Birding in Vetal Hill / ARAI Pune

Birding in Vetal Hill / ARAI Pune:

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.

Ashy Prinia

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.

Small Minivet Male

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.

Laughing Dove

Rufous Treepie

Complete list of birds spotted in Vetal Tekdi (Jun2018):

1. Indian Peafowl
2. Little Grebe
3. Little Cormorant
4. Little Egret
5. Black Kite
6. Red-wattled Lapwing
7. Laughing Dove
8. swift sp.
9. White-throated Kingfisher
10. Green Bee-eater
11. Rose-ringed Parakeet
12. Common Woodshrike
13. Small Minivet
14. Black Drongo
15. Rufous Treepie
16. House Crow
17. Large-billed Crow
18. Red-vented Bulbul
19. Ashy Prinia Prinia
20. Oriental White-eye
21. Indian Robin
22. Oriental Magpie-Robin
23. Common Myna
24. Purple-rumped Sunbird