[ Itinerary ]
[ Systematic List ] [ Bottom ]
Yet another trip organised as a package holiday; this one was with
Kuoni. The flight was with Monarch airlines and took me from London Gatwick to
Goa with a re-fuelling stop in Bahrain. My hotel base for the two weeks was the
Leela Palace in Mobor, in the southern part of the state.
I have to confess the hotel is seriously up market but alternative hotels in the
state are plentiful, clean and comfortable and can easily be arranged either over the internet or more easily as part of a package holiday
from the UK with many of the tour operators.
Much of
the birding was done in the extensive
hotel grounds which were fronted by the sea and backed by the River Sal. On the
opposite side of
the river there were some dried up paddy fields which proved to be productive. A good technique to
get around the countryside is to befriend the local taxi drivers. Their knowledge of the area is
extensive and provided you have done your homework first and you know the places you want to
visit, the taxi drivers are more than willing to take you there and even carry your rucksacks.
This, I can assure you, is extremely welcome when the hour gets beyond 10am and the
temperatures really start to rise
Unlike a lot of the Indian states, Goa is not as poverty stricken as some and
as a result you are spared the begging that can be an irritant. The only place we actually found
begging was at the railway station in Panjim. Walking around the countryside proved to be
hassle free.
ITINERARY
| SYSTEMATIC
LIST |
|
| Little Cormorant |
|
| Black Crowned Night Heron |
|
| Green Heron |
|
| Indian Pond Heron |
|
| Cattle Egret |
|
| Little Egret |
|
| Yellow Billed Egret |
|
| Great White Egret |
|
| Western Reef Heron |
|
| Grey Heron |
|
| White Necked Stork |
|
| Black Shouldered Kite |
|
| Brahminy Kite |
|
| Black Kite |
|
| Shikra |
|
| White Bellied Sea Eagle |
|
| Indian White Backed Vulture |
|
| Long Billed Vulture |
|
| Crested Serpent Eagle |
|
| Tawny Eagle |
|
| Osprey |
|
| Red Junglefowl |
|
| White Breasted Waterhen |
|
| Black winged Stilt |
|
| Little Ringed Plover |
|
| Greater Sand Plover |
|
| Lesser Sand Plover |
|
| Pacific Golden Plover |
|
| Grey Plover |
|
| Red Wattled Lapwing |
|
| Spotted Redshank |
|
| Common Redshank |
|
| Marsh Sandpiper |
|
| Common Greenshank |
|
| Wood Sandpiper |
|
| Common Sandpiper |
|
| Brown Headed Gull |
|
| Gull Billed Tern |
|
| Caspian Tern |
|
| Swift Tern |
|
| Lesser Crested Tern |
|
| Sandwich Tern |
|
| Feral Pigeon |
|
| Laughing Dove |
|
| Spotted Dove |
|
| Emerald Dove |
|
| Grey Fronted Green Pigeon |
|
| Maroon Backed Imperial Pigeon |
|
| Indian Lorikeet |
|
| Ring Necked Parakeet |
|
| Alexandrine Parakeet |
|
| Blossom Headed Parakeet |
|
| Pied Crested Cuckoo |
|
| Small Hawk Cuckoo |
|
| Indian Plaintive Cuckoo |
|
| Koel |
|
| Coucal |
|
| Brown Fish Owl |
|
| Jungle Owlet |
|
| Spotted Owlet |
|
| Indian Nightjar |
|
| Palm Swift |
|
| Crested Tree Swift |
|
| House Swift |
|
| White Rumped Swift |
|
| Brown Headed Stork Billed
Kingfisher |
|
| White Breasted Kingfisher |
|
| Common Kingfisher |
|
| Pied Kingfisher |
|
| Chestnut Headed Bee Eater |
|
| Blue Tailed Bee Eater |
|
| Little Green Bee Eater |
|
| Malabar Grey Hornbill |
|
| Coppersmith Barbet |
|
| Green Barbet |
|
| Small Green Barbet |
|
| Mahratta Woodpecker |
|
| Brown Crowned Pygmy Woodpecker |
|
| Indian Golden Backed
Woodpecker |
|
| Black Backed Woodpecker |
|
| Heart Spotted Woodpecker |
|
| Barn Swallow |
|
| Wire Tailed Swallow |
|
| Red Rumped Swallow |
|
| Asian Cliff Swallow |
|
| Richards Pipit |
|
| Grey Headed Wagtail |
|
| Large Pied Wagtail |
|
| Forest Wagtail |
|
| Common Wood Shrike |
|
| Small Minivet |
|
| Scarlet Minivet |
|
| Red Vented Bulbul |
|
| Red Whiskered Bulbul |
|
| White Browed Bulbul |
|
| Black Bulbul |
|
| Yellow Browed Bulbul |
|
| Common Iora |
|
| Gold Fronted Leafbird |
|
| Fairy Bluebird |
|
| Pied Bushchat |
|
| Magpie Robin |
|
| Tailorbird |
|
| Ashy Prinia |
|
| Indian Prinia |
|
| Blyths Reed Warbler |
|
| Clamorous Reed Warbler |
|
| Booted Warbler |
|
| Willow Warbler |
|
| Green Warbler |
|
| Tickell's Blue Flycatcher |
|
| Jungle Babbler |
|
| Black Headed Babbler |
|
| Quaker Babbler |
|
| Purple Sunbird |
|
| Purple Rumped Sunbird |
|
| Maroon Breasted Sunbird |
|
| Tickell's Flowerpecker |
|
| Thick Billed Flowerpecker |
|
| Eurasian Golden Oriole |
|
| Asian Black Headed Forest
Oriole |
|
| Ashy Swallow Shrike |
|
| Rufous Backed Shrike |
|
| Bay Backed Shrike |
|
| Great Grey Shrike |
|
| Drongo |
|
| White Bellied Drongo |
|
| Large Racket Tailed Drongo |
|
| Lesser Racket Tailed Drongo |
|
| White Bellied Tree Pie |
|
| Indian Tree Pie |
|
| Jungle Crow |
|
| House Crow |
|
| Brahminy Myna |
|
| Grey Headed Myna |
|
| Jungle Myna |
|
| Common Myna |
|
| House Sparrow |
|
| Yellow Throated Sparrow |
|
| White Backed Munia |
|
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