Sinhagad Valley, 22.12.2011

Birding at Sinhagad Valley after a long time - and an awesome trek through it.

Place : Sinhagad Valley near Sinhagad Fort


Access : Sinhagad Road via Khadakvasla Lake, Naval Bay and Golewadi. Left turn at the bifurcation in the road towards the top from Atkarwadi. Cation - much steeper climb as compared to the more frequented right turn.

List of Birds Spotted:

Purple Sunbird - Female

1. Purple Sunbird - 2
2. Common Tailorbird - many
3. Common Babbler - 2
4. Jungle Babbler - large group of 8 - 10
5. Pale-Billed Flowerpecker - 3
6. Oriental White-Eye-1
7. Rufous-backed Shrike (Long-Tailed Shrike) - 2
8. Little Green Bee-Eater - 4
9. Tree Pipit - 25
10. Dusky Crag Martin - 2
11. Cliff Swallow - 2
12. White-Spotted Fantail Flycatcher - 1
13. Oriental Magpie Robin - 4

Red-Vented Bulbul

14. Shikra - 2
15. Black Kite - 2
16. Black-Shouldered Kite- 1
17. Common Myna - 1
18. Jungle Myna - 1
19. Common Coot - 12
20. House Crow - many
21. Jungle Crow - many
22. House Sparrow - 5
23. Blue Rock Dove - many
24. Laughing Dove - 2
25. Barn Swallow - 1

Green Bee-Eater (juvenile)

26. Spotted Dove - 1
27. Red-Vented Bulbul - many
28. Red-Whiskered Bulbul - 2
29. Ashy Prinia - 1
30. Little Cormorant - 3
31. Little Egret - 3
32. Intermediate Egret - 3
33. White-Breasted Kingfisher - 6
34. Pied Kingfisher - 2
35. Asian Koel - 2
36. Purple-Rumped Sunbird - 2
37. Red-Throated Flycatcher - 1

Yellow-Eyed Babbler

38. Pied Bushchat - 7
39. Black Drongo - 3
40. Indian Robin - 6
41. Cattle Egret - 5
42. Red-Rumped Swallow - 2
43. Yellow-Eyed Babbler - 2

Long-Tailed Shrike (Rufous-Backed)

Very disappointed in the sharp decline in avifauna in the valley.Many birds listed were encountered near Naval Bay area on the way to the valley. Surprisingly fewer raptors as well as smaller forest birds.

No sight of the once plentiful Common Iora or flycatchers like Tickell's, Asian Paradise or Ultramarine. Did not even hear the Crested Serpent Eagle and sharp decline in Shikra numbers. Dipping numbers of flapping wings at the valley!!

I would have recommended the valley for birdwatching a few years ago, but the declining wildlife is disturbing.
A good place to spot Tree Pipits - plentiful on the sides of the fort.
Also a great place to find Crag Martins, which nest near the top of the fort.

But, all in all, a great trek through the valley with a lot of death-defying ascents and a horde of hostile Hanuman Langurs!

Tree Pipit

Tree Pipit

Tree Pipit

Tree Pipit

 

Pied Bushchat

Pale-Billed Flowerpecker (Tickell's Flowerpecker)

Point Calimere, 28.11.2011

A long break from bird-watching thanks to end semester examinations. . . It kept me planning, but this trip really came out of nowhere.

Place : Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary

Access : We hired a car from IITM, from where we drove down the East Coast Road all the way via NH45A to Nagapattinam. From there, a detour towards Vedaranyam and finally Point Calimere. This is one of the most scenic drives, so do it in the day (I did at night one way and really regret it!)

The entire sanctuary was more than a foot underwater, and Saikia and me enjoyed wading through the marshland trying to spot birds! And it was raining heavily too! A horde of birds - including many migratory birds were spotted - so the best time to visit is Nov-Dec.

Black Drongo

A list of birds we spotted at the sanctuary with pics :

1. Little Grebe - very few
2. Grey Pelican (Spot-Billed Pelican) - many even on ECR
3. Little Cormorant - surprisingly very few
4. Grey Heron - 5
5. Great Egret - many
6. Little Egret - many
7. Intermediate Egret (Median Egret) - plenty closer to the beach

8. Western Reef Egret - 10 to 15



Black-Winged Stilt



9. Indian Pond Heron - plenty

10. Cattle Egret - many

11. Painted Stork - 20

12. Greater Flamingo - just 1 on the approach road
13. Eurasian Spoonbill - many
14. Black-Winged Stilt - 5
15. Slender-Billed Gull - 50
16. Caspian Tern - 10
17. Heuglin's Gull - plenty
18. Kentish Plover - 50

19. Lesser Ringed Plover - 10



Brahminy Kite



20. Marsh Sandpiper - 5

21. Common Sandpiper - 20

22. Green Sandpiper - many

23. Wood Sandpiper - many
24. Lesser Sand Plover - 25
25. Purple Moorhen - 5
26. White-Breasted Waterhen - 6
27. Eurasian Curlew - 3
28. Black Tailed Godwit - 1
29. Red-Wattled Lapwing - 25
30. Grey plover - 5

Long-Tailed Shrike

31. Little Stint - The sanctuary is full of these
32. Eurasian Collared Dove - 6
33. Blue Rock Dove - plenty
34. House Crow - few
35. Jungle Crow - just 2
36. House Sparrow - 2
37. Common Myna - 40
38. Brahminy Myna - 25
39. Rosy Starling - 10
40. Purple Sunbird - 5
41. Loten's Sunbird - 1
42. Crimson-Backed Sunbird - 2
43. Purple-Rumped Sunbird - 1

Eurasian Collared Dove

44. Greater Coucal - 2
45. Long-Tailed Shrike - 7
46. Little Green Bee-Eater - plenty
47. Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater - 2
48. Asian Koel - 3
49. Rose-Ringed Parakeet - 3
50. Chestnut-Winged Cuckoo - 2
51. Asian Palm Swift - many
52. Pied Kingfisher - 50
53. White-Breasted Kingfisher - The most common bird
54. Little Blue Kingfisher (Common Kingfisher) - 10


Little Green Bee-Eater

55. Black-Capped Kingfisher - just 1
56. Barn Swallow - 10
57. Richard's Pipit - 3
58. Paddyfield Pipit - 2
59. Oriental Skylark - 35
60. Oriental Magpie Robin - 5
61. Blyth's Reed Warbler - 2
62. Black Drongo - 2
63. Rufous Treepie - 1
64. Indian Peafowl - 2
65. Shikra - 20

66. Brahminy Kite - 15



Kentish Plover



67. Black Kite - 5

68. Oriental Honey Buzzard - 25

69. Blackbuck - 7
70. Golden Jackal - 2 (glad they chose chasing a female blackbuck over us!!! It was really scary when they were choosing!)
71. Mouse Deer - 4
72. Spotted Deer (Axis Deer) -4
73. Indian Mongoose - 4
74. Bonnet Macaque - many
75. Monitor Lizard - 1
76. Indian Wild Boar - 3


Golden Jackal



Definitely missed a click of the Black-Capped Kingfisher, but was lucky enough to spot one. Also missed out on quite a few waders and terns, wonder why we couldn't spot them. It was just a 4-hour tour of the sanctuary so we probably missed out on quite a few birds.


But plenty of new species including the Brahminy Kite, which is quite common at Point Calimere, some of the sandpipers and plovers, the Black-Tailed Godwit, Oriental Skylark and the Eurasian Curlew.

Lesser Sand Plover

Little Blue Kingfisher (Common Kingfisher)

Little Stint

Marsh Sandpiper

Oriental Skylark

Indian Pond Heron

Richard's Pipit

Rosy Starling

Spoonbill Storks

Wood Sandpiper

Brahminy Myna (Brahminy Starling)

A really awesome experience - one of the best birdwatching trips for sure. This sanctuary is very less frequented but is one of the best - it even has a beach as part of the sanctuary! Point Calimere is definitely under-rated and is one of the finest bird sanctuaries in TN.