Goa and Bangalore, February 2007 (1 Viewer)

A quick report of a few days in southern India from me and Toucan Tovey (of this parish).

Day 1 - Dawn of the Dead

We flew Dubai to Goa via Bangalore with Emirates (I had to go back to Bangalore for a wedding apres birding) and arrived at about 4 am. We picked Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens in Bangalore to get to grips with a few common birds and to while away a ten hour stop over. We took a taxi to the gardens and got there about 5.

Lal Bagh has a 'jogging track' but Indians don't jog. They tend to just walk stretching their arms out in front, behind or sometimes over their heads. At about 5.30 the earliest of the 'joggers' started to appear from the pitch black and soon we felt like we were in a scene from Day of the Dead.

The first birds to stir were large-billed crow and house crow. Soon the ubiquitous black kite were wheeling overhead and in total numbered several hundred. It appeared some were black-eared kite and when flying together the difference in size was clear.

There are two lakes in the gardens and Indian pond heron started to stream out from their roost, the shallower lake held several purple gallinule, an intermediate egret and several little cormorant in the surrounding trees. On the largest of the lakes was an oriental darter and a couple of very smart purple heron.

Jungle myna with their odd shaped heads hopped around the dusty paths with many brahminy starling and common myna. The shrubs held plenty of rose ringed parakeet feeding on the flowers. Black drongo were common in the larger trees hawking for insects and we saw one of only two brown-headed barbet for the trip. A male shikra flashed through the canopy.

The first call to learn in India is the three striped palm squirrel, there were hundreds in the gardens but the only other mammals were a troop of langur monkey.

We then headed back to the airport having realised we had got the flight times wrong but once checked in we had an hour or so to spare so got another taxi to the wonderful 5* Leela Palace Hotel a mile or so from the airport. After a cold beer we eased ourselves off the leather couches and walked through the garden which had a small stream. We had our first white-browed wagtail on the lawn, a monster of a bird and a greater coucal clambering through the shrubs.

The flight down to Dambolin airport was a quick hop with the excellent Kingfisher Airways. As we landed there were three common peafowl in the airport fields and a common kestrel hunting from a disused building.

The drive up to Backwoods Camp took an hour and a half but we saw one Indian roller (suprisingly uncommon) and plenty of cattle egret.

Species for the day - 33.
Bird of the day - Oriental darter (much smarter than their African cousins).

To be continued...

Day 2 - Backwoods Camp

You don't go to Backwoods Camp for the food and accomodation, needless to say it's very basic and if you are staying more than three days you'd be advised to take some pot noodles and home comforts. But the birding and guides are first class.

The camp area has hardly been cleared and is home to many of the woodland birds in the surrounding areas. Orange-headed thrush and Malabar whistling thrush are regular visitors to the eating area.

Our first walk started with a quick drive in the camp bus to an open, damp paddyfield area. A couple of common snipe and a red-wattled lapwing flew in and a pair of Malabar grey hornbill glided into a tree behind us. Then as the morning mist cleared our guide Loven came into his own and picked out plenty of flyovers such as thick-billed flowerpecker, black-throated munia and black-capped bulbul.

Then we set off through the woods along fairly decent paths. The birds came thick and fast. A pair of very smart bar-winged flycatcher shrike on a branch, puff-throated babbler in the leaf litter and mountain imperial pigeon above the trees. The clearings were no less productive with white-rumped needletail and ashy drongo hawking for insects. Thick as the forest is several raptors were picked out such as shikra, crested goshawk, crested honey buzzard and a soaring black eagle.

The streams in February run fairly low but a patient common kingfisher was sat on a rock with a massive stork-billed kingfisher nearby. The prize for the day though was a tiny oriental dwarf kingfisher sat out on an overhanging branch for all to see. On the walk back we had brief flight views of other key species, heart-spotted woodpecker and a couple of blue-capped rock thrush. A female indian blue robin was found in the pathside undergrowth and a grey junglefowl gave brief views as it crossed our path.

After breakfast we set off from the camp again and soon found a pair of asian paradise flycatcher, the male complete with his snow white tail. Crested serpent eagle and besra were picked up through the canopy and a white-rumped shama with it's huge cocked tail gave good views along the path.

After lunch it's siesta time but we wandered down to a local farm instead and found adult wire-tailed swallow, ashy swallow, house swift and asian palm swift hunting insects in the mid-day heat. A lone black-shouldered kite was high in a tree and a booted eagle soared overhead.

Near the camp is a 13th century hindu temple which is a lovely quiet place to chill in the early evening. Nilgiri blackbird, white-throated kingfisher and pompadour green pigeon are easy to find in the mature trees by the river and from the temple area good views of the western gats produced two (quite close) rufous-bellied eagle.

Species for the day - 81.
Running total - 102.
Bird of the day - Oriental dwarf kingfisher.

Day 3 - Backwoods Camp

The day started early in the middle of a local school playing field, good choice for fly overs by waking birds. A male golden oriole gave good views sat high in a tree in the early sun, fly-overs included golden fronted leafbird, chestnut shouldered petronia, plain flowerpecker and malabar pied hornbill.

The nearby woods held brown-headed pygy woodpecker and spangled drongo. As we approached a stream we flushed a brown fish owl and in branches along the stream were 2 blue-eared kingfisher and a smyrna kingfisher.

As we walked back into the campsite for breakfast a male malabar trogon was waiting in a tree near the huts and a blyths reed warbler was in some low bushes.

The late morning walk was primarily for the bi-annual nesting spot-bellied eagle owl which didn't disappoint , the male giving really good views standing guard over the female hidden deep in the nest.

The afternoon was to another open area that viewed the western gats so mostly raptors were seen, two black eagle, a shikra, and two rufous bellied eagle but a good find was a great hornbill displaying and looking the size of a light aircarft even from a distance.

In the evening we went for nightjars equipped with a powerful torch and picked our way up a steep rocky hillside to some open fields, we heard both birds we were seeking before picking out their eyes in the light, a Jerdons nightjar seen in flight and then a grey nightjar sat happily on the ground about 10 feet from us.

Species for the day - 49.
Running total - 127.
Bird of the day - Spot-bellied eagle owl.

Day 4 - Backwoods Camp

Our last day at the camp and we started in the camp area by a tethered elephant where an Indian pitta put in a pre dawn appearance as it regularly does.

Then a pre-breakfast walk through the local forest where we found the first of 5 malabar trogon for the day, two hill myna in flight were our only views of this species and a splendid male asian paradise flycatcher gave gret views in the lower trees. By the nearby stream there were common kingfisher, another blue-eared kingfisher and in a nearby bamboo thicket we found a second oriental dwarf kingfisher.

After breakfast (during which time we had a male Tickells blue flycatcher in the camp) we were off to the legendary 'raptor field'. There are clear views to the western gats and a scope (plus knowledgable guide!) is essential. We had 1 mountain hawk eagle, 2 crested honey buzzard, 4 crested serpent eagle, 3 booted eagle, 2 crested goshawk, 1 male shikra, 1 black eagle , 1 (very close) rufous-bellied eagle and 1 brahminy kite and a grey junglefowl crossed the road on the drive back to camp.

At lunch we left for Beira Mar hotel in Baga. The hotel is basic and clean and the food is excellent.

Our first taste of Baga was an hour on the balcony overlooking the marshy fields behind the hotel. Rosy starling and brahminy starling were common, indian pond heron were everywhere and the telegraph wires provided lookouts for black-headed kingfisher and black-shouldered kite. As the sun went down we had good close views of a single ruddy breasted crake and a pair of painted snipe.

Then it was off into town and for reasons best left alone it suddenly all got a bit hazy.

Species for the day - 48.
Running total - 138.
Bird of the day - Asian paradise flycatcher.

Great report GH. I was out there at that time too (09-12 Feb), following a few days working at the Aero India show in Bangalore. I spent the weekend with the incomparable Lloyd Fernandes, visiting Carambolim, Dona Paula, Mayam lake, Santa Cruz marshes, Saligoa Zor, Beira mar and Bondla. Not bad for three days! 161 species for the trip. Even the Painted Snipe at Beira Mar eventually came out in the twilight of the Sunday, shortly after the Cinnamon Bitterns had strutted their stuff! Regards, SBM

Goa and Bangalore

For any that may be interested, here's my list... Rgds, SBM

Smashing stuff, Gashead. Takes me back. I've got to ask, though ... Wot no Frogmouths?

Love Goa, and Backwoods camp is great if a bit basic.

Compromise for those whose want it a bit more upmarket is Dandeli which is just over the border into Karnataka; for some reason I've never met any serious birders here but it's brilliant for hornbills. Prize birds were Blue-Bearded Bee-Eater and Grey-headed Fish Eagle, neither of which I've ever seen in Goa. But we dipped out on a panther.

Still have to finish this report.

Re the Frogmouths they seem to have been disturbed by deer and men working nearby. The other significant dip whilst at the camp was forest wags, we used to get 2 or 3 a year here in Dubai over winter but they've been absent for three or four years. Their absence at Backwoods may indicate a worrying population crash.

Gashead said:

Still have to finish this report.

Re the Frogmouths they seem to have been disturbed by deer and men working nearby. The other significant dip whilst at the camp was forest wags, we used to get 2 or 3 a year here in Dubai over winter but they've been absent for three or four years. Their absence at Backwoods may indicate a worrying population crash.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that, Gashead. Re the Forest Wags, we had several sightings last February but I recall they were all fly-bys or fly-overs. Got the impression then that they were quite numerous but based on 3 days obs that's hardly scientific.

Day 5 - Carambolin/Arpora

Sorted a driver out the previous evening who was waiting for us outside the hotel as the sun rose and we were soon off to Carambolin lake.

The lake was a lot bigger than we thought it would be and you could certainly spend a good day there and in the surrounding marshes. We climbed a look out tower and scanned the vast shallows, there were dozens of bronze winged jacana, scores of pheasant tailed jacana and nigh on a thousand purple gallinule scattered around the lake edges.

Coming from Dubai we weren't likely to be too excited about waders but there were a few wood sandpiper and greenshank. What we'd come for were the ducks and we soon had a large flock of lesser whistling duck and a half dozen cotton teal. A flock of glossy ibis flew over whilst brown-throated martin and barn swallow hawked over the lake.

The taxi driver was away searching the woods behind the tower and after we had had our fill of the lake he took us on a short walk into the trees where he'd staked out roosting jungle owlet, spotted owlet and a cracking pair of brown hawk owl.

Then we were off again in the taxi, don't ask where but it wasn't far and was to the more marshy areas of the lake. The reeds and bushes held blyths reed warbler, ashy prinia, siberian stonechat, several baya weaver and zitting cisticola. The more open areas had several paddyfield pipit and blue tailed bee-eater and we had fly overs of several woolly necked stork and a single little pratincole and great spotted eagle. At one stop our guide was able to pick out a roost of asian openbill in the distance.

Then onwards for a walk around Arpora fish ponds and woods. A large woodshrike was the first decent bird but we also had soaring white bellied sea eagle (pair) and a single booted eagle. Temmincks stint and little stint were around the ponds in small flocks.

We picked out a dozen little pratincole on the mud, common kingfisher, smyrna kingfisher and stork-billed kingfisher were all perched above the ponds and a smart male pied stonechat was on top of a post.

Then off to Baga Hill which was quiet as it was around noon by this time. But we did get good views of a rufous treepie and a couple of black-lored tit. In Baga Fields we had several malabar crested lark and a crested serpent eagle, a small flock of wintering tree pipit, two Richards pipit and a single Blyths pipit in flight.

Species for the day - 58
Running total - 194
Bird of the day - Little pratincole.

neilmc said:

Love Goa, and Backwoods camp is great if a bit basic.

Compromise for those whose want it a bit more upmarket is Dandeli which is just over the border into Karnataka; for some reason I've never met any serious birders here but it's brilliant for hornbills. Prize birds were Blue-Bearded Bee-Eater and Grey-headed Fish Eagle, neither of which I've ever seen in Goa. But we dipped out on a panther.

Click to expand...

Could you expand a little on Dandeli. I'm genning for an internet-less mate who's doing Goa in Feb. I've given him the benefit of my experiences of the sites but Dandeli (which I've not heard of) sounds interesting.

If you're staying in a hotel with a tour company they may offer this trip, but we booked it from an independent company on the main road in Calangute and got an extra night's stay for about the same price.

It's actually over the border in Karnataka, it's a government-run wildlife camp, a bit more upmarket than Backwoods but the guides are general wildlife guides rather than specialist birders, so I wouldn't claim that you're bound to see a huge total but it's a lovely spot on the river and there's plenty of forest to explore.

I may be going to Dandeli in early August if the rains hold up. Will post a trip report, in case anyone is interested. A friend of mine goes there quite regularly and really likes it - he's the one who's convinced me to go check it out.

Vandit