Veer Dam, 29.01.2012

And another great birding day with my American Birding Pal!

Place : Veer Reservoir

Access : Via Mumbai - Bangalore highway upto Shirval, left turn towards Pandharpur.

An excellent spot for migratory birds! Not very famous, but a must for all birding fans!

List of birds spotted :

Indian Roller

1. Little Egret - 1
2. Little Cormorant - 2
3. Grey Heron - 1
4. Ruddy Shelduck - 25
5. Lesser Whistling Duck - 5
6. Spot-Billed Duck - 20
7. Common Pochard - 30
8. Tufted Duck - 20
9. Little Grebe - 3
10. River Tern - 7
11. Little Ringed Plover - 5
12. Common Sandpiper - 2
13. Marsh Sandpiper - 2
14. Wood Sandpiper - 10
15. Grey Wagtail - 40
16. Citrine Wagtail - 2
17. White Wagtail - 1
18. Bar-Headed Goose - 25

Common Pochard - female

19. Common Myna - 15
20. Brahminy Myna - 10
21. Jungle Babbler - 2
22. Large Grey Babbler - 5
23. Rose-Ringed Parakeet - 1
24. Blossom-Headed Parakeet - 2
25. Common Tailorbird - 2
26. Black Ibis - 2
27. Red-Wattled Lapwing - 5
28. Yellow-Wattled Lapwing - 4
29. Spotted Munia - 2
30. Paddyfield Pipit - 30
31. Black Drongo - 40
32. House Crow - 5
33. Yellow-Crowned Woodpecker - 2
34. Jungle Crow - 5
35. House Sparrow - 6
36. Rock Dove - 2

Jungle Babbler

37. Laughing Dove - 1
38. Eurasian Collared Dove - 5
39. Purple Sunbird - 2
40. Indian Robin - 1
41. Pied Bushchat - 2
42. White-Breasted Kingfisher - 3
43. Pied Kingfisher - 2
44. Common Hoopoe - 7
45. Indian Roller - 2
46. Ashy Prinia - 4
47. Plains Prinia - 2
48. Red Turtle Dove - 1
49. Barn Swallow - 2
50. Red-Rumped Swallow - 8

An awesome experience indeed, to have spotted such a variety in such a short span of time! A lot of new species coming out with Yellow-Crowned Woodpecker, Tufted Duck and Common Pochard. The Blossom-Headed Parakeet was a good spot too.

Bar-Headed Goose

Black Ibis

Blossom-Headed Parakeet

Eurasian Collared Dove

Asian Open-Billed Stork

Common Hoopoe

Plains Prinia

Common Pochard

Tufted Duck

Yellow-Wattled Lapwing

Little Ringed Plover

Purple Sunbird

Yellow-Crowned Woodpecker

Ashy Prinia

A definite place to spot the Bar-Headed Geese as well (No Demoiselle Cranes).
Yet, a must for all Birdwatchers!

Kavadi Pat, 22.01.2012

Place : Kavadi Pat, Pune

Access : Via Pune-Solapur Road, left turn 3km before Loni

A very exciting place for bird-watchers. The perfect combination of scrubland and wetland for birding!!!

A summary of birds spotted at Kavadi :

Northern Shoveller

1. Little Grebe - 15
2. Spot-Billed Duck - 10
3. Ruddy Shelduck - 15
4. Common Teal - 25
5. Northern Shoveller - 5
6. Lesser Whistling Duck - 2
7. Common Sandpiper - 30
8. Wood Sandpiper - 25
9. Little Ringed Plover - 2
10. Common Kingfisher - 1
11. White-Breasted Kingfisher - 3
12. Pied Kingfisher - 1
13. Little Egret - 2
14. Grey Heron - 1
15. Pond Heron - 2
16. Spoonbill Stork - 2

Common Kingfisher (Little Blue)

17. Little Cormorant - 4
18. Indian Cormorant - 5
19. Cattle Egret - 1
20. White Wagtail - 2
21. Grey Wagtail - 25
22. Yellow Wagtail - 1
23. Rose-Ringed Parakeet - 1
24. Rock Dove - 2
25. House Sparrow - 5
26. House Crow - 5
27. Little Green Bee-Eater - 6
28. Black Kite - 1
29. Shikra - 1
30. Indian Peafowl -1
31. Greater Coucal - 2
32. Laughing Dove - 4

Little Grebe

33. Long-Tailed Shrike - 3
34. Scaly-Breasted Munia - 2
35. Indian Hawk Cuckoo - 2
36. River Tern - 50
37. Little Tern - 2
38. Red-Vented Bulbul - 5
39. Red-Whiskered Bulbul - 6
40. White-Spotted Fantail Flycatcher - 2
41. Indian Roller - 2
42. Purple Sunbird - 2
43, Purple-Rumped Sunbird - 3
44. Indian Robin - 4
45. Oriental Magpie Robin - 3
46. Pied Bushchat - 4
47. Common Tailorbird - 3
48. Black-Winged Stilt - 5

Common Teal - female

49. Purple Moorhen - 2
50. Glossy Ibis - 5
51. Pale-Billed Flowerpecker - 1
52. Thick-Billed Crow - 4
53. Large Grey Babbler - 5
54. Jungle Babbler - 5
55. White-Breasted Waterhen - 4
56. Common Moorhen - 1
57. Black Drongo - 35
58. Common Myna - 15
59. Brahminy Myna - 3
60. Pied Harrier - 1
61. Red-Rumped Swallow - 2
62. Yellow-Eyed Babbler - 2


Overall, a great spot for watching birds. If the forest birds play tricks, the waterfowl are always there to fall back on! Not very exquisite waterfowl, but great raptors and scrub birds around. . . A must visit before its too late . . .

 

Common Sandpiper

Common Teal

White-Spotted Fantail Flycatcher

Glossy Ibis

Grey Wagtail

Indian Robin

Pied Bushchat

Indian Roller

Red-Rumped Swallow

White Wagtail

Wood Sandpiper

Oriental Honey Buzzard

Yellow-Eyed Babbler

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!