Splendid Amboli..!

Just when I thought it was enough of exploring the Konkan region, I came across a rustic and a quaint place nestled in the dense forests of Amboli… and we set out on yet another journey, this time to this little hill station in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. Starting at around 6 AM from Pune, we took the Mumbai – Bangalore highway till Nipani and followed Google maps to reach Whistling Woods – the resort we had booked. Whistling Woods is an excellent property owned and run by Hemant Oagle; who himself is a renowned naturalist; specializing into Butterflies. We were also joined by our friend Pratibha; who was already in Amboli exploring the variety of Flora & Fauna.

We reached Whistling Woods by 1 PM and surprisingly the weather was very pleasant. It was so good that we thought of just driving along the road to see if we can spot some bird activity and we were surely not disappointed. We saw a good no. of Yellow-browed Bulbuls, Bonelli’s Eagle, White-rumped Shama, Rufous Treepie, Puff-throated Babbler and White-bellied Blue Flycatcher. Rest of the day we spent time resting and exploring the area around the resort.

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The next day started early at around 6 AM, as we started with our journey to do some road side bird-watching and explore some trails. We again got to see the Niligiri’s Wood Pigeon, however did not manage a click. Other species sighted included the Yellow-browed Bulbuls, White-cheeked Barbets, Orange-headed Thrush, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, pair of Black eagles, and the beautiful Square-tailed Bulbul. However highlights of the day were 2 lifers; the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher and the Niligiri’s Wood Pigeon. We observes these species for a good amount of time, however could not capture due to very low light conditions.

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We took some rest post-lunch and decided to visit a nearby place called Mahadev Gad. This place was just over couple of KMs from Whistling Woods and offered some spectacular landscape views. We also visited another Valley view point which offered a view of the dense foliage in the valley.

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It was the final day of our stay; and we got an early morning surprise right opposite to the resort where we saw the beautiful Malabar Giant Squirrel. We gave another shot to bird watching and the place was buzzing with the same species we saw in previous couple of days.

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The most important part of this trip were the couple of night trails we did. We were lucky to have Hemant with us in one of the trails as he helped in spotting all of the species. We encountered the Green Vine Snake, Bull Frog, Cricket insect and Gaurs. On our second night trail, we were joined by Shubham who helped us in spotting the Malabar Gliding Frog, Civet Cat and Trantula spider. We also saw couple of trees that were lit up with the fire flies.. a beautiful sight indeed.

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Coming to Whistling Woods, Hemant and his team played the perfect hosts to make our stay in Amboli a wonderful experience. Anyone who loves forest birding, or just want to enjoy greenery all around, this place is highly recommended. Here are some clicks of the beautiful resort… It will be great if anybody could help us in identifying the flowers. Do post the names in comment section.

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Every time we travel into the lap of nature, we always encounter something different. The nature has so much to offer that it surprises us every time..!

How to reach
From Pune, take the Mumbai – Bangalore highway road and drive till Nipani. After Nipani one needs to take a right; from were Whistling Woods, Amboli is around 75 KMs. Google maps are pretty accurate and we followed the instructions all along.

Tips
1. For breakfast, Sai International hotel (around 20 KMs before Kolhapur) is a good place for breakfast with clean washrooms.
2. If visiting in rains, do keep an eye for the leeches.
3. Do not litter and keep the place clean.

Thanks for reading. Let us know in-case of any queries, suggestions, critics and we will be happy to respond.

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– Rudraksha & Shraddha

Here is the list key bird species sighted:

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, Niligiri’s Wood Pigeon, Black Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher, Puff-throated Babbler, Square-tailed Bulbul, Grey-fronted Green Pigeon, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Indian Grey Hornbill, Orange-headed Thrush