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Birding
At The Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary
Thattekad
On
the western side of the Indian subcontinent is the rain ward side of the Western
Ghats, a lush green part of the country watered by every passing cloud. Here
lies the quiet but beautiful Kerala, haven for a wide variety of exotic flora
and fauna. Thattekad, on the banks of the river Periyar, is a dense monsoon
forest, not very far from the port town of Cochin. Salim Ali described it as
"the birder's paradise". A plantation forest with teak, mahogany and
fruit-bearing trees along with the natural wild tropical deciduous vegetation,
it is home to nearly 350 species of birds, most notably the Malabar gray
hornbill. Other exotic birds are the Ceylon frogmouth, Malabar trogon,
White-bellied treepie and Heart-spotted woodpecker. Elephants also live here,
happy with the easily accessible ponds on the side of the river. It is now
protected as the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary.
Location
From Ernakulam one can take a bus to Kothamangalam, a
two-hour journey.
Buses to this place may not
be very frequent. So an alternative is to take one of the frequent
buses to Muvattupuzha and from there take
a bus to Kothamangalam (a
half-hour journey), which is a shorter route too.
From Kothamangalam there are direct buses to Thattekad throughout the day, and one need not take a boat from Bhoothathan Kettu. Thattekad is 15 km from Kothamangalam and the bus takes about half an hour. On reaching Thattekad, the bus is ferried across the river Periyar on a contraption made by joining three small boats. The sanctuary is very well-maintained.
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| A bus being ferried across river Periyar on a contraption made by joining three boats. | ||
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Watchers Walk: A bamboo bridge built and donated by the bird-watchers . |
A pellucid lake near the entrance to the sanctuary. |
Checklist of Birds at Thattekad |
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(* -- a lifer) |