Bushmaster Wildlife Excursions in Goa
Are you done with the everyday tours, the regular guides, the usual company and the same old sites? Do you want us to custom design your excursions into the unexplored forests of Goa? That means if you are as lazy and slow as an eighteen hour a day upside down hanging sloth, then so be it; we’ll take you to a place where you can float in an undisturbed jungle stream where ‘bird watching’ means gazing lazily at all the birds coming to you! But if you’re the ‘lone panther’ on the prowl always looking for adventure and vigorous exercise, then let the Bushmasters select the toughest jungle trail for burning all that excess adrenaline! It don’t matter whether you are just a curious beginner fresh out of the concrete jungle or a seasoned birder with a serious looking pair of binoculars, our experienced and ardent guides will surely keep you captivated all the while on a truly unforgettable trip.
I have watched Rahul evolve over the past ten years from an enthusiastic youngster into a serious wildlife protector. We went out birding with him on a biodiversity-rich, forested, hill slope that miners had their eye on. He not only knew all the right “spots” but fished out camp chairs for my daughter Tara who was expecting, then conjured some amazing coffee and local bread while Barred Jungle Owlets, Loten’s Sunbirds and Peafowl continued to “entertain” us. Pure magic. — Bittu Sahgal
North Goa Bird Watching trip
Site 1: Soccorro Plateau (Porvorim).
Observing of Land birds. The following are some of the birds observed here: Red Whiskered Bulbuls, Chloropsis, Indian Robin, Oriental Magpie Robin, Rufus Tree Pie, Golden Oriole, Black Hooded Oriole, Munia, Warblers, Ashy Drongo, Racket Tailed Drongo, Green Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, Plum Headed Parakeet, Rose Ringed Parakeets, Red Vented Bulbuls, White Vented Bulbuls, Prinia, Common Tailor Bird, Asian Koels, Cuckoo, Jungle Babblers, Pea Fowls, Black Shouldered Kite, Bee Eaters, , Brahminy Kite, Shikra, Common Kestrel, Black kites, Flame backed Woodpeckers, Spotted Doves, Paradise flycatchers, Scarlet Minivets, Common Iora, Purple Sunbird, Flower peckers, Little Pied flycatcher, Chestnut Starlings, Brahminy Starling, Common Myna, etc. etc.
Site 2: Porvorim Stream.
Water birds: Darters, Cormorants, Common Coots, Lesser Whistling Ducks, Cotton teals, Egrets, Purple Herons, Pond herons, Grey Herons, Pied Kingfisher, White Breasted Kingfisher, Stork Billed Kingfisher, Bronze wing Jacanas, Common Sandpipers, Plovers, Common Green Shanks, Long Tailed Shrike, Pied Bushchats, Wire Tailed Swallows, etc. etc.
Site 3: Pilerne lake.
(similar species as above).
Site 4: Nerul Grassland Birds.
Larks, Zitting Cisticolas, Pipits, Marsh Harriers, Rollers, Yellow Wattle Lapwings, Red Wattle Lapwings, etc, etc.
Trip details
Snake Watch Goa!
Merci beaucoup pour ce beau excursion sur les serpents et aussi pour votre savoir. — Alvarez
Have you ever wanted to:
- Observe a wild snake at close quarters under the reassuring guidance of a trained snake handler
- Get over your irrational fear of snakes
- Learn how to photograph a snake in its natural habitat without stressing or disturbing it
- Discuss emergency snake handling techniques, first aid, and other snaky details with a professional herpetologist
Then don’t miss this trip!
Trip details
Pick up at 6.30. am / Journey to site approx 20 min / Drop back at resort by 9.30 am. Requirements: Shoes (preferably boots) and trousers (preferably thick loose denim). Trip includes breakfast and transport.
South Goa Birding trip
Great Trip, very professional. I learned a lot about the Indian wildlife. It was amazing to see snakehandling in front of you. Very well worth it. — Mikkel Poulsen.
Birding at Cotigao Wildlife sanctuary: Join us as we take you birding into the heart of one of Goa’s best wildlife areas. The trees here are tall and the birds may be a little shy, but you’ll see some of the rarest of birds here. Malabar Grey hornbills, Ruby throated yellow bulbuls, Forest wagtails, grey bulbuls, white bellied woodpeckers, pygmy woodpeckers, heart spotted woodpeckers, white bellied blue flycatchers, Malabar whistling thrushs, emerald doves, nilgiri wood pigeons, trogons, fairy blue birds, small sunbirds, scarlet minivets and blue bearded bee-eaters are some of the birds we will spot on this trip.
If our guests are in the mood we are delighted to make a trip to either Talpona or Galgibag beach for a swim. Both are lonely beautiful beaches. On the way back we also stop at a water body to see some water birds. The South Goa trip is designed for the more serious and ardent birdwatcher.
Trip details
North Eastern Goa Bird Watching Trip
Stream in the jungle
Birding in the beautiful willife sanctuary Bondla. The trees here are tall and the birds may be a little shy, but you’ll see some of the rarest of birds here. Malabar Grey hornbills, Ruby throated yellow bulbuls, Forest wagtails, grey bulbuls, white bellied woodpeckers, pygmy woodpeckers, heart spotted woodpeckers, white bellied blue flycatchers, Malabar whistling thrushes, emerald doves, nilgiri wood pigeons, trogons, fairy blue birds, small sunbirds, scarlet minivets and blue bearded bee-eaters are some of the birds we will spot on this trip.
Identify trees at the bondla arborium. Swim at the beautiful Barabhumi river and if time permits a trip to see the Tambdi Temple.
Trip details
Beautiful birdwatching experience and wonderful time with the snakes. Really informative and entertaining. Thank you. — Isabelle and Sarah
Jungle Camping
Have you always dreamt of camping one night in the middle of a jungle? You imagine setting up your tent, building a stone stove and collecting firewood for a cosy campfire. You wreck the potatoes and the eggs but they still taste better than most of the five start meals you can remember!
Then you crawl into your translucent tent and lie on your back watching stars twinkling merrily lightyears away. The pin drop silence reminds you that you are miles away from all civilisation. You go to sleep feeling like an outsider invading into a world you know hardly anythng about. But when you wake up next morning to the sound of birds you feel a sense of belonging to the wild like you’ve never felt before.
You freshen up with a swim in the crystal clear waters of a jungle stream and enjoy the pedicure that the tiny fish are giving you as they nibble away in between your toes…its time you stopped fantasizing and called the Bushmasters to make that dream a reality!
Trip details
We had a wonderful time. Was worth it. Very professional and unbelievable to watch purely magical. First time I have held a snake and to see a cobra so close up was fantastic. Would recommend to any animal lover. — Sheralee
THE SNAKE EXCURSION (Ambolim)
If you actually wanna go looking for snakes in the wild then this is your trip!
We leave Goa late afternoon and make our way to Ambolim. Ambolim is about eighty kilometers away from Panjim and about fifty kilometers into Maharastra. The last thirteen kilometers of the journey is a steep climb through lush green forests replete with waterfalls and spectacular views of the plains below.
At night we take torches and go hunting for snakes along a quiet road lined by forests on either side. On an average day we see atleast a couple of vine snakes that reflect the torch beam as obviously as green coloured traffic signals in the night! On a good day we’ll see some Malabar pit vipers, catsnakes and a few others as well. Besides snakes there are a host of other insects, reptiles and intersting amphibians found here. The cacophany of different frog calls calls for some serious frog watching as well!
We spend the night at Whistling Woods and the next morning after breakfast make our way back to Goa. We are generally in Goa by about 10 am.
Requirements; Passports if you are a foreigner (we cross the Goa border).
View from the top of Ambolim
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Tons of monkeys along the way!