Wildlife Wander: Bhigwan (Dec 2021) - 'Bean' there, done that!

The word 'vagrant' holds a very special place in the heart of every birdwatcher. For, quite unlike the dictionary definition of homeless wanderers, a vagrant in birdwatcher parlance means a rare visitor who is gracing a new part of the world with his/her presence. And the news of a vagrant sends birdwatching communities into a flutter. And that's exactly what happened when the birding hotspot of Bhigwan near Pune reported sightings of a Taiga Bean Goose. Flocks of birders descended on the said waterbody, sometimes outnumbering the birds in the lake itself!!

Not to be left out, yours truly and keen birdwatcher friends (Sriram, Dipen and Nissim) set out early one morning for Bhigwan, to rendezvous with Umesh Salle, a resident bird expert and naturalist. After a lovely breakfast of hot poha and tea, we clambered on to one of Umesh's boats and set out to find the Goose. And a pair of parked boats soon told us where it was, on a nearby shore in a field, with a flock of Bar-headed Geese. We manoeuvred our boat into position against a bund and watched the geese feed, with special focus on the rare visitor.

The Bean Goose itself seemed to be quite at home, far away from its Northern home. It probably flew in with the Bar-headed flock, maybe getting on the wrong airwaves as a mixed flock of Bean + Bar-headed Geese exited their Taiga breeding sites for warmer winter locations. The change in climate and diet seemed to do it no harm at all, as it busily fed on all that Bhigwan had to offer. It also seemed to be at ease with its Bar-headed companions, and even dominate them, as evidenced by a couple of spats, no doubt over a particularly delicious item on the menu. We took our time observing this communal feeding behaviour for a bit and then turned our attention to some of the other birds on offer.

A White-browed Wagtail competed for attention, perching right in front of us on the bund, demanding attention. A Common Hawk-cuckoo perched on an overhead wire and a smallish (unidentifiable) raptor on another wire quite far away. All this without moving an inch from our spot. With the Goose moving further away, most likely to explore more succulent items on the buffet, we decided to take a little spin around Bhigwan lake.

Grey Heron

One of the most defining features of Bhigwan are the Grey Herons. They preen and pose and are always a wonderful sight. This time too, we had some lovely sightings of multiple birds. Added to that was a juvenile Brahminy Kite sunning itself, a bush full of Little and Indian Cormorants, some Eurasian Coots gently lazing about in the water and a couple of Whiskered Terns taking a break on some floating debris in the water. All this made for an idyllic half hour and the cool breeze, coupled with pretty much no sleep, gently lulled us into a few minutes of shut-eye. Only until we spotted a Brown-headed Gull catching (and making a meal of) breakfast.

That was followed by a Eurasian Spoonbill busily walking this way and that, probably contemplating his breakfast menu. A distant sighting of an Osprey added to the morning as we headed back for one final dekko at the Goose. We found it in the water this time, swimming with some others in the flock. After walking and then swimming, it showed us that it could also fly, returning to finish an unfinished breakfast in the field. We let it (and the other Geese) feed in peace, said hello to a resting Black-eared kite and made our way back to Umesh's place. Further fortified with more tea and fruit, we bade goodbye to him and Bhigwan, with a prayer for more vagrants to visit, preferably all the time!

Bhigwan trip Guide

About Bhigwan

Located just off the Pune-Solapur highway (NH9), Bhigwan is around 250 Kms from Mumbai and 100kms from Pune, the nearest Airport and Metro. It's a spectacular spot for waders in winter; it has many special winter migrants but the visitors mainly come there for its flamingos.

Lately it also started reporting good sightings of Indian Grey Wolf and Striped Hyenas in some seasons.

Naturalists/Guides

Sandip Nagare is one of the early experts and bird guides based in Kumbhargaon village. He arranges boats, stay, food and guides. You can reach him on +91 9960610615.

Umesh Salle is an excellent guide, also based around Kumbhargaon. You can reach him on +91 9960879356