Andaman was surely long awaited since last few years… In two successive batches to Greater & Little Andaman, I got 45 lifers, including 20 Andaman endemics, with my life bird list reaching 1035.
Greater Andaman
Tourist from as over India & World come here to see the majestic sea shores, a place full of tourists, specially in winters. But still less birded & less explored for wildlife. Im sure in coming years this place will become a super hot birding hotspot.
As soon as you reach Veer Savarkar Airport in Andaman, your lifer count starts with White-bellied or Glossy Swiftlet. There are 5 to 6 places in Greater Andaman, famous for Birding….
1. Chidiya Tapu – About 17kms from Port Blair, area named after birds is otherwise famous with tourists as a Sunset point, but a must visit place for birders, specially in the morning. Chidiya Tapu is basically a zoo, but with dense canopy of long, lofty trees and thick undergrowth, you start to compare the forest with lowland North-East forests of Assam & Arunachal. Andaman Wood Pigeon (State bird of Andaman & Niocobar Islands), Andaman Bulbul, Andaman Coucal, Long-tailed Parakeet, freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Olive-backed Sunbird, Andaman Serpent Eagle… you lifer list starts growing… The adjoining mangroves is perfect place for another special bird, Mangrove Whistler. Wait… your birding in not over yet, as night starts falling, nearby areas of Chidiya Tapu starts whispering calls of Andaman Nightjar & Owls. Great place to see Andaman Scops & Walden Scops Owl, Andaman Hawk & Hume’s Hawk Owl.
2. Shoal Bay – About 15 mins of drive in ferry from Chatham jetty you cross over to Bambooflat jetty. These are big ferrys, wherein you can take your vehicles also in the ferry. Half-an-hour drive from Bambooflat takes you to once of best forests of Greater Andaman, Shoal Bay. On the way to Shoal Bay there are some nice patches of reeds, worth observing for Black-browed & Oriental Reed Warblers, along with Yellow Bitterns. Shoal Bay forest is full of birds and also leeches, so always advisable to go wearing leech guards. Lifer list continues with Andaman Drongo, Andaman Cuckoo-shrike, Andaman Flowerpecker, Andaman Shama & so on… Another speciality of this place is Black Baza. One of the best places to see this beautiful raptor. Also good place to see Andaman Crake which we missed in both the batches.
3. Sippi Ghat – A small water body is famous for Andaman Teals, apart from that you can get Chinese Egret, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Pin-tailed Snipe, Water cock, Yellow Bittern, Cottom Pygmy Goose, Lesser Whistling Ducks etc…
4. Mount Harriet – Another patch of evergreen forest, gives you splendid top views of lush green valleys & mountains. Famous for picture on back side of Rs. 20/- note, Mt. Harriet is another gem from Andaman Islands.
Most of birding in Greater Andaman revolve around these places. Multiple visits to Chidiya Tapu & Shoal Bay are recommended. Special mention has to be made of Collared Kingfisher, which is a common bird here.
Little Andaman
A small island, compared to Greater Andaman, towards south, requires 7-8 hours journey by ship. There are day as well as overnight ships. These ships are operated by government only, some are for sitting capacity while some are with sleeper arrangements. From Port Blair you travel to south of Little Andaman to place called Hut Bay. Only South of Little Andaman has habitation. North of Little Andaman has some settlements of Onge tribe, where tourists are not allowed.
Further south of Hut Bay you reach to a place called Harminder Bay, from here there is a trek (straight walk, no ups & downs) of 8km one way. The trail goes to pristine evergreen forest on one side and sea shore on other. The trail ends at light house, which is southern most tip of Little Andaman. One of the most memorable walks through amazing forest, but extremely humid. But all these efforts are worth just for a glimpse of one of the most elusive & shy bird, Nicobar Pigeon. Even though it feeds on the ground, even a little sound or vibration causes it to fly and settle in some dense foliage. Apart from Nicobar Pigeon, we also saw Pied Triller, Andaman Cuckoo Dove, Asian Fairy Blue Bird, Black-naped Oriole etc…
Sea shore of Hut Bay also gave us great views of my lifers, Beach Thick-knee, Oriental Pratincole, House or Pacific Swallow, & Red-throated Pipit, along with Greater & Lesser Sand Plover, Eastern Yellow Wagtails, Greater Short-toed Lark etc…
Drive towards North of Hut Bay till Vivekanandpur was full of birds on both sides of the road. Here only we got the group of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings, only second sighting from India, Ashy Minivets, Scarlet & Small Minivets, Racket-tailed Drongo, Andaman Black & Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Large & Andaman Cuckoo shrike etc… the night trail was also eventful with sightings of Andaman Scops Owl & Andaman Hawk Owl. We also got an opportunity to see Andaman Barn Owl also called as Andaman Masked Owl.
A small pond full of lotus near Hut Bay was awaiting us with one of the rarest sightings. We visited the pond to see Watercock, Purple Swamphen, Common Moorhen, Lesser Whistling Ducks etc… but apart from all this we got a bumper, mega lifer, male of Mandarin Duck… It was sitting nicely in open on the bamboo compound at one of the edges of the pond, showing his full glory. Everyone was amazed to see this beauty. Later it flew to the water & had a nice bath in company of two Andaman Teals & came back again to the same place. Next day morning again we went there, but Madarin was not seen… but for our pleasure it came back after some time along with Lesser Whistling Ducks & gave us some nice snaps in morning light. A sighting to remember for life time!
Little Andaman has a potential for more such rarities as it is not being birded extensively.
Observations: Its hard to believe that even though habitat is there some bird families are missing, like Babbler, Nuthatch, Barbet, Hornbills (apart from Narcondam Hornbill, endemic to Narcondam Islands) only 2 species of Woodpecker, only 1 Sunbird, only 1 Flowerpecker. Lot of study needed to be done on the evolution of bird species on these islands. Overall here birds are not abundant like in North-East forest, even though habitat is similar, but most of the birds found here unique, endemic to these Islands, and that makes birding in Andaman special.
Notes:
- Andaman is extremely humid even in December.
- It can rain here anytime through out the year.
- Any depression in Bay of Bengal can cause bad weather affecting the travel between Greater & Little Andaman by ships.
- Very few stay facilities in Little Andaman, only 3 to 4 hotels/resorts.
- Little Andaman is famous, mostly among foreign tourists for surfing (on sea).
- All throughout Greater & Little Andaman mobile data connectivity is very very weak. But you get good network (to call) for BSNL, Vodafone & Airtel.
- Almost in all forest areas leeches are in good nos :-), leech socks are recommended.
- During night trails small mosquitoes harass you, so a mosquito repellent is a must.
Bird Guide: Vikram Shill (natureland@rediffmail.com / 9434868681) – highly recommended
My Lifers –
11-Dec-18
White-bellied Swiftlet – Veer Savarkar Airport
Andaman Bulbul – On the way to Chidiya Tapu
Olive-backed Sunbird – On the way to Chidiya Tapu
Andaman Coucal – On the way to Chidiya Tapu
Pacific Reef Egret – On the way to Chidiya Tapu
Daurian Starling – On the way to Chidiya Tapu
Freckle-breasted Woodpecker – chidiya Tapu
Long-tailed Parakeet – Chidiya Tapu
Hume’s Hawk Owl – Near Chidiya Tapu
12-Dec-18
Oriental Reed Warbler – On the way to Shoal Bay
Andaman White-headed Starling – On the way to Shoal Bay
Andaman Drongo – Shoal Bay
Andaman Cuckoo Shrike – Shoal Bay
Andaman Woodpecker – Shoal Bay
Andaman Flowerpecker – Shoal Bay
Ashy Minivet – Shoal Bay
Andaman Shama – Shoal Bay
Japenese Sparrowhawk – Near Shoal Bay
White-breasted Woodswallow – Near Sippi Ghat
Edible Nest Swiftlet – Sippi Ghat
Andaman Teal – Sippi Ghat
13-Dec-18
House ( Pacific) Swallow – Hut Bay, Little Andaman
Andaman Green Pigeon – Hut Bay, Little Andaman
Chestnut-cheeked Starling – Hut Bay, Little Andaman
Andaman Scops Owl – Dam Area, Hut Bay, Little Andaman
Andaman Hawk Owl – Hut Bay, Little Andaman
14-Dec-18
Nicobar Pigeon – Harminder Bay, Little Andaman
Pied Triller – Harminder Bay, Little Andaman
15-Dec-18
Red-throated Pipit – Hut Bay
Andaman Barn Owl – Hut Bay
Oriental Pratincole – Hut Bay
17-Dec-18
Andaman Treepie – Chidiya Tapu
Red-necked Stint –
Andaman Nightjar – Wandoor
18-Dec-18
Andaman Sepent Eagle – Chidiya Tapu
Mangrove Whistler – Chidiya Tapu
22-Dec-18
Black-browed Reed Warbler – On the way to Shoal Bay
Chinese Egret – Sippi Ghat
23-Dec-18
Andaman Woodpigeon – Chidiya Tapu
25-Dec-18
Andaman Cuckoo Dove – Harminder Bay
Mandarin Duck – Hut Bay
26-Dec-18
Asian Glossy Starling – Hut Bay
Violet Cuckoo – Hut Bay
Beach Thick-knee – Hut Bay
28-Dec-18
Ruddy Kingfisher – Shoal Bay
Other birds – Eye-browed Thrush, Black Baza, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Collared Kingfisher, Green Imperial Pigeon, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Black-naped Oriole, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Crested Serpent Eagle (Davisoni subspecies), Changeable Hawk Eagle, Dollar Bird, White-rumped & Scaly-breasted Munia, Red-breasted Parakeet, Black-capped Kingfisher, Rosy Starling, Watercock, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Lesser Whistling Ducks, Purple Swamphen, Common Moorhen, Yellow & Chestnut Bittern, Pale-footed Bush Warbler, Red-collared Dove, Long-toed Stint, Eurasian Curlew, Whimbrel, Lesser & Greater Sand Plover, Kentish Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Black Drongo, Ashy Drongo, Scarlet & Small Minivet, Emerald Dove, Alexandrine Parakeet, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Clamerous Reed Warbler, Brown Shrike, Oriental White eye, Large-billed Warbler, Greater-crested Tern, Brahminey Kite, Asian koel, Cattle, Little, Intermediate & Large Egret, Indian Pond Heron etc…
Birding Travelogue 