One more trip to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary

My main target of today's trip is Heart-spotted Woodpecker. I want to take better photos than I made last visit. Woodpecker (and Black-naped Oriole too) was not full body on photo, but only parts of it. But I photographed Oriole next day, so I need to find only Woodpecker. Therefore I immediately turned to the island where I met it previously. But the first my bird was the male of Grey Jungle-Fowl, very nice and calm bird. I heard later its sound many time, this sound don't similar to the domestic cock sound, but I sure that was Fowl sound when I heard it. I waited and looked for Woodpecker some times but unsuccessfully. So I didn't make good photos of Woodpecker, but also added the Orange-headed Thrush to the list of bad-photographed birds.

Then I go to the mountain part of Sanctuary. There is silence all the road, if you go by the broad main trail. Therefore I had to turn to secondary trails especially in case when this trails bordered by the dense little trees or bushes. Firstly I found the brood of Malabar Grey Hornbills. I think the founded group of four of five birds was the brood, because one of the bird looked like juvenile (had fresh plumage and did't fly away), but two birds perhaps were parents by their behavior. I later recorded Hornbills two time more. So today is in a sense the Day of Hornbills. By the way this Hornbills are not so large, they are Pigeon-sized birds in my opinion. Also one observation: in photo Hornbill caught the spider. The owner of the so large bill by which it can crush the nuts caught th spider. Hornbill seems to eat the insects too.

Last visit I gad a problem with regularly correction of camera settings, because I had to take photo in shadow of leaves then in top of trees opposite the sun. Today I took photos only on the shadow, didn't pay attention to the top level of forest. I was very comfortable and calmly to me – max of ISO and one level of the correction of exposition during whole day.

I again recorded Dollarbird in the same tree branch where I saw it last visit. The Groundhog Day regarding only one bird.

Today I spent more time to the mountain forest. I of course underestimated this part of Sanctuary. Mostly looking lifeless this forest in some parts is full of life. I found three spots of birds activity but sure there are clearly more the such spots in forest. In the forest I expected to view Owls and Pigeons. Of Owls I found only three Jungle Owlets, the commonest bird of my trip. But of Pigeons I three times flushed the small and colourful Emerald Pigeons, very nice bird. And almost in the finish of my birding I found Indian Pitta. I imagined the little and slowly bird, but Pitta turned out to be middle-sized bird which can very fast fly and run between the trees in a dense forest. Pitta gave me two minutes of the time which I used as good as I can to do.

Of course now is off season time. In the wetlands I observed only some Egrets and Herons, and only one interesting bird to me, the Asian Openbill. From a far this bird looked like White Stork but with larger beak. That's all.

1. Gray Junglefowl (Gallus sonneratii)

2. Malabar Gray Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus)

3. Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis)

4. Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)

5. Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans)

6. Typical picture of forest of Thattekad

7. Female Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella)

8. Male Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella)

9. Bronzed Drongo (Dicrurus aeneus)

10. Malabar Woodshrikes (Tephrodornis sylvicola)

11. Vernal Hanging-Parrot (Loriculus vernalis)

12. Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus)

13. Brown-capped Woodpecker (Dendrocopos nanus)

14. View to opposite riverside

15. Lesser Yellownape (Picus chlorolophus)

16. Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum)

17. Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica)

18. Indian Pitta (Pitta brachyura)

19. Southern Hill Myna (Gracula indica)

20. Large Spider

21. Macaca in the parking

22. map of Sanctuary