#Thattekad #birdwatchersudhamma #womanforestguide #
Sujatha Chandran #Sudhamma
eBird has recorded 247 bird species in Thattekad Bird Sanctuary at Urulanthanni in Kerala.
So off to Urulanthanni we went, with Sudhamma as our guide.
The tall trees of the area hid many species.
The gurgling streams on the way distracted us from birds and made us wish we were kids too!
We climbed to a height of about 600 meters to reach the 'Thatt' of Thattekad.
A tribal hut soon came into view on the top.
When morning dawned after the heavy summer rains of the night, we got ready for a three hour trek through the sanctuary.
Cattle egret with lesser whistling ducks
Sudhamma draws life lessons from birds.
Temple authorities cut down a huge Gauva tree citing that it obstructed the view of the temple from the road. The old guava tree was home to hornbills for years. In protest, Sudhamma stopped visiting the temple then on.
A hide for watching birds. Elephants seem to have been around the place recently.
Rosy is proud to show off the butterflies in the garden she maintains.
As we were saying bye bye to the crested bulbul and the oriental magpie robin, Sudhamma reminded us that we are yet to see the highlight of Thattekad.
So, off we went, braving the leeches, to look at this nocturnal bird whose sleeping habits were known to Sudhamma.
Counted among the best birding spots by international birding sites like e-Bird and Xeno-Canto, Thattekad bird sanctuary is a paradise for nature lovers.
65 km away from Kochi is Thattekad-"the richest bird habitat in peninsular India comparable only with Eastern Himalaya"(Dr.Salim Ali). 'Flat Forest' is the literal meaning of Thattekad. 'Thattu' also means a plate in Malayalam. The sancuary actually begins at 'Urulanthanny'a plate like rock formation in the midst of Edamalayar forest. That is where we begin our video travel in which we were ably assisted by bird expert and guide Sudha Chandran (Sudhamma).
An evergreen lowland forest, Thattekad-including the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary-is located between the branches of the Periyar River in Kerala, making for a perfect birding mix of forest and wetland habitats. Areas both inside and outside of the actual sanctuary are well-known as one of the best birding sites in the Western Ghats. More of the Western Ghats endemics can be found here than probably at any other site.
The Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, covering an area of barely 25 km2, and located about 12 km from Kothamangalam (Kerala state, India), was the first bird sanctuary in Kerala. Salim Ali, one of the best known ornithologists, described this sanctuary as the richest bird habitat on peninsular India. Thattekkad literally means flat forest, and the region is a deciduous but generally moist low-land forest surrounding the Periyar River, the longest river in Kerala.
Video Susan Sharma
Stills Shashi Sharma, Dr.Basil Mathai and Dr.Sara Chacko
Music The Golden Present - Jesse Gallagher