State Highway No.2 from the city to Thenmala stretches ahead languorously, bordered by stunning greenery and beautiful deciduous forests. The tranquillity is broken only by a few potholes, deep enough, though, to jerk us all awake now and again. I’m with a group of bird watchers and birding enthusiasts, young and old, professionals and amateurs, all of who have woken up in the small hours to take a walk with birds in Thenmala. We’ve signed up for ‘Sunday Bird Walk’, a monthly bird-watching session, organised by World Wildlife Fund, Kerala chapter.
We were passing though the Arippa forests when the first light of the day made it’s way from the East. Our feathered friends were already audible. The ubiquitous Oriental Magpie Robin and Red Whiskered Bulbul’s sharp musical notes resonated in the cool mountain air as we followed the serene Kallada river all the way to Thenmala.
The unique wail of the Stork Billed Kingfisher, one of the largest of Kingfishers, greeted us as soon as we alighted at the popular eco-tourism spot. It was coming from somewhere along the banks of the river. The call was severe. A famished Kingfisher desperate for a catch, perhaps?
Its call reminded us that we needed to fill our stomachs too and we headed for a quickie breakfast before setting out on our avian expedition.
Right away we heard several distinct chirps and whistles from the thicket lining the river. Lo and behold! The branches of the tallest tree were bustling with activity. Common Mynahs, Golden Orioles, Sun birds and Small Green Barbets were already happily into their routine foraging. The Kingfisher was still out there on the river bank, beckoning me with its persistent calls. I ventured to the edge of the thicket, trying to get a glimpse of the bird and maybe a photo too. Unfortunately, the undergrowth was too thick for me to pinpoint its exact location. Or, perhaps my amateur bird spotting skills needed a bit more polishing after lying dormant for several months.
Deep forest, as we quickly realise, is not a prerequisite for serious bird watching. Most often we can find all that we are looking for on the fringes of the jungle itself. So this time the organisers decided to explore the avifauna on the main road from Thenmala to the Deer Park, some 2 km away, rather than venturing into the forests.
It was already warm when we hit the road. The early summer sun was shining bright in the blue sky, making it a perfect setting for spotting birds and photographing them too. Just a few minutes into the walk, Jaichand Johnson and Neha Waikar, the experts in the group, spotted the fairly common hill species, Small Minivet and Blyth’s Starling on a tree with many branches. Buoyed by the sighting we moved up the road, keeping an eye on the branches. But it was in the calm, meandering river that we spotted the next bird – an Oriental Darter, its cream-coloured, snake-like head darting in and out of the mossy green water. While we were searching for other water birds, two flashes of the most gorgeous velvety dark green whizzed past into the hills to our right. Two Emerald Doves!
Hoping to find similar exotic species, we continued on our way. Once in a while, loud Plum-Headed Parakeets, easily identified by their dazzling pink (male) or grey (female) heads, crossed the road to the wilderness on either side. We spotted a couple of green Golden Fronted Leaf birds too. The photographer in me hit a jackpot, when I came across pair of Scarlet Minivets, a fiery red male and the stunningly yellow female, perched right in front of me, on a well-lit low branch, perfectly within range of the camera. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from a species that usually prefers to stay high up in the boughs, far away from the reach of my budget lens! Straight away, I deemed the trip a big success. Then again, it was my lucky day.
Before reaching our destination, I managed to click photos of two more majestic birds. The Crested Serpent Eagle might be the most common raptor of Western Ghats, but you’ll never get tired of seeing it; not if you ever encounter those huge, round eyes or its spotted dark plumage that spreads out like a mast when in flight. The same is true in the case of Malabar Grey Hornbill. It may not be as beautiful as other Hornbills, but it is still pretty great bird. We found a perfect specimen near the Deer Park, resting in a pocket of sunlight flittering through the canopy above, preening its ashy plumage with its big yellow beak, while occasionally rolling its playful, crimson-tinged eyes.
Finishing up our little adventure at the gates of the Deer Park, we took a bus back to Thenmala, deciding to keep an eye out for more birds on the way back to the city.
Noon was approaching, the sun was beating down hard and bird activity had come down. But our luck had not yet run out and we stumbled on a little haven for birds near a stream bordering Arippa, where rubber trees in a private compound, along with tall undergrowth on the opposite bank of the stream had created a thick green canopy. Venturing into it was like Alice entering Wonderland!
Here we found the real-world counterpart of the magical Phoenix, the Malabar Trogon! It is known as Thee Kakka , literally, fire crow, in Malayalam and rightfully so. There it was, the fiery crimson-breasted bird, arguably the most stunning of all the birds of Kerala, resting on a spindly, sunlit, branch, just waiting for us to end the trip on a high.
