Goa Winter 2017 - 2018 (1 Viewer)

Andy Adcock · Dec 1, 2017

I think I liked it better when it was just tents, they were perfectly fine, no sense of roughing it at all.

I suppose though that it's not everyones cup o tea however nice the tents are and the guys obviously felt that this was the way to go as a business.

A

PYRTLE · Dec 1, 2017

Andy, agree with you in every way - just a brilliant stay in every dimension. Sadly time and (progress?) alters many things but our trip there was excellent and meeting up with you in Goa. Yes, the evening bar and frogmouth were special as were the 3 little green bee eaters on the branch over the stream......middle one was strange! Still chuckle at your comment and delivery.
Thanks again for the fun and your company.
Pat

Andy Adcock · Dec 1, 2017

PYRTLE said:
Andy, agree with you in every way - just a brilliant stay in every dimension. Sadly time and (progress?) alters many things but our trip there was excellent and meeting up with you in Goa. Yes, the evening bar and frogmouth were special as were the 3 little green bee eaters on the branch over the stream......middle one was strange! Still chuckle at your comment and delivery.
Thanks again for the fun and your company.
Pat

Fond memories Pat, 17 years ago, we had my 40th at that Chinese place, dumplings were good as I recall.......:-O

I've been to Backwoods a few times and couldn't recall which trip that was, now I know!

Btw, guess who I bumped in to in Costa Rica this year........Irene, one of the Beeeaters!!!!!! Unbelievable but true

Cheers, Andy

Gordon · Dec 1, 2017

andyadcock said:
Farmhouse, is it the same place?

R84 to the £.......I was getting less than 50 in 07

A

Yes. The farmhouse has always been in the camp.

The pound was at 100 rupees until the Brexit vote!

Barred Wobbler · Dec 1, 2017

Gordon said:
Yes. The farmhouse has always been in the camp.

The pound was at 100 rupees until the Brexit vote!

Must have gone up then. I was only getting 92 in January and February 2016.

Andy Adcock · Dec 1, 2017

Gordon said:
Yes. The farmhouse has always been in the camp.

The pound was at 100 rupees until the Brexit vote!

I never saw a farmhouse, is it newly built?

A

joe1969 · Dec 4, 2017

Just left backwoods camp today,excellent value for money the three of us thought,had the frogmouths last night,blue bearded beeeaters a long the track from the buildings,3 blue eared kingfishers at tambdi surla this morning,also had the three hornbills there the other day in 20 mins,white tailed and brown backed needletails along with black eagle,crested serpent and rufous bellied eagle,forest wagtail near the gate ,7-8 flycatchers,the list goes on and on,indian blue robin and blue capped thrush at bondla,was it value for money,yes,would we go again,most definitely

Mark Newsome · Dec 4, 2017

joe1969 said:
Just left backwoods camp today,excellent value for money the three of us thought,had the frogmouths last night,blue bearded beeeaters a long the track from the buildings,3 blue eared kingfishers at tambdi surla this morning,also had the three hornbills there the other day in 20 mins,white tailed and brown backed needletails along with black eagle,crested serpent and rufous bellied eagle,forest wagtail near the gate ,7-8 flycatchers,the list goes on and on,indian blue robin and blue capped thrush at bondla,was it value for money,yes,would we go again,most definitely

Sounds like you're having a great time Joe. Pass my best on to Lloyd!

Mark

joe1969 · Dec 5, 2017

Yes mark we are having a great time,thanks to you and derek for sorting our itinerary out,Will pass your regards on tomorrow mate

Alf King · Dec 9, 2017

Does anyone have an update on the situation at Arpora Woods? We are due out in Goa in January for our first trip there in 7 years and the woods was always one of our favourite rambles. I had heard that bird numbers have decreased significantly in general, which is a real shame.

We have also been unlucky with backwoods as they are unable to accommodate us at all during our trip: I guess that the reduction in accommodation is limiting their capacity significantly, especially if they have a group visiting.

Barred Wobbler · Dec 9, 2017

Alf King said:
Does anyone have an update on the situation at Arpora Woods? We are due out in Goa in January for our first trip there in 7 years and the woods was always one of our favourite rambles. I had heard that bird numbers have decreased significantly in general, which is a real shame.

We have also been unlucky with backwoods as they are unable to accommodate us at all during our trip: I guess that the reduction in accommodation is limiting their capacity significantly, especially if they have a group visiting.

Alf, I wasn't at all impressed with Arpora Woods in 2015 & 2016. The path beyond the quarry was overgrown with thorns and impassable. I had white-spotted fantail, greenish warbler and a few other birds, but it wasn't great.

On the other hand, I'd been planning on making it to Fort Aguada in 2015, but for various reasons it didn't happen, even though our hotel was only a mile away in Candolim. In 2016 I was there for a three week stay and in the final week I made the trip. What an eye-opener. About 40 species in a morning. It was so good I went back three more times in that last week. Orioles, W S fantail, a shikra that landed in a tree just over my head that let me photograph it to my heart's content while it flitted from tree to tree looking for prey. I only stopped photographing it when a couple of common woodshrikes landed in a tree that was closer. Paradise flycatchers (white and brown), small minivets, peacocks, rufous treepie, white cheeked and coppersmith barbets and on the open ground past the lighthouse Indian robins and baya weavers.

Go there.

I'll be there late January and it will definitely be on my itinerary.

joe1969 · Dec 10, 2017

Alf King said:
Does anyone have an update on the situation at Arpora Woods? We are due out in Goa in January for our first trip there in 7 years and the woods was always one of our favourite rambles. I had heard that bird numbers have decreased significantly in general, which is a real shame.

We have also been unlucky with backwoods as they are unable to accommodate us at all during our trip: I guess that the reduction in accommodation is limiting their capacity significantly, especially if they have a group visiting.

cannot really comment on what it was like in the past,but although quite overgrown,we still managed some decent birds in our recent visit,we visited only once ,early moring,birds included great hornbill,crested serpent eagle,oriental honey buzzard,black headed cuckooshrike,bar winged flycatcher shrike,blue faced malkhoa and white spotted fantail

Alf King · Dec 10, 2017

Thanks for the info guys. we will investigate Arpora Woods again as it gave decent views of many species before - I will report back.

I went to Fort Aguada in the past, to the infamous Indian Pitta site, and didn't hang around too long for obvious reasons. We have a taxi-driver/guide lined up so I will ask him about this site too.

Does anyone do river trips nowadays?

Barred Wobbler · Dec 10, 2017

Alf King said:
Thanks for the info guys. we will investigate Arpora Woods again as it gave decent views of many species before - I will report back.

I went to Fort Aguada in the past, to the infamous Indian Pitta site, and didn't hang around too long for obvious reasons. We have a taxi-driver/guide lined up so I will ask him about this site too.

Does anyone do river trips nowadays?

The area I meant at Fort Aguada was right up on top of the hill around the fort itself. Open woodland and some bare areas.

Mr Kamat who did the boat tours died in 2016, but they are still operating. I'm booked on one next month.

Alf King · Dec 11, 2017

Thanks BW, I will follow this up. Looks like you will be arriving just as we leave.

HarrogateIan · Jan 7, 2018

I wish I had seen this thread earlier so my sightings would have been more topical.

I spent four weeks at Cavelossim, South Goa from 11/11 until 9/12 and will be posting a comprehensive report in the vacations section in the next couple of days. Until then some highlights from Cavelossim were:
14/11 - Indian Grey Hornbill
15/11 - Wryneck
18/11 - Great Knot x 2
24/11 - Pallid Harrier (present for three days)
26/11 - Small Pratincole x 2 (A flock of 2-300 seen on passage by another birder a few days earlier)
30/11 - Drongo Cuckoo
30/11 - Indian Thick-knee

I was last here in 2011 and this time there was a huge increase in wader sightings on the beach. This time there were always between 500-1000 Sandplovers with an ever changing selection of other waders amongst them throughout my stay e.g. up to 20 Terek Sandpipers, plenty of Dunlin, two Sanderling, occasional Grey Plover, Whimbrel, Curlew, Greenshanks, Common Sandpipers, Little Stints and the Great Knot mentioned above.

Additionally I saw two other waders that I have not been able to identify and have placed a thread here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=355582

Joe1969 - I arrived at Backwoods when you were there and was tagged onto the group that went out with Loven. We had a Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher on my last morning (5/12) when we went for the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher (also seen)

Cheers
Ian

HarrogateIan · Jan 7, 2018

I've just seen the earlier comments in this thread talking about the potential of South Goa. Earlier today I placed a report from Cavelossim, South Goa from Nov/Dec 2017 in the Vacations forum; I realise now it might have been better to place it here since it details a lot of my sightings around Cavelossim.

Give South Goa a chance, you'll have to find your own birds....but you will find them!

Cheers
Ian

joe1969 · Jan 9, 2018

HarrogateIan said:
I wish I had seen this thread earlier so my sightings would have been more topical.

I spent four weeks at Cavelossim, South Goa from 11/11 until 9/12 and will be posting a comprehensive report in the vacations section in the next couple of days. Until then some highlights from Cavelossim were:
14/11 - Indian Grey Hornbill
15/11 - Wryneck
18/11 - Great Knot x 2
24/11 - Pallid Harrier (present for three days)
26/11 - Small Pratincole x 2 (A flock of 2-300 seen on passage by another birder a few days earlier)
30/11 - Drongo Cuckoo
30/11 - Indian Thick-knee

I was last here in 2011 and this time there was a huge increase in wader sightings on the beach. This time there were always between 500-1000 Sandplovers with an ever changing selection of other waders amongst them throughout my stay e.g. up to 20 Terek Sandpipers, plenty of Dunlin, two Sanderling, occasional Grey Plover, Whimbrel, Curlew, Greenshanks, Common Sandpipers, Little Stints and the Great Knot mentioned above.

Additionally I saw two other waders that I have not been able to identify and have placed a thread here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=355582

Joe1969 - I arrived at Backwoods when you were there and was tagged onto the group that went out with Loven. We had a Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher on my last morning (5/12) when we went for the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher (also seen)

Cheers
Ian

yes ian remember you telling me about south goa,that was one of the few flycatchers we missed,south goa certainly seems like one for the future

Jeanie · Jan 10, 2018

We leave from Manchester tomorrow for 4 weeks . Staying at the MD. Hope to visit Bijapur in Karnataka for a couple of days and then get Raymon, Rama, to take us to the bustard spot near Solapur.

Barred Wobbler · Jan 10, 2018

Jeanie said:
We leave from Manchester tomorrow for 4 weeks . Staying at the MD. Hope to visit Bijapur in Karnataka for a couple of days and then get Raymon, Rama, to take us to the bustard spot near Solapur.

I'll be out there in a couple of weeks and I missed out on the Scops Owls at the Marinha Dourada on three visits when I was last there two years ago, even though they were reported on other days. when i was elsewhere.

Maybe you could look in the bamboos next to the Barbecue pit and let us know if they are there this year.

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