Uran Wetland Birding

Captains Log; Star date 1401.2018

Uran, next to the bustling JNPT port, has a pretty vast wetland area that is home to quite a few spices of birds - both resident and winter visitors. 

I was super lucky to witness the India Skimmer on a quite morning - flying lightly, in a loop, just above the surface of the water and skimming the water with its longer lower mandible for food!

Unfortunately, with all kinds of development activity around - Airport and SEZ, the area may lose its birding fauna in the near future!

Akshi, Alibaug

Captains Log; Star Date 1211.2017

Reached Akshi Beach at about 730 hrs after a rock and roll drive via the NH17 which is under repairs. The twisty section around Poynad was a good drive though.

Early in the morning with the tide near its high point, the beach looked pretty unassuming. As the sun came up a little more, flocks of winter visitors could be seen settling down.

Oyster Catcher

Lying down flat on the beach and crawling up slowly helped me get close to some of the visitors.

Kentish Plover

Shooter in the open!

There’s a small parking area with some shacks retailing snacks. There's also a loo and a changing room – not exactly hygienic though.

Birding at Sinhagad Valley, Pune

Captains Log; Star Date 0101.2018

Verditer Flycatcher

Captains Log; Star Date 2503.2016

Sinhagad Valley just off Attekar Village and at the base of the Sinhagad Fort at Pune is a small but good birding destination owing to the agri village and forest cover around the Sinhagad area.

Oriental White Eye

You can park your vehicle in one of the paid parking points or park towards the end of the road, short of the turnoff to the Fort, if there’s space left.

For the Fort you need to take the right and climb up.

Pipit

For birding you need to head left and then turn left again towards the small huts and temple. If you keep heading straight you’ll end up under a forest cover, though that’s where I got a glimpse of the elusive Asian Paradise Flycatcher.

Two small water points next to the temple proved to be a good point to just sit and watch the birds come over for a sip on a hot day.

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

Beyond the huts you can head up and down the different paths crisscrossing the agri fields and along the base of the hill.

Small Minivet (M)

Birds spotted -

1. Asian Paradise Flycatcher (F)
2. Small Minivet
3. Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
4. White-browed Fantail
5. Oriental White Eye
6. Oriental Magpie Robin
7. Indian Robin
8. White Breasted Kingfisher
9. Purple Sunbird
10. Laughing Dove
11. Pipit
12. Red-whiskered Bulbul
13. White cheeked Barbet
14. Green Bee-eater
15. Plum-headed Parakeet

Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat

Captains Log; Star Date 2301.2016

Four days holiday and super winter weather – ideal time for outdoor activity.

The NH8 was busy with heavy trucks trudging along and light vehicles zipping around them. The Ahura Dhaba at Talasari was brimming with people; traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge was slow. Missed the exit for the Sardar Patel Ring Road from NE1 and ended up in messy city traffic in Ahmedabad. Took me almost an hour to get to the turnoff for Sanand on the SH17.

Gujarat Police energetically frisked the vehicle for booze as soon as I got off the NE1 and were sourly disappointed when they found none.

SH17 around Sanand was slow owing to city traffic but opened up to super tarmac soon after. Spent the night at Hotel Pam Inn just outside Sanand on the SH17.

Early next morning at 630 it was still dark, slightly chilly, the tarmac was super, the traffic sparse and road more or less straight with open country on either side. While the moon was still shining in front, the RVM showed signs of the sun starting to rise. Raced a passenger train running on the tracks alongside the SH17 for a short distance.

Zipped past Viramgam and turned right at Maval (SH7) for Bajana on the SH19. About 8 in the morning I was at the Forest Reception Centre at Bajana that issues the permit for entry into the Wild Ass Sanctuary. The permit cost me Rs. 500/- for the vehicle and Rs. 200/- for the camera and was issued for a 4 hour period. The lady at the Centre helped me find a guide – a college kid who knew his way around the sanctuary.

Big Jeep in the Little Rann of Kutch

I was really glad to have got the permit to drive my own Thar CRDe into the Rann and super enjoyed the off-road experience – open parched land in front, some bumpy sections where the high GC of the Jeep helped, some soggy sections that required a 4x4 and the dust column in the RVM on a zippy section.

Common Crane

The crawl ability of the Jeep came in handy – leave the vehicle in second gear, no need to touch the clutch or accelerator and the vehicle trudges along, which leaves you free to watch wildlife around.

The Guide pointed out the sections for Birding and Gudkhur - Indian Wild Ass.

Gudkhur - Indian Wild Ass

Chanced upon a Jungle Cat calmly walking away from me through the shrubs, its ears alert and tightly turned in my direction.

I was amazed with the mirage effect in the Little Rann. Far ahead I could see a water line, when I drove up, there was no water. When I looked back, I could see water around the point where I had started from!

Mirage - That Water isn't there!

Checked into Bhanvna Farms, just ahead of Patdi.
- The cottages are decent.
- Food is just about ok.
- Be sure to be around as soon as the buffet is laid out else you’ll have to make do with cold food.
- They tend to push their ‘Package’ for stay and safari.
- They answered evasively when I tried to check with them if I could take my own vehicle for the Safari.

Other options like Rann Riders and Desert Coursers where fully booked.

Evening, I found my way around Sasda village to the Nava Talav. Kept the Nuvi GPS handy (it marks the route you’ve taken to help return) as it’s easy to lose sense of direction in the vast expanse of the dry land.

From the birding point of view, the Little Rann was a little disappointing. I guess scant rainfall / delayed winter meant fewer winter visitors settling down here.

Greater Short-toed Lark

Rolled into a sticky situation while roaming around the Nava Talav area that sent my heart pounding. The rear wheels just sank into the soft mud. Technique kicked in immediately. Shifted to neutral, engaged the 4H and slowly accelerated into the fist gear. In about 2 seconds, I was out.

Late evening again the setting sun and the rising moon opposite each other was nothing short of magical.

Early next day pushed off to the Thol Bird Sanctuary. Around the Malvan turnoff, I was just about ruminating about not seeing a Nightjar at the Little Rann when one just glided past the bonnet!

Got some good directions from a local at Sachana and took the left across the railway track at Khoda Village along the SH17 a little short of Sanand.

The lake at the Thol sanctuary, I believe is manmade and is pretty recent. The water body didn’t show up on the Nuvi which has an old map.

Common Kingfisher

The entry to the sanctuary cost Rs. 500/- for the vehicle and Rs. 200/- for the camera.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the vibrant bird life here. I guess the large water body surrounded by vegetation and a largely agri area attracts the avian fauna.

Yellow-crowned Woodpecker

Tip
– Get here early as college crowd from around comes here for interests other than birding!
– Carry adequate food and water as the canteen inside serves only tea and some soft drinks.

Birds Spotted

Little Rann of Kutch

1. Pied Avocet
2. Common Crane
3. Flamingos
4. Purple Sunbird
5. Black-headed Ibis
6. Stilt
7. Pied Kingfisher
8. Spoonbill
9. Greater Short-toed Lark
10. Nightjar (flew past the bonnet near Malvan)

Thol Bird Sanctuary

1. Knob-billed Duck
2. Caspian Tern
3. Glossy Ibis
4. Red-naped Ibis
5. Ruddy Shellduck
6. Northern Pintail
7. Painted Stork
8. Caspian Tern
9. Spoonbill
10. Indian Pond Heron
11. Darter
12. Purple Swamphen
13. Indian Roller
14. Green bee-eater
15. Common Kingfisher
16. Small Blue Kingfisher
17. Yellow-crowned Woodpecker
18. Lesser Goldenback
19. Bee-eater
20. Indian Thick Knee
21. Common Hoopoe
22. Bluethroat (F) (1st winter)

Bharatpur, Rajasthan

Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, formerly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, located in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, along the Jaipur-Agra NH 11, is known for its avian winter visitors.

I decided to stop over here for a couple of days while on my way to Delhi for a winter break (Dec '15).

The break was planned with a mix of a long drive in the Thar, birding and photography at the Bird Sanctuary and loads of north Indian food both homemade and dabha.

Day one was a long 800 km drive from Mumbai to Udaipur via Surat, Golden Gate Bridge at Ankaleshwar (the NH8 bridge over Narmada tends to be jammed), Vadodara, Halol, Godhra and Modasa. Started early at 6 in the morning and reached Udaipur by about 8 in the evening. The tarmac on the Halol - Modasa section was amazing. The Udaipur bye pass was pretty patchy and jammed with heavy trucks.

The Thar with its peppy 2.5 ltr CRDe engine cruised effortlessly on the super tarmac in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Winter caught up at Udaipur requiring a jacket late in the evening.

The next day started early at 6 am after a hot cup of tea. Super enjoyed the drive in the cold winter morning, long straight highway, scattered trucks trudging along, the sun just about starting to break the horizon and a lone Thar cutting through all of this at 100 kmph.

The 600 km drive through Rajasthan to Bharatpur via Chittorgarh (NH 76), Bhilwara (NH 79), Shahpura, Jahazpur, Deoli, Tonk, Lalsot and Dausa. Road conditions were generally good. Some sections around Shahpura and Lalsot were patchy. Reached Baratpur(NH 11) at about 6 in the evening and checked into Hotel Sunbird.

MM550, Fully loaded!

The best way to explore the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary is to hire a rickshaw (at Rs. 100/hour) as the rickshaw pullers themselves are pretty well versed with the avian fauna in the park and the rickshaw allows you to leave your camera bag and other equipment in the rickshaw while you walk down different tracks.

Nilgai, agri fields around Shahpura

I realized that a basket is pretty handy to carry along for all your nick-knacks like water, packed lunch tripod, spare camera batteries, winter wear, etc, as it tucks in neatly under the rickshaw seat. The camera bag isn’t exactly handy as you’ll only be using your longest lens.

I paired the Nikon D5300 with a Tamron 150-600 mm telephoto lens for maximum reach. Settings were generally at Shutter Speed Priority, Spot Metering, Auto ISO, continuous focus and continuous shooting.

Spotted Owlet, Snooze  mode on a cold winter morning!

Some of the Birds spotted during the two days at the sanctuary:

1. Grey Francolin
2. Indian Peafowl
3. Lesser Whistling Duck
4. Knob Billed Duck
5. Rudy Shelduck
6. Indian Spot Billed Duck
7. Northern Shoveler
8. Painted Stork
9. Black Headed Ibis
10. Glossy Ibis
11. Eurasian Spoonbill
12. Indian Pond Heron
13. Grey Heron
14. Purple Heron
15. Darter
16. Great Cormorant
17. Sarus Crane
18. Egyptian Vulture
19. White Breasted Waterhen
20. Purple Swamphen
21. Eurasian Coot
22. Common Moorhen
23. Yellow Footed Green Pigeon
24. Rose Ringed Parakeet
25. Spotted Owlet
26. Common Hoopoe
27. White Throated Kingfisher
28. Pied Kingfisher
29. Indian Grey Hornbill
30. Lesser Golden Back Woodpecker (M)
31. Shrike
32. Black Drongo
33. White Browed Fantail
34. Rufus Treepie
35. Wire Tailed Swallow
36. Jungle Babbler
37. Orange Headed Thrush
38. Bluethroat
39. Siberian Rubythroat
40. Oriental Magpie Robin
41. Indian Robin
42. Black Restart
43. Red-breasted Flycatcher
44. Red Avadavat
45. Marsh Harrier

Bluethroat

Bharatpur was cold and as birding starts early at about 630 in the morning you need to be pretty well covered.

Siberian Rubythroat

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Day two at the sanctuary was fogged out so had to wait till about 11 to pull out the camera. Spotted a pair of Sarus cranes just as the fog started to lift.

Egyptian Vulture

Darter

Painted Stork - Nesting

The Bharatpur – Delhi run took me through Mathura and the slick Yamuna Expressway.

Be sure to take the Mathura bye pass via Gokul Barage else you’ll be stuck in messy city traffic as you try to reach the Expressway from the Mathura – Agra Highway (NH 2).

Also take the Bharatpur bye pass to circumvent Bharatpur city.

Birds spotted at Surajpur, Gaziabad

1. Wooly Necked Stork
2. Black Headed Ibis
3. Glossy Ibis
4. Spot Billed Duck
5. Crested Lark (at NOIDA airfield)

After a couple of days in Delhi, drove up to Shimla for a joyride. The Chandigarh - Shimla section was fun, though had to be careful with the heavy traffic flow on the two laned NH 22. The early morning drive up to Theog via Kufri and Fagu was also fun. It had snowed at Kufri a day or two back and some part of the hills between Kufri and Fagu still had some snow.

As four majestic Himalayan Vultures glided past at Kufri,I could only watch and take in the sight, as I had the 18-55 mm lens on.

On the way back to Mumbai, I took the expressway back to Bharatpur and then headed to Jaipur (NH 11) – 400 km for the day. Day 2 was a long 780 km drive from Jaipur to Vadodara via Kishangarh (NH 8), Bhilwara (NH 79), Chittorgarh, Udaipur (NH 76), Ratanpur (NH 8), Modasa, Godhra and Halol (SH 5). Day 3 was a comfortable 400 Km drive on the NH8 to Mumbai from Vadodra.

Some stopovers along the way -

Udaipur
RTDC Hotel Kajri for its value for money stay. Food is lousy.

Bharatpur
Hotel Sunbird for its convenient location – 200 mtrs from the park, good rooms, service and food.
ITDC Hotel Ashok located inside the sanctuary is good for a quick lunch.

Shimla
Thethys Dahba, Kufri for aloo parathas and chai.

Chandigarh-Shimla
Giani Dahba, Dharampur for an assortment of Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes and rotis.
Puran Singh Dahba, Ambala for an assortment of rich Indian non vegetarian dishes.
Pal Dahba, Chandigarhfor an assortment of rich Indian non vegetarian dishes.
Pehlwan Dahba, Murthal for tandoori parathas and chai.
Neelkanth, Karnal for kheer.

Gujarat
Legend Hotel, along the NH8 for its convenient location and value for money stay on the NH8 Vadodara bye pass.
Parsi Da Dahba at Talasari along NH8 for some great parsi food. Don’t miss the caramel custard.

Tarkarli, Malvan

As a three day holiday looms up, I start looking up maps for a longish drive. Weigh options and Tarkarli, Malvan starts looking good for –

1. A 500 km run down the legendary Mumbai-Goa NH17. 
2. Quaint seaside Malvani village known for its beach and cuisine.

Captains Log; 0210.2015

Start early and straightaway get on to the Mumbai-Goa NH17. The 20 ltr jerry can mounted on the Thar gives me the comfort to keep stoppages to the minimum.

NH17 up to Nagothane is a rattler with all kind of road works underway. After Kolad the road opens up and the tarmac improves considerably. The monsoon splendor of the Western Ghats too stands out. Stop at Mahad for breakfast. Ghats start right after Poladpur and the NH takes me through Chiplun, Sangameshwar, Hathkhamba, Lanja, Rajapur, Kankavli and Kasal in about 10 hours.

The drive between Poladpur to Kasal is super engaging with moderate to sparse traffic and amazing twisties. A light rain earlier in the morning seemed to have washed the tarmac.

You have to drive through this section, specially the 100 km section between Lanja and Kasal, to believe it. The section has super tarmac and it turns, climbs and falls in a span of seconds. The drive is so gripping that you just want to keep driving just to see what’s around the next curve. I really have to push myself to stop at Lanja for a quick lunch.

Mahad, Chiplun, Hathkhamba (turn off for Ratnagiri), Lanja and Kankavli are good stops for food and fuel.

The Thar was amazing with its high seating, super acceleration, sweet slotting long throw gears and short wheel base that helped me push the vehicle around bends and traffic. And the head turner that this vehicle is, helps cut through traffic.

Kasal to Malvan is another 30 km / 45 minute drive on a pretty decent road that has some good curvy sections and sparse traffic. The rain and mist only added to the fun I was having behind the wheel.

Malvan turned out to be a small town with shops and houses lining a maze of narrow roads. Noticed a decent hotel on the left as I entered the town.

A left, little ahead of the Bus Stand, heads to Tarkarli. This road (about 7 km) is again a narrow road lined with shops, houses, home stays and resorts. MTDC, which is well spread out on the beach is the best place to stay here. Being a long weekend, everything was booked. Some of the other resorts quoted about Rs. 2500/- for a non A/C room, which I thought was expensive. Drove around the Karli river and up to Devbag to check stay options. Anything that looked good was already booked!

The hotel in Malvan, now started to look good so turned around and headed back to Malvan. Malvani Homestay at Wairy-Bhutnath village had accommodation but I was too tired to explore.

Put up at Hotel Maharaj Executive for the night. Tried the Pomfret Thali at Only Fish next to the Malvan dock. While the pomfret was fine, I think the place can be given a miss.

This side of the town I thought was too touristy – the boat ride to Sindhudurg Fort, snorkeling and scuba diving happen from here. The Beach too was a mess. Not to impressed with the stay at Malvan, I was wondering if I should head to Panjim, which is a two hour run from here, in the morning instead.

Captains Log; 0310.2015

Next day 630 am I was back at Tarkarli. Parked at the MTDC parking and headed out on to the beach.

Bird calls got me to quickly change lens from the Nikkor 18-55 to the 55-300.

Got super lucky with a pair of Spotted Owlets!

On the way back I stopped at Malvani Homestay and was amazed with the huge property and clean room at a cost of Rs. 1,200/- per night. The room overlooks a small coconut and beetle nut grove! Cursed myself for not checking out the place the previous day. Immediately went back to Malvan, checked out of the hotel and came back to Malvani Homestay.

I was blown away by the home-made vegetarian food accompanied with my favorite – sol kadhi. The lunch and dinner at the homestay was simply fabulous.

Evening, I was back at the beach to catch the sunset with the Nikkor 18-55 mm lens.

Captains Log; 0410.2015

Started at 6 am for the home run. I was fascinated with the N17 so took the same route back rather than try the Kolhapur route. 530 pm I was home.

Phansad Sanctuary, Murud

Captains Log; 0105.2015

Phansad Sanctuary is located on the Murud-Roha road. The road is decent with some curvy and patchy sections and sparse traffic. A night drive was fun with the high beam pointing out the narrow road through the darkness.

The Forest Dept. has set up basic infrastructure – tents and a canteen near Village Supegaon, about 8 km from the turnoff from the Kashid-Murud road. GPS co-ordinates N18.42444, E72.94849. They allow you to pitch your own tent within the compound (cost Rs. 500/person).

The sanctuary is pretty heavily vegetated and that means sightings are difficult. There were lots of calls but I just about got a glimpse of a White Rumped Shama.

Enjoyed the long walk in the forest and the poha and chai at the Forest Dept. canteen.

Kashid beach was super active with water sports.

On the way back from Kashid, turned for a look-see of Korlai on a whim. Came amazed with the fishing village with boats coming in, fish being dried and the Korlai lighthouse. The drive along the kucha road leading to the lighthouse was super.

Birding at Bhigwan, Pune

Captains Log; Star Date 2401.2015

Painted Stork - Bhigwan, Pune

The picture above sums up the birding trip to Bhigwan, Pune!

A huge water body formed by the Ujjani Dam off Bhigwan on the NH 65 Pune-Solapur highway is home to numerous wetland birds.

Bhigwan

Bhigwan is about 230 km from Navi Mumbai, or about 100km from Pune, between Kurkumbh and Indapur, thus a night stay somewhere close is required.

There are small agri villages around that offer options for boating and stay. The stay though is rough and it’s better to put up at Pune (about 100 km) or Baramati (about 20 Km).

Hotel Khrishnasagar in Baramati on the Baramati-Bhigwan road turned out to be a good stay option – decent rooms and food. The road between Baramati and Bhigwan is decent and takes about half an hour to cover.

The planned itinerary of getting to Baramati by lunch, spending the evening at Bhigwan, coming back to Baramati for the night and then heading back to Bhigwan early next day worked well.

Explored the following villages:

Dhiksal – Dhiksal is on the north-west corner of the reservoir (GPS 18.314236, 74.787648). Turn left at the end of Bhigwan for Dhiksal. You can get on to the service road towards the end of the town before the flyover to take the left to Dhiksal. From Dhiksal take a right to get on to the road that cuts through the reservoir. This is a kucha road so it’s bumpy and dusty and is pretty busy with two wheelers and tractors ferrying sugarcane. (This was the first time I saw tractors with blaring sound systems!) A small village few kms down this kucha road offers boat rides (row boats) in the reservoir which cost Rs. 100/person or Rs. 700 if you want the boat to yourself.

Openbill Stork

Kumbhargaon – This village is on the south bank of the reservoir. The approach is from the Pune-Solapur Highway ahead of Bhigwan (GPS 18.272359, 74.796240). Boats are available here.

Grey Heron

Dalaj – This village is again on the south bank of the reservoir next to Kumbhargaon and can be approached via Kumbhargaon – turn right near the temple at Kumbhargaon or via a more adventurous kucha road from the Pune-Solapur highway – the left is marked with a sign board for “Dalaj No. 2” (GPS 18.265063, 74.804406). Boats are available here. The set up here looked a little more organized and has some tie up with MTDC – there is a stay option with a kitchen providing meals.

Painted Stork

All of the above locations offer numerous birding options – just drive / walk across the fields to the bank of the reservoir for a look see. The boat rides are a good experience and it lets you get closer to the birds. On this particular day the flamingos were stationed closer to Dhiksal were the water is shallow. They really positioned themselves well as even the boats couldn't get close enough because of the shallow depth!

Flamingos

The locals here have caught onto to city slickers coming here for an outing, some birding and photography. As soon as you get close to any of these locations you’re sure to be approached by ‘guides’ offering their services. Honestly, I was happy on my own!

Bhramini Duck

Brown Headed Gull

Glossy Ibis

Black Headed Ibis

Stilts

Hotel Laxmi Dhabha at Bhigwan turned out to be great for bhakri, fried fish and fish curry – the local catch from the reservoir “Chilapi”.

Laxmi Dhaba, Bhigwan, on the left about 7-8 shops down the road to Dhiksal.

Local catch - Chilapi