birding never sleeps: SOUTH INDIA and the ANDAMANS: Tansa (12-14 January 2023)

SOUTH INDIA and ANDAMANS 2023: part 1 Tansa (a pre-trip extension)

This is the first of several blogs covering a trip primarily to South India and the Andamans with Nick Preston and Paul Noakes. It has been gratefully enhanced by the addition of some high quality images taken by Paul (included in larger format and with acknowledgements).

Introduction. Jijo Mathews had agreed to guide Nick Preston and me to South India and the Andamans in March 2020. Nick had not been to the Andamans and had missed a few key species on a previous visit to South India with Jijo - Nilgiri Thrush, Sri Lanka Bay and Spot-bellied Eagle Owls being the critical ones. Dave Cooper and Brenda Kay saw these and all the Andaman endemics with Jijo in 2018 and Nick didn't take much persuading to return. However a few days before we were due to fly out the Indian Government cancelled all visas due to the spreading Covid-19 epidemic. Our annoyance at not having gone a week earlier soon turned to relief as we learned of Indian cities being closed and tourists stuck in hotels for days and weeks. A very narrow escape. We postponed the trip for a year, then another six months and another year until visas were reinstated. Paul Noakes expressed an interest in joining us and we were delighted to have him along. Paul also suggested we visit Tansa before or after the trip to look for Forest Owlet which was being seen regularly there. This was an excellent idea and solved a problem of how to get to Southern India or the Andamans without hanging around either Mumbai or Delhi airport for many hours as we'd have to change planes there. We could fly to Mumbai, visit Tansa, return to Mumbai and fly on to Port Blair where Jijo would meet us. After the Andamans we would fly to Kochi (via Chennai) and return direct from Bangaluru - a South India and Andamans trip had become Tansa, Andamans and South India. We booked flights and started looking into obtaining visas. The India Government hadn't reintroduced electronic visas for Brits (as a protest over careless comments made by our clueless Home Secretary) but had indicated it might soon do so. With time passing and guidance being that the current system could take 6 weeks to obtain a visa, against a background of planes flying to India half empty because passengers hadn't got one in time, we decided to bite the bullet and use an agent. I arranged an appointment to visit an Indian Visa Centre in London but nearer the time without a confirmation discovered they'd lost the slot. Despite this I had to email the Visa Centre to cancel the appointment before I could be given another. My email bounced back twice before I realised that I had been given the wrong email address, very stressful. I received anew slot 10 days earlier than the previous one (!!) and attended with form, photos, credit card and passport (at a total cost approaching £250). It was quite chaotic there and despite my arriving half an hour early (as advised to do) I still had to wait over two hours to be seen. Quite stressful but my passport arrived a week later. The following day the India Government announced they were reinstating electronic visas for Brits with immediate effect and before my original visa appointment! I should have held my nerve.

Wednesday 11 January. I caught a local bus into Brighton and National Express to Heathrow T5, arriving just before 16:00. I soon found Nick who had been there half an hour. Paul arrived about 17:30 and we checked in and dropped off our bags. The flight was almost full, a fairly cramped Boeing 777 with an entertainment system that needed a reboot.

Thursday 12 January. After a moderately comfortable flight we arrived a few minutes late and it took ages to get through a very slow immigration, with the queue behind us lengthening significantly as an Air India flight, also from Heathrow, fortunately arrived just after us. Loven, our guide for Tansa was waiting and called for our driver to meet us in the car park. It took almost 3 hours to drive the 90km to the Hidden Village Resort, our base for visiting Tansa Wildlife sanctuary. The first 2 hours were through a very busy Mumbai but once clear and on a dual carriage way we made good progress although the amount of undercutting lorries was a bit alarming. Just before the lodge we picked up our local guide Rohidas, dumped our bags in our room (basic but adequate) and had a late lunch (chapatti, rice, cucumber and tomato for me to be sure to avoid all the spices). We left the Hidden Village at about 15:30 and drove for an hour to Tansa, at one point having to divert down a rough narrow track across a dried up riverbed to bypass temporary roadworks on a bridge. We birded the dry forest to dusk seeing Forest Owlet, our main target, reasonably well but little else. As we were preparing to leave Rohidas heard a distant Mottled Owl call. We walked down a track for 2-300m to a small clearing and after hearing it again, somewhat closer, played a tape. Amazingly it flew straight in and gave several reasonable but partially obscured views. A very impressive bird both when perched and flying directly over our heads when it looked massive. Almost another hour back, arriving just before 20:00, the tarmac had been replaced so no diversion. Dinner was a repeat of lunch, not very inspiring. Good to lie down, I was feeling quite tired.

Forest Owlet at Tansa

Forest Owlet at Tansa (photo: Paul Noakes)

Friday 13 January. We were up at 05:30 but our 06:00 departure was delayed by 30 minutes, not that it made much difference as it was foggy when we returned to the forest at 07:15 and was slow to clear. We birded the other side of the road, Paul finding another Forest Owlet and Sulphur- bellied Warblers being the highlight of a disappointing session, at least for me. I only saw a White-naped Woodpecker in flight and missed a male Vigor’s Sunbird completely. We birded to 12:20 and were back for lunch by 13:00. Wandering around the Hidden Village Gardens produced a singing male Tickell’s Flycatcher and 2 White-spotted Fantails (both new for me). We left the lodge at 15:00 and drove for 40 minutes or so to a small village on the forest edge. We crossed to a more open area of dried fields and rough ground where we birded to 18:00. Birds seen included 2 Pallid Harriers, a Malibar and 14 Rufous-tailed Larks, Indian Roller and Green Bee-eater.

Sulphur-bellied Warbler at Tansa (photo: Paul Noakes)

Short-toed Eagle over Tansa (photo: Paul Noakes)

another Forest Owlet at Tansa

Forest Owlet at Tansa (photo: Paul Noakes)

Indian Pond Heron at Hidden Village, Tansa

Kingfisher at Hidden Village, Tansa

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher at Hidden Village, Tansa

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher at Hidden Village (photo: Paul Noakes)

Spot-breasted Fantail at Hidden Village (photo: Paul Noakes)

Loven birding the Tansa farmland, Paul on the opposite hillside

Loven and Nick

presumed Black-headed Bunting at Tansa

male Pallid Harrier at Tansa (photo: Paul Noakes)

Rufous-tailed Lark near Tansa

Malabar Lark at Tansa

wintering Bluethroat at Tansa

Bluethroat near Tansa (photo: Paul Noakes)

Long-tailed Shrike near Tansa

Sand Boa near Tansa, not much thicker than my thumb

Saturday 14 January. We left Hidden Village at 06:15 and arrived at Mahuli an hour later at Tansa). having picked up another local guide on the way (Rohidas was unavailable, much to Jijo’s annoyance we were later to learn as he had apparently booked Rohidas for our 3 days at Tansa). We birded until 10:00 seeing Jungle Owlet, 2 Indian Grey Hornbills, 10 Malabar Parakeets, 6 Orange and a female Small Minivet, 2 Tawny-bellied Babblers, male Ultramarine Flycatcher and Loten's and Vigor’s Sunbird although my views of the latter were rather brief. We drove back for breakfast at 10:35 and after a look around the lodge gardens (White-spotted Fantail again) we checked out of Hidden Village and returned to Mahuli, arriving before 12:30. We spent another 2 hours on the trails there seeing similar species to previously although several Vigor’s Sunbirds gave me much better views. Our final stop half an hour later was at Pajar Talav, a small swimming lake on the edge of forest very close to but set back from the main road just south of Asangaon. Here we saw Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Spotted Eagle and Clamorous and Blyth's Reed Warblers. We left at 16:45 and continued into Mumbai in increasingly busy traffic. As the light started to fade increasing numbers of Black Kites were seen gathering to roost, 1000 would be a cautious estimate of those seen. We were dropped at the airport 19:15 and said a heartfelt thank you to Loven who was flying back to Goa that evening. He had been excellent company and as a guide despite not having been to Tansa before (we wouldn't have thought it although he is more at home running Backwoods Camp in Goa). After tensely queuing at Departures we were let into the building despite being 11 hours early for our flight. We found a quiet corner with some comfortable seats and set up camp. With check-in from 03:00 the following morning it seemed less hassle and expense to sleep at the airport rather than a nearby hotel where we’d probably have to be getting up soon after 02:00.