Mumbai Bird Race 2008

I recently participated in the third annual HSBC Mumbai Bird Race on the 17th of February 2008. This event far from being an inhuman sporting activity involving birds is a bird identification competition, promoting awareness and appreciation of nature and the necessity for conservation. The race involved more than 30 groups, each named after bird species of their choice. Each group consisted of approximately 6 members with both amateur and expert bird watchers participating in large numbers. All groups were provided with log books which contained an exhaustive list of virtually all species to be seen in our region. Determining the best possible spots for seeing the maximum number of species the groups would spend the entire day bird watching within a range of 60 kms radius of Mumbai. An interesting feature of the requirements for ticking a species on the list was that even if the bird’s call was identified without it actually being spotted it could be marked. In order to ensure participation of all members of a group, a species could be ticked only if every member had seen or heard it. This enables beginners to learn the intricate skills of bird watching from the more seasoned participants. The race was scheduled to end at 6 pm with all the groups submitting their completed log books to the judges at The Maharashtra Nature Park, Mahim.


My group consisted of our Captain Kalpana Malani, a seasoned birdwatcher, who is extremely meticulous in the way she goes about identifying a particular species, our Vice Captain Rajesh Kapadia, also a seasoned birdwatcher and an expert on birdcalls. The other 2 members Gaurangi Ganpule, an occupational therapy student at Nair Hospital and Odette Gomes, who turned out to be Gaurangi’s Professors at Nair, were both amateur birdwatchers like me. We called ourselves the Coppersmiths after the Coppersmith Barbette, a grass green heavy built bird with deep crimson breast and forehead, which is as comfortable in noisy cities as ours as it is in forests.

Leaving the city well before the proverbial “crack of dawn” we reached Karnala Bird Sanctuary just in time to catch the first rays of the morning sun illuminating the majestic thumb shaped rock formation which dominated the park. Karnala Bird Sanctuary turned out to be a nature lovers’ paradise. It has numerous densely wooded hills within its confines and the sense of calm one experiences walking down the leafy paths that wind their way through the forest is incomparable. Heading towards the restrooms we spotted a pair of Pompadour Green Pigeons all puffed up to keep out the morning chill. Entering the main forest we found that the presence of a large noisy group of tourists was making uninterrupted bird watching difficult. So we veered off the beaten track and came across a spot that gave us an excellent view of 2 hills as well as a number of flowering and dried trees. Kalpana and Rajesh soon noticed activity among the trees and armed with their binoculars started spotting a variety of species. Being beginners it took Gaurangi, Odette and me sometime to get the hang of quickly locating the birds Rajesh and Kalpana were spotting but soon our eyes got accustomed to this alien activity and we were able to keep pace with Rajesh and Kalpana. The birds were attracted by the berries and other fruits available here. Two of the main species we spotted were the Flame Backed Woodpecker, an extremely vibrant bird and the Plum Headed Parakeet which stands out among the common Rose Ringed Parakeets because of its beautiful bluish red head. Spending over an hour here, just as we were heading back, we noticed an unusual small bird quietly viewing us amidst the shrubbery to the left of the path. Luckily it sat still for a considerable length of time, allowing Kalpana to ascertain that it was the female Blue Capped Rock Thrush, a relatively rare bird which is known to have been spotted in Karnala before. This was to turn out to be our bird of the day.

Next we entered a thicket where we were treated to the glorious sight of an adult Paradise Flycatcher with its long white ribbon like tail feathers in stark contrast to the dark foliage behind. Exiting the thicket, we entered a relatively barren stretch of land where we saw the Small Green Bee Eater which virtually posed for me and my camera. The open sky allowed us to spot a number of birds of prey hovering above. These included the majestic Brahminy Kite and the Oriental Honey Buzzard which immediately reminded me and Odette of the song Old Turkey Buzzard from the classic Western “Mackenna’s Gold”.

Leaving Karnala we headed for Talava which is after Vashi on the Palm Beach Road. Checking our log books we realized that though we had spotted some interesting species, our count was a mere 25 which was considerably less than Rajesh’s target for Karnala. But Kalpana pointed out that Karnala’s wooded habitat often makes spotting difficult and as a result meeting targets at times can be impossible. But our spirits were soon lifted by the fact that we started spotting birds by the highway itself. First we came across a flock of Barn Swallows and Asian Palm Swifts which were easy to identify from a distance because of their peculiar flight patterns. At various water bodies adjoining the roads, we saw a number of water birds including the Red Wattled Lapwing which is commonly found in open countrysides and at the edge of jheels and roadsides.

Reaching Talava we realized that it had a totally different habitat to Karnala. It was lot more dry and arid with bunches of reeds and small stunted trees. This was also a largely water based habitat with 2 or 3 water bodies and the coast a few minutes walk from the road. This habitat highlighted Kalpana’s years of skill and experience. They were able to spot the tiniest of birds flitting in and out of the reeds feasting on a variety of insects. One such bird was the common Stonechat which is known to frequent creeks. Heading towards the sea, we spotted the bird me and Gaurangi were dying to see – the White Breasted Kingfisher, which happens to be the bird used as the logo of the famous beer brand. Seeing these beautiful species of birds within touching distance of vast expanding housing societies, reminded us that we humans are encroaching on all natural habitats resulting in a variety of species of both birds and animals vanishing from our subcontinent. This emphasized the necessity for all of us nature lovers to do our bit however small, to save this diverse natural habitat that our country is blessed with for the generations to come.

By the time we reached the coast the sun was too high. The coastline was bare barring a few egrets. So we departed and headed for Sewri. Going to Sewri was one of the major plus points of this race for me. I like most Mumbaikars had heard a lot about Sewri’s most famous annual visitors; the Flamingo’s but had just not managed to go there.


Not only did I go to Sewri but being with experts like Rajesh and Kalpana allowed me to appreciate the richness of the place far more than if I had come alone. The moment one reaches the sheer numbers of the Flamingos dotting the entire coastline simply takes your breath away. It’s amazing how such an industrialized area still manages to attract such a large variety of migratory birds and that too in massive numbers. This once again underlines the necessity to protect such delicate habitat so that we never lose the opportunity to serve as hosts to such beautiful visitors. We even had the pleasure of meeting Dr Somasundaram from the Dr Salim Ali Institute who was conducting the count of the Flamingos; he informed us that there were over 10,000 Flamingos this year which was far in excess to previous years. In order to get a better view we climbed on to a docked trawler. This immediately proved to be a good decision as we spotted numerous small birds feasting on algae, worms and other prey in the pools of water left by the receding sea. Rajesh pointed out that most of these birds came under the category of waders and were a little difficult to identify as they had similar features. Referring to our bird books we were able to identify a number of these waders which included the common Sand piper, the Whimbrel, theRedshank and a number of Godwits busy feasting on small prey. In addition we spotted a large flock of little Stints, tiny birds whose identification really put our binoculars to the test. Sewri is also home to Terns and a number of Brownheaded Gulls. Aboard the trawler we bumped into a number of fellow groups and one of them treated us to an amazing view of the Flamingos through their powerful telescope.

Leaving Sewri we stopped at a South Indian restaurant in Matunga for their famous Rasam Wada and coffee. Here we added the finishing touches to our log book.

We had managed a species tally of 71. We now headed for the Maharashtra Nature Park, after submitting our log book we mingled with the numerous other participants and shared their experiences. It was remarkable to see the presence of all age groups. The enthusiastic participation of children in large numbers was as excellent sign for the future of Nature and her conservation in our region. It turned out that an NGO called Rays of Hope that conduct nature awareness programmes for children was responsible for ensuring large child as well as parent participation.

The awards function that marked the end of the event was very well organised. The chief guests were Kishori Amonkar, Padma Bhushan for Hindustani Classical music, and noted cricket expert Ayaz Memon. The organisers ensured participation of all groups by getting members of each group to relate their experiences to the entire audience. It was a real pleasure to hear the experiences of our fellow participants especially the children whose exuberance and sheer pleasure at having spotted so many new birds was a joy to behold. The winning group was the Brown fish owl whose tally of 176 turned out to be a bird race record. They informed us that the secret to their success was meticulous planning, daily birding and a consolidated effort to cover as many habitats as possible.

As the evening drew to a close I realised that my enthusiasm for birding had increased tenfold and we all vowed to start our preparations for next year’s race from now itself.

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.