Birds & Wildlife

O’land plantation is an amazing birding destination. Our resort borders the Nilgiris biosphere which is home to over 250 species of birds and animals, several of which are endemic to the Nilgiris.

BIRDWATCHER’S PARADISE
O’Land is truly a birdwatcher’s paradise. You will wake up each morning to an incredible loud and beautiful dawn chorus of birds. On the grounds of O’Land itself we have spotted over 130 different bird species and counting, including many rare and endemic species like:

  • Nilgiri Laughingthrush
  • Yellow-Throated Bulbul
  • Pied Thrush
  • Nilgiri Wood Pigeon
  • Malabar Barbet
  • Orange Minivet
  • Grey Junglefowl
  • Rufous Babbler
  • Malabar Whistling Thrush
  • Black-and-Orange Flycatcher
  • Asian Paradise Flycatcher
  • Brown Fish-Owl
  • Crested Hawk Eagle
  • And many more!

What makes O’Land’s birdwatching experience extra special is that – for as long as we can remember – we have had Great Indian Hornbills visiting us every other day, throughout the winter months (October – March). They stay for hours at a time, feasting on the fruit trees right in front of the Estate House, so there’s no need for you to search for them: they come right to us. If you’re lucky you can even spot them from your balcony!

We have several paths that take you through the property, and you can go birdwatching on your own (escorted by one of our staff) or you can come with your professional naturalist / guide.

We have binoculars that we are happy to lend to our guests for birdwatching trips, as well as a printed edition of this bird checklist available for your use at O’Land – we are always building on this checklist, and we love having our birdwatcher guests tell us about new species they’ve spotted and IDed at O’Land so we can add them to the list!
BIRD CHECKLIST

WILDIFE HEAVEN
O’Land is also teeming with wildlife: we have dozens of resident gaurs here, elephants visiting during jackfruit season, and sloth bears roaming about in the evenings and early mornings. Again, because we border the Nilgiris biosphere we have several rare and endemic animals seen at O’Land, including:

  • Malabar Giant Squirrel
  • Nilgiri Striped Squirrel
  • Indian Hare
  • Indian Grey Mongoose
  • Indian Crested Porcupine
  • Grey Langur
  • Rhesus Macaque
  • Bonnet Macaque
  • Barking Deer
  • Wild Boar
  • Sambar Deer
  • Indian Gaur
  • Indian Elephant
  • Sloth Bear
  • Leopard
  • Dhole/Wild Dog

These are all wild animals, and so we take great precaution to ensure our guests do not get too close. Rest assured the animals do stay away from the main guest areas (Estate House, Pepper House, Hornbill House and connecting areas) and so as long as you stick to those areas and don’t roam the extended O’Land grounds at night you will be safe!

PHOTO GALLERY
Here’s a selection of photos of birds and wildlife taken at O’Land by our guests.

If you got some good photos, please share them with us on olandinstagram@gmail.com and we will post them on our website and instagram (with credit!).

Bird Photo Gallery

Animals Gallery