by Sucheta

september 08, 2016

I am a bird-watcher. No, let me say that again, I am a lazy bird-watcher and yet I can photograph at least 12-20 species every single day. Yes, every single day. Here is how.

Goa, as the people in the know are aware, is a fabulous place for bird-watching. The intrepid Brits know this for a very long time and I believe that they are the ones who started this trend of bird-watching. In the 3702 square kilometre of territory, Goa, India’s smallest state, contains just about everything: ocean, estuaries, wetlands, woodlands and of course, the mighty Western Ghats. As a result, the number of birds which can be seen is a staggering 400 plus!

But, I digress - I am a bird watcher, but rarely do I leave the comfort of my home or home-office to go birding. I do that because right here, sitting at my desk, or having my morning tea, I can spot so many birds.

All these birds were photographed from one single location; the pavilion by the pool-side.

Our house, Summertime, is located on a gently sloping hill between Calangute and Saligao. I can say that the this area is one of the last green lungs left of costal Calangute and we are fiercely protective of our green cover. Even before we started building Summertime, we planted a large number of trees to augment the original tree cover.

Today, the gardens and grounds of Summertime and our first residence, Aranya, are extensively planted with an enormous number of trees, shurubs, climbers and grasses. Using boulders found on the hill, we have created a waterfall which ends into a pond filled with koi fish. This presence of water plus the ingeniously placed bird-baths attract a large number of birds.

You can see from the photos the birds I have managed to capture even being a lazy bird-watcher. If you are more active and roam around in the grounds of Summertime, you will surely see and hopefully photograph many many more.

Happy birding, happy nature-watching.

List of Birds seen daily at Summertime

The list is not complete or comprehensive