22 Apr 2024
We had a great days birding with Subbu who is a very knowledgeable and personable birder. Subbu phoned the night before the trip to check if we had binoculars etc and what types of birds we wanted to see so tailored the day to meet our requirements. He brought his spotting scope so we were able to get some great close views of the more distant birds. I also asked if we could go out early before it became too hot and he duly obliged, arranging for a taxi to collect us from the hotel before the temperature hit 30 degrees. I’m a fairly experienced UK birder but this was my first time out and about in Chennai and it didn’t disappoint as we clocked up over 70 species in a few hours including spotted eagle, 3 kingfisher species, 3 bittern species, bee eater, roller, golden oriole, fulvous whistling ducks and spotted owlets. Subbu also has a very keen ear and was constantly identifying calls for us. I would thoroughly recommend a birding trip and will definitely go again when the opportunity presents itself.