My son Cailean watched 'The Big Year' on Star Movies recently. He somehow developed Birding as a hobby after watching this Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson starer.
We have now started early morning birding outings to Birding spots around Pune. I love the outdoors and he likes birding so we both are enjoying these early morning wanderings. I want to share our experiences, people we meet and pictures of birds we sight through this blog.
We started him off on his newly developed hobby by getting him a copy of this book 'A Photographic Guide to The Birds of India'. The local Crossword book store didn't have a copy but I left my number and got a call within a couple of days. They arranged a copy from another store. Having Crossword membership meant a 10% discount. You could buy this off Flipkart too. It's a handy guide especially if you are just embarking on your birding journey.
Our first outing was on October 12, 2013. Our plan was to go to Kavadi Pat off Pune Solapur road. We first made a stop at the Magarpatta Gardens near Hadapsar in Pune. I was surprised by the number and variety of Birds we spotted there. The Garden is open for everyone. Start early, just before twilight so that you have enough time. Here are some pictures of birds we spotted at Magarpatta.
We then proceeded to Kavadi Pat and we reached there at around 8.00 AM. It's easy to get there. You will first cross the highway toll booth. Continue to drive slowly. You will first see a sign 'Kawadi'. Continue a little further until you spot a sign pointing left displaying 'Kavadi Pat' (Co-ordinates: 18.492298,74.000113) . Take this narrow road to your left. Continue driving on this road and as you drive you will first cross a level railway crossing. The spot is not far from here and you should ask any local for directions. Here are the co-ordinates where the road ends: 18.504675,74.000655. You can spot birds on either side of the river. You walk across a small narrow bridge to get a better view of the birds but be careful as the bridge does not have railings and you have an occasional two wheeler ride across the bridge. There are no restaurants here so do not forget to carry some light food and drinks. Here are the birds we spotted that day.
We have now started early morning birding outings to Birding spots around Pune. I love the outdoors and he likes birding so we both are enjoying these early morning wanderings. I want to share our experiences, people we meet and pictures of birds we sight through this blog.We started him off on his newly developed hobby by getting him a copy of this book 'A Photographic Guide to The Birds of India'. The local Crossword book store didn't have a copy but I left my number and got a call within a couple of days. They arranged a copy from another store. Having Crossword membership meant a 10% discount. You could buy this off Flipkart too. It's a handy guide especially if you are just embarking on your birding journey.
Our first outing was on October 12, 2013. Our plan was to go to Kavadi Pat off Pune Solapur road. We first made a stop at the Magarpatta Gardens near Hadapsar in Pune. I was surprised by the number and variety of Birds we spotted there. The Garden is open for everyone. Start early, just before twilight so that you have enough time. Here are some pictures of birds we spotted at Magarpatta.
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| Ashy Drongo |
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| Drongo |
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| Bushchat Female |
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| Common Prinia |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
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| Bushchat Male |
We then proceeded to Kavadi Pat and we reached there at around 8.00 AM. It's easy to get there. You will first cross the highway toll booth. Continue to drive slowly. You will first see a sign 'Kawadi'. Continue a little further until you spot a sign pointing left displaying 'Kavadi Pat' (Co-ordinates: 18.492298,74.000113) . Take this narrow road to your left. Continue driving on this road and as you drive you will first cross a level railway crossing. The spot is not far from here and you should ask any local for directions. Here are the co-ordinates where the road ends: 18.504675,74.000655. You can spot birds on either side of the river. You walk across a small narrow bridge to get a better view of the birds but be careful as the bridge does not have railings and you have an occasional two wheeler ride across the bridge. There are no restaurants here so do not forget to carry some light food and drinks. Here are the birds we spotted that day.
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| Black Winged Stilt |
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| Black Winged Stilts in Flight |
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| Cattle Egrets and Black Ibis |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Green Bee Eater |
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| Grey Heron (Just Landing) |
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| Indian Robin |
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| Spot Billed Ducks |
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| Red Munia |
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| Red Wattled Lapwing |
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| Spot Billed Ducks (Couple) |
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| Spot Billed Ducks in Flight |
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| White Browed Wagtail |
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| Cattle Egret (And Unidentified Ducks in the Background) |
Loved reading your blog Consti. And I'm so glad Cail has taken to birding at such a young age. The pictures are great and I particularly liked that you provided such detailed directions. Will be helpful to other wanderers looking for Kavdi Pat. :) Keep birding and keep bloggin! :)
ReplyDeleteHi... Bird in the last picture behind cattle egret is common coot...
ReplyDeleteThanks Varsha
ReplyDelete