Goa is situated on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Although the smallest state in the country, Goa is a favourite destination for birders as it offers a wide variety of birdlife and habitats ranging from coastal area to marshes, woodlands to the tropical jungles of the Western Ghats. We’ll see many species endemic to peninsular India as well as a large number of wintering species from farther north and more widespread Asian birds. We don’t follow a fixed itinerary, as birds are constantly changing feeding and roosting areas according to water levels and other factors. We will visit all of the main birding habitats of Goa – returning to the most productive several times. The aim will be for the excursions to be good fun, with a relaxed pace and with the accent on obtaining good views of the birds. On a number of days, we'll return to our hotel for a break during the heat of the day, and most days we aim to be back at our hotel before dusk. The grade of this tour is relatively easy, and while a couple of the days will be long and tiring, many will not. Just around our hotel we can expect a range of species including Ring-necked and Plum-headed Parakeets, Asian Koel, Greater Coucal, Thick-billed and Pale-billed Flowerpeckers, Indian Roller and Orange-headed Thrush, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Oriental Scops Owl, Black rumped Flameback, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker. We should also encounter Whitebrowed, Red-whiskered and Red-vented Bulbuls, Jungle and Dark-fronted Babblers, Common Woodshrike, Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike, Purple Sunbird, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Small Minivet, White-bellied Drongo, Crimson-backed Sunbird, White-throated Fantail, Spotted Dove, Common Iora, White-rumped Munia, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Eurasian Golden Oriole, and Black-lored Tit!!Raptors are particularly well represented in Goa with Black and Brahminy Kites everywhere, and we should also see several spectacular White-bellied Sea-Eagles. We’ll visit a harrier roost that contains good numbers of both Montagu’s and ghostly Pallid Harriers and where Booted Eagle and both Greater and Indian Spotted Eagles are common. We also have a couple of reliable sites for Black, Rufous-bellied and Crested Hawk-Eagles. Other excursions will include a backwater river trip in search of crocodiles and the endemic Goan subspecies of Collared Kingfisher and trips to the local craft and flea markets. Finally, we hope to see one of Goa’s avian specialties: Indian Pitta, a much wanted species seen frequently by our guides on previous visits. We may also spend time sightseeing in Old Goa and at the Hindu temple of Mangueshi. All of the sites that we'll visit in Goa are at a low altitude – none are above 400 meters. At Backwoods Camp, we can add species such as Malabar Grey Hornbill, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Crimson-backed Sunbird, Malabar Parakeet, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher and Malabar Whistling Thrush, with Forest Wagtail and Indian Pitta even seen in the kitchen! At night, you can hear the calls of Oriental and Collared Scops Owls, Brown Wood Owl and Brown Fish Owl from the trees above. We make a special effort to locate and protect the roosting site of a pair of Sri Lanka Frogmouths and every alternate year the nesting site of a pair of Spot-bellied Eagle Owls in the forest a short walk away.
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Introduction
