Can you imagine a village within a city? I never imagined that the Aarey milk area in Goregaon, where we went birding on March 16, will present itself as semi-rural. There were buffaloes and open fields on one side and the green expanse of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) on the other. Each interval of 500 meters showed up a buffalo shed and men in dhotis. Intermittently women were seen literally working in dung-laden fields!The Aarey area proved to be a good birding spot though.
Thanks to the buffaloes there were numerous Cattle Egrets. Close to the sheds and also on some wires were the Ashy Drongos. The Purple Rumped Sunbirds were seen excited by the early morning sunlight. Groups of Alexandrine Parakeets flew from one tree to the other, as if they were warming up for some competition.
There definitely seemed to be some vocal competition between the male Asian Koels and the Magpie Robins. The Koels were trying hard to please their prospective mates. What were the Robins so vocal about? Attentive hearing revealed that they were singing their non-mating tunes. Maybe they were simply trying to declare their presence.
The blooming red silk cotton trees invited numerous Asian Pied Starlings and Common Mynas. The Crimson Throated Barbets were merrily hopping from branch to branch. The bushes and the open fields had the Ashy Prinias. In between, the Creasted Serpent Eagle made its distinct call. This was probably to distract the numerous Black Kites and also to confuse its prey.
As we moved toward the New Zealand Hostel, the White-throated Kingfisher invited our attention. It posed for a while for Adesh's spotting scope. So did a female Shikra, a few minutes later, at a different location of course. Both were probably resting after an early morning meal. Some even spotted the Long-tailed Shrike.
This semi-rural Aarey area was abuzz with buffalo activity and so was it with birdlife. It is as green as one would imagine (or maybe not imagine). The area surely calls for a re-visit in the near future.
