Second trip to Kotagiri

We have been to Kotagiri tea gardens in Jan-2022. This was our second trip to the same place. We explored a new place Aravenu, in addition to our earlier hotspot.

3rd Sep 2022.

We woke up at 5 am to go to Kotagiri.  We stayed in Wellington Gymkhana club. Alternatively, you can stay in Coonoor town. There is a naturalist called Aggal Sivalingam who took us to Kotagiri for birding. We contacted him a few days before our trip. We drove 30 minutes to reach Aravenu village where we started the trail. It was a narrow trail starting on the roadside and leading into tea bush. Despite the thick bush, we were lucky to see Painted Bush Quail, a floor bird.  Interesting behaviours were also seen with long tail shrikes who are very patient birds.

eBird list here with picture on Painted Bush Quail.

We then took our cab and went to Mulloor village. On the way, we saw Black Eagle. We parked our car at the foot of the hill and climbed into tea gardens. This place was full of birds, just like our January visit. Notable bird behaviours were Dark Fronted Babbler hiding in the bush and Chestnut Headed Bee Eater flying about. Bee Eaters always return to the same tree after short flights.

eBird list here 

Abir Sharma

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