Trip Summary
Last October, on the eve of Durga Puja, I went to South Andaman for a birding trip commencing on 3rd October 2024 and ended on 7th October, 2024. This tour was led by Shakti Vel- renowned bird tour operator in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Andaman is must visit destination for all bird enthusiasts since it’s home to around 30 endemic species including those found in Nicobar Island.
Locations Visited
This trip was primarily focussed on the birding hotspots of South Andaman which is basically Port Blair and areas in its vicinity. During the 5 days of our trip, we visited following hotspots:
Katalang Reserve Forest and Sippighat Wetlands
We had to take a ferry to reach this island and here we got endemic species like Andaman Bulbul, Andaman Coucal, Andaman Serpent Eagle, Andaman Cuckooshrike etc.
Ferrargung Reserve forest or Mt. Harriet National Park
A tropical evergreen forest which should remain an integral part of all bird enthusiasts given the presence of Ruddy Kingfisher – this area is adjacent to the local mangrove and offers a natural habitat for Ruddy Kingfisher.
Ograbraj Wetland
This is another hotspot located very close to our hotel – a wetland which is also a disposal ground of city waste and we found here species like Plum-toed swiftlet, Whiskered Tern, Eurasian Moorhen, Gray-headed Swamphen, White-breasted Waterhen.
Garacharma Wetland
This is an area which was also in the vicinity and we visited this place twice – Difficult for photography (but unavoidable) since this is also a waste disposal area and birds are found in the midst of a not so pleasant set up -key species that we could observe here were : Tibetan Sand Plover, Whimbrel, Pacific Golden Plover, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Ornate Sunbird etc. On a subsequent visit, we could also find Andaman Teal.
Chidiya Tapu
This is also an important destination and was very productive as we could photograph nocturnal endemics like Walden’s Scops Owl ( Oriental), Andaman Boobook and Hume’s Boobook and Andaman Nightjar.
Shoal Bay
Another important hotspot and a tropical forest where we could find Stork Billed Kingfisher , Collared Kingfisher etc.
Group Size
It was a small group of four like-minded bird photographers and was led by Shakti Vel. Shakti has a master degree in science and has worked with wild life / forest department and we found him to very knowledgeable, articulate and a thorough professional to work with,
Bird Species Observed
I am sharing an exhaustive list of endemic species (and not merely those which I could observe) which are found in the islands.
Species endemic to the Andaman Islands
• Andaman serpent-eagle – Spilornis elgini
• Andaman crake – Rallina canningi
• Brown coucal – Centropus andamanensis
• Andaman scops owl – Otus balli
• Hume’s boobook – Ninox obscura
• Andaman barn-owl- Tyto deroepstorffi
• Andaman nightjar- Caprimulgus andamanicus
• Narcondam hornbill – Rhyticeros narcondami
• Andaman woodpecker – Dryocopus hodgei
• Andaman drongo – Dicrurus andamanensis
• Andaman treepie – Dendrocitta bayleyii
• Andaman shama – Copsychus albiventris
• Andaman bulbul – Pycnonotus fuscoflavescens
• Andaman cuckooshrike – Coracina dobsoni
• Andaman flowerpecker – Dicaeum virescens
Species endemic to the Nicobar Islands
• Nicobar imperial-pigeon – Ducula nicobarica
• South Nicobar serpent eagle – Spilornis klossi
• Nicobar sparrowhawk – Accipiter butleri
• Nicobar parakeet – Psittacula caniceps
• Nicobar bulbul – Ixos nicobariensis
• Nicobar jungle flycatcher – Cyornis nicobaricus
• Nicobar scops-owl – Otus alius
• Nicobar megapode – Megapodius nicobariensis (possibly extirpated over Andaman range)
Species endemic to the two island groups
• Andaman woodpigeon – Columba palumboides
• Andaman green pigeon – Treron chloropterus
• Andaman cuckoo-dove – Macropygia rufipennis
• Andaman boobook – Ninox affinis
• White-headed starling – Sturnia erythropygia
Please find below my bird trip report to get a comprehensive idea about bird species which were observed by me and our group:
eBird Trip Report
Arrangements of the Trip
All arrangements were made by Shakti which included our stay, local transportation, pick up from and drop to airport etc
Accommodation
Our tour operator booked a local hotel of acceptable standard and quality for us and the property was centrally located as well.
Road Conditions
Road condition in proper Port Blair was mostly ok -however once we started to explore places beyond Port Blair city limit, we found considerable deterioration at places and in the evening while returning, we used to experience heavy traffic movement ( nothing alarming though).
Weather Conditions
Days were mostly bright and sunny which also meant humid at times. Birding activities used to mostly end by 11 am due to harsh sunlight and would again resume post 3 pm.
Trip Highlights
Some important key facts about The Andaman and Nicobar Islands:
• It is an union territory of India comprising of 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited.
• The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a 150 km (93 mi) wide channel.
• The capital and largest city of the territory, Port Blair – well connected with Kolkata and Chennai and also with stop over flights from New Delhi, Bangalore etc.
• The territory shares maritime borders with Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand and therefore not difficult to understand why The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is an important base for Indian Navy.
• We had a very productive trip led by a competent tour lead (Shakti Vel). While we missed a few species which despite the best possible efforts from Shakti remained elusive, It also helped me make up my mind to plan for another visit in early 2026.
• There is no hide as such and therefore It’s very helpful to carry a zoom lens / prime lens with longer focal length.
Personal Reflections
I felt that we went to Andaman bit too early since most of the migratory species start to come from November onwards and therefore Jan to April would be better months for bird watching / photography. And also having gone all the way to our destination, we should have explored Little Andaman as well for most sought after Nicobar Pigeon. However, I returned extremely happy with the photographic outcome and birding experience following the trip and feel inspired to plan for the next trip in 2026.