Birding in Goa

Goa is generally associated with beaches, parties and drinks. But a significant part of the state is covered by evergreen forests which are not visited by most tourists. At most, people know about Dudhsagar waterfalls as it has recently gained popularity through social media. I have been visiting Goa regularly and spent some time in “non-beach” areas like Dudhsagar waterfalls, Harvelam falls, Talade falls, Bondla wildlife sanctuary and Bhagwan Mahavir wildlife sanctuary. Recently, Sankara and I visited Netravali wildlife sanctuary, Cotigao wildlife sanctuary and did boating on Zuari River. Birding was the main objective of this trip.

Our plan

We planned to spend about four days in Goa. Omkar was our birding guide who took care of all the arrangements related to staying, permissions and bookings. We stayed at a Spice farm near Nethravali Wildlife sanctuary. It was a nice homestay situated amidst areca nut plantation.

Outskirts of Nethravali

Since we had reached the homestay by lunchtime, we had some time to spare on the first day. Omkar took us around the area for birding. The area around “Bubble pond” was rich with many birds. We spent time till evening in that area. We found nearly 40 species of birds in that short duration of time.\

By the way, “Bubble pond” is a popular place among local people. Bubbles come out of the pond at regular intervals. A temple adjoins the pond, and the area is serene. People believe that bubbles come when they clap. So, it is common to hear the clapping sound in the area. But I observed that the bubbles come irrespective of people clap or not!! Scientifically, it is due to the algae that have grown in the pond. It is an interesting place to visit.

Nethravali wildlife sanctuary

We reached the entrance of Nethravali wildlife sanctuary early morning. There were no other visitors at that time, and the forest officials allowed us inside the sanctuary without any delay. Private vehicles were allowed inside, and there was no dependency on forest department vehicles. The asphalted road continues in the wildlife sanctuary. The road eventually leads to the Verlem village bordering Karnataka.

We spent an entire day in the sanctuary looking for birds with a small break for lunch at homestay. It was rich in birdlife, and we spotted a large number of species. We were completely on our own with no interference from any people.

Nethravali does see come tourists, but most of them come for waterfalls inside the forest. Since our focus was birding, we did not visit the waterfalls. It does require some trekking. I promised to visit during monsoon when waterfalls are in great shape!!

Cotigao wildlife sanctuary

Cotigao wildlife sanctuary is closer to the coast and in fact, it is a short detour from old Panvel-Kanyakumari road. It was about 45 minutes from our homestay. On our way, we passed through the farms which provided an excellent opportunity for birding.

Unlike Nethravali, Cotigao wildlife sanctuary entrance has an interpretation centre, restaurant, park and cottages for stay. There are no asphalted roads inside the forest, but private vehicles are allowed.

It was a long day for us. We went through the different routes inside the sanctuary. In some places, we had to walk inside the forests. Again, we were the only ones most of the time!! We were rewarded with various species of birds. Our guide Omkar was too good with birds. He could identify the birds by hearing the voice and could recognize them from long distance. His knowledge of avian species was mind-blowing.

Post sunset, we spent time in a large open area looking for Nightjars. We did see a Jungle Nightjar, but being new to night photography, I managed to take a bad shot of the bird. It was also the day of Jupiter and Saturn conjunction, and we spent some time discussing astrophysics. With Omkar’s powerful binoculars, we could get the glimpse of conjunction. It was nice to see the four moons of Jupiter and rings of Saturn.

Zuari river boating

It was our last day in Goa. Our day started early as we had to reach the Kamat’s crocodile station at Cortalim Jetty before 7:30 AM. It was about 1.5 hours of drive from our homestay. While the Nethravali and Cotigao wildlife sanctuaries gave us the glimpse of forest birds, Zuari river provided a similar experience with aquatic birds. Zuari is a short river originating In Nethravali and the area where it joins the sea is rich in mangrove forests. It provides a fertile ecosystem for many species to thrive.

The 2.5 hours that we spent on the boat ride will remain in our memory for long times. I could see many birds for the first time in my life, and most of them close by. We witnessed the action from common kingfisher where it caught the fish, tossed and finally swallowed its meal!!