Birds Of Goa

Arrive in Goa. You will be met by our representative and transferred to the hotel.

Among several sites, we will visit Bhagwan Mahaveer sanctuary and the environs of the camp. We will focus on finding those species that are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere in Goa, with an emphasis on Western Ghats endemics, forest and south Indian specialties, and any other species of interest that has been found in the area. 

Within the camp itself you should be able to find some specialties including Malabar Grey Hornbill, Crimson-backed Sunbird, Blue-winged Parakeet, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher and Malabar Whistling Thrush! At night, you can listen for the calls of owls, nightjars, and Sri Lanka Frogmouth. 

Overnight stay.

A full day of birding in Goa. 

Our days begin early with a walk before breakfast, another before lunch, and a final session after afternoon tea, returning for dinner and an evening campfire in the winter months when nights can be cool. Our excursions will take us through a variety of habitats in the local area from dense forests and streamside jungle, to open fields and scrub, as well as watching the Ghats for raptors rising in the thermals, and one evening searching for Jungle Nightjar, Jerdon’s, and Savanna Nightjars at dusk.

Overnight stay

You will be transferred to a hotel in Baga or Calangute. This will be our base for much of the following days. After a break we’ll do some local late afternoon birding in the vicinity of our hotel. 

We can also search for species such as Crested Serpent Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Plum-headed Parakeet, and more.

Overnight stay.

Another day of birding in Baga or Calangute.

From the comfort of a poolside deck chair, cool drink in hand, we can overlook a series of paddy fields and a small marsh - a superb area that is home to many wetland species like Cinnamon and Black Bitterns, Greater Painted-snipe, Watercock, Slaty-breasted Rail, Ruddy-breasted and Baillon’s Crakes, and more.

Overnight stay.

We will go to Morjim Beach, where we can look for shorebirds, gulls and terns. Do ask us for a checklist. We expect to encounter Gull-billed, Sandwich, Crested, Lesser Crested and Common Terns, Pallas’s, Brown-headed, Caspian, Slender-billed and Heuglin’s Gulls, Lesser and Greater Sand Plovers, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, Small Pratincole, Western Reef Heron, and more. Just inland from the beach is an area of trees and scrub surrounding a small village. This area is also well worth checking out for Brahminy Starling, Plum-headed Parakeets, Chestnut-tailed Starling, Red-vented Bulbul, Long-tailed Shrike, and more.

Overnight stay

More birding around Morjim. We will take a drive to Saligao Zor. This area of woodland with its stream where villagers come to wash clothes is a haven for a range of birds, but especially Brown Wood Owl and Malabar Whistling Thrush.At Pilerne, not far from Saligao, is a small rectangular lake which is often covered in considerable amounts of vegetation. Red-wattled Lapwing, White-browed Wagtail, Common Moorhen, Stork-billed Kingfisher, male Painted Snipe, White-breasted Waterhen, Intermediate Egret, White-rumped Munia, Crested Goshawk, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Bronze-winged Jacana, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Black-capped Kingfisher, Common Kingfisher and Little Cormorant can all be found here.

Overnight stay.

Transfer to the airport for your flight back home.