Thattekad Bird Sanctuary

footix

I'm off to Kerala in early January and I'm keen to do some bird spotting. I'm planning on visiting Thattekad Bird Sanctuary quite early in my trip. From what I've read it should be reasonably easy to get to but I've found little information on accommodation. The Hornbill Camp sounds great but as I'm on my own it is probably a bit too expensive for me. Are there any other accommodation options there? How easy is it to arrange a trip into the sanctuary itself?

Anyone been there who could give me some advice?

Thanks a lot

Cheers

Chris B

pravman

Hi Footix,

Have you visited Thattekad recently? We are planning a trip very soon and would like your reviews of places in Thattekad where you stayed. How was the birding there?

ramsblore

Do you want to stay in Thattekad itself? Why dont you stay in Kothamangalam? It is just about 20 kms from there and has got a few good hotels which are quite reasonable. You could be in Thattekad in the day and return to your hotel by night. (or do you intend nocturnal bird watching )

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pravman

We'd love to , but I guess that won't be allowed . and it isn't the right thing to do, like flashing lights on owls and frogmouths?

From what I've read, Kothamangalam is like any other town, but kids would probably like the resort setup

Ramsblore, btw good info on the allepey houseboat scene.

pravman

We just returned from our superb trip to Thattekad. We stayed at the Hornbill camp, whose location was very good , right by the Periyar river with Sanctuary on the other side. The staff was professional and courteous. Food was alright. Other places to stay that we noticed were:
- Birds Lagoon, Palamattom.
- Hotel maria, Kothamangalam.
- Hotel Thattekad?, right beside the sanctuary entrance, advertised A/C and non a/c rooms.
- Forest Dept Bungalow at the Sanctuary entrance.

Elephants are a problem in the drier seasons and hence we were not allowed inside the main part of the sanctuary (probably because we had 2 kids??). But even the other parts of the sanctuary afforded some superb birding.The guide arranged by Hornbill camp, was a local chap, who spoke excellent english. He came with a spotting scope that helped a great deal. Apparently we were one of the very few Indian tourists who come to the sanctuary for some serious bird watching. We can't wait to return.

snonymous

Nice to hear you enjoyed your trip Pravman. Please post your photos. Did you see the ceylon frogmouths?

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pravman

Unfortunately we didn't see the Ceylon Frogmouth or the Indian pitta. However we saw 35 species in our 2hr walk, out of which 15 were new to me. But having stayed at the Hornbill camp we noticed/observed a lot of bird behavior, like a group of Babblers, Mynas , one Flameback woodpecker and a racket-tail Drongo in a Mixed hunting party, just as described in Salim Ali's book. We also enjoyed hearing to a lot of bird songs just sitting outside our tent!
Sadly we had to leave our cameras at the Camp, had our hands full with our kids and focusing the binoculars