I & Shree have always had a liking for wildlife. After coming to the farm in 2018, our passion got wings. We both developed a great interest in birdwatching. We have been birding for 3 years now. Every new bird that is sighted, is like a treasure.
Here are a few of the interesting sightings…
June 2019, Monsoon – Great Hornbill
It was around 3:00 in the afternoon, but the weather was cool and misty. The plantation was in full swing.
The Crested Serpent-Eagle, otherwise seldom heard, let alone seen through the rains, was very vocal that day. It had been uttering shrill notes since the morning. All of us were busy with the plantation, and we heard this strange throaty barking call coming from the direction of the Varoti Wadi Devrai, no more than half a kilometer away from our farm. An old lady from the neighboring village claimed she had never heard this sound before. And then we saw them.
From a distance we thought they were birds of prey. But then we saw the giant bill, the white-striped wings, & the bright yellow casque. As they came closer, we saw that they were much bigger than birds of prey. The pair of Great Hornbills flew majestically towards us, standing out against the lush green forested mountains behind. We stood, enchanted, to the spot. The giant birds perched on a tall tree in our farm. They sat there for a few moments, before soaring away into the mist.
As farmers of the forests, they are known
Black & Yellow plumage, they own
4 feet tall when full-grown
I still return to that memory & think it was a dream. One of the many gifts from nature.
April 2023 – Black-crowned Night Heron
It was 10:30 in the morning. We were under a Ficus tree in our backyard. It was fruiting, and there was a great variety of birds who were there to feed on the fruits. As we walked under the tree, we heard a loud flutter as an Indian Grey Hornbill flew of towards a denser canopy. We had evidently disturbed it. We followed the hornbill towards the taller trees. Shree was craning his neck to catch a glimpse of grey through the foliage. We did see something grey. But it wasn’t the hornbill. It was something white & black. In a rush of excitement, we realized that this was something new. This bird was much, much bigger. We strained with our binoculars, until we could get a proper view. We first thought it was a penguin up there. A closer look revealed that it was so motionless that it could only be a heron.
Behind the Green foliage, keeping out of view
Can only see patches of pearly-white hue
Sitting as motionless as a statue
The Black-crowned Night Heron posed there for us to photograph & observe to our fill. Another one of the many gifts from nature.
But these not the only unforgettable sightings. We’ve been maintaining a list of all bird sightings at Forest Hut.
No. | Common Name | Month Sighted-in | Location | Notes |
1 | Jungle Bush Quail | June – October | Through out the farm | |
2 | Grey Junglefowl | Year round | Mainly in the Zone 4/5 – Native Plantation | |
3 | Indian Peafowl | June – November | Below the Food forest | |
4 | Wooly-necked Stork | N/A | Flying high overhead | Only three sightings so far |
5 | Black-crowned Night Heron | April | Acacia Forest | Only one sightings so far |
6 | Indian Pond Heron | Year round | Mainly on the river-bank | |
7 | Grey Heron | N/A | West Pond | Only one sightings so far |
8 | Little Cormorant | Year round | Mainly flying overhead | |
9 | Peregrine Falcon | N/A | Flying low | |
10 | Oriental Honey-Buzzard | Dry season | Flying overhead | |
11 | Black-winged Kite | Dry season | Visible perch on bare tree | |
12 | Brahminy Kite | N/A | Acacia Forest | Only one sightings so far |
13 | Indian Vulture | November – March | Flying high overhead | |
14 | Short-Toed Snake Eagle | N/A | Flying overhead | Only one sightings so far |
15 | Crested Serpent Eagle | Year round | Through out the farm | |
16 | Shikra | Year round | Through out the farm | |
17 | Black Eagle | May | Above house | Only one sighting so far |
18 | Cattle Egret | N/A | Flying overhead | |
19 | Crested Hawk Eagle | October – March | Flying overhead | |
20 | White-breasted Waterhen | July | Westside of house | Only one sightings so far |
21 | Red-wattled Lapwing | Year round | Flying overhead | Heard more than seen |
22 | Oriental Turtle Dove | October – February | House site | |
23 | Spotted Dove | Year round | Through out the farm | |
24 | Yellow-footed Green Pigeon | N/A | Terminalia paniculata ahead house | Only one sightings so far |
25 | Rose-ringed Parakeet | October – December | Veggie-garden Terminalia paniculata | |
26 | Plum-headed Parakeet | October – January | Kharel in Zone 4/5 – Native Plantation & Veggie-garden Terminalia paniculata | |
27 | Common Hawk Cuckoo | May – June | Through out the farm | |
28 | Southern Coucal | Year round | Through out the farm | |
29 | Barn Owl | N/A | Acacia Forest | Only one sightings so far |
30 | Indian Eagle Owl | November – March | Flying overhead | Only one sightings so far |
31 | Indian Nightjar | November – March | N/A | Heard only |
32 | Wire-tailed Swallow | November – March | Flying overhead | |
33 | Indian Roller | Dry season | Flying Low | |
34 | Brown Wood Owl | November – March | Zone 4/5 – Native Plantation | Heard more than seen |
35 | White-throated Kingfisher | Year round | Through out the farm | |
36 | Common Kingfisher | Year round | Near river | Only one sightings so far |
37 | Green Bee-eater | Mainly dry season | Through out the farm | |
38 | Common Hoopoe | Dry season | Terminalia Paniculata ahead house | Only one sightings so far |
39 | Indian Grey Hornbill | November – March | Acacia Forest | |
40 | Malabar Pied Hornbill | July – August | Flying high overhead | Only one sightings so far |
41 | Great Hornbill | June | Flying from West to East – Perched at Acacia Forest | Pair – Only one sightings so far |
42 | White-cheeked Barbet | Year round | Through out the farm | |
43 | Coppersmith Barbet | March – May | Ficus tree in Backyard | |
44 | Common Woodshrike | Year round | Through out the farm | |
45 | Common Iora | Year round | Through out the farm | |
46 | Small Minivet | Year round | Through out the farm | |
47 | Orange Minivet | June – October | Through out the farm | |
48 | Long-tailed Shrike | Dry season | Mainly around Karvands | |
49 | Indian Golden Oriole | November – March | Through out the farm | |
50 | Black Drongo | Dry season | Through out the farm | |
51 | Ashy Drongo | December | Through out the farm | Only one sightings so far |
52 | White-bellied Drongo | February – May | Big D. Brandisii | |
53 | Indian Paradise-flycatcher | November – February | Eastern Slope | |
54 | Rufous Treepie | N/A | Through out the farm | |
55 | Indian Jungle Crow | Year round | Through out the farm | |
56 | Indian Yellow Tit | Year round | Through out the farm | |
57 | Barn Swallow | November – March | Flying overhead | |
58 | Oriental Skylark | Year round | N/A | |
59 | Red-whiskered Bulbul | Year round | Through out the farm | |
60 | Red-vented Bulbul | Year round | Through out the farm | |
61 | Clamorous Reed Warbler | Year round | Through out the farm | |
62 | Puff-throated Babbler | Year round | Through out the farm | |
63 | Indian Scimitar Babbler | Year round | Through out the farm | |
64 | Jungle Babbler | Year round | Through out the farm | |
65 | Lesser Hill Myna | November – January | Zone 4/5 – Native Plantation | |
66 | Jungle Myna | Year round | Through out the farm | |
67 | Brahminy Starling | Year round | Through out the farm | |
68 | Malabar Whistling Thrush | June – August | Through out the farm | Heard more than seen |
69 | Orange-headed Thrush | November – January | Zone 4/5 – Native Plantation and Veggie beds | |
70 | Oriental Magpie Robin | Year round | Through out the farm | |
71 | Indian Robin | Year round | Through out the farm | |
72 | Pied Bushchat | Dry season | Through out the farm | |
73 | Verditer Flycatcher | November – February | Mulberry on upper veggie beds | |
74 | Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher | Year round | Food Forest | |
75 | Jerdon’s Leafbird | August – September | Terminalia Paniculata on top veggie bed | |
76 | Purple-rumped Sunbird | September – December | Zone 4/5 – Native Plantation | |
77 | Crimson-backed Sunbird | September – December | Zone 4/5 – Native Plantation | |
78 | Purple Sunbird | Year round | Through out the farm | |
79 | Scaly-breasted Munia | Year round | Through out the farm | |
80 | White-rumped Munia | Year round | Through out the farm | |
81 | Yellow Wagtail | November | Near River | |
82 | White-browed Wagtail | December | Near house | |
83 | Common Rosefinch | February | Through out the farm |
It was drafted so well that I could feel the excitement and visualize the whole of your experience. Keep it up and I am waiting for more.
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An excellent documentation, nicely written
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I am so excited to see it all by myself. You are so blessed by Mother Nature.
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