India carries a mythical aura. Tigers and snow leopards, the Himalayas and the Sundurbans, and Hampi and the Taj Mahal all can be found in this iconic country.
At some point I planned to visit to see either Tigers or Snow Leopards, my most wanted animals in the world, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. And of all places in India to go, I never expected to go to Goa. That is, until I got a once in a lifetime offer.
One my good friends and groomsmen Zak asked me to a groomsman in his wedding in Karnataka, the state just to the south of Goa. How could I say no to that? I wouldn’t have time to chase Tigers or Snow Leopards, but I could chase some birds!
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| Malabar Grey Hornbill, a Western Ghats edemic |
Logistics were the biggest challenge. I had about 4 days free before I had to end up in Mangalore, which meant southern or western India were my best options. Choosing where to go was actually really hard. I considered Tansa and Sanjay Gandhi National Park in and around Mumbai or Thattekad outside of Kochi. Both were really compelling options, but logistically the easiest option was to stay at Backwoods Camp in Goa. Travel to and from Mangalore was much more convenient from Goa as well. Booking was super easy, and I reached out to the owner Loven Pereira who would meet me at the airport upon my arrival.
Backwoods Camp is located in what is called the Western Ghats, a mountain range that stretches down the western edge of the Indian peninsula. Ghat actually means "mountain," so this is literally the western mountain range in India. The Western Ghats have a good selection of endemics. Many of these have the name Malabar because southwest India has been called the Malabar Coast, with the first usage of the term coming from Arab traders in the 900s.
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| Malabar Grey Langur |
While I was excited, I was pretty nervous. Most of that was food anxiety, as I have sensitive stomach and while I love Indian food, India is known for messing up stomachs.
While my flight to Doha was uneventful, my flight to Goa got delayed. Right after closing the plane door, a Spanish couple behind me started freaking out, and no one knew why. They spoke no English, and for probably the first time in my life, no one on the plane spoke any Spanish except me. It fell on me to translate and communicate with flight attendants and medics, some of whom did not speak much English.
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| Black-naped Monarch |
I landed at 3 AM in Goa to news that Iran launched hundreds of missiles at Israel while I was in the air. Would I be able to get home? To make matters worse I would have about 5 minutes of cell service a day. Christina, already worried about me, was not happy. Time to embrace the chaos.
I should have stayed up, but I didn't. I was too tired and slept until 1 PM. It was hot when I woke up, but from the lunch table I was able to watch birds come to the only nearby water source. It was the end of the dry season and it was over 100 degrees. Still, a smattering of birds were present. White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Jungle Babbler, and the handsome Flame-throated Bulbul all came in.
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| Flame-throated Bulbul, another Western Ghats endemic |
We went to the Kadamba Shri Mahadeva Temple, a 12th century Hindu temple that had some trails around it in the late afternoon to look for birds, which there were plenty of. Even before accounting for how late in the day it was, the birding was fantastic. The main highlight was a Malabar Barbet, an exciting endemic to get. Barbets, pittas, and hornbills are some of my favorite birds to flip through in bird books and I had the chance to see plenty on this trip.
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| Kadamba Shri Mahadeva Temple |
While the birding was fantastic, it was hard to come to terms with the fact that I was in India. You can know without even go there that there is a stark difference between here and the USA in every sense. Sometimes you end up somewhere and think "wow, I'm really out here." For some people that's London or Paris, for me it was being at this temple at dusk in India. This is the kind of rush I chase when I travel for birds!
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| Jungle Babbler |
It was also here that I got my first glimpse at Indian Peafowl. I knew they were easy to see, but it each additional peafowl we saw just as special as the last.
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| Indian Peafowl obscured by the humidity |
Some other really exciting birds to wrap our day up were Malabar Pied Hornbill and Malabar-Imperial Pigeon.
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| Rufous Treepie |
I hardly slept at night. Being 10.5 hours off of Dallas time was a tough adjustment that other Americans at the wedding said weighed on them, too. That meant I was super tired during morning birding sessions but came to life in the afternoons after a 2 hour nap. My body would pay for that lack of sleep, but fortunately I held on through the first morning.
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| White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, endemic to the Western Ghats |
We went back to the temple area, but super slow birded a creek bed. April is Goa's version of a Texas August. The creek was 99% empty and it would be over 105 degrees by 11 AM. But the birds were still active!
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| Yellow-browed Bulbul |
A flock of Malabar Parakeets, a bird that was on my most wanted list, whizzed by screeching. An Orange Minivet appeared next. We inched on, stopping for sunbirds and bee eaters. Purple-rumped Sunbirds were common at Backwoods, but here we also had plenty of Purple Sunbirds. There is so much dazzling color and it feels overwhelming in the best way.
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| Orange-headed Thrush |
The clearing we arrived at was full of birds, but none of them mattered once Loven said he heard a Great Hornbill calling. Going into the trip I held out hope that I would be able to get one, but it seemed like 25% at best.* They aren't seen often and the field guide showed that I did not have a chance. Amazingly, one was here, but would we see it through the thick foliage on the hillside?
*I found out later that Great Hornbill is understandably a sensitive species on eBird, which is explains why it was so hard to find during research
The answer was yes! There were incredible looks of 2 Great Hornbills! Day 2 and I already secured the bird of the trip. Y'all know I love my hornbills, and this was one of my favorite bird encounters ever. They look so weird with their yellow casque and long black and white tails, paired with their long yellow bill. My 5th hornbill species, this was my favorite encounter. You can argue that Rhinoceros Hornbill is a cooler bird, but I had a fleeting glimpse of it. I got to gawk at them for 10 minutes as they moved around, calling and feeding. It was surreal.
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| Great Hornbills from a DISTANCE |
As if things couldn't get cooler, Loven said we were going to go up a mostly dried creek in search of Blue-eared Kingfisher. Christina has trained me to appreciate the vibes. Since I met her I have found myself needing good vibes when birding. Miss me with that excessive heat, road noises, and disturbed habitat. The vibes up this creek were immaculate. The bird calls, the smells, and the forest provided epic, intoxicating vibes. This is how birding is supposed to be done.
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| White-throated Kingfisher |
The birds knew that the vibes were here as well. Heart-spotted Woodpeckers darted between trees above us while Common Kingfishers darted from pool to pool, searching for any signs of fish or lizards. We didn't know it at the time, but a Leopard was watching us walk right past it. We were busy looking up and admiring a Vernal Hanging-Parrot.
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| Common Kingfisher |
We never got that Blue-eared Kingfisher, but we saw plenty of other incredible birds. Various species of bulbuls, drongos, and babblers will make up for that. On our way back we encountered fresh scat. Fresh as in it was not there 15 minutes prior. It was from a Leopard and it was literally following in our footsteps. As we got down a little further, we saw that it had freshly marked its territory as well. We don't know what direction it went, but it for sure saw us.
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| There's a Leopard in there somewhere! |
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| Leopard scat |
There was something terrifyingly exhilarating about that moment. Who knows how close we got to an apex predator, but we were close. I'm not saying that I cheated death, but to get so close to a dangerous, secretive, and magical animal like that and find out afterwards will get your blood flowing!
By this point it was getting quite hot, and we worked our way back much quicker than before. The birds weren't calling as much, but I stayed on alert and was rewarded with my other favorite tropical bird, a trogon. A gorgeous Malabar Trogon offered up close views, and it was just enough to keep our energy up enough to get to the car.
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| Malabar Trogon was a top target |
At this point things started taking a turn. I had no energy to keep going and took a 3-hour nap after feeling like vomiting by the time we got back. I intentionally did not sleep long so that I could sleep at night, and it was just enough to keep me going.
Our evening birding took us to a fish farm that was full of Woolly-necked Storks, Lesser Adjutants, Little Cormorants, and a few Brahminy Kites, which was the perfect way to kill about 30 minutes while we waited for the sun to go down.
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| Indian Pond Heron |
At sun set, we staked out a spot for Jungle Nightjar. Loven explained it would likely be a quick view at best. Jerdon's Nightjars began calling, and before long a Jungle Nightjar flew out, landing on a branch overlooking the road and began calling. We got just enough light on it for a quick view before a second one came in, causing them both to fly into the night. There are few things that beat seeing nightjars.
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| Indian Scops Owl. Not a bad photo with zero light! |
It turns out this spot is also great for Indian Scops-Owl. Better yet, after seeing the Scops Owl I realized mis-IDed a bird in Malaysia. I actually had an Oriental Bay Owl. Armchair tick! Getting 3 nocturnal birds was a huge win and was a perfect way to end the night birding-wise. We still went out near the temple and found some flying squirrels. I think they were Malabar Giant Squirrels. Whatever they were, they were really fun to find and helped motivate to want to do more dedicated mammal watching.
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| This was a different species than what we saw at night, but I can't remember which one was which. |
Unfortunately for me, this is where things started to go downhill. I got maybe 2 hours of sleep, probably less. My body gave out and I got sick. It may have been food related, as I had a pretty bad stomach ache. Having been to Australia and Singapore before with minimal issues I thought I would be fine, but this was the worst jet lag I have ever had, and it was hitting me hard.
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| Brown-headed Barbet |
At this point too I should say that I was in a mental prison. Loven was the only person I knew who spoke English, and with no cell service I was cut off from the outside world. Given all of the Iran/Israel drama I was afraid I would not be able to go back home. In hindsight it was all silly to worry that much, but the exhaustion from traveling, being sick, and the lack of sleep really took a mental toll on me.
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| Tickell's Blue Flycatcher |
But I didn't come all this way to get sick and not see birds. We still got up early and went to Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary. I had a feeling I ate something bad because the idea of stopping for breakfast made me nauseous. I forced myself to push through, and I'm so glad that I did.
The sunbird sweep was completed when we got SIX species of sunbird, highlighted by Vigors's and Loten's Sunbird, as well as Little Spiderhunter. That's one way to start feeling better. Thick-billed Flowerpeckers were in the flock, too.
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| Sunbirds were impossible to get pictures of, but this Purple Sunbird was cooperative |
The darkest hour proved to be just before the dawn. Just as I passed the point of feeling the worst, an Indian Pitta appeared and offered fantastic views. This was easily a top 5 bird of the trip for me. Pittas are fascinating birds, and I understand why Chris Goodie referred to them as "rainforest jewels" in his book about him. Any time I dream of a new place to go tropical birding, I immediately think of the pittas, and it was part of why I was extra gutted in Kuching back in 2022 when they closed down Kubah National Park.
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| Indian Pitta |
Things started to get better from a mental standpoint after that. I had some more energy and was able to enjoy great looks at Golden-fronted Leafbird, White-rumped Shama, and the larger than expected Greater Coucal. When we got back to the lodge, I decided to stop trying to avoid the jet lag and focus on getting better. I slept most of the day but still woke up for some twilight birding at an old mine. I felt so much better, and it was a great set up to what would be a great final day.
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| White-rumped Shama. The humidity made it hard to get good pics at times |
"Waking up" on the last day was exciting. I'd get to head to Mangalore to see my friends, talk to Christina, and start the highly anticipated wedding festivities. Feeling like a new man, it was time to get birding.
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| Bonnet Macaque |
Loven took me to another abandoned mine that had a few trails. The day was overcast, which meant it would be much cooler. On our way we got a few Red Spurfowl running across the road, which was an expected find. The trail had some good, wooded habitat, but it was weirdly silent. Soon enough we found out that it was because there was a Crested Serpent Eagle in the trees. It wasn't the only cause for silence, though. The cloudy weather helped keep a Jungle Owlet out in the open, and it was actually calling! I have not had an owl viewing like that in years!
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| Jungle Owlet |
The birding here was pretty good, with lots of bee-eaters, drongos, and bulbuls. It's been so long I honestly forgot most of what we saw here as I forgot to eBird this section, but another highlight was an Oriental Turtle Dove that was a lifer. Other great birds that I remember here were Crested Treeswifts and White-rumped Shama, which looks so much better live than it does in the field guide or even in pictures. The colors really pop.
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| Black Drongo |
Running out of time before I had to get to the train station, we checked for Sri Lankan Frogmouths near the temple again. After about 30 minutes of searching, I started feeling sick again and we went back so I could pack my stuff up. The frogmouths were one of my big targets at the start of the trip, but I felt so bad I didn't even care. Loven was not going to stand for missing a bird he knew was there, and unbeknownst to me he went back up the road to look for them. AND HE FOUND THEM! While I was puking, he was looking for frogmouths.
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| Sri Lankan Frogmouth |
We got back to the temple area in a thick area that we previously looked. They were in there, but their camouflage is impeccable. They definitely were seeing us, despite us not seeing them. The dense brush made Loven hesitant to even let me in, and I understood why. If it was Texas, I would have fully expected to step on a Copperhead or a Timber Rattlesnake. Except in Goa you run the risk of bumping into a King Cobra or Common Krait, which are 15x as venomous as a cobra! Still, no way was I going to miss the chance to get a frogmouth. Being an absolute hoe for nightjars, I trudged in despite wearing shorts and clothes for the train.
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| How many frogmouths do you see? |
We paced around for 30 minutes, bafflingly not able to find them. There was a weird patch of leaves, but they weren't leaves. They were frogmouths! Hell of a way to end the birding section of the trip, and I got my top 5 targets- Great Hornbill, Malabar Parakeet, Sri Lankan Frogmouth, Malabar Trogon, and Indian Pitta! That doesn't happen often! Feeling sick and desperate to reach familiar faces in Mangalore, it was time to head to the train station.
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| The Arabian Sea from the wedding in Mangalore |
As an epilogue, part of what delayed this post initially was I got the worst Covid of my life on the flight home. Within 12 hours of coming home I was running a 104.5 fever and my stomach was so messed up that I did not pee for four days. Indian Covid is built different.
Despite the illnesses, I would absolutely go to India again and I can't give Backwoods Camp in Goa a good enough recommendation. I try to avoid using guides due to personal preferences, but I do think you need a guide in India. Loven was a fantastic guide who knows all the local people and birds. Also, just go to an Indian wedding if you have the chance. For the sake of length, I never got into it, but wow, it was a ton of fun. |
| I have to come back and take Charlie Uncle birding |
