My BNHS trip to Elephanta Island

I recently joined BNHS ( Bombay Natural History Society ) to pursue my interest in nature and wildlife which stems from my childhood visits with my family to game parks all over India as well as a few in Africa, and my grandfather’s jungle tales and reminisces about his shikar days. After starting my career as a commercial and advertising photographer in Mumbai four years ago I hadn’t been able to allocate as much time to my passion for nature as I would have liked, but now I was determined to explore nature at least around Mumbai, and re- joining BNHS was the ideal step as they conduct weekly nature trips in and around Mumbai.
My first trip was a bird watching camp to Elephanta Island, famous for its historical caves but also an abode for migratory birds especially in winter months. It was a nippy December morning and reaching Churchgate station ahead of schedule I indulged in a leisurely stroll to the BNHS office at Kala Ghoda. Fort with its charming heritage buildings and large public grounds is one of my favorite areas in Mumbai, and on this cool December morning the deserted streets and the fog clinging to the ancient rafters of Bombay University and its fellow buildings made it hard to believe that this was the nerve center of India’s modern commercial capital more famous for its skyscrapers.
Arriving at Hornbill house, BNHS headquarters, I came across a handful of fellow members busy with the morning’s papers in the reading room, but this was little indication of things to come. By the time we assembled at Gateway to board our pre-booked ferry the turnout was close to eighty. At first I was a little overawed by the sheer size of our group and wondered if such a large numbers could make for successful bird watching. Aboard the ferry I got chatting with Mr. Rajesh Kapadia who happened to be a senior BNHS member with a special interest in bird watching. He also expressed his doubts about having good bird sightings with such a large group but said that we could either stay ahead or behind the group thereby increasing the chances of undisturbed sightings.




Our ferry had just about chugged out of the harbor when we made our first major sightings. We found that seagulls had made the coast of Mumbai their winter home in particularly large numbers this year. The seagulls had quickly realized that following the ferries was the best way to get a free meal however unhealthy it might be. Most passengers tend to be generous with their junk food especially when they have a flock of exotic birds putting on a display of aerial acrobatics for the tiniest morsel thrown at them. We were accompanied virtually the entire journey by substantially large flock of these seagulls. The group leader Mr. Vithoba Hegde and Rajesh pointed out that the flock comprised of brown and black-headed gulls. These gulls have very similar features and tend to mingle with each other inhabiting coasts, rivers and lakes. They are mostly scavengers especially fish waste from humans and as we just noticed have developed a fetish for junk food, which obviously can’t be very good for them. They are noted for their light, easy flight, which was a treat to watch, I was also amazed by the dexterity with which they were able to swerve and change direction mid-flight in order to catch the morsels thrown at them. We also spotted the larger Heuglin’s gull mostly atop the buoys.
After disembarking from the ferry Rajesh spotted the green heron cleverly camouflaged in a small bush in the bog adjoining the jetty. Here I learnt the important lesson that pointing at a bird is an almost sure shot way of chasing it away, as a result I didn’t get a very good look at the green heron. This is the reason most experienced bird watchers give details of a bird’s location to their companions who haven’t spotted it yet, rather than point at it. Pointing is probably perceived as a sign of imminent danger by the birds as it is a similar action to shooting. A few feet behind the green heron a little egret was stalking prey in the shallow water of the bog. The adult Little Egret is 55–65 cm long , its plumage is all white, it has long black legs with yellow feet which were in stricking contrast to dark murky water it trudged through. While tracking the little egret I was distracted by the brilliant colors of a white-breasted kingfisher that flew by and settled atop a nearby tree. This is the commonest kingfisher found in parks gardens, open forests and fresh and coastal wetlands.
Climbing up the 500 odd steps we gathered at the checkpoint but instead of going to the caves we took the road that went behind them to the village and finally led to the sea. At this point Rajesh and I decided to go a little ahead of our group. The road meandered through a shady wooded stretch where we spotted on the branches of an adjoining tree the Common Iora a small yellow and green bird with white marked black wings, it has a loud musical whistle and inhabits forest edges, groves and wooded country. We soon cane across a water body on the right of the track on whose banks we spotted numerous black-winged stilts but they were a little too far to get a good view. As we headed towards the village we resolved to try and get closer to the lake on our return journey. Approaching the village we found the woods thinning to almost nothing and cattle and poultry dominating the landscape. In contrast to villages in other forested areas which are able to adapt to their surroundings this was more urban with concrete houses having replaced what must have once been thatched mud huts and the garbage strewn every where didn’t bode very well for the continuance of this area as an abode for migratory birds and other small animals. My only hope is that this village isn’t allowed to spread more than its current confines.
Leaving the village behind we noticed numerous predatory birds circling above us; they were mostly the relatively common black kites but were lucky to spot the Brahminy kite a medium-sized, rich chestnut raptor with a white head, neck and breast, its broader wings angled back at the carpals and rounded tail made it stand out among the black kites. I also got a fleeting view of the sparrow hawk a small grey raptor that turned out to be one of the spottings of the trip. The presence of these predatory birds was probably explained by the large presence of garbage and refuse around the village.
Reaching the end of the track we found that the coast at this end of the island was a lot more pristine. We took a break under the shade of a tree watching the waves lapping the dark weather beaten rocks, with the occasional common sandpiper a small short-legged wader that is a common inhabitant of such rocky coasts.
Returning through the village I got a brief but thrilling glimpse into the aggressive side of the normally mild tempered cow. As we started the climb that would take us out of the village Rajesh and I spotted a cow with her calf about 20yards ahead grazing on the side of the track. Rajesh felt a little wary and wanted to wait for them to move on. But having a pre-conceived notion about the calm and docile nature of cows I decided to walk slowly past them, this as I was soon to realize was asking for trouble. Perceiving me as a threat to her young the cow charged as soon as I neared them. Running of f the track I soon found that I had nowhere to go as I was faced with a six-foot high boundary wall. With no other options I decided to freeze. As luck would have it the cow too came to a stand still with her horns still a few inches away from my chest. My expression at that point must have been quite a sight as later vouched for by Rajesh. She might not have rammed into me but the cow showed no intention of backing off, luckily for me the villagers by making loud noises managed to distract the cow for a few seconds, which gave me the window I needed to clamber over the wall to safety. Rejoining Rajesh and the rest of the gang I was able to laugh about it but the adrenalin still coursing through my veins reminded me that it had been a pretty close shave.
Sticking to our plan to get closer to the water body we made our way to an abandoned jetty. Cautiously treading onto the jetty we found it to be pretty stable. Our detour soon proved to be well worth the effort. Perched atop a bunch of dried branches was a stunning pair of green bee-eaters. These are small, active, noisy birds, which feed actively on flying insects including bees. Turning our attention to the nearest bank we got an excellent view of a pair of stilts, slender pied wader’s with extremely long pink legs, standing on just one leg in the shallow water. They were probably members of the flock of stilts currently residing on the bank opposite us. Flitting restlessly in search of insects on the mossy bank was the tiny grey wagtail. But the most glorious sight was a flock of grebes making a graceful landing on the lake. The concentric circles receding from each grebe as they settled on the water formed a lovely pattern.
Heading back to the track we caught a glimpse of a flock leaving the lake silhouetted against the sky, which was a fitting end to an extremely rewarding bird watching experience.