Located on the west coast of India, Goa is nestled between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. A stretch of land 100 odd km in length and about 50 km wide.  This landmass covering an area of 3700 sq km has a wide  range of habitats.  Habitats  range from the ocean to the sandy and rocky beaches extending into the plains.  These plains are covered by paddy fields and villages traversed by brackish water estuaries of the rivers flowing from the Western Ghats of Goa into the Arabian sea.  These estuaries are lined by mangroves and mudflats. As one progresses towards east, the area gets interspersed with lateritic plateaus covered with meadows and scrubland.  Some of these plateaus extend into the sea as headlands with rocky cliffs. Further to the east bordering with Karnataka, are the Western Ghats reaching the highest altitude of 1600 MSL approx (at the highest peak of Sonsogad). 

A former Portuguese colony, Goa was liberated by the Indian Army in 1961 after being ruled for over 450 years by this European power.  With a culture thats different from rest of the country with its Portuguese influence Goa started attracting foreign travellers right after its liberation.  Hippies started gathering on Goa's beaches from the 70s followed by organised European travellers by last couple of decades of the 20th century.   Goa started attracting birders in the 90s.  Soon the tourism facilities picked up along the coastline making it a hot destination for European travellers. A combination of factors including well developed tourism facilities, hospitable people, free culture and great birds With many undisturbed habitats made Goa much popular destination amongst the Western birders.

A whole lot of birding areas existed back in the nineties with multiple places offering one kind of habitats. 

Birding in Goa as of this day
A multitude of birding habitats are available in Goa.  These include marshes, wetlands, paddy fields, mangroves, scrublands, sandy beaches, mangroves, mudflats, coastal secondary forests, plantations (once accessible to anyone) and the Western Ghats forests and so on.  All these habitats promise a great amount of birding.  These habitats are prone to  rampant developmental projects which have been allowed to come up in the state due to the pressure of the real estate lobby largely located outside the state of Goa.  We wish to create a mass awareness about the richness of biodiversity of Goa so that steps towards it's preservation are taken before it is completely destroyed.

In this blog we cover birding in Goa and what it can offer to you as per the current scenario.

Birding in Goa
Goa offers 400 plus species on the menu 460 plus recorded species). In a 3 nights 4 days birding plan you can cover about 180 species.  In a 9 nights 10 days plan you can cover 250 plus species. 

One can find 16 of the 21 Western Ghats endemic birds in Goa's Western Ghats.  In addition you can cover species special to mangroves like the Collared Kingfisher.  During winter months a whole lot of migratory waterfowl congregate in the water bodies. The waders gather in huge number on the coasts and wetlands. The forests are also inundated by wintering birds like flycatchers, warblers, wagtails, thrushes, drongos... from colder regions.  Goa's proximity to Dandeli makes it a good location for bird photographers as well.

With this much to offer you can plan a birding holiday in Goa starting from 2 to 15 days or more.  

In here i will give you the longest itinerary and divide it further into smaller ones so that you can choose what to do and for how many days depending upon the number of days you have gor and what species you would like to cover.  You can cut any segment of the journey and make it into an itinerary or choose from.the ones available here.

9 Nights 10 Days Birding Tour to Goa & Dandeli

Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Hotel in Arpora
Day 2: Birding in Baga Hills, Fields; Meadows of Divar Island; Stay at Arpora
Day 3: Birding in Morjim followed by birding in Carambolim Lake & Marshes; Stay in Arpora
Day 4: Birding in River Zuari and Verna; Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary; Stay at Nature’s Nest
Day 5: Birding in Bondla & Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary; Stay at Nature’s Nest
Day 6: Birding in Bondla & Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary; Stay at Nature’s Nest
Day 7: Birding in Nature’s Nest campus; Drive to Ganeshgudi located 2 hrs away. Birding en-route; Stay in Ganeshgudi-Dandeli in Karnataka
Day 8: Full day birding in Ganeshgudi and Dandeli
Day 9: Birding in Ganeshgudi- Dandeli, Drive to Arpora; Stay at Arpora
Day 10: Departure

Key Species
Day 1- Day 4:  Coastal Habitat, Marshes, Waterbodies and Mangroves

Upon arrival you are picked up and transferred to a hotel in Arpora.  The drive is for about an hour and half.  Next 3 days you will be spending covering the coastal species.  The habitat covered includes the coast, fields, marshes, lakes, mangroves and well as scrub and grassland habitats.

Key species in the coastal hills include Malabar White-headed and Brahminy Starlings; White-browed and Grey-headed Bulbuls; Long-tailed, Bay-backed and Brown Shrikes; Green and Blue-tailed Bee-eaters; Indian Golden and Black-hooded Orioles; Indian Yellow Tit; Purple, Purple-rumped, Vigor's and Loten's Sunbirds; Orange-headed Thrush.
The fields have Blyth's, Paddy field, Tawny, Olive-backed Pipits; Citrine, Yellow and White-browed Wagtails; Malabar and Rufous-tailed Larks; Scaly-breasted and White-rumped Munias.
The Morjim beach is a roosting ground for various species of gulls, terns and waders.  These include Dunlin, Sanderling, Greater and Lesser sand plovers; Great Black-headed, Brown-headed, Steppe and Slender-billed Gulls; Great and Lesser Crested, Gull-billed and Caspian Terns; Whimbrels and Eurasian curlews and also small Pratincoles.
Wetland habitats like Carambolim produce a mix of waders, herons and storks including Wood, Green and Terek Sandpipers, Little and Temminck's Stints, Ruffs, Godwits; Painted and Woolly-necked Storks, Asian Openbill, Grey, Purple and Little Herons; Little, Intermediate, Great, Cattle and Reef Egrets; Glossy and Black-headed Ibis. 
Also, one can find congregations of Purple Swamphen, Bronze-winged and Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, Coots, Garganey, Lesser Whistling Ducks, Northern Pintail, Cotton Teal, Comb Duck, Little & Indian Cormorants and Oriental Darter.

The boat trip to the mangrove-lined Zuari River and Cumbharjua Canal will cover the key species Collared Kingfisher.  In addition, other kingfishers include Stork-billed, Black-capped, Lesser Pied, White-throated and Common Kingfishers.  Lesser Adjutants and Slaty-breasted Rail are also seen in the mangroves. 

Day 4- Day 9: Birding in Bhagwan Mahavir; Bondla & Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats
These days you will be spending exploring the forest species which include endemics and near-endemics to the Western Ghats.  16 of the 28 Western Ghats endemics are found here.  The forest includes deciduous to semi evergreen vegetation.  Forests covering the rounded hills are interspersed with villages.  The Species we will cover here include Malabar Pied and Malabar Grey Hornbills, Grey fronted Green Pigeons, Flame-throated, Square-tailed, Yellow-browed and Grey-headed Bulbuls, White-bellied, Tickell’s Blue, Brown-breasted, Asian Brown Flycatchers; Black-naped Blue Monarch; Malabar Trogon; White-bellied and White-naped Woodpeckers; Malabar, Plum-headed Parakeets; Malabar Whistling-thrush, Indian Blackbird, Orange-headed Thrush, Indian Blue Robin; White-cheeked and Malabar Barbets; Malabar Woodshrike; Grey Junglefowl, Red Spurfowl; Indian White-rumped Spinetail; Oriental Dwarf and Blue-eared Kingfishers. 

Other species include Golden-fronted and Jerdon’s Leafbirds, Orange and Small Minivets; Asian Fairy Bluebird; Greater Racket-tailed, Bronzed Drongos; Heart-spotted, Brown-capped Pygmy, White-bellied Woodpeckers; Velvet-fronted Nuthatch; Dark-fronted Babbler; Brown-cheeked Fulvetta.

The nocturnal species we will cover include Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Oriental and Collared Scops-owls, Brown Hawk-owl, Jungle Owlet, Indian Jungle and Jerdon's Nightjars.

Dandeli in Karnataka is also a very rich place in terms of birdlife for the Western Ghats endemics and near-endemics.

Detailed Plan

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to hotel in Arpora, Relax.

Day 2: Baga Hills, Fields, Divar Island
AM: Baga hills are located not far off from your hotel and hosts a variety of forest species including some Western Ghats endemics.  Post Birding in Baga Hills we proceed to Baga fields and marshes to check out for marsh species and waders. 
PM: After lunch and time for rest we proceed to Divar Island for evening birding to catch up on raptors, larks and pipit.

Day 3: Morjim Beach & Carambolim Lake & Marshes
AM: Morning Birding around Morjim.  We take a walk on the sandy beach where the shore birds congregate.  Sometime the congregation shifts to a sandbar in the estuary.  In that case we travel by a small 15-seater boat to the sandbar. We return to the hotel for lunch.

PM: Post lunch we drive to Carambolim Lake and Marshes for waders and waterfowls.  Post birding in Carambolim we head back to Arpora.  Stay in Arpora overnight.

Day 4: River Zuari, Verna Grassland, Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary
AM: Early morning we leave for the Boat Safari in River Zuari and Cumbharjua Canal. Post boat trip we head to close-by Verna Grassland and Scrubland.  Late morning, we head to Nature’s Nest located at the foothills of Western Ghats.  Nature's Nest Goa located at a drive of 90 minutes.  Post check in you will be served buffet lunch with veg and non-veg options.

Time here onwards will be spent to cover the Western Ghats and South India endemics as well as other forest species.

PM: Evening trail starts at 3.30 pm and will cover the Tambdi Surla area of the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary.  We drive through forest with intermittent stops for birding.  A 13th Century temple devoted to Lord Shiva lies at the end of the road.  The stream around is highly productive.  Also, the fields and surrounding of villages around are very productive. We continue around dusk to locate Owls and Nightjars.  Return to Nature's Nest for stay.

Day 5: Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary & Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary
AM: Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary is located 20 km away.  This Wildlife Sanctuary hosts mixed deciduous forest with cane breaks surrounded by low-lying plantation creating a unique habitat here. The sanctuary also has a zoological park. We will be starting early morning post tea/ coffee. 

We will be stopping along the way to cover important species.
PM: Birding in Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary.  Stay at Nature's Nest Goa

Day 6: Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary & Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary
AM: Birding in Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary to cover the additional species
PM: Birding in Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary to cover additional species.  Stay at Nature's Nest

Day 7: Birding in Nature’s Nest surroundings; Castlerock & Dandeli (Ganeshgudi- Karnataka)
AM: Birding in Nature's Nest campus.  The campus is one of the best places around to watch and click nectar feeding birds like Vernal Hanging-parrot, Spiderhunters and sunbirds.  Check out and head to Ganeshgudi near Dandeli- Karnataka located 75 km away (2 Hrs drive)
PM: Post lunch birding and photography from the hide in Ganeshgudi within the lodge campus.  Evening visit to the Hornbill Bridge to watch the Malabar Pied Hornbills.  Stay at Old Magazine House Ganeshgudi

Day 8: Birding in Dandeli
AM: Morning Birding in Ganeshgudi
PM: Post lunch the session will be at Dandeli Timber Depot for dust bathing Malabar Pied Hornbills in addition to woodpeckers and nuthatches.

Day 9: Birding in Dandeli & Head back to Baga
AM: Birding in Ganeshgudi till 10 am followed by check out.  Head back to Baga.  Stay at Arpora.  Relax in the evening

Day 10: Drop to the airport & departure

Glimpses from the Boat trip in River Zuari- Goa

 Collared Kingfisher

 Eurasian Curlew

Western Reef Egret

Striated Heron

Collared Kingfisher 

White-throated Kingfisher

Common KIngfisher

Collared Kingfisher

 Brahminy Kite

 Osprey

 Common Redshank

 Common Sandpiper

Terek Sandpiper

Mishmi Hills Birding Trip Report- I

Black Eared Shrike-babbler at Mishmi Hills, Arunachal Pradesh

Stop Stop!!!  I insisted to our driver as a Blyth's Tragopan male just walked on to the road only a couple of metres ahead!!!  

It was the second day of the trip and our first drive into the Mishmi hills itself!!! And bingo!!! We  had hit the jackpot!!!

We started our trip from Dibrugarh Airport.

Day 1: 26th March 2017

As I walked out of the Airport, Ravi our guide and the Pied Starlings perched in the lawn welcomed me warmly. Our both drivers had arrived to pick up me and my guests.  Vidyut and Ratul were very warm too. Soon arrived 2 of the participants from the group. The rest of the 4 parrixipants were about to reach after having finished their splendid tour to Kaziranga and Gibbon Park. The customized tour had been arranged on demand by India Untamed.  Thus a group of us 7 people met up at 2.00 pm as decided. This was soon followed by an amazing lunch. We had an Assamese thali with Banana flower vegetable, mini potatoes and  locally cultivated vegetables.  I tasted the first duck meat of my life.

We were now Heading to our first birding destination for the trip, Maguri Beel. Heading for Maguri Beel, we soon stopped with our first sighting... A White-rumped Vulture perched atop a roadside tree. A few of Slender-billed Vultures were also flying high up. A great sighting for everyone.  After little over an hour's drive we reached Kahua camp.  The camp is based on the edge of the Maguri Beel.  The wetland is a birding hotspot known for sightings of species like Baikal Teal, Baer's Pochard, Black-breasted Parrotbill, Falcated Duck and so on.  It is also located close to Dibru Saikhova National Part.  The Dihing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary is not very far from here either.  Thus if you have enough time on hands you can plan these two places as well.

The camp is a basic accommodation in the local styling. The huts are built on stilts with wooden flooring, thatched roof and bamboo walls. It has an attached bath with a WC.

A stroll outside was productive. Black-faced Buntings were present in the thicket just behind our huts. Rosy Pipit and Eastern Yellow Wagtails were grazing in the natural grass lawns.  Noisy Ruddy Shelducks were flying above.  It was already 5 pm and the sun was about to set.  We called it a day with a tally of 15 species from around. (List)

27th March 2017

Coffee House at Mayodia Pass in Mishmi Hills

The first per say birding day began at 4.30 am. One has to take a canoe to reach the area of the wetland where the waterfowls are present. We started our boat trip in two canoes to the wetland at 6.00 am soon after sunrise. It was raining throughout the night and the drizzle continued a bit through the morning.  I realised and was also told they this year there has been an early departure of species. However we bagged special species for most participants. Ruddy-breasted Crake, Eastern Water-Rail were spotted by sharp eyes of our guide for Maguri Beel Mr. Jeevan who also owns the Kahua camp.  

Striated grassbirds were signing to their glory flying up in the air from their reed-top perches and landing back. Bengal Bushlarks walked along the Creek banks.  A party of Ferruginous Pochards, Cotton Pygmy Geese, Common Shelduck, Gadwall were taking off as our canoes progressed closer to them.  The Beel which means lake is an extension of the River Brahmaputra into an extended backwater. It also has great amount of tall grasses and reeds around the backwater making it an ideal habitat for a number of marsh species too.

The lake is infested with water hyacinth.  The roots of the hyacinth are an ideal ground for breeding of small fish and invertebrates.  You will see the local fishermen fishing from under the Hyacinth with their bamboo nets. After bagging about 15 species and not being able to see any new ones, we returned to the base.  You may click here for the group species list and here for my ebird checklist.

After breakfast we headed for Roing where we would be pitched up for the night before climbing up into the Mishmi Hills.  The drive from Tinsukia the closest city to Maguri  Roing is for about 4 hours.  The time extends because of the stops taken along the way fir birding. We bagged species like Crested Serpent Eagle, White throated Needletails, Asian Barred Owlets, Black-billed and darker sub species if the indian Roller. Birding stops along the way delayed us a bit.  We reached the Mishmi Hills Camp in Roing around sunset.  It's a good place to pitch up for the night before you begin your journey uphill. The camp is clean and based right on the bank of the Dibang River. 

Morning here is decent with Daurian redstart, Blue-fronted Redstart, Hodgson's Redstart, Blue Whistling Thrush, Fantails.  We headed soon for the Roing grasslands to look for the key species here.  We heard one of our key species the Black-breasted Parrotbill. A repeated try for the species ended up in vain as the species refused to show up.  However we were delighted to watch the Jerdon's Babbler show up in a pair. Yellow-bellied Prinia, Graceful Prinia, Chestnut-capped Babbler, Lesser Coucal were picked up soon.  We were also delighted tow watch a pair of Chestnut munias. After having the pack breakfast which was carried in order to save birding time, we continued.  Small Niltava, Plain Flowerpecker, White- browed Scimitar Babbler and the skulky Rufous- fronted Babbler was picked up soon.  The Rufous-fronted Babbler has an amazing call. The call is a series of short sweet whistles in THREE? syllabi. Very similar to that of the Rufous capped Babbler and the the golden Babbler we were about to watch later during the trip. I also managed to get a glimpse of the Lesser Necklaced- Laughing-thrushes that flew away into distant bushes from a clearing.

Later we headed to Roing for brunch and after our guide and coordinator Ravi was done with the shopping for kitchen supplies for next 5 days for us, we headed into the hills.  The market area gave us the great tit singing to its glory.

After crossing the Dibang River which is about 300-400 metre wide bouldery river we began our uphill drive. Soon we stopped for a mixed species flock moving in the bamboo. The first one of the many to come rapid fire rounds had begun. And in one go we had Grey headed parrotbill, Red-billed Scimitar Babbler, Lesser rufous-headed Parrotbill, White-hooded Babbler and so on.  Our send stop gave us Little Pied flycatcher- a black and white bullet of energy, Striated yuhina, and our first Yellow-bellied Fantail.  We also saw Stripe-throated Yuhina along the way.  Unfortunately our group and the monsoon laden clouds reached the hills together and it began to drizzle.

Our diver started saying that we have good chances of sighting a Blyth's Tragopan as the rain paused for a bit.  As we continued driving further into the mountain roads, the vehicle in front of ours braked hard. And we did the same.  When I looked ahead of the vehicle ahead my heart skipped a beat.... There walked a Blyth's Tragopan male right in front of the vehicle and I was frozen.  Gaining the attention of my fellow birders took some time.  By the time I tried to pull my cam the strap got entangled and I lost my first shot.   

It decided to cross the road at it's own pace... alert and wary.... Soon it decided to head back and vanished into the roadside thicket.  We got off the vehicle and waited for it to cross again.  And it did.  it flew across right in front of us uphill.  

Happy I was that the participants of the tour got a great view of one of the kings of the region.... The Mishmi Hills.  Girish also managed a shot through the window screen...

The temperature began to drop as we climbed up the hills. At our chai halt at Tiwarigaon everyone preferred to get their jackets on.

It was about to get dark when we reached the place where we were supposed to stay for the best 5 days of birding here: The Coffee House.  I have read that the government built guesthouse was a result of the fund allocated for the construction of a café. However it was enough to build a guesthouse. Hence the guesthouse was built and named as Coffee House.  I am not sure of the actual reason it was named so.

Coffee House is based at a distance of about 54 km from Roing. The Mayodia Pass top is 4 km away from here at 2600 odd metres above MSL.  Lots of bamboo reeds around promises presence of Fulvettas, Rosefinches, Scimitars, Bushwarblers and Laughing-thrushes around.  Also was present a Blue-fronted Redstart around. Yellow-throated Marten frequented the place very often.

28th March 2017

Early morning was well spent.  We walked towards Mayodia top for about 2 km and then headed for breakfast.  The two hours of productive birding resulted in adding 15 species to our count. (Group list, My ebird list). Before we could head back to the field, clouds came in and it started raining.   We continued birding despite of the rain and fog until it was too dark and too drizzly at 3 pm to continue any more. 

29th March 2017

 The day was again washed out with lot of rain and fog. We however picked up 15 species before the day end. 

To be continued...

Birding in Goa in Feb 2017 by Anup Mukerji

We got amazing feedback from my birding friends who came to Goa in Feb for a 5 day birding trip. Do check out the birding photos of birding in Goa by Anup Mukerji and team with me and Nature's Nest Goa.  I enjoyed them thoroughly and hope you will too... :-)

Gallery of Day 1: 
Birding at Maina lake, Tambdi Surla

Gallery of Day 2: 
Birding at Bondla, Nature's Nest, Castlerock

Gallery of Day 3: 
Birding at Nature's Nest & Tambdi Surla

Gallery of Day 4: 
Birding in River Zuari, Neura, Carambolim, Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary

Gallery of Day 5: 
Birding in Tambdi Surla

Sikkim 2017 Birding Gallery

As you know, when one leads a birding tour its not possible to get the best of the photos.  However whenever possible some clicks can be managed when everyone is done and you are not blocking anyone else's view.  These are some such images from our last birding tour to South Sikkim and Latpanchar in North Bengal.

https://goo.gl/photos/sdSJ1vQ7z3KAnr6Q9

Mishmi Hills Birding. Trip Report- II

When the Golden Babbler stared right into the lens... And I pressed the shutter.... 
When the Black-capped Shrike- Babbler landed within 2 metres and I fumbled with my gear....

When the Eurasian Woodcock decided to take off from just a few metres from the vehicle. Fantastic!!! 
When the Fire-tailed myzornis landed right in front of us for a few flitting moments...
Everyone had a great sighting of the Collared Owlet, a very tiny owlet which most small species are very wary of. was perched on an open branch staring at us... And then it turned the head 180 degrees to look at us...

We were at 82 kilo and had just finished our lunch.... Amazing Maggi Noodles with omelette.   Pi pi pi yu... At the tone of high saaa....

With more than 200 lifers on my mind I decided to plan the Mishmi Hills Birding Tour with India Untamed.  While planning it appeared that Combining an equally rich habitat will enrich the experience and hence planned Maguri Beel.

Tiwarigaon is present at an altitude of ___ metres and at a distance of __ km from Roing.  This is an amazing place for birding and a day spent around is worth it.  We planned to spend time here on the last day of our itinerary.  

Coffee House location
Mayodia Pass
Fire tailed myzornis

Collared owlet

Mishmi road
12km
20kilo
Tiwarigaon

Be prepared for cold weather
Rains
Lack of current
Bit of roughing it out

Temperate broad leaved forest
Dibang valley
Rhododendrons
4 am wake up
Parrotbill
Mixed species flocks
Laughing-thrushes, Scimitars, Fulvettas

Ravi
Drivers

Great food
Papad, Popcorn, Mishmi Hills camp
Soup
Tea
Coffee
Yellow throated Marten
Change in weather
Altitude
Change in birding at various altitude
Wren-babblers

Terai marshes

Day 1. 26th Maguri
Day 2. 27th Morning in Maguri Wetland by boat. Along road to Roing.
Day 3. 28th March:  Roing to Mayodia
29 Day 4
walk around, breakfast, Towards anini till undercut
Day 5: 30th. towards Roing
Yellow browed tit
Day 6: 31st towards 82 kilo Myzornis 
Day 7: 1st Apr Way back Tiwarigaon
Day 8: 2nd Apr washed out at Maguri

How the birding mite bit me

As a kid, my parents used to show me egrets and common birds.  I used to be very interested in what they had to tell me. Luckily near our house we had a big Banyan tree, a mango plantation and a small coconut plantation with scrub around it.  However my father's native place in Pernem and my maternal grandparents house in Nuvem in Goa were my favourite places to be in.  In Nuvem there used to be in a coconut plantation surrounded by ample paddy fields and water bodies.  I used to love the birds that used to arrive at the water bodies.

When I was in my 4th class I participated in a drawing competition.  The prize I won was a book of birds.  A reference to bird boxes there made a home in my mind.  A gift of a bird book about watching birds and making bird boxes transformed my curiosity into an action based project.  My father helped me make bird boxes until I mastered the art myself.  Every February as the Magpie Robins started singing it struck a rush of adrenaline in me and then I used to begin my exercise of nagging my father to get me some woodden planks to make nest boxes.  My dad used to get me the packing cases from fruit vendors.  Thus I used to watch Magpie Robins nest in them every year.  Before this adventure 2 other of my projects included
a cardboard box project with rice grains in it placed on a parapet of the house to attract birds and to make nest in it.  This was a result of the information I read about Magpiie Robins in which the author mentioned that the birds easily adopt boxes for nesting.  Thus without any clue of what boxes he was referring to I laid my hands on a small cardboard box and tried the experiment which of course failed.

With regards to the first nest boxes I made, several other creatures other than the Magpie Robin (which was my prime target bird for the bird box) used the boxes as a shelter.  I saw squirrels, honey bees, crematogaster ants as well as Indian Yellow Tits nest in them.  Once I remember watching an army of hairy moth-caterpillars crawl out of the box.  Thus I realised that a small sgturdy shelter can make a lot of difference for several wild creatures.  And this would also be one of the the best ways to watch and make observations on birds and nature up-close.  Later I also purchased a cctv camera to put up in the bird box but never ended up doing that.

After taking up birding as a profession, I realised that there has to be something more to my hobby and now profession.  So came the idea of outreach and getting hobbyists like me in serious business of data collection through citizen science programmes, getting involved in habitat improvement programmes including provision of habitats and nesting spaces.

In addition to this the most important task I felt was to introduce birders properly to birding by means of information and graphics and field visits that would glue a birder from a novice to an experienced one to trying to understand the natural history of these feathered creatures.  Thus not restricting oneself only till the level of identification of the bird and knowing its sex or the stage of life.

Thus came in the need for having birding tours to various birding destinations throughout the year.  I plan to make these birding workshops rather than only birding tours.

Looking forward to have you as a part of my journey and would love to have your company in accomplishing these goals.