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WildWings, 577 Fishponds Road, Fishponds, Bristol. BS16 3AF.UK
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Summary
A total of 265 species were recorded during the two weeks including three “firsts” for WildWings – Blue-bearded Bee-eater, White-naped Woodpecker and White-tailed Lapwing. Other sought after species included White-bellied Woodpecker, four Malabar Trogons, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, Brown Fish Owl, two Sri Lanka Frogmouths, 30+ Pallas’s Gulls, Cinnamon Bittern, Indian Pitta, Indian Blue Robin [male] and several Little Spiderhunters. A splendid Gaur [Indian Bison] headed the mammal list, the endemic Southern Birdwing topped the butterfly list and botanists revelled in the variety of flowers and fruiting trees which in turn attracted the birds. Whilst the bird nomenclature is currently in a changing state of flux, all bird names in this report will still follow “The Birds of Southern India” [Grimmett & Inskipp, 2005] unless otherwise stated, but it is proposed in future to follow the “new” classification and nomenclature as laid out in “Birds of South Asia” [Rasmussen, 2005].
Itinerary and daily highlights.
Jan. 13th: After an uneventful flight from Gatwick via Monarch Airlines the group safely arrived at Dabolim Airport, Goa, ahead of schedule at 08.45 and immediately met by our fleet of taxis headed up by Naresh and transferred to the Beira Mar Hotel, Baga. Clear skies and temperatures in the upper 80’s with a gentle breeze greeted us and having settled into our rooms all with balcony views overlooking the Baga Fields and an introductory talk from the leader, birding commenced! Green and Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, Black-eared and Brahminy Kites, Black and Ashy Drongos, Red-wattled Lapwings and White-breasted Waterhen and a splendid Cinnamon Bittern – and we had not left the hotel grounds! Strolling into the very green and wet Baga Fields following the late monsoon extending into mid November provided us with a plethora of pipits including Richard’s, Blyth’s, Paddyfield and Tawny, Siberian Stonchat and Pied Bushchat, Long-tailed and Brown Shrike [the latter now annual in the fields], a superb Indian Roller, White-breasted Kingfisher and hundreds of Rose-coloured Starlings and White-rumped Munias. Towards dusk we retired back to the hotel for the “matinee” performance of Greater Painted-snipe, with two individuals seen “jumping” in the rapidly fading light. Time for some welcome Kings beers and a spicy prawn tika masala in the attractive outdoor restaurant over our bird log before retiring to bed.
Jan.14th: Dawn found us gathered on the Nerul Bridge over the Mandovi River tributary witnessing a stunning and memorable Indian sunrise. Little Heron, Stork-billed Kingfisher and Gull-billed Tern soon appeared whilst calling Greenish & Blyth’s Reed Warblers became familiar sounds to our ears over the next two weeks. Strolling around some nearby scrub, fields and fish pools produced both Plain and Ashy Prinias and good close up views of calling Paddyfield Pipit. The morning’s highlight we all agreed had to be the pair of Plum-headed Parakeets perched in the early morning sunlight, highly photographable and quite superb! With resting up in the heat of the day most essential, late afternoon we visited Aguada Fort which affords excellent views over the Mandovi Estuary towards the capital city of Panjim. White-cheeked Barbet, Pale-billed Flowerpecker and a flock of Jungle Babblers boosted the list, whilst stunning Green Bee-eaters in the late evening sun proved the ornithological highlight of the afternoon.
Jan. 15th: Early morning taxis to catch the high tide at Morji Beach. We were in luck – thousands of gulls all gathered on the beach just north of the sandy point, with ‘scopes soon eagerly identifying Brown-headed and Slender-billed Gulls amongst the “smaller” gulls, whilst many Caspian, several Heuglin’s and the handsome Pallas’s Gull all presented themselves amongst the “bigger” gulls, some of the latter in full adult summer plumage. In the nearby scrub our first woodpecker arrived in the form of a Black-rumped Flameback, with a super Bay-backed Shrike and flock of Indian Silverbills. En route back to the Beira Mar a brief stop was made by the roadside to observe no less than 12 Yellow-wattled Lapwings, whilst Ashy Woodswallows and several Marsh Sandpipers proved the highlights at the fishponds opposite the Mourina Dourada Hotel. In the afternoon a visit to the delightful old Goanese village of Saligao afforded us with excellent views of a pair of Brown Wood Owls staring down at us from high up in the mango trees, with Asian Paradise Flycatcher, White-bellied Drongo and Purple Sunbird nicely boosting the list. An enjoyable evening meal and local entertainment rounded off another successful day.
Jan. 16th-20th: 05.30 and off to the famous Backwoods Camp for a four night stay, accompanied by Loven, our local Indian bird guide. Post dawn found us marvelling at a mixed flock of Malabar Grey and Malabar Pied Hornbills before entering the camp proper. Nestling just inside the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary surrounded by mixed deciduous and evergreen forest of the foothills of the Western Ghats, the setting is just idyllic. Six cottages and six tents all en-suite with birding par excellence, fantastic food, a well stocked bar, with the entire ambience in complete contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Baga “strip”.
Over the following four days areas visited included the famous Tamdi Surla Temple and accompanying riverbed and outlying fields and scrub, nearby raptor-watching point below the foothills, local school grounds, Bondla Reserve [twice] and several walks through the forest adjacent to the camp itself.
The highlights – well where do we start? Suffice is to say Indian Pitta, Emerald Dove, Puff-throated Babblers, Orange-headed Thrush and Flame-throated Bulbuls [formerly Black-crested Bulbul] ranked high inside the campground itself, whilst four Malabar Trogons [affording excellent practice in the art of digiscoping], Racket-tailed Drongo, four Forest Wagtails in amazing camouflage, two Sri Lanka Frogmouths and a pair of Heart-spotted Woodpeckers proved the forest highlights. A perched White-eyed Buzzard along with a pair of Shikra and a distant Crested Serpent Eagle ranked high on the raptor watching scene, whilst most guests were rewarded with both the superb Oriental Dwarf and Blue-eared Kingfishers when walking upstream from the Temple. Drumming White-bellied Woodpecker, Blue-bearded Bee-eater [leader sighting only unfortunately], several perched Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters, stunning Crimson-backed Sunbirds and White-rumped Needletails topped the birding around the Temple itself, whilst frustrating views of a pair of Little Spiderhunters, two Black-lored Tits, a stunning perched male Scarlet Minvet, and a flock of the recently split Malabar White-headed Starlings were encountered around the Barabhumi School. Bondla Reserve provided us with Grey-breasted Prinia, Chesnut-tailed Starling, Changeable Hawk Eagle, Black-headed Oriole, two Blue-capped Rock Thrushs, two White-throated Fantails and a beautiful White-rumped Shama, just pipping Oriental Magpie Robin as the finest “songster” in Goa [in my opinion]. An enjoyable visit to the local Cashew Nut factory provided the group with the surprise of a White-naped Woodpecker, a veritable bonus whilst delving into the newly-purchased cashews. Gaur and Malabar Giant Squirrel headed up the mammal observations, the former a splendid beast and affording the first sighting for a WildWings group. Reluctant to leave this ornithological “Shangri La”, we stopped off for lunch and a conducted tour of the Sakahar Spice Farm, an ideal opportunity to purchase some local spices at very reasonable prices before arriving back at the Beira Mar Hotel late afternoon. Back home! Fresh Sea Bass and Tiger Prawns grilled to your liking at the Silver Sands Beach Shack rounded off the day beautifully, with amusing entertainment provided by a bizarre mixture of blaring pop music and live commentary on Everton v Sunderland!
Jan.21st: A day to relax, catch up with some welcome “R & R”, swimming in the Arabian Sea, visiting the local markets or Old Goa with its myriad of splendid churches and basilicas, perusing The Book Palace bookshop and finding the excellent “Butterflies of Goa” (for 150 rupees) or even birding, the leader managing a splendid male Pallid Harrier slowly gliding across the Baga Fields. In the evening three superb male Alexandrine Parakeets were watched and photographed perched in coconut palms near the Beira Mar Hotel.
Jan.22nd: Back to full-time birding, with early morning observations of at least 12 Oriental Skylarks and several male Ashy-crowned Sparrow Larks on dry ground at Dona Paula before boarding our boat for the exciting trip along the Zuari River and up the Cumbarjua Channel – our quest being Collared Kingfisher. We were eventually rewarded with two pairs, along with excellent views of perched Crested Terns and White-bellied Sea Eagles on the fishing posts and a flock of at least 25 soaring Woolly-necked Storks. Briefly stopping at Batim Lake provided us with the only sighting of a single Spot-billed Duck amongst the thousands of Lesser Whistling Duck. Back to the Beira Mar for a welcome egg biryani!
Jan. 23rd: Still dark as we caught the 06.30 ferry below Old Goa to Charao Island, a full Moon and Venus very evident in the pre-dawn sky as we drove on to the picturesque Mayem Lake. Patience in the woods rewarded us with two Large Cuckoo Shrikes, two Orange-breasted Green Pigeons and two roosting Grey Nightjars, the latter extremely confiding and photographed by many of the group. Driving back to Charao Island we were rewarded with firstly a lesson in road resurfacing Goan-style and then a flock of 100+ roosting Small Practincoles on flooded rice paddies. Late morning we returned to the ferry terminal, observing the wintering flock of 5000+ Pintail on the Mandovi River and a Black-headed Ibis gliding into more flooded paddies, with Intermediate Egrets well ‘scoped alongside Great Egrets for direct and useful comparison. A late afternoon visit around the Baga Fields produced excellent flight views of calling Pintail Snipe.
Jan. 24th: A full day out, and venturing down to South Goa. Armed with our now familiar egg and cheese sandwiches [or is it cheese and egg today?] we drove firstly to Curtolim Lake, where we immediately found six Comb Ducks amongst the plentiful Garganey, Teal and Lesser Whistling Ducks and both bronze-winged & Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, along with flighting Indian Shags. The adjacent flooded rice paddies produced a superb adult River Tern in full summer plumage, four Lesser Adjacent Storks perched aloft small bushes, plenty of Asian Openbills and a brief Citrine Wagtail. Driving south to Velim Lake produced an Indian Spotted Eagle [formerly Lesser Spotted Eagle] and several Booted Eagles. Whilst the lake itself provided no new species, the paddies opposite came up trumps with a very well camouflaged White-tailed Lapwing partially hidden in the fresh green rice paddies – another “first” for a WildWings group. A welcome lunch stop in Verna gave us the chance to savour the local Bacalhau, with subsequent interviews on the verdict of the dish aired on the closed circuit television! Finally on to the sadly almost dry Candolim Lake, with railway enthusiasts frustrated in knowing the next train was not due for another four hours! However nearby, we were all again rewarded with two splendid roosting Brown Hawk Owls, with a Jungle Owl the icing on the ornithological cake.
Jan.25th: More R & R this morning, with an afternoon return visit to Morji Beach to again savour the delights of the adult summer plumaged Pallas’s Gulls [back to Great Black-headed now!] along with a few Lesser Crested Terns amongst the thronging mass of gulls. In the scrub opposite a flock of 5 five elusive Brahminy Starlings were eventually tracked down before all admiring the sunset over the Arabian Sea, a fitting end to the day.
Jan. 26th: An early morning visit to the local Baga Hills provided a nice male Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher and a flock of Small Minivets before driving on to catch the local ferry [not with three funnels!] to Divar Island. Choosing our shady spot under a solitary large tree we raptor-watched for two hours, rewarded with close Eurasian Marsh and female Pallid and Montague’s Harriers plus Indian Spotted Eagle overhead. The free afternoon gave all the group the opportunity for a final R & R session, shopping etc. before our final evening meal before packing for to-morrow’s departure.
Jan.27th: Taxis arranged by Naresh at 06.00 took us swiftly to the airport and after a 2-hour delay due to intoxicated passengers being barred from boarding the aeroplane and luggage subsequently offloaded, we took off at 12.45, the clear skies affording superb views of the Arabian Peninsula en route, arriving back to Gatwick at 17.45.
Conclusion
An extremely enjoyable two weeks was had by one and all, the birding highlights supplemented by ardent interest in all the local plants, shrubs and trees, let alone the butterflies and mammals. Goa has a huge amount to offer, is a safe area to visit with welcoming people, superb variety of food and easy access to all the top birding sites. Come and join us next winter!
