A BIRDING WEEKEND

Although not quite the clear and sunny weather that was promised (probably just as well) the has rain held off and I have been able to get out and about. Kicked off 6.30 am on Saturday morning with a drive up into the Ghats, only 30 minutes drive and it feels like a million miles away from Mumbai surrounded by wooded mountains, everywhere bright green, waterfalls and rushing torrents, a bit like the Scottish highlands but with palm trees. Lots of birds about and our progress is slow as we drive and stop, drive and stop as new birds come into view. Highlights are amazing bright orange- brown Cinnamon Bitterns, a Slaty Breasted Rail ambling across the road in front of the car and a pair of Pied Cuckoos amongst the thirty odd species. Then we drove back for a hearty breakfast of Vada Pav, deep fried chilies, Sweetlime juice and copious Chai before heading down to the mangroves for a plod around a favorite piece of turf. And WOW the vegetation has grown up so much since I was here last, so much so that the paths I know are now obliterated and a birding stroll turns into a mammoth bushwhacking adventure as we try to avoid mud and marsh, end up seeing FA birds and becoming plastered in evil stinky mud. And it’s HOT and humid, when the cloud thins the temperature soars and so we get back to the car sweaty, muddy and stinking. Home for a shower and change of clothes and then out again back up into the mountains for more good stuff. Cracked my bottle of Sula ‘Dindori’ in the evening, very nice indeed. Yesterday morning up again at first light and then off to Kanala bird sanctuary on the Goa road for a Jungle walk. Brighter than Saturday and even hotter, the jungle is steamy and wet and my glasses are constantly steamed up and/or splashed with sweat. The woods here are full of big spiders, crabs and biting flies but strangely, few birds, a few Orioles and Drongos and that’s about it, and so we give up after a couple of hours and head off to the Uran wetlands where we score with a list of over sixty species with flamingos, spoonbills, lots of mongoose around on the trails and swarms of butterflies, fantastic! We stick around birdwaching until after midday when the heat finally defeats us. Brilliant!
Last night went for Chilli Tiger prawns at the ‘Golden Punjab’ in Vashi, ( I heartily recommend it should you ever be in Vashi) several beers and a plate of Kulfi rounds off my best weekend of the trip, fell asleep last night listening to the Brown Fish Owls calling outside my bedroom window.
And so to Delhi…. I’ll Blog from there hopefully.

The weekend tally:


House Crow
Jungle Crow
Jungle Babbler
Puff throated Babbler
House Sparrow
Rock Pigeon
Little Brown Dove
Longtailed Shrike
Red Vented Bulbul
Red Whiskered Bulbul
Black Kite
Brahminy Kite
Shikra
Marsh Harrier
Cinnamon Bittern
Slaty Breasted Rail
Glossy Ibis
Gull Billed Tern
Whiskered Tern
Brown Headed Gull
Black Winged Stilt
White Breasted Kingfisher
Coppersmith Barbet
Large Brown Barbet
Night Heron
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Little Egret
Indian Pond Heron
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Purple Swamphen
White breasted Swamphen
Coot
Spot Billed Duck
Pygmy Cotton Goose
Redshank
Sandpiper
Black Drongo
Bronzed Drongo
Golden Oriole
Black fronted Leafbird
Greater Coucal
Greater Flamingo
Spoonbill
Red Avadavat
Scaly Breasted Munia
Black Headed Munia
Barn Swallow
Wire tailed Swallow
Palm Swift
House Swift
Ashy Prinia
Plain Prinia
Clamorous Reed Warbler
Baya Weaver
Pied Cuckoo
Common Cuckooshrike
Indian Cormorant
Brown Fish Owl
Small Minivet
Asian Pied Myna
Indian Myna