, we clicked pictures with our phone cameras because the birds were huge and close by.

After breakfast, Siddhan took us back to Ooty in his Jeep. On the way, we saw Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher. It was a great two days birding in top hotspot in Nilgiris.

eBird list here

Abir Sharma

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