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Message: <blockquote data-quote="richard jb" data-source="post: 1752095" data-attributes="member: 72753">23/12 - 26/12 Pt Calimere (Kodikkarai)It took us a few days to get down to Pt Calimere, including a 39 hour stint on a train. Kodikkarai is well off the beaten track and there were Tamil Tiger related problems in the area until very recently. There is now a (temporary?) military base but this hasn't affected access.There is a forest rest house in Kodikkarai itself which is the most convenient place to stay, and excellent value (100Rs for a double with bathroom). Eating is an issue here though, and it is best to bring supplies. There is small shop/supermarket in the village which may disappear if the military pull out. The FRH has a checklist of birds on the wall and there is a migration study building which we didn't have time to check out. There may be some ringing going on.Unfortunately we could only stay here one night as the whole hotel had been booked out by an Indian family. I think it's normally fairly empty. We moved to Vedaranyam which is the nearest town. There is a good supermarket and one hotel (dingy with cockroaches, 200Rs/night). There is a very frequent bus to Kodikkarai which takes about 30mins and apparently runs from 4am. In practice 6am is more realistic.The reserve itself is vast but best explored on foot. Things have changed since the birdwatchers guide was published but the map is still useful when getting your bearings. There had been a lot of rain prior to our arrival and the main reserve was badly flooded, preventing access to certain areas. We found the salt pans to be the most productive/spectacular area although there are birds everywhere. We frequently found ourselves waist deep in water getting around (and not just due to recent flooding) so dress accordingly.Some interesting/new Birds...Pied CuckooBlue Faced MalkohaBlack Naped Oriole (not on the FRH checklist...)Eurasian Golden OriolePurple Rumped SunbirdLong Tailed Shrike (ssp caniceps)Brown ShrikeYellow Billed BabblerRosy StarlingBlyths Reed WarblerWestern Reef EgretPallas's/Great Black Headed GullHeuglins GullSlender Billed GullLittle TernCommon TernSandwich Ternpoor view of a probable Bridled TernSpoonbillGreater Flamingo Spot Billed PelicanHuge numbers of waders. Who knows how many Spoon Billed Sandpipers could be hidden away?DunlinCurlew Sandpiper Broad Billed SandpiperTerek SandpiperKentish, Little Ringed, Greater Sand, Lesser Sand PloverTemmincks and Little StintGreen, Wood, Marsh, Common SanpiperSpotted Redshank, RedshankBlack Tailed Godwit RuffRed Necked PhalaropeA boat would be useful to get to some of the best looking areas for waders, including potential Crab Plover sites. We also saw Bottlenose Dolphins every day and Blackbuck are very common.Pt Calimere is not the easiest of sites. It's big, exposed, undeveloped and birds can be distant with good viewing areas inaccessible. We barely scratched the surface though. The good areas are worth multiple visits.</blockquote>

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