The Dona Paula Plateau region-Abode of the larks

Indian Robin

                                                                   
This beautiful place is located a kilometer north-west of hotel Cidade de Goa, bordering the Ravi Raj and Nagali Hills Colonies. It is spread across a distance of 2-3 square kilometers. This place has typical scrub and dry deciduous habitat sprinkled with some tall trees.

Before Monsoons

                                                               TRANSFORMATION

After 10-15 days of rain

At this time of the year the area is green and slippery, with half-foot deep puddles. These puddles are one of the best places in the plateau region if the weather is hot. I have observed Swallows, Pipits and Lapwing drinking water from here but never Larks. The Paddyfield Pipits also perform their wonderful displays at this time of the year. First they start with their song and then fly almost vertically in the sky. Red-Rumped and Barn Swallows are found in plenty here. Three species of Larks are said to be found here, although I have only seen 2, which are the Skye's Lark and the Oriental Skylark, he third one being the Ashy-Crowned  Sparrow Lark. Other open country birds like the Bush-Quails, Babblers,Wagtails,  Drongos, Kites, Shrikes, Munias, Warblers, Prinias, Lapwings, Robins, Bulbuls, Owlets and the Barn Owl are spotted here. Other birds like the Barbets, Orioles and Koels are found occasionally. I have observed a White-Bellied Sea Eagle here once.

Red-Rumped Swallow

Barn Swallow

We had a beautiful time when we went to this place last. Our walk started off well with the Spotted Dove which is found quite commonly here. Then we heard a short whistle like call. It didn't sound like a Magpie Robin call so we headed towards the sound of the call. As we approached the calling bird we saw 6 small, orangish bird with a white throat and a crimson forehead. To our surprise it was a Tawny-Billed Babbler.
On all of my visits here I had never seen his bird. We stopped and observed them for about 10 minutes. They were hopping around from bush to bush and continuously calling to keep each other in contact.

Tawny-Billed Babbler

Tawny-Billed Babbler

As we walked further we saw Large Grey and Jungle Babblers hopping about on the ground. About 15 minutes of fruitless walking on the wet and slippery ground we saw 2-3 brown birds hopping about on the ground. A closer look showed that they were Paddyfield Pipits. But I still had a doubt because their wings were less streaked. But when this bird started its display all my doubts were cleared. Now for sure I could conclude that it was a Paddyfield Pipit.

After watching these two birds for 15 to 20 minutes we continued our walk. We heard and saw a couple of Indian Robins, Ashy Prinias, Tailorbirds and Red-Wattled Lapwings. Two Red-Wattled Lapwings showed us their territorial display. Then suddenly in the commotion we heard a long, plaintive kiii. I knew this call was of the Yellow-Wattled Lapwing. There is a pair of this birds residing in this part of the plateau region for a long time now. After 2 minutes we were able to spot the bird flying over our head. An Ashy Prinia was posing well for us and we got some reasonable shots of the common but elusive bird. As we were walking  we saw a Lark coloured, bulky bird fly off from the ground. As we approached near it I came to know that it was a Rock Bush-Quail. It was impossible to chase this bird and I couldn't get a single shot. I have seen this bird once, in the winter. Spotting this bird in this season means that it breeds here and that it must be having chicks, which almost fledge at this time. After a few minutes waiting at the same place for about 15 minutes we saw what we came for. A lark! Finally! Four of them! I couldn't identify the species' name until I clicked their photo. They were the Sykes Lark. I could get some beautiful photos of them too.

Sykes Lark

Sykes Lark

Sykes Lark

Well, we found what we came for and decided to head back home. On the way we could click more good photos of common but exciting birds. First we spotted a juvenile koel. We spotted a crow feeding it but couldn't capture it on the camera.

Juvenile Asian Koel 

Suddenly as we were passing by a small park we heard another common but extremely beautiful warbler-The Common Tailorbird on the swing.

Common Tailorbird

About five minutes later we heard the typical characteristic call of the White-Browed Bulbul. It came really close to us and I could get some amazing photos of it calling.

 Well, after clicking the photo of the White-Browed Bulbul it started pouring and we couldn't make any further observation so we returned back home.

The Heronry near Athani

Whilst we were going to the village of Badami in North Karnataka we were driving by lush green  fields about 5-10 kilometers from Athani I saw thousands of heronary birds about 300 meters from the roadside and a couple of Grey Herons standing in the foot-deep water. We did not stop because we had to reach Badami as quickly as possible.So, we decided to stop at that spot on the way back. While coming back we stopped at that place and saw that all those egret like birds in the distance were all Painted Storks. Not 20-30, but about 100. And those couple of grey herons which I saw were not even 1/100th of the amount of them I saw today.

Painted Storks and Grey Heron 

Then I saw that out of those 100 Grey Herons most of them had made nests. Some were sitting on it, maybe to incubate the eggs, some were feeding their and some of the chicks had already fledged and were already foraging on their own. 

Roosting Grey Herons

Grey Herons 

There were many other waders too. There were Spot-billed Ducks,a lone Chestnut or Cinnamon Bittern, Cattle, Intermediate and Little Egrets, Pond Herons, Purple Heron, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Black-Tailed Godwits, Common Green Shank, Little-Ringed Plover, White-Throated, Common and Pied Kingfishers, Lesser-Whistling Ducks, Little and Indian Cormorants, Purple Swamphen, White-Breasted Waterhen, Red-Wattled Lapwing, Eurasian Coot, Oriental White Ibis, Black-Winged Stilt and Common Moorhens.

Pied Kingfisher

Spot-billed Ducks, Purple Swamphen with Chick and Black Tailed Godwit

Purple Heron

Chestnut Bittern

Grey Heron building nest 

The view

Wagtails

Even though this blog is only about the Birds of Goa, some posts are also going to be of my trips in other states. This one is going to be about the migratory wagtails I saw in my maternal hometown, Sangli. This is a beautiful district in South Maharashtra. Thousand of Grey, White and Yellow Wagtails migrate to one spot every year. The banks of R.Krishna are loaded with migratory wagtails from late September-early October to late March-early April. Yellow Wagtails tend to stay on till the 3rd week of April.

Yellow Wagtail-race 'Thunbergi'

   

Yellow Wagtail-race 'Beema'

These wagtails are hard to identify when it comes to their race. Like in the two photos above there is a significant amount of difference between the heads of the to birds. Race 'Beema' has a light grey crown and forehead with a white eyebrow, while race 'Thunbergi' has a Blackish Grey crown and forehead. If, studied properly one can also find difference between the calls of each race of the species. 

Fellow birdwatcher and teacher, Sharad Apte, a native to the city of Sangli records calls and studies them. Wagtails are on of his favourite species and he has come to the conclusion that calls differ between the different races.

White Wagtail-race 'Personata'

White Wagtail-race 'Personata' first win. 

 The first winter plumages of these birds differ a lot compared to when they are fully mature. Most of our wintering Wagtails like the White, Grey and Yellow are found in or near the vegitation near fast flowing river.

Very places have habitat like this in Goa. Wagtails are mostly insectivorous and feed on worms and other small insects on the ground.

Other birds found near or in the river

Grey Heron

Black Ibis

Brahminy Duck and Black-Winged Stilt

Common Hoopoe

Paddyfield Pipit

Southern Cucal

Pied Bushchat-female

Pied Bushchat-male

Laughing Dove

Mugger Crocodile(centre) and Intermediate Egret 

Red-Rumped Swallow

Birds of Prey found in goa

Birds of prey are a diurnal family of birds or Raptors. They include Accipters, Harriers, Eagles, Vultures, Kites, Buzzards and Falcons. This group of birds is my favourite. They are (according to me) the most majestic birds out of all of the bird species. These birds range from the Besra which grows to a maximum of 30cm to the huge Cinereous Vulture. They are found in most of the habitats such as scrub, semi desert, desert, marshland as well as forest. In Goa there are 28 species of raptors found.

Eurasian Marsh Harrier

Shikra

Long Billed Vulture and Eurasian Griffon

Accipters

They have short, round wings and a rather long tail. This is an adaptation for manoeuvring swiftly at high speeds through dense vegetation and forest in pursuit of prey, mainly birds. The Tarsus is unfeathered, long and slender depending on the species.Talons are well curved and extremely sharp.Females are, in some forms, twice as large as males. These are small to medium sized birds which are mostly found in forest, woodland, gardens and groves. Species found in Goa are Shikra, Besra, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and the Northern Goshawk.These birds hunt by sitting motionless on a lofty tree such as Mango, Pipal, Banyan,etc. and dive down on their prey, mostly birds. Besides birds, these species prey on small mammals, reptiles and insects.

Harriers
These are medium sized raptors which are winter visitors to Goa. None of the birds in this family breed in Indian limits except the Pied Harrier with 1 or 2 breeding records in Assam, north-eastern India.
The Harriers have long, narrow wings and tail. They long, slim and unfeathered wings to seize prey in the tall grass they dwell in. These birds have a small and weak beak with an Owl like ruff. Males of all the species in this genus are grey or white and are more striking than females and juveniles. All species of harriers found in Goa roost on the ground. They have a preference for open ground. they inhabit Grassland, fields, semi-desert and barren hill slopes.Species found in Goa are Pied Harrier(Rare), Pallid Harrier, Montagu's Harrier and the Western Marsh Harrier.

Western Marsh Harrier

True Eagles or Aquila Eagles
This Genus comprises of large or medium sized, powerful eagles. They have broad wings with a squarish
medium length tail.When perched the folded wings generally extend to almost the tip of the tail. The tarsus is feathered till the toes.These birds are supreme opportunists in getting food. They also parasite on smaller raptors and also feed on carrion. Five out out of six species of Aquila are found in Goa which are: Tawny Eagle, Indian and Greater Spotted Eagle and the Steppe Eagle. The Indian and Greater spotted Eagle are globally threatened. The Bonelli' Eagle has recently been classified into Aquila.

Greater Spotted Eagle moulting 

Fish Eagles, Sea Eagles and Osprey
Osprey:Long narrow wings which enable it to hover, soar and undertake long distance migration without dependance of thermals.Long, unfeathered legs pluck fish from the water while the short, sharp feet help in gripping slippery fish. There is only one species in the wold of this genus.
Sea Eagles:Only one species of sea eagle which is the White-Bellied Sea Eagle is found in Goa. Birds of this genus have long, broad wings, moderately long and rounded tails. Sharp Talons with underside of claws grooved help to grab fish. these birds are dependent on water systems. They mainly eat fish and waterbirds and occasionally mammals. They feed on juvenile herons, egrets and storks in heronries like Salim  Ali Bird Sanctuary, Chorao.
Fish Eagles:Only 1 species of this genus are found in Goa, which is the Grey-Headed Fish Eagle. These birds are found in the fast flowing river systems mainly in parts of south Goa and Dandeli. But there have been few sightings in other parts of Goa. They powerful feet for gripping fish. The wings are long and broad, at resting extend to the tip of the tail. 

Black Eagle
A large, slim forest dwelling eagle which has a longish bill with a flexible wings and tail. Has fully feathered talons like those of the true Eagles.

Black Eagle - Varun Tipnis

                                   

Serpent and Snake Eagles
Snake Eagles:Only one species of his genus the Short-Toed Snake Eagle. A medium sized Eagle with long wings and a moderately long tail. Legs are long and unfeathered. The legs and toe have hexagonal scales which are belied in protecting the eagle from the bite of snakes it main food.This species is closely related to the forest dwelling serpent eagles.
Serpent Eagle:Serpent Eagles are extremely variable in size. They have long, unfeathered legs and talons acutely coloured. Juveniles are duller than adults.

Crested Serpent Eagle

Hawk Eagles
Hawk Eagles are medium sized forest dwelling eagles. They have a sharp and powerful beaks and long legs.
In Goa there are four species of hawk eagles which are: Booted Eagle, Crested Hawk Eagle, Mountain Hawk Eagle and the Rufous Bellied Eagle

Booted Eagle

Vultures
These birds are rarely come across in Goa. The only reliable place to see Vultures is Velim Lake. These birds are complete scavengers and can feed on anything from carrion to dead carcasses. These birds prefer dry and arid habitat. They have curved beaks and moderately long, feathered legs. in Goa three species which are the Indian White Backed Vulture, Long Billed Vulture and the Egyptian Vulture.

Egyptian Vultures

Buzzards and Honey Buzzards
These are medium sized birds which have a preference for rugged mountain regions on the rain-shadow side of the Sayadris or the western Ghats. They have long, unfeathered feet and a squarish tail. They have a small, curved beak. They feed on small mammals and birds.

Long legged Buzzard

Oriental Honey Buzzards

Kites
These are small to medium sized birds which are found mainly in the coastal talukas of Goa. They are scavengers and sometimes also kill. they show a preference for all types of habitats. They have unfeathered feet and a powerful bill. they have a stocky body and powerful wings helping them to hover and soar.

Brahminy Kite