You Have Visited Goa for Its Beaches. Now You’ll Visit It for the Birds. This Is Why
Famous for the beautiful beaches and fun parties, Goa will soon develop into a birding hub. The Goa tourism department has decided to promote bird watching activities in the state to attract more high-end tourists.
Famous for the beautiful beaches and fun parties, Goa will soon develop into a birding hub. The Goa tourism department has decided to promote bird watching activities in the state to attract more high-end tourists.
Goa is one the most visited tourist destinations in the country. And the state has now come up with yet another initiative to attract even more people.
Famous for its beaches and young crowd, Goa also hosts over 420 bird species. And the state has decided to bank on them, promoting avi-tourism as a way to get more high-end tourists.
Goa Tourism Minister, Dilip Parulekar, said that the state will soon start birding as a tourist activity. Apart from the beautiful bird species, Goa is also home to five wildlife sanctuaries and one bird sanctuary. The state proudly flaunts wild beasts like the Great Indian Gaur, Royal Bengal Tiger, leopards, panthers, chitals and blue bulls. Hence, it is now trying to shift its focus on expanding bird tourism.
To achieve this feat, the tourism ministry has partnered with the Bird Institute of Goa, Panaji, to promote ornithological interest in the state. Both the agencies will work together to develop bird trails for tourists.
Goa Tourism Development Corporation has also decided to rename 45 rooms at a tourist residency near Salim Ali bird sanctuary in Old Goa, after birds found in the area.
Though the state does not have a history of birding, it has continued to attract several bird watchers who pursue it as a hobby. The exotic bird species in the state include frog mouth bird, blue-eared kingfisher, collared kingfisher, Malabar grey hornbill, grey-headed bulbul, rufous babbler, the flame-throated bulbul, which is also the state bird, and many more.
The initiative might soon get a good push, as Konkan Railway corporation is planning to develop the Carambolim Lake into a birding hub, by planting more fruit-bearing trees.
The corporation plans to plant trees like mangoes, almonds, cashew nuts and chikoos around and along the Karmali station, located alongside the lake.
The lake hosts several exotic birds like purple heron, grey heron, jacana, pintail, Indian stork, cuckoo, waterfowl, egrets, moorhen, lesser whistling teal, and even the pink flamingo among many others.
So pack your bags, not just for the beautiful beaches, but also the amazing birds in Goa.
All pics: rahulalvares.com
Featured image: www.honeymoonpackagesdeals.com
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