GUEST REPLAY
Date:
Sat, 3 Feb 2007 13:30:37 +0000 (GMT)
From:
"CD Howe" <----------------------> Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
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Subject:
thanks!
To:
"surjith mangalath" <mmbsurjith@yahoo.com>
Dear Surjith
I wish to express my very great thanks for the excellent birding you arranged for me on my recent business trip. Everything connected with Nature Nest was done in a most professional, helpful and well-comanized way and I have no hesitation in recommending your company to anyone hoping to visit Thattekad or the surrounding area of Kerala.
In particular, Gireesh was an excellent guide, with his superb local knowledge and spotting skills. There are so many good things to remember, but I guess the highlight has to be the two Sri Lankan frogmouths at a range of less than ten feet! I have enclosed my bird list, which is pretty good for only a few hours one morning.
Herons, Egrets & Bitterns
Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii grayii)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta)
Ducks & Geese
Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica)
Hawks & Vultures
Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes leuphotes)
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus Indus)
Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela melanotis)
Plovers
Red-Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus indicus)
Sandgrouse
Pompadour Green Pigeon (Treron pompadora affinis)
Parrots
Plum-Headed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala)
Malabar Parakeet (Psittacula columboides)
Cuckoos
Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis parroti)
Frogmouths
Sri Lanka Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger)
Nightjars
Jerdon's Nightjar (Caprimulgus atripennis)
Swifts
House Swift (Apus affinis)
White-Throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis fusca)
Hornbills
Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus)
Black-Rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense tehminae)
Shrikes
Long-Tailed Shrike (Lanius schach caniceps)
Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus cristatus)
Orioles
Black-Naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis diffusus)
Black-Hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus xanthornus)
Drongos
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
Bronzed Drongo (Dicrurus aeneus aeneus)
Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus)
Starlings & Mynas
Brahminy Starling (Sturnus pagodarum)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Crows, Tree Pies
Rufous Tree Pie (Dendrocitta vagabunda parvula)
White-Bellied Tree Pie (Dendrocitta leucogastra)
House Crow (Corvus splendens protegatus)
Large-Billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos culminatus)
Cuckoo-Shrikes & Minivets
Large Cuckoo-Shrike (Coracina macei)
Fairy Bluebird, lora, Leaf-Birds
Gold-Fronted Chloropsis (Chloropsis aurifrons )
Bulbuls
Black-Crested Bulbul (Pycnonotus melanicterus gularis)
Red-Whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus fuscicaudatus)
Yellow-Browed Bulbul (Iole indica indica)
Babblers, Thrushes
Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striatus malabaricus)
Sunbirds
Crimson-Backed Sunbird (Nectarinia minima)
Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica asiatica)
I hope to come back one day and will remember to bring socks, so that I can escape the leeches! But the excellent Gireesh was fully equipped with salt, which worked wonders, so no one should be put off by such minor details, when there are so many wonderful birds on offer!
Best wishes
Dr Catharine Howe
