Andamans Birding

Overview

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands – A Paradise on Earth.

Apart from the spotless, pure, and pristine beaches and a lot of water activities, the Andaman Islands are also a heaven for any birdwatcher or bird or wildlife photographer visiting the islands. The islands are a shelter to a huge variety of birds, with many of them being endemic to the islands. Here, you can observe winged beauties like the Andaman Scops Owl, the Hume’s Hawk Owl, the Andaman Crake, the Andaman Serpent Eagle, the Andaman Coucal, and many many more.

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India, is located in the Indian Ocean, in the southern reaches of the Bay of Bengal, near Myanmar and Indonesia. It comprises two island groups – the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands – which separate the Andaman Sea to the east from the Indian Ocean. These two groups are separated by the 10° N parallel, the Andamans lying to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobars to the south. The capital of this territory is the Andamanese town of Port Blair. There are 572 islands in the territory, of which only some 38 are permanently inhabited. Most of the islands (about 550) are in the Andamans group, 26 of which are inhabited. The smaller Nicobars comprise some 22 main islands (10 inhabited). The reserves and protected forests extend over 86% of the land area. About half of the forests have been set aside as Tribal Reserves, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, which are in violation. Mangroves occupy nearly 12% of the territory. There are more than 150 endemic plants and animal species. It is a birding paradise with around 271 species of which 39 are endemic.

Target species – not finished

Though we expect to cover more than 100 species of birds during our tour, we are just providing a list of birds that make birding in Andaman Islands unique & rewarding:

Endemic Species	Resident Species	Migratory Species
Andaman Shama	Olive-backed Sunbird	Chinese Egret
Andaman Flowerpecker	Long-tailed Parakeet	Violet Cuckoo
Andaman Woodpecker	White-breasted Woodswallow	Himalayan Cuckoo
Andaman Green-Pigeon	Black-naped Tern	Ashy Minivet
Andaman Wood-Pigeon	Pacific Swallow	Dusky Warbler
Andaman Cuckoodove	Beach Thick-knee	Arctic Warbler
Andaman Crake	Freckle-breasted Woodpecker	Pale-footed Bush Warbler
Andaman Serpent Eagle	Pacific Reef Egret	Black-browed Reed Warbler
Andaman Drongo	Plume-toed Swiftlet	Oriental Reed Warbler
Andaman Treepie	Edible Nest Swiftlet	Thick-billed Reed Warbler
Andaman Bulbul	Walden’s Scops Owl	Yellow-browed Leaf Warbler
Andaman Cuckooshrike	Mangrove Whistler	Daurian Starling
Andaman Teal	Ruddy Kingfisher	Curlew Sandpiper
Andaman Coucal	Blue-eared Kingfisher	Broad-billed Sandpiper
White-headed Starling	Black Baza	Red-necked Stint
Andaman Barn Owl	Chinese Pond Heron	Long-toed Stint
Andaman Scops Owl	Blyth’s Paradise Flycatcher	Eastern Yellow Wagtail
Andaman Hawk Owl	Collared Kingfisher	Yellow Bittern
Hume’s Hawk Owl	Brown-backed Needletail	Cinnamon Bittern
Andaman Nightjar	Dollarbird	Red-throated Pipit

Trip Highlights

Enjoy birding in one of the least explored and remote terrains of India where not many have ventured before.
Many birds you will see here are endemic – found nowhere else on the planet. There are 39 such endemic species.
Star attractions in this plan are Andaman Scops Owl, Hume’s Hawk Owl, Andaman Green Pigeon, Andaman Crake, Andaman Serpent Eagle etc.
Be accompanied by a qualified naturalist who is also a field expert will lead the tour
This is a customised trip for you and your group. So you can request us to increase or decrease the number of days as per your requirements. If you have some target species in mind, reach out to us and we will make a customised plan for that.
You need to be reasonably fit though there is not much walking involved in this trip.

ITINERARY - 8 Days

Day 1	Arrival & Evening Bird-watching at Chidiyatapu After arriving at Port Blair airport, we will receive you and take you to the resort for check-in. After checking in at the resort, we will head out to Chidiyatapu, which is a 45-minute drive from Port Blair while stopping at Burmanallah on the way. We will take a stroll on the forest road to Chidiyatapu at selected places in the evening and see and observe the birds. Here, when the sun sets, the blue water of the ocean just turns to become a multicolored liquid. After Sunset, we will cover the Nocturnal Endemics like the Andaman Serpent Eagle, the Andaman Nightjar, the Andaman Scops Owl, and the Hume’s Hawk Owl along with the Oriental Scops Owl (Andaman subspecies).
Day 2	Morning Session at Shoal Bay Our 2nd Day starts with an early wake up at 4.45 am, we will head towards Shoal Bay by taking a 5.00 am ferry to Bambooflat and will reach our bird watching spot before 6.00 am. We will stroll along the forest trail for about 100m spotting the birds and return to the resort at 11 am. Here, you can expect birds like Andaman Green-Pigeon, Andaman Cuckooshrike, Andaman Wood-Pigeon, Andaman Crake, Andaman Treepie, White-headed Starling, Andaman Bulbul, Andaman Shama, Ruddy Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Mangrove Whistler, White-breasted Wood-swallow, Andaman Drongo, Black Baza, Andaman Woodpecker, Andaman Cuckoo-dove, Violet Cuckoo, Blyth’s Paradise Flycatcher, Forest Wagtail. After lunch and a quick rest interval, we will move towards Sippighat Wetlands at 3 p.m. Sippighat is on the outskirts of Port Blair town which used to be paddy fields but got submerged after the 2004 Tsunami that hit Andaman. Here, you can expect birds like Andaman Teal, Chinese Pond Heron, Chinese Egret, Bailon’s Crake, Slaty-breasted Rail, Pin-tailed Snipe, Pacific Swallow, Watercock, Black-naped Tern, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Red-throated Pipit, Yellow Bittern, Cinnamon Bittern, Long-toed Stint, Red-necked Stint, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Daurian Starling, Chinese Pond Heron, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Eastern Jungle Crow.
Day 3	Evening Session at Sippighat Wetlands We will take the morning on Day 3 or the night ferry on Day 2 depending on the schedule of the ship and head to Hut Bay, Little Andaman which is 8 hours away by ferry from Port Blair. Upon arrival, we will check in our resort and leave for bird watching depending on the time we arrive. Here, you can expect birds like White-breasted Wood Swallow, Andaman Masked Owl, Oriental Pratincole, Black-browed Reed Warbler, Oriental Reed Warbler, etc. Then, we have an overnight stay at Hut Bay.
Day 4	Transfer to Little Andaman Island We will head out at daybreak towards South Bay and spend the morning session in the forest route leading to the Lighthouse while in the evening, we will travel towards RK Purto bird along the road from Hut Bay. Here, you can expect birds like Nicobar Pigeon, Andaman Cuckoodove, Andaman Green Pigeon, Andaman Shama, Andaman Woodpecker, Andaman Drongo, Andaman Coucal, Andaman Bulbul, Andaman Flowerpecker, Andaman Nightjar, etc. Then, we have an overnight stay at Hut Bay.
Day 5	Full day Bird Watching at Little Andaman As per the ship’s schedule and timings, we will be traveling back to Port Blair. Upon reaching there, we will check-in to our resort. If we have extra time, then we will do some bird watching in the morning or the evening.
Day 6	Transfer to Port Blair We will head out at 5.15 am towards Chidiyatapu, which is a 45min drive from Port Blair stopping at Burmanallah along the way. We will hike on the forest road to Chidiyatapu at selected places in the morning and spot the birds. After Breakfast, we will visit the Biological Park situated at Chidiyatapu and do trail bird watching inside the park from 9 am to 11 am. For you, lunch will be arranged at a Jungle resort nearby. After lunch, we will trek towards Badabalu Beach and spend the evening session bird watching there and return to the resort covering the Nocturnal endemics we missed in the previous days. Here, you can expect birds like Andaman Serpent Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, Andaman Treepie, Andaman Drongo, Andaman Shama, Andaman Bulbul, Andaman Nightjar, Andaman Scops Owl, Hume’s Hawk Owl, Oriental Scops Owl, Andaman Green-pigeon, Andaman Wood-pigeon, Andaman Flowerpecker, Andaman Coucal, Olive-backed Sunbird, Freckle-breasted Woodpecker, Long-tailed Parakeet, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Collared Kingfisher, White-headed Starling, Hill Myna, Pacific Reef Egret, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Changeable Hawk Eagle, Grey Wagtail, Blue-eared Kingfisher.
Day 7	South Andaman Island On our last day, we will go for bird watching depending on the birds we have missed in the previous days and target those species precisely.
Day 8	Full Day Bird Watching at Chidiyatapu We will help you check out from the resort and provide you with an escort to drop you at the Port Blair airport for your return flight back home.