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Chennai Birding and Photography Tour: Spot Rare Species with Expert Guide
5.0
17 Ratings
Chennai
Join our Chennai Birding and Photography Tour to spot rare species with an expert guide. Enhance your birdwatching experience and capture stunning birding photography. Book now!
Join our Chennai Birding and Photography Tour to spot rare species with an expert guide. Enhance your birdwatching experience and capture stunning birding photography. Book now!
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest - This is a suggested location. The curator guides bird enthusiasts to the ideal natural setting (either marshland or lakeside) in and around Chennai, based on the season and time.
The location may vary according to the season.
During the last birding trip, 298 birds from 48 different species were identified in 192 minutes of birdwatching.
Photos provided by Mr. Moulie.
- Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest - This is a suggested location. The curator guides bird enthusiasts to the ideal natural setting (either marshland or lakeside) in and around Chennai, based on the season and time.
The location may vary according to the season.
During the last birding trip, 298 birds from 48 different species were identified in 192 minutes of birdwatching.
Photos provided by Mr. Moulie.
What's Included
- Accommodation as per itinerary
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
- Breakfast (some hotels may offer this at an additional charge)
- Professional guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (if option selected)
- Transport by private vehicle
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- All activities
- Accommodation as per itinerary
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
- Breakfast (some hotels may offer this at an additional charge)
- Professional guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (if option selected)
- Transport by private vehicle
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- All activities
What's Not Included
- Anything other than inclusions
- Anything other than inclusions
Additional Information
Our birdwatching, birding photography, and birdwatching trips in Chennai are highly sought after. Why choose KeyTerns for your birdwatching adventure?
- You’ll be guided to prime locations to observe a wide variety of species, including rare ones.
- Benefit from enhanced birdwatching with an experienced birding guide and bird call expert, utilizing…
Our birdwatching, birding photography, and birdwatching trips in Chennai are highly sought after. Why choose KeyTerns for your birdwatching adventure?
- You’ll be guided to prime locations to observe a wide variety of species, including rare ones.
- Benefit from enhanced birdwatching with an experienced birding guide and bird call expert, utilizing top-notch spotting scopes and binoculars.
- Enjoy an exceptional birdwatching experience, learning about numerous bird species, their behaviors, sounds, and lifestyles.
- Capture breathtaking birding photographs.
- And much more.
Curator Profile: Meet Subbu, a dedicated birdwatcher, bird call specialist, bird sound recorder, and researcher who delivers lectures at various venues. He can identify birds by their sounds and has significantly contributed to bird counting efforts. Subbu is affiliated with several birding organizations and uses high-quality spotting scopes or binoculars to observe birds from a distance, providing detailed explanations.
Last Birding Trip Details: Covered 2.96 km in 192 minutes, identifying 298 birds across 48 species.
Location
Chennai
For Guide only package, meeting point will be the Birding location which will be shared one day prior to the date of trip.
For Guide with Transport package, meeting point will be agreed with customer one day prior to the date of trip.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(17 Ratings)
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880rameshv
Jan 26, 2026
An Excellent Birding Experience - I booked a birding walk through Tripadvisor for myself and my 8-year-old son, and I cannot recommend our host, Subbu, highly enough. Subbu called before the day of the trip to ask what kind of experience we were looking for. I requested a trip tailored specifically for my son, and Subbu delivered spectacularly. My son had a never-ending stream of questions, and Subbu answered every single one with patience and expertise. Subbhu took care of the Admission fee.
Subbu took us to three distinct locations, including the Pallikaranai Marshland Park and a unique elevated viewpoint that offered a stunning perspective of the marshland. Some of the memorable birds we spotted were the Indian Pond Heron, Red-wattled Lapwing, Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, Yellow-billed Babblers (cousins to the famous "7 sisters"), Black Drongo (Rettai Vaal Kuruvi), and Asian Koel.
Our entire birding experience lasted around 4 hours.
We would recommend birding trips with Subbu without any reservations!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
745et
Jan 21, 2026
Wonderful experience! - So many birds! Such a knowledgeable guide! We enjoyed seeing all the water birds and learning about their habitat. A wonderful experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Miorii2023
Jan 14, 2026
Amazing Bird Photography Session in Chennai - When I contacted KeyTerns to book my birding session in Chennai, it was only a day before the event. Despite it being such a last-minute request, the team kindly and professionally took care of my needs - from their swift responses to the convenient Wise payment process, everything was smooth. My guide, Mr. Subramaniam Sankar, is a great birder himself and selected a photography-friendly birding site for me based on my preference. With his guidance, I could observe a beautiful variety of birds this country has to offer, from a very unique-looking Painted Stork to rainbow colored Bee-Eaters! The key highlights of the session also included: Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Spot-billed Pelican, and Red-vented Bulbul. If you're considering organizing a trip with KeyTerns, I can assure you that their service will never disappoint.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sandor
Jan 14, 2026
Contagious enthusiastic - Me and my daughter went with Suba and saw a lot of different birds. The spotscope was great and Suba's enthusiasm infectious. We came to surprising places where we had a good view.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sunshine01999609549
Mar 17, 2025
if you have the time, do this - absolutely fantastic trip! went out early in the morning to a lake outside of chennai and walked around with out tour guide for ~2,5h. he was very friendly and knowledgeable, answering all our questions. we were a group of mixed birding-levels but all had fun. bee-eaters, kingfishers, storks, herons and a variety of smaller birds were great to spot. booked the extra cab option and our driver was reliable and nice. definitely recommend this option as far-away places can be a burden to get to/away from. 10/10 would do again
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Juliaw613
Feb 23, 2025
A true expert guide on short notice! - I was able to book Subbu on short notice the day before I flew over to India for a last minute work trip. (But certainly avoid last minute because he is working through an agency so there is coordination/confirmation lead times). After working through some logistics via WhatsApp we met at a nearby pick-up downtown spot and he directed my driver to a local spot on “the great salt lake” as Google calls it south of the city with better air, less noise, and more birds! We saw so many great birds - bee-eaters(green & blue), king fishers(blue, pied, white-throated), lapwing, Indian spotted duck, open bill stork, pond heron, hoopoe, crow (jungle, common), ring eyed plover, sand piper, jacana, munias, barn swallows, ibis, avocet (downtown marsh), bush chat, spotted dove, clamorous reed warbler, ashy prinia, yellow billed babbler, drongo. Subbu has a passion for acoustics and works for eBird, capturing many of the recordings you might hear on the Merlin app. Great morning out!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shalini2018
Jul 23, 2024
Excellent morning birding - Excellent morning birding in Chennai. Mr Subramaniam Sankar is a knowledgeable birder and passionate conservationist.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chris
Apr 22, 2024
A wonderful days birding - 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adventure44860530462
Apr 9, 2024
Ticking off one new experience in life- Bird Watching! - "I must say, this was truly one of the best experiences of my life. I had never been birdwatching before. When they mentioned that we would be accompanied by an expert, we were hopeful for a great experience. It happened to be my wife's birthday, and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Amidst the chaos of the city, they took us to a beautiful spot, guiding us through some exquisite birds. Just by observing them, a sense of calmness washed over our minds. The experience was further elevated when we began to listen to the sounds of those birds. A special thanks to Mr. Subramanian Shankar and the Key Terns for providing us with this amazing experience!"
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Quest28010441401
Feb 5, 2024
3rd Feb 2024 - The guide Mr. Subramaniam was excellent. He taught me about identifying birds calls. If not for him, I wouldn't have scored 5.
The tour was advertised at 6000 INR, however they charged me 10500INR.
Promised a SUV but sent me on a Taxi. They were prompt in collecting the money. After that the treatment changes.
Mr. Subramaniam was a through gentleman!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
