Birding in Bhigwan Bird Sanctuary - Wild Goose Chase!

Bhigwan Bird Sanctuary is a bird watcher’s paradise situated in the state of Maharashtra, India. Located on the Pune-Solapur Highway around 90 km from Pune along the backwaters of Ujani Dam that is constructed on the Bhima River.

It's also a weekend getaway for many, especially for those who hail from Mumbai and Pune. Every year during the winter season many migratory birds are known to visit the region. There are a few villages that are located at the banks of these backwaters. Each village offers a different view and experience. Some of the most popular villages we had heard of for birding are Takrarwadi, Bhigwan, Kumbhargaon and Diksal.

"Very rare Tundra Bean Goose sighted for the first time in Maharashtra at Bhigwan" was the news that flashed during the last week of December 2021, the bird had migrated from Siberia. The sighting information spread like wildfire! 

The lone Tundra Bean Goose had arrived, along with a flock of Bar-headed Geese, this year. Not many records of  the sighting of this bird have been recorded from India. We had heard about this place (Bhigwan)  from fellow birder friends over the last decade, since we started birding, but had never been there!

Myself and Yash had been contemplating this short trip for a while to go twitching for this rare bird. Finally we both decided to drive out from Mumbai on the evening of 24th January 2022. We had connected with our fellow birder friend Prathmesh Desai, who was busy and could not join in but connected us to Sagar Nagre and Sachin Bhoi the naturalists at Bhigwan.

We covered the distance of about 270kms (from Mumbai) after driving through Pune city and reached Kranti Flamingo Point by 11PM. When we arrived we discovered the place was registered under MTDC. There was ample space to park as not many people were around that night. Our room, which was very basic but clean, was kept ready for us to check-in.

Sachin had asked us to be ready by 0630 hrs. The boating point that was along the backwater was just a 5 min walk, the morning breeze was very cool and the golden light due to the break of dawn had started to brighten. 

We stepped on to an open boat that was motor powered and for the next 15-20 minutes we just kept going deeper and deeper into the backwaters, many common birds like the Grey Heron, Brown-headed Gulls including whiskered terns were seen scooping around. At a certain location we came across a flock of Greater Flamingos and in the morning light they looked amazing.

Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) - Yash Kothiala

Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)- Yash Kothiala

Though we were enjoying the company of the other birds, the mind was thinking about the Tundra bean goose, during the boat ride, Sachin mentioned that it was being seen in gaps of 2-3 days as the area is vast and the bird had the free will to go where it pleased.

Clock kept ticking and the bottles of fuel that we had carried kept getting consumed, we were seeing many species like the Small pranticole, Greater spotted-Eagle and many waders, but there was no sign of the bird that we had travelled to see. Suddenly we noticed a small flock of Bar-headed Geese and hope rose again. However, this time it was only the Bar-headed Geese and no sign of the Tundra bean Goose.

Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)- Yash Kothiala

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Aseem Kothiala

Sachin was leaving no area around the vast water body unscanned, as we kept moving, we noticed a Northern Shoveller (Female) in a very odd position, it wasn't moving, it did not take long to discover it had got entangled in a fishing net that the local fishermen had laid.  Fishing is the second most profession the people of the villages conduct apart from Agriculture. 

Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) - Aseem Kothiala

Promptly, the bird was rescued. It was very tired and could not even stand, so we let it rest in the boat for a while and continued our search for the bird we desired to see today. As we were close to a shore line, saw a pair of Bluethroat, who were busy foraging along the edges. Before we left for deeper waters again, released the bird that we had rescued, who by now could manage to stay afloat and surely would manage to survive.

Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) - Aseem Kothiala

Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) - Aseem Kothiala

It was more than four hours, there was not a single point or region that we did not scan, but in vain. We had carried enough food and water and once were done consuming it continued the search. 

We again came across a flock of Bar-headed Geese, this time they were feeding in a field that was freshly ploughed. Again the Tundra bean Goose was not seen and we were closing into lunch hours, almost seven hours and the bird had successfully eloped us. On our way back to the point from where we started we saw countless Cormorants and Common Coots.

Small Pratincole (Glareola lactea)- Yash Kothiala

Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus)- Yash Kothiala

Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) - Aseem Kothiala

Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)- Yash Kothiala

We decided to call off the search that literally seemed like a "Wild Goose Chase" and after having a wonderful lunch that was prepared in local style, drove back to Mumbai.

Our sighting for that day:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S102067315

The next day, we saw posts of the same bird from Vir Dam, which is approx 30-40 Kms from where we were searching. It was very tempting but just after a day there was no news of the bird. Moreover as most birders had already seen the bird and we were not getting any update, until one day the news on the sightings surfaced again. 

This time again from Bhigwan, it was more than 45 days since we had last visited this place and scanned the area. It did not take us long to decide that we needed to travel again to the region. 

We connected with Sachin again who promptly made arrangements for the stay and boat ride. This time Gautam Rathor, Dr Omkar and Dr Mayekar (fellow birders) from the Mumbai Birding Group joined us in this "Wild Goose Chase"

On the wee hours of March 15th 2022, we were back on the boat, sailing through the same backwaters, looking for the same bird. Compared to our last visit the periphery had reduced slightly but the number of birds were the same, the activity was good. However our eyes and mind was set only on one bird and we hoped to see it.

We had left at 0700 hrs this time and until 0900 hrs had not sighted it, as we kept scanning the area, reached a spot where there were the Bar-headed Geese, for the ones who are not aware a mention that these birds (Bar-headed Geese) migrate every year crossing the height that is equivalent to the height of Mt. Everest is astonishing in itself.

This time again, as we were approaching the flock of birds, Sachin turned the engine off and let the boat move with the momentum that was generated. We knew it was time to make some frames as we neared the flock, to our joy the Tundra Bean Goose was there too with them this time!

A lifer for us, as we got closer, saw another boat that seemed empty from far, had another fellow birder (Dhananjay Joshi) in it, who was making frames of this rare bird. The bird was roosting and preening itself, after about 15 mins, the bird, along with the other Geese, slowly moved into the water and waded away from us, within moments they also took flight, and we watched it gracefully fly over us!

Over a few months of contemplating the bird was finally identified as a Taiga Bean Goose and the listings were updated across many places including eBird

Taiga Bean-Goose Anser fabalis - Yash Kothiala

Taiga Bean-Goose Anser fabalis - Aseem Kothiala

This time, we moved back to the Kranti Flamingo Point much earlier than last time, after relaxing for a while, feasted on the local cuisines and headed back to Mumbai.

What an amazing chase we had, thanks to the grace of the divine, we had sighted a rarity and as they say all's well that ends well. There are many other places around including forests and grasslands, where one can see wolves. Hope to be there again to explore the region and be closer to nature again.

Our sighting for that day: https://ebird.org/checklist/S104872520

Thanking all my fellow birders and especially Yash Kothiala, who kept the momentum high and persuaded me to drive again.

Happy Birding!!

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