Top Birding hotspots in Nilgiris

The entire Nilgiris district should have been a birding hotspot if the forest was not fragmented for tea estates. Many Western Ghats endemic birds like Nilgiri flycatcher, Black and Orange Flycatcher, Nilgiri Sholakili and Nilgiri laughing thrush call Nilgiri as home. I love all the birding hotspots in Nilgiris but here I mention few places which are easily accessible for casual birders.

1. Kodanad view point

          Kodanad is a tea estate region near Kotagiri town and there are no big resorts/hotels for stay or food. So many tourists come to Kotagiri and prefer to stay around in the tourist spots in Kotagiri. As a result, the Kodanad view point is not a crowded tourist spot. So the bird watchers can enjoy bird watching enroute to Kodanad view point. We saw Malabar Lark lurking on the road as there were no vehicles in early morning. One can get lucky to spot Vultures in the Kodanad viewpoint as the place is close to Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. When we visited the place, the Common Kestrel was hovering at eye-level which was such a beautiful sight. This is one of the best places to see Kurinji blooms. There is no entry fee for this viewpoint but there is a vehicle parking fee.

2. Sim’s Park

              Sim’s park was a real surprise to Vinod and myself. We thought of it as a Children’s Park in hill station and never  planned a visit. Few of our birding friends in Nilgiris suggested to visit this place and we visited the place before leaving Nilgiris. We went on a rainy day and even in that weather , the bird activities were good. There were Fantails dancing around in the rain, Scimitar babbler emitting his unique call, Tickell’s blue flycatcher hopping on the branches, Blackbird foraging on the grasses and Oriental White-eyes hanging upside down. Even in that rain, the tourists were pouring in and the birds didn’t seem to mind the human disturbances. The entry ticket for the park is minimal and the place opens at 8:00 AM which is unusual in hill stations. This is a good place for casual birding in Nilgiris.

3. Bison View Point & Sigur Ghat bridge

              Bison View Point is located in the Ooty- Masinagudi Road. There is a small patch of good old forest trees which attracts birds like Vernal hanging parrot, flycatchers, Leafbirds and other forest dwelling birds. The look out point was a small area but it was safe to park the vehicle and do some casual birding. There were monkeys scurrying around and tourists stopping for selfies. As the tourists stop at this place only for few minutes, there was not much disturbance. There are no petty shops too, so bird watchers can just enjoy the serenity without any commotions of a typical tourist place.

                 If you are on the way to Masinagudi, you have to stop at this place for a short birding. The tourists feed the Macaques, so you can feel the monkeys staring at you while you are birding. The forest officers don’t approve people stopping at this place as it is the land of big mammals. So you cannot wander around for birding but just stay on the bridge to have a quick peek on the birds. Verditer flycatcher, Greater Racket-tailed drongo, Crested hawk eagle and Orange minivets kind of forest birds can be sighted in Sigur Ghat bridge.

4. Pakkasuran Malai

This is a beautiful viewpoint located 15 kms from Coonoor. Pakkasuran malai is otherwise called as Bakasura malai(Droog fort) which is a historic fort but like all other national monuments in India, this is also an unmaintained one. There is no fort left except for a wall , so this is not a popular tourist spot. Still, adventure seeking people try the trail that run through the tea estate and a small patch of old growth forest to reach the viewpoint. Birdwatchers can enjoy forest birds like Brown-cheeked fulvetta, Crested goshawk, Velvet-fronted nuthatch and Asian fairy bluebird in this forest range.

5. Kunjapanai reserve forest

Kunjapanai village is situated in Kotagiri-Mettupalayam road. To enter inside the forest one needs permission from Forest Department but we can do a good bird watching near the Kunjapannai Mariamman Temple. That place attracts flycatchers and forest birds like Orange-headed Thrush who prefers dense undergrowth. The teashop near the temple gets high tourist and local footfall but these birds move silently in this chaos. Bird photography is tough in this grove as it is always dark with tall trees. So bird photographers won’t prefer this place but this Kunjapanai forest is good for binocular birding. We have seen Nilgiri wood pigeon, Black Eagle, Indian Blue Robin, Rusty-tailed flycatcher and many other uncommon birds in this section.

These locations are ideal for casual birding to see forest birds in Nilgiris just like the list for Coimbatore but for serious birding there are many other locations in Nilgiris District. Catherine Falls, Avalanche Road, Doddabetta, Longwood Shola and Mukurthi National Park are few of the best birding locations in Nilgiris District. There are many private estate roads with excellent birding opportunities but the access is restricted to public. Leopards, Indian Gaurs, Elephants and Wild Dogs are sighted regularly in the tea estates. So it is not recommended to wander around in these places without taking extra precautions. Bird watching in Nilgiris is really enjoyable for bird lovers as there is always a chance to sight rare endemic birds like Laughing thrush or the colorful migratory birds like Kashmir Flycatcher.