Birding in Vetal Hill / ARAI Pune:
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| Indian Peafowl Male perched on the tree, Tetal Hill |
The onset of monsoons made Pune greener all again, which inspired me to explore Vetal Tekdi (hill) again.
This place has never disappointed me in-terms of the bird activity or the nature it has to offer. I started my walk from the ARAI towards the quarry.
There was not much of bird activity this time as it was already past 7.30 a.m & to start with, there was a lone little Grebe in the Quarry pond, some Egrets flying over, Cormorants resting on the trees & Indian Robins prowling on the grounds. A little further there were the aerial hunters, the green bee-eaters and the white throated Kingfishers perched over the branches & twigs above the pond in search of its prey, and there were the Ashy Prinias with their tail held upright & continuous tee-tee-tee calls.
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| Ashy Prinia |
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| Purple Rumped Sunbird |
It was a sluggish start, before I went off the beaten track, which was very much secluded and almost no human interference. I was greeted by a pretty little pair of Small Minivets. It was the first time I seen Small Minivets. It was delight to watch them, and quietly made myself a place on the ground without interfering them. After spending some time watching their playful acts, moved further following the calls of the Indian Peafowls.
All this time I had only heard the calls of Peafowls in Vetal hill, but the moment had come to have witnessed them in their full glory.
Had a very close encounter with a Peacock perched on the branch with its dangling long colorful feathers & an extravagant display of blue.
Indian Peafowls are quite common in India, but an encounter in its natural habitat one-to-one was an enthralling experience. Adding to this I got to witness four more, two peacocks and two peahens.
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| Small Minivet Male |
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| Small Minivet Female |
A little further on my way, heard loud calls of KO-tree KO-tree continuously, it was the long tailed Rufous Treepie flying from one tree to another. There were two more I spotted before I called off for the day.
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| Laughing Dove |
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| Rufous Treepie |
Complete list of birds spotted in Vetal Tekdi (Jun2018):
- Indian Peafowl
- Little Grebe
- Little Cormorant
- Little Egret
- Black Kite
- Red-wattled Lapwing
- Laughing Dove
- swift sp.
- White-throated Kingfisher
- Green Bee-eater
- Rose-ringed Parakeet
- Common Woodshrike
- Small Minivet
- Black Drongo
- Rufous Treepie
- House Crow
- Large-billed Crow
- Red-vented Bulbul
- Ashy Prinia Prinia
- Oriental White-eye
- Indian Robin
- Oriental Magpie-Robin
- Common Myna
- Purple-rumped Sunbird
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