Birding and Photography Blog By Ritesh.: Sinhgad Valley

It was a Saturday 7th April, morning, I started from pune city towards the well-known birdie zone, Sinhgad valley.

Got dropped around 8:15 a.m. at the bus stop at the base. The fields at the village offer most of the birding kick off. First to welcome were the gathering of plum headed parakeets near edges of field, light had not still reached over there, with my all awaited photography work outs I was much more than an eager & hungry to catch them in frames.

There was sudden splash of 9 quails as I set afoot in fields, cudnt identify them. Here there were most of the birds Ashy Prinias, Plain Prinias, Oriental magpie robins, Jungle and Brahminey Mynas. Brahminey mynas were feasting on the fruiting trees. Plum headed parakeets ruffling their feathers and became very vocal quarreling to occupy the tree top perches as sunlight starts entering into valley. Petronia and *Crested Bunting* female made short appearances as I was trying to locate the white-throated fantail that was busy catching up early morning protein laden insect food at the tunnel underside. Many spotted doves, a distant calling coppersmith, and music of Blackbird, noisy irritating but none the less sweet calls of Tailorbirds and Prinias, an approaching quarreling crowd of jungle babblers; at a time the senses were so amazed to heed all kinds of calls along with the typical damp smell of forest floors made the impression more stronger that, the “VaLLey ReaLLY ROCKS” whatever is the season.

The far end of the valley was bursting into mix of green and red, typical spring colors. But I cudnt make the complete trail when I found that I have seen the one, the one of the star specie of valley the changeable hawk eagle, it cud only mercy on me to capture it showing me back (see pic). No matter, that leaves sufficient reason to visit back this birdie zone for another invigorating experience.

List attached

1. Little cormorant (on the way)
2. Coppersmith Barbet
3. Brown-Headed Barbet (call)
4. White-Breasted Kingfisher
5. Green Bee Eater
6. Asian Koel
7. Rose-ringed Parakeet
8. Plum-headed Parakeet
9. Asian Palm Swift
10. Blue rock Pigeon
11. Black Kite
12. Crested Serpent Eagle
13. Changeable Hawk Eagle
14. Cattle egret
15. Bay Backed Shrike
16. Long-Tailed Shrike
17. Common Crow
18. Large-Billed Crow
19. Spotted Dove
20. Laughing Dove
21. Small Minivet
22. White-Throated Fantail Flycatcher
23. Black Drongo
24. Common Iora
25. Eurasian Blackbird
26. Indian Robin
27. Common Myna
28. Jungle Myna
29. Brahminey Myna
30. Black-Lored Tit
31. Red-Rumped Swallow
32. Red-Vented Bulbul
33. Red-Whiskered Bulbul
34. Plain Prinia
35. Ashy Prinia
36. Gray-Breasted Prinia
37. Clamorous Reed Warbler
38. Common tailorbird
39. Jungle Babbler
40. Purple Sunbird
41. Purple-Rumped Sunbird
42. House Sparrow
43. Chestnut-Shouldered Petronia
44. Scaly-Breasted Munia
45. Crested Bunting (female)

Photos:-