Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (1 Viewer)

This was not a dedicated birding trip but a trip with birding opportunities. I used 3 trip reports which proved very useful.
1: https://www.cloudbirders.com/tripreport/repository/DREYER_India_01_2016.pdf
2: https://www.cloudbirders.com/tripreport/repository/ROWSE_India_03_2017.pdf
3: http://www.wildabouttravel.co.uk/w0rdpr3s5/wp-content/uploads/Allan-Drewitt-South-India-2016.pdf

All arrangements in India were made by Indian Panorama, a company we have used several times and can be recommended totally. They supplied a Toyota Innova car with a driver and made all hotel arrangements. https://www.indianpanorama.in/
We flew with Air India. Though the flight times were good as was the price we probably would not use them again as first choice.

Hornbill Camp, Thattekad.
https://www.hornbillcamp.in/
We drove here straight from the airport, around 3 hours, and stayed in very large and comfortable permanent tents. I used the resident guide, Abhilash, who was very good.
Best birds seen: Brown Wood Owl, Indian Scops Owl, Indian Pitta, Sri Lankan Frogmouth, White bellied Flycatcher, Common Hawk Cuckoo, Red Francolin, Black Baza, Nilgiri Flowerpecker, Malabar Parakeet, Orange headed Thrush and Malabar Woodshrike.

Munnar.
We stayed at the excellent Olive Brook.
http://olivebrookmunnar.com/
There were many birds in the large garden, some coming to water pots outside the restaurant.: - Indian Blue Robin, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Common Rosefinch, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Southern Hill Myna, Oriental White Eye and Malabar Whistling Thrush.
There is a steep road to Deshadan Resort with Blue Capped Rock Thrush, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon and Indian Swiftlets. I am told by an Indian birder that the Grassbirds have now gone from the heights above Deshadan.
Road from Munnar bridge to Olive Brook (Bison Valley Road). There is a small cave with a pond in front on the roadside about 300 metres from Abad Hotel going towards the bridge. This held Palani Laughing Thrush, Grey headed Canary Flycatcher, White browed Robin and Nilgiri Flycatcher. The site is best visited late afternoon.

Chinnar.
There are several entrances along the road. I went to the Café/Trekking Centre and paid 615 rupees for a guide. We walked along the Chinnar River and after about 1km he pointed out a Spot Bellied Eagle Owl. A little further on was a Brown Fish Owl.

Valparai.
We stayed at an old tea planter’s bungalow. Stanmore bungalow
http://teabungalows.com/valparai-2/

A local guide took us out for a trek early morning to Puthutotam Annexe where we saw a troop of about 30 Lion tailed Macaques. There were not many birds here.

Ooty. http://www.meadowsresidency.com/

We took the toy train from Coonoor to Ooty. Very interesting watching the engine changed from steam to a diesel electric but the one-hour journey was underwhelming.
In Ooty we stayed at Meadows Residency Hotel, a Travelodge style hotel at the rear of a petrol station. Despite this it was comfortable with good food.
We went to Dodabetta Peak, arriving by 9 am before the tourists arrived. There were about 6 Kerala Laughing Thrushes hopping around the stalls, Indian Blackbirds and warblers but I did not see an Indian Blue Robin.
We moved on to the Botanical Gardens via Moddy’s Chocolate shop and Café Coffee Day, arriving around midday. This was a waste of time as the gardens were full of locals enjoying a day out and it was very hot, thus no birds. Early mornings may be better.
Next was Cairn Hill Forest Reserve. Again, it was too hot and apart from a large bull Gaur I only saw a few warblers.
However, I returned at about 4.30 pm and had a pair of Black and Orange Flycatchers in a small ravine by the entrance arch from the road (no need to pay the entrance fee!)
Nagarhole.
https://www.kabiniriverlodge.com/
We stayed in a Tented Cottage which was acceptable but could do with a little TLC. The buffet meals were surprisingly good. There are a lot of common birds in the grounds but the attraction here is Mammals.
We went out in a jeep which held 12 people including driver and guide. This is far too many and 8 would have been much better. The Indians are all keen photographers with top of the range Nikons and large lenses and birds are low on their list of priorities. The jeep would not stop for anything smaller or less colourful than a roller. We needed to tell the guide to allow us time and space in our jeep to take photos as the Indians seemed to be getting priority. When we saw leopard, the jeep was positioned for them to get their shots and we had little chance. Despite this over the 3 drives we saw 2 Dhole, 3 Leopards, 1 Elephant, I Tiger and a female Sloth Bear with 2 cubs. We also saw 2 type of Mongoose, Ruddy and Stripe necked.
We managed to persuade the guide to stop for a few birds and saw Rosy Starling, Streak throated Woodpecker, Indian Eagle, Grey Jungle fowl and Indian Roller.

Ranganathittu and Mysore.
https://www.royalorchidhotels.com/royal-orchid-metropole-mysore/overview
In Mysore we stayed at the grand and quite expensive Royal Orchid Metropole which was excellent.
We took a morning trip to Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary.
The entrance fee was 400 rupees /person plus 500Rs for a large lens camera.
There was opportunity for a boat trip at another 400Rs per person for about 15 minutes or 3000 Rs if you wanted the boat to yourself – a total rip off.
We declined as all the Pelicans, Storks and Herons can be easily seen from the shore. A walk around the gardens and a white phase African Paradise Flycatcher, Drongo Cuckoo, Ashy Prinia, Black headed Cuckoo shrike and Pale billed Flowerpecker.

Conclusion
Driving around South India was fairly easy and all roads mainly repaired following the heavy monsoon damage of last August. Some of the accommodation did not serve beer but allowed you to take your own. In total I saw 187 species, adding 9 “lifers” with little effort, mainly birding between 7.30 and 11 am. The lack of raptors was surprising as was the failure to see White bellied Tree Pie. The only other birds I missed were Bay Owl and Great eared Nightjar. Temperatures were unseasonably hot throughout, between 34-39’C, occasionally hitting 40C.

Photos: Black capped Laughing Thrush
Black and Orange Flycatcher
Blue capped Rock Thrush
Brown Wood Owl
Spotted Eagle Owl

I: Common Hawk Cuckoo
2: Pale billed Flowerpecker
3: Sri Lanka Frogmouth
4: Indian Blue Robin

Animal sightings.
1 Lion tailed Macaque at Valparai.
2 Leopard
3 Sloth Bear
4&5 Tiger

The last 4 seen at Nagarhole. We also so Indian Wild Dogs (Dhole) here but they were too quick for us to get a photo.

Hi Monkir great report sounds like you had a fantastic time , have thought about Kerala etc for a trip , just might give it a try . Been with Asian Adventures twice to India loved it , mainly up north but went to Gujarat last year for Asiatic lion etc . Thanks for posting it has given me food for thought .

Hi Gary. Thanks for your comments. We tried to use Asian Adventures once, agreed an itinerary and when they came to finalise they changed it and upped the price so we have stuck to Indian Panorama ever since. They fix itineraries exactly where you want to go and If you have some prior research done they will arrange guides where you need them - as they did in Hornbill, Chinnar, and Valparai. To be honest as, as you obviously are familiar with the Indian birds now, you don't need a guide in the other places. Your driver will take you wherever and whenever you want. Our trip was around £1200 each plus flights including all breakfasts and full board at Kabini and Nagarhole too. It's worth getting a quote from them. [email protected]
Talking of food - the food in Kerala was the best we have had anywhere in India

Hi Monkir . Thanks for the info , very useful and a lot cheaper than Asian adventures . Although we didn't deal directly with them , we went with Sandwich bird tours based in Kent who have used them for the last 15 years . It has certainly given me a lot to think about , Nagarhole and Hornbill camp especially , would love to see Sri Lanka frogmouth . Thanks again and if I need any more info I'll message you . Cheers Gary .