First Bird walk of 2013...Bhandup Pumping station

     2012 was a great year, kicked off with a trip to Diksal and also kicked off a monthly photography blog...which almost stalled in between due to procrastination, but somehow managed to continue and publish 9 posts of all different experiments and experiences by the end of 2012. 2013 came n with loads of promises and enthusiasm, and of-course new schedule to explore new places. and straightaway started off from Bhandup Pumping station. As a brief exercise to prepare ourselves for the Mumbai Birdrace being arranged by the HSBC bank, we(the Indian Skimmer team) were supposed to explore some interesting spots around Mumbai to gauge the diversity and the expanse, as well the ease of spotting birds. Bhandup Pumpning station was supposed to be one such spots.
     Though not an experienced birder, nor that  have been to loads of Bird walks, but ideally we would come across somewhere around 30-35 different species and so were we prepared for the same. But boy Oh Boy!!..We were here for a serious treat :) Just about 5-6 kms walking from the Nahur station towards the Western express Highway is a vast waste lands sorta open place with the Pumping/Sewage treatment plant, but along with the treatment area there's quite a big chunk of marshy mangrove type area and few water bodes, probably a part of the creek. This basically is a home for several varieties of bird species, few of which I have never, personally, encountered. SO here are the images of this bird walk

Busy Morning Spidey
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Electrifying Visionary...The Starling
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Well Lit... Egrets
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Nature... the true inspi for us...
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Barred behind the nature...
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The walk thru stream...
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Egret in flight...
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Cormorant...having a keen eye
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Another Beauty
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Triplet???
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Fellow Birder...Team mate
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Keeping an eye from the top...Bunch of Rosy Starlings
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Enjoying the Spotlight...Egret
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Can u spot them??? Scaly Breasted Munia and probably a Silverbil
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Common Sandpiper and Little Cormorant
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A highly alert Red wattled Lapwing
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Sunbathing time...Little cormorants, drying their wings
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Flamingos...at quite a distance...
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A Panted stork
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Another view of the Not so colourful, Painted stork
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First encounter with the strange beauty...Western Reef egret
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Busy feeding self...Eurasian Spoonbills
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Western Reef Egret
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Redshanks...resting at a remote calm space
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Bright and fresh berries...
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There's void...but there's something in this void...
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First encounter The White cheeked Bulbul
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Long tailed shrike
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Balancing act...Black winged stilts
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All the waders...and the flamingos in the background
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Godwits in flight
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Another balancing act...the Black winged stilt
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Waders again...resting during the high tide
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Koi aayaa...Udooo!!! When bothering by some unknown
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Another first encounter the mighty Greater spotted eagle(Almost twice the size of a kite)
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A Marsh harrier
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The greater spotted eagle
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Another first timer...a rather confusing one...White eyed Buzzard, Delighted to see this bird, Wish I had a better lens
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White eyed Buzzard, resting on the lamp post
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     So finally after a, almost, 8-9 kms walk(special thanks to a fellow photographer who dropped us till highway) and loaded with a bird count of staggering 62!!!, it was a great experience and a great valuable spot for the Bird race, also what was special about this particular trip was that it brought in almost 5 new species into my birdlist(making it almost 119+) and also a shocking fact that these beauties r so close to the bloody Urban jungle, yet so less ppl know about it...But again in one way its good...or else this again, like all other places, would be polluted by the leeches of the Planet earth...
     The Bird count:

1. Common Myna
2. Asian Pied Starling
3. Rosy starling
4. White checked bulbul
5. Red vented bulbul
6. Red whiskered bulbul
7. Barn swallow
8. House crow
9. Jungle crow
10. House sparrow
11. Scaly breasted munia
12. Spotted dove
13. Laughing dove
14. Blyth's reed warbler
15. Clamourous reed warbler
16. Common tailorbird
17. Purple rumped sunbird
18. Green bee eater
19. Little cormorant
20. Purple swamphen
21. Glossy ibis
22. Little egret
23. Intermediate egret
24. Cattle egret
25. Great egret
26. Western reef egret
27. Common kingfisher
28. White breasted kingfisher
29. Long tailed shrike
30. Grey backed shrike
31. Marsh harrier
32. Snipe
33. Shikra
34. Red wattled lapwing
35. Painted stork
36. Common sandpiper
37. Green sandpiper
38. Wood sandpiper
39. Eurasian spoonbil
40. White browed fantail
41. Ashy prinia
42. Black tailed godwit
43. Black winged stilt
44. Pacific golden plover
45. Common greenshank
46. Rose ringed parakeet
47. Black kite
48. Braminy kite
49. Common redshank
50. Marsh sandpiper
51. Gull billed tern
52. Palash's gull
53. Little heron
54. Grey heron
55. Coppersmith barbet
56. Greater coucal
57. Lesser flamingo
58. Greater flamingo
59. Greater spotted eagle
60. Yellow eyed babbler
61. Indian Pond heron
62. White eyed buzzard

     The trip surely was a great experience, but the following days brought in some heartbreaking news, which put all the effort for the race in vain as with a few new, and interesting as well as challenging, developments, unfortunately I wont be a part of the team for my first ever Birdrace and above all wont be a part of one of the most talented team 'The Indian Skimmer'...well if its not in 2013 then it lets be even more prepared for the 2014 :) And hope to discover even more interesting spots pretty close by in Mumbai and also be a worthy competitor in the Next Bird Race, come 2014. All the Best Team 'Indian Skimmer'

P.S.: As always, feel free to share your thoughts and ways to improve the Photography blog.