Exploring the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Mrugaya Xpeditions
- 23 hours ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 54 minutes ago
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a biodiversity hotspot with over 30 species of birds endemic to the Islands and many more residents and migrants. This was Mrugaya Xpeditions' first exploratory trip to the Islands mainly to get a sense of the birdlife and the logistics in the Great Nicobar Islands for our future tours there starting Nov 2026. So we sat out for a long 15 day trip combining both South Andaman and Great Nicobar Island.
We started with a day of birding at Shoal Bay looking for some of the Andaman endemic species which can be found there. We spend the whole day visiting forest habitats as well as some mangroves. Some of the species we saw there were Andaman....This was followed by some night birding as well.
On the next day we were to travel to Great Nicobar Island. It is an approx. 30 hour journey by ship usually sailing only on a Tuesday and back on a Thursday. So one has to stay in Great Nicobar for at least eight days until the next sailing. We were sailing on MV Kalighat which is an old ship and not many people are fond of it but it was decent and had a lot of space outside to move around which was not the case on MV Nalanda (our return ship, although much more comfortable and cleaner). So the ship left Port Blair at around 11 am.
We were out on the decks scanning for any pelagic birds or marine mammals which we could spot along the long journey. It started off with a lot of Flying Fishes and we immediately got our our cameras to get some shots of them. While shooting we also realized that there were at least two different kinds of them.
Along with flying fishes we managed to see dolphins numerous times and a lone whale. The Striped and Spinner dolphins came really close to the ship and put on a spectacular show. In addition we also managed to see a pod of Bottlenose dolphins swimming into one of the most magical sunsets.
The next day after a morning halt at Kamorta jetty we reached Campbell Bay just as it was getting dark. We settled into the rooms, had an early dinner, prepared for the next days birding. For people like us from the west coast of India, sense of time is lost in such an eastern corner of India. Sunrise by 4:45 am and sunset by 5:30 pm changes the daily routine. Nevertheless we were ready by 4:30 am the next day and set out for some relaxed open habitat birding and one of the first birds we saw were Nicobar Pigeons flying.
Over the course of the week we visited numerous spots including the Great Nicobar Biosphere reserve, Indira point which is the southernmost tip of India and many other locations in between. We managed to tick off some of the endemics like Nicobar Imperial Pigeon, Nicobar Hooded Pitta, Nicobar Scops Owl, Nicobar Serpent Eagle as well as some of the resident sub-species of Indian White-eye, Brown Hawk Owl, Crimson Sunbird, Common Hill Myna, Greater racket-tailed Drongo etc.
The two endemics which were eluding us were the Nicobar Megapode and Nicobar Jungle Flycatcher. We heard calls of both species at multiple locations but couldn't see them. We also tried spending some time at an active Megapode mound, but with no luck. Then finally on one of the days, we heard calls very close to the road and immediately our drivers Ashish and Manish and our local coordinator Rahul picked out a path into the forest where we had a good chance of sighting. We waited there while the Megapode just rushed through the thick undergrowth and only a couple of us got a small glimpse while the calls faded into the forest.
The next day we returned to the same spot and immediately we heard the Megapode's cackling call. We went into the forest once again, but this time we picked a different spot with better visibility. We also made a makeshift hide for us so that the Megapode does not get startled seeing us. After waiting there silently and patiently braving a few leeches, the Megapode finally shows up. It was a single individual which came to the exact spot it was seen the previous day helping us make some amazing images. For a moment it came so close to us that no one could take pictures.
We waited patiently for the megapode to leave before we moved out from the place so aas not to disturb it. As we got up to leave to our surprise we also heard calls of Nicobar Jungle Flycatcher. It was foraging in the thicket. With a little back and forth peeking through the dense foliage we finally managed to get good views and some decent images of Nicobar Jungle Flycatcher.
We spent the last day revisiting some of the areas to try and get some better images of some of the birds as well as butterflies we saw. To our delight a male Blyth's paradise flycatcher showed up really well near a paddy field and we managed some great images. Same with Nicobar Imperial Pigeon. Usually frequenting the high canopy among the lofty trees, this individual was perched at a more reasonable height for photography.
The most common mammals here are the Nicobar Tree Shrew and the Nicobar Long-tailed Macaque, a sub-species of crab-eating macaques, both endemic to Great Nicobar Group of islands.
Great Nicobar is not just a great place for birds but also home to some amazing and endemic butterflies, odonates, reptiles and amphibians. One striking reptile we saw was the Daniel's forest lizard, fairly common among the forested areas in Great Nicobar. The beaches here too are very pristine. On some of the beaches you can see the damage caused by the Tsunami in 2004.
In terms of the facilities Great Nicobar doesn't have too many options. Most are government run places where accommodation is quite basic. Food available is good as well with very few options. So one should not expect luxury but the basic needs are there. After 8 days of birds, butterflies, other wildlife and beached we left for Port Blair on MV Nalanda, a much better ship than MV Kalighat but not much space to move around on the deck. In this case the Kalighat beats Nalanda since we could spend a lot of time outside scanning the open ocean. But we did manage to see the Collared Kingfisher subspecies from Nicobar Islands when the ship was docked at Kamorta.
On the next day in Port Blair we did a bit of sight seeing including the Kaala Paani (Cellular) jail and shopping for some souvenirs before we went out to look for Walden's Scops Owl, Hume's Boobook and Andaman Nightjar. The next morning we set out to look for the Andaman Crake. We scanned multiple locations until we finally managed to see it crossing a stream. Not before we managed some good images of Andaman Shama, Orange headed thrush, Andaman Treepie and some of the endemic butterflies like Andaman Mormon, Andaman Clubtail and Andaman Tree Nymph.
The afternoon we took a ferry ride to Havelock Island. We went there only for a day to see some underwater life, a first time for many of us. The morning of the dive, as we were leaving our place of stay - The Forest Elephant, we managed to sight the Andaman Serpent Eagle, one of the endemics we had not had a chance of seeing before and later in the afternoon a Water Monitor basking on the path. As we waded through the water to get to the dive training area we got some excellent views of Pacific swallows.
After 15 min of basic dive training we set out to dive at the lighthouse dive site with Scubalov team at Havelock. And boy was it amazing, the water was so clear that we could see the fishes and other marine life very clearly. We managed to see some octopuses, lobster, parrotfishes, puffer fish, giant clam, star fishes, clown fishes and loads of other gorgeous fishes. Some of us who were certified could also see a Hawksbill Turtle. It was an amazing first time experience that left us mesmerized.
We left back for Portblair the same afternoon, with the following morning spent chasing some left over endemics like White-breasted Woodswallow as well as some Andaman specialties like Ruddy Kingfisher and Mangrove Whistler. All there species showed up well and we managed very good images of them.
That was a wrap up of the long 16 days trip full of fun, birding, diving, exploring. You can see out ebird Trip report below. We at Mrugaya Xpeditions will also be planning a Andaman and Great Nicobar Birding Tour in Oct-Nov 2026. Keep visiting the website for regular updates.
Ebird Trip Report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/504676
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