Ever since I had read about Thattekad wanted to visit it. One place that I planned to visit for the last two years, and somehow never materialized. This time I had made up my mind and had decided that I will visit this place. Deciding on the date was the easiest part, just like in the past, decided on a date, but this time I was determined to realize it. I had called Gireesh and was very glad to get his time. Date checked, Stay Checked. I was uncertain till about a weeks time about the mode of travel.Finally when the tickets were booked train it was for the onward journey and flight it was for the return. Whew. Now things were starting to fall in place or soo I had thought. But then this is a trip that was would not be so easy, something had to go wrong. 5 days before my travel date, retreating monsoon had set in, a good two weeks late. The monsoon this time had been above normal, and the retreating monsoon generally lasts for a little more than a week. The rains showed no mercy. I was praying to all the gods, looking for some divine intervention to make the rains go-away. With every day the monsoon just got worse. A couple of days later my granny passed away, with less than 48 hours to go this trip had to be cursed. Years of waiting and still the odds were stacking up against me. My train was scheduled for Sunday night, and by afternoon, the skies clear up. Little did it cheer me up. The climate in Thattekad was not very encouraging. It was cloudy and had rained cats and dogs. By the time I had caught my train, it seemed as if the rains were determined to play spoilsport, it started raining very heavily. I sat in my seat, wondering if this trip was doomed.
Thanks to Gireesh, he had arranged for a cab from Aluva station. Its a hour and half drive to Thattekad. The drive was fun and beautiful. The driver was very well versed in Malayalam (ofcourse),which was alien to me. He could barely manage in English (or atleast I could not understand it), and no Tamil (which I could just about manage). So our communication at best was smiles. He did his best to communicate with me and tell me the importance of the place (or so i thought), but all I could hear "Mysore", "Bangalore", "Tata Car", "Maruti car", "good birds", "Veg", "non-veg". Put all these words in all possible combinations and repeat them for one and half hour. My reaction for almost all of them were "ohhh", "yeeeaasssss", oh-my-god-another-1-hour-to-go. *smile*, let me guess the next combination. At the end of 1 hour I had also started using the same words he said in reverse order. We both were laughing at the end of 1 and half hour. We had realized that each of us did not understand the other. So sign language did its part. He said something like "Sanctuary here", I was wondering what. Then he pointed me to a board.
The Jungle Home Stay, one of the best places I have stayed in. Run by Gireesh and his family. One word- Brilliant. The knowledge Gireesh and his mom possess, wow. Probably the best in that part of India. His mom "Sudha" around 60 years and her energy and enthusiasm just blew me away. Her knowledge of birds and its habitat next best to Gireesh. I landed at their home stay. Hospitality was as best as it can get. The weather gods seemed to have smiled on me, for it was bright and sunny. No sign of clouds. Was I very very happy. Sudha mam took me on the "Salim ali- sound trail". I wanted to get used to the environment and check out the habitat, so that I know what to expect. Sudha mam was soo full of energy, that every second she seemed to point out a new bird. Very good sightings. Very good spot for bird sightings, but photography is very tricky and tough. A good outing.
Evening Gireesh took me out guiding. Ohh boy, with him around I felt like he is a Bird Hand book. We were walking by, and we saw a bird fly by from the corner of the eye. And with in a split second Gireesh was soo excited and cried out motil wood owl. I was wondering, how?? I mean do you have eyes at the side of your head? I was simply stunned. It was a highlight for the evening. No sooner than we had reached our room, Gireesh hurried and pulled me out. He had spotted a Indian Pitta. It was one the most brilliant bird I seen.
Apart from birds, we were very lucky to see a dole hunting. The plain ground just opposite to Gireesh home, we spotted a dole chasing the spotted deer. And just as it began, the chase ended as soon as the dole saw us. And vanished.
At some point Gireesh was pointing out so many birds, I left my Camera behind and just enjoyed seeing them and was absorbing some of the knowledge he had.
The second evening when we set out, our aim was to see Malbar Trogan, Black Baza and Frogmoth. Half an hour in to our quest, we spotted the beautiful Malbar Trogan. Then Gireesh parked his car in the middle of no where. And dashed into the forest searching for frogmoth. No sooner he stepped in, the clouds had gathered overhead and it looked as if it were going to pour. Gireesh came out running and screaming that he found a frogmoth. We rushed and we saw a couple sitting, but before I could take snaps, it started raining. We had to abandon our mission and return home. A little disappointed I was. But Gireesh promised me better sightings of frogmoth the next morning.
The next morning, we trekked a lot, and with every step the jungle got denser. Without Gireesh's excellent knowledge of the forest I would have been lost. He seemed to know every tree and turn in the forest. After a grueling 1 hour trek (with my equipment it seemed like a day), Gireesh asked me to wait at a stream and he ran ahead, and came back smiling the broadest and I knew what it meant.
We had also spotted around 5 black baza flying over. I would have been very happy to have got a few clicks, but the trip was overall a huge success and big learning for me.
My trip was getting to an end. Had to get back to Cochin airport to catch my flight back. And it was another 1 and half hour drive. Go-back to Para 2 and repeat the same. Same driver, same passenger. Only thing that changed was the route.
Finally the odds were truly behind me. It was indeed a great trip with very good sightings. But unfortunate I was not able to get very good photos. This is only the beginning, expect to do more trips to Thattekad more often. Thanks to Gireesh and his family. For the wonderful stay, food and knowledge. Without his help, I would not have been able to click even a single of these pics. Thanks Gireesh.
How to reach.
Nearest Railway station : Aluva (45 kms from Thattekad)
By Flight : Cochin airport (around 50 kms from Thattekad).
Contact:
Gireesh - +919847034520
Some of the birds spotted.
Thanks to Gireesh, he had arranged for a cab from Aluva station. Its a hour and half drive to Thattekad. The drive was fun and beautiful. The driver was very well versed in Malayalam (ofcourse),which was alien to me. He could barely manage in English (or atleast I could not understand it), and no Tamil (which I could just about manage). So our communication at best was smiles. He did his best to communicate with me and tell me the importance of the place (or so i thought), but all I could hear "Mysore", "Bangalore", "Tata Car", "Maruti car", "good birds", "Veg", "non-veg". Put all these words in all possible combinations and repeat them for one and half hour. My reaction for almost all of them were "ohhh", "yeeeaasssss", oh-my-god-another-1-hour-to-go. *smile*, let me guess the next combination. At the end of 1 hour I had also started using the same words he said in reverse order. We both were laughing at the end of 1 and half hour. We had realized that each of us did not understand the other. So sign language did its part. He said something like "Sanctuary here", I was wondering what. Then he pointed me to a board.
The Jungle Home Stay, one of the best places I have stayed in. Run by Gireesh and his family. One word- Brilliant. The knowledge Gireesh and his mom possess, wow. Probably the best in that part of India. His mom "Sudha" around 60 years and her energy and enthusiasm just blew me away. Her knowledge of birds and its habitat next best to Gireesh. I landed at their home stay. Hospitality was as best as it can get. The weather gods seemed to have smiled on me, for it was bright and sunny. No sign of clouds. Was I very very happy. Sudha mam took me on the "Salim ali- sound trail". I wanted to get used to the environment and check out the habitat, so that I know what to expect. Sudha mam was soo full of energy, that every second she seemed to point out a new bird. Very good sightings. Very good spot for bird sightings, but photography is very tricky and tough. A good outing.
Evening Gireesh took me out guiding. Ohh boy, with him around I felt like he is a Bird Hand book. We were walking by, and we saw a bird fly by from the corner of the eye. And with in a split second Gireesh was soo excited and cried out motil wood owl. I was wondering, how?? I mean do you have eyes at the side of your head? I was simply stunned. It was a highlight for the evening. No sooner than we had reached our room, Gireesh hurried and pulled me out. He had spotted a Indian Pitta. It was one the most brilliant bird I seen.
Apart from birds, we were very lucky to see a dole hunting. The plain ground just opposite to Gireesh home, we spotted a dole chasing the spotted deer. And just as it began, the chase ended as soon as the dole saw us. And vanished.
 |
| Red Vented Bulbul |
 |
| Scaly Breasted Munia |
 |
| Collered Dove |
 |
| FanTail |
 |
| Baya Weaver |
 |
| Lesser FlameBack |
 |
| White Throated Kingfisher |
 |
| Whistling Duck |
 |
| Dole |
At some point Gireesh was pointing out so many birds, I left my Camera behind and just enjoyed seeing them and was absorbing some of the knowledge he had.
 |
| Indian Scoops owl |
 |
| Motil Wood Owl |
 |
| Indian Pitta |
 |
| Hanging Parrot |
 |
| Malbar Parakeet with its cousins |
 |
| Lotten Sun ird |
 |
| Leaf Bird |
 |
| Orange minivet - Male |
 |
| Orange minivet - Female |
 |
| white bellied rofus |
 |
| Common kingfisher |
 |
| Jungle Wabbler |
 |
| Malbar starlings |
 |
| hooded parakeet |
The second evening when we set out, our aim was to see Malbar Trogan, Black Baza and Frogmoth. Half an hour in to our quest, we spotted the beautiful Malbar Trogan. Then Gireesh parked his car in the middle of no where. And dashed into the forest searching for frogmoth. No sooner he stepped in, the clouds had gathered overhead and it looked as if it were going to pour. Gireesh came out running and screaming that he found a frogmoth. We rushed and we saw a couple sitting, but before I could take snaps, it started raining. We had to abandon our mission and return home. A little disappointed I was. But Gireesh promised me better sightings of frogmoth the next morning.
The next morning, we trekked a lot, and with every step the jungle got denser. Without Gireesh's excellent knowledge of the forest I would have been lost. He seemed to know every tree and turn in the forest. After a grueling 1 hour trek (with my equipment it seemed like a day), Gireesh asked me to wait at a stream and he ran ahead, and came back smiling the broadest and I knew what it meant.
We had also spotted around 5 black baza flying over. I would have been very happy to have got a few clicks, but the trip was overall a huge success and big learning for me.
My trip was getting to an end. Had to get back to Cochin airport to catch my flight back. And it was another 1 and half hour drive. Go-back to Para 2 and repeat the same. Same driver, same passenger. Only thing that changed was the route.
Finally the odds were truly behind me. It was indeed a great trip with very good sightings. But unfortunate I was not able to get very good photos. This is only the beginning, expect to do more trips to Thattekad more often. Thanks to Gireesh and his family. For the wonderful stay, food and knowledge. Without his help, I would not have been able to click even a single of these pics. Thanks Gireesh.
How to reach.
Nearest Railway station : Aluva (45 kms from Thattekad)
By Flight : Cochin airport (around 50 kms from Thattekad).
Contact:
Gireesh - +919847034520
Some of the birds spotted.
1.
Indian Pond Heron
2.
Cattle Egret
3.Little
Cormorant
4.
Darter
5.
emerald pigeon
6.
whisteling duck
7.
Indian Scoops Owl
8.
Plum-headed Parakeet
9.
motil wood owl
10.
Common Koel
12.
Sri Lankan Frogmouth
13
.Indian Pitta
14.
Crested Treeswift
15.
Malabar Trogon
16.
Stork-billed Kingfisher
17.
White-throated Kingfisher
18.
Common Kingfisher
19.
Green Bee-eater
20.
Malabar Grey Hornbill
21.
White-cheeked Barbet
22.
Crimson-fronted Barbet
23.
Rufous Woodpecker
24.
Lesser Yellow-naped Woodpecker
25.
Common Flame-backed Woodpecker
26.
Greater Flame-backed Woodpecker
27.
yellow bird
28.
black baza
29.
Small Minivet
30.
Scarlet Minivet
31.
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike
32.
venral hanging parrot
33.
orange minivet
34.
Black-hooded Oriole
35.
Black Drongo
36.
Ashy Drongo
37.
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
38.
Asian Paradise-flycatcher
39.
Rufous Treepie
40.
White-bellied Treepie
41.
House Crow
42.
malbar starling
43.
velvet fronted nutash
44.
Red-vented Bulbul
45.
Asian Fairy-bluebird
46.
Jungle Babbler
47.
Hill Myna
48.
Common Myna
49.
Chestnut-tailed Starling
50.
dollar bird
51.
Oriental Magpie-Robin
52.
white bellied blue flycatcher
54.
Golden-fronted Leafbird
55.
Purple Sunbird
60.
Red Wattled Lapwing
62.
Malabar Parakeet
66.
Large-billed jungle crow
67.
Great Tit
68.
Yellow browed bulbul
69.
Jungle Myna
71.
Purple rumped sunbird
72.
Loten sunbird
73.
Blue throated flycatcher
74.
Plain flowerpecker
75. Scaly breasted munia
