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GOA
March 1993

 

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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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