Lemon Tree Hotel, Candolim Beach, Goa - February 2008

My family and I spent a relaxing and chilled week at the Lemon Tree Hotel on Candolim Beach in Goa, India. The weather was superb, the Kingfisher beer was cold and the atmosphere was laid back. My birding was generally done in and around the hotel, before I met Gill and Jaden for breakfast. But on one of the days, I arranged a morning out with Paresh, one of the local bird guides. Images by Mike Pope

The most common bird in Goa and probably the rest of India is the House Crow - they are everywhere and in big numbers.

A pair of Large billed Crows were seen infrequently and only during the mornings.



Green Bee-eaters hawk from the overhead wires and bare branches and were generally found in two's and three's around the hotel



Jungle Mynas were seen everyday on the way to the beach from the Hotel, normally in the company of Rosy Starlings



The Rosy Starlings were in various stages of plumage, with only a few in breeding plumage.



An adult Rosy Starling in full cry



This White throated Kingfisher had its territory on a small stretch of the coastal bush between the Hotel and beach



Spectacular colours of White throated Kingfisher in flight



A lone Black Drongo was seen on occassions, dark eye and jet black plumage are the distingusihing features



The striking White browed Wagtail was seen foraging in the exposed areas before the beach and in the hotel grounds



Asian Koels were one of the main contributers to the daily dawn chorus



Black Kites were seen daily



The smaller Brahminy Kites were generally in the company of Black Kites



On two of my early morning walks I had a small flock of Asian Palm Swifts hawking over the coastal scrub, as the day warmed up the rose higher and then disappeared



In amongst the flock of Palm Swifts was this slightly heavier bodied, shorter tailed Swift, that I have tentatively identified as Indian Swiftlet



I found the Long tailed Shrike just as elusive as the last wintering bird we have had in Kuwait in 2007/8. It really is a great looking Shrike





A Black lored Tit was seen only twice on my morning walks, feeding in the same tree as some of the sunbirds



Purple rumped Sunbirds was the common sunbird around the Hotel, this is a female



and a male from below



Swallows seen included this obliging pair of Red rumped Swallows



and the odd Barn Swallow



I was able to catch this Greater Coucal in flight and the next day found a Lesser Coucal walking on the footpath - but no camera ready (doesnt this always happen!)



The male Oriental Magpie Robins were pretty vocal during the day





Non breeding Kentish Plovers were seen on the beach



I only had one sighting of White rumped Munia during my stay



A pair of Spotted Doves were seen on occassions in the area between the beach and Hotel



Paddyfield Pipits were found foraging in the dry grass next to the coastal shrub





A few species of Bulbuls were seen, including Red whiskered Bulbuls during the last few days at the Hotel



The White browed Bulbuls reminded me of the forest Bulbuls back in South Africa



I really enjoyed the calls of the White cheeked Bulbuls all through the day, I photographed this bird in full cry



I managed to arrange a morning out with local bird guide Paresh, who picked me up at 6am so we could head for his Indian Pitta stakeout at Aguada Fort. It was with great anticipation and excitement when we arrived at the site, but after an hour sadly had to call it an unsuccessful twitch. I was rewarded with a White chested Waterhen and this was taken at ISO 3200 around 6:30 in the morning


From this site we headed to Carambolim Lake, which was very dry, as it had been drained for the new wall being built across it. We had a Marsh Harrier fly over



An Indian Roller was hawking around a herd of water buffalo



There were numerous Indian Pond Herons along this small watercourse



A Little Cormorant with an Indian Cormorant in the background



Intermediate Egrets were common along the lake fringes



A poor photograph of a suspected Geen Warbler



On route to the Owl site I asked Paresh if he had a stakeout for Indian Robin and within 5-minutes we saw this male displaying co-operatively



The highlight of the stop at Caramblim Lake was this pair of Brown Hawk Owls roosting in the depths of a tree



Paresh also had a stakeout for Jungle Owlet which we saw very well



There were no Jacana's at Carambolim, on the way back to the hotel Paresh stopped at a small pond outside of the capital and in amongst the floating vegetation I found both Jacana's - but only managed to photograph the Bronze winged Jacana against the light



In the same pond we found a small flock of Cotton Pygmy Geese



The next morning I was up early and walked to the 30-minutes to the Pitta site and sat patientlty for an hour without luck. Although I did find Shikra perched on the wire in the early dawn light



A female Asian Koel trying to get some sun



I bumped into a group of Brit birders with their guide Lloyd Fernandez who were also looking for Pitta without luck. I gave up on the bird and continued my walk down the road to the Fort, finding a Stork billed Kingfisher



Whilst walking Lloyd stopped in his bus and asked if I wanted to join his group at a 2nd Pitta site - of course I jumped at the chance. It wasnt much further down the road from the first site and in much more pristine habitat. Again with anticipation and trepidation we followed Lloyd and within 5-minutes came across a bird preening in the undergrowth - what a moment and one of the highlights of my birding adventures. We had saturated views of this lone bird and were amazed at how cryptic it actually is, despite its bright colours and that it can disappear in the flash of an eye







The Brit group had a tight schedule and had to depart, I thanked Lloyd for his kindness and stayed a little longer with the Pitta. I found some other good birds in the process, like this Orange headed Thrush



Ashy Drongo's were common in this area and are dull grey below with a red eye



A Rufous Woodpecker feeding off an ant nest, which is diagnostic for this bird



Plum headed Parakeets were nesting in a nearby tree, again the light is not perfect but in the forest you take what little light you can get





On our last day, I took my son Jaden to explore Aguada Fort and saw the only White bellied Sea Eagel of the holiday, flying away