Friday 20 January 2012

Bhigwan and outskirts, 15.01.2012

A trip planned with some American birdwatchers to travel around the Bhigwan area - looking for migratory waterfowl!

Place : Bhigwan

Access : Via Solapur road to Bhigwan, left turn to Diksal

There are many birdwatching spots around Bhigwan. Kumbhargaon, Patas and Diksal are the important ones. A lot of migratory birds flock here every year. Best time to visit would be around January, in the winter season.

List of Birds spotted:

Little Egret
1. Little Egret - very common
2. Intermediate Egret - common
3. Great Egret - common
4. Cattle Egret - common near farms
5. Little Grebe - one large flock
6. Common Coot - Plenty
7. Ruddy Shelduck - Few scattered around Diksal
8. Gadwall - Many in the lake
9. Northern Shoveller - Many
10. Bar-Headed Goose - Group of ten near the bridge in Diksal
11. Glossy Ibis - Few on an island
12. Black-Headed Ibis - Many
13. Asian Open-Billed Stork - Many
14. Common Redshank - Two in the lake
Ruddy Shelduck
15. Painted Stork - Just two, surprisingly
16. Indian Cormorant - Many
17. Little Cormorant - Many
18. Common Sandpiper - Large Flocks
19. Spotted Sandpiper - Many
20. Purple Moorhen - Many in shallow zones
21. Common Moorhen - Just 1
22. White-Breasted Waterhen - Small group of 4
23. Lesser Whistling Duck - Many
24. Red-Wattled Lapwing - Many
25. Green Bee-Eater - Many
26. Oriental Short-Toed Lark - 2
27. Grey Wagtail - Many
28. Yellow Wagtail - 2
Northern Shoveller
29. House Crow
30. Thick-Billed Crow
31. Common Iora - 1
32. Rose-Ringed Parakeet - 5
33. Black Drongo - Many
34. Clamorous Reed Warbler - 1
35. Paddyfield Pipit - 2
36. Marsh Harrier - 1
37. Black Kite - Many
38. Blue Rock Dove
39. Laughing Dove - Many
40. Ashy Wren-Warbler - 3
41. Plains Prinia - 1
42. Black-Winged Stilt  - Many
Black Drongo
43. Grey Heron - Many
44. Purple Heron - 4
45. Indian Pond Heron - Many
46. Eurasian Collared Dove - 1
47. Long-Tailed Shrike - Many
48. Indian Robin - 2
49. Magpie Robin - Many
50. Pied Bushchat - 8
51. Pied Kingfisher - 3
52. White-Breasted Kingfisher - Many
53. Oriental Honey Buzzard - Many
54. Shikra - 2
55. Common Myna - 5
56. Brahminy Starling - 6
57. Lesser Ringed Plover - 7
White-Browed Wagtail
58. Green Sandpiper - 1
59. Red-Rumped Swallow - Many
60. Barn Swallow - Many
61. Plain Martin - Many
62. Heuglin's Gull - Many
63. River Tern - 2
64. Black-Naped Tern - Many
65. Black-Capped Kingfisher - 1
66. Spot-Billed Duck - 4
67. Pheasant-Tailed Jacana - 2
68. Red-Vented Bulbul - Many
69. White-Browed Wagtail


70. Indian Flying Fox

Bar-Headed Goose

Black-Winged Stilt

Brahminy Starling

Common Sandpiper

Glossy Ibis

Green Sandpiper

Grey Wagtail

Paddyfield Pipit

Pied Kingfisher

Red-Wattled Lapwing

Little Ringed Plover

Shikra

White-Breasted Kingfisher

Black-Headed Ibis (White Ibis)

Indian Flying Fox


Missed out on some Bhigwan specials - Common Kingfisher, Yellow-Wattled Lapwing, Black-Shouldered Kite, Pratincoles and Coursers.

More than 3 hours needed to spend time at Patas and Kumbhargaon as well. Many ducks like Garganey, Comb Duck and Pygmy Cotton Goose were not spotted. Also, a lot of fishing and traffic in the area has not helped.

But it is surely one of the best bird-watching sites near Pune - especially for migratory water-birds!

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