From Mumbai
Just a short drive outside Mumbai on the
Mumbai-Pune Highway to Goa, is the densely forested Karnala Bird Sancturay, a pleasant
surprise away from Mumbai's concrete jungle. Karnala is a tiny sanctuary, barely 4.8 sq
km, home to over 150 resident bird species and about 37 types of avian migrants.
Karnala fort, once a Maratha bastion that
changed many hands, reigns over the forest area. A half hour trail takes the trekker 450 m
above the forest to the fort, where the Karnala Pinnacle sticks out like
a crooked thumb. From here you get a bird's eye view of the Mumbai coastline, the tree
canopy that shades the woods and the Sahyadri hills in the distance. This is a
particularly pretty climb during the monsoons when the peak is veiled in mist and the
entire forest is a lush green.
The monsoons rouse a number of feathered
musicians, amongst them the paradise flycatcher, magpie robin and the malabar whistling
thrush. This is the season when the stillness of the forest is ruffled by the melodies of
these songbirds, and the antics of the racket-tailed drongo as it mimics the calls of
other birds! Winter heralds the journey of migratory birds as they flock to Karnala - the
ashy minivet, red-breasted flycatcher, blackbird, black-headed cuckoo-shrike, blue-throat,
the blue-headed rock thrush and many others.
Karnala Pinnacle offers refuge to endangered
birds like the peregrine falcon, king vulture and the crested serpent eagle. The
four-horned antelope, wild boar, common langur, African monkeys and the muntjak or barking
deer are amongst the commonly seen wildlife, while the leopard is spotted rarely.
Teak trees rule the landscape and the forest
is packed with Flame of the Forest, amaltash or laburnum, babul, bael, jamun, mango,
peepul, bamboo and red silk cotton trees. In parts, the foliage is so thick that it is
difficult to spot the bird life!
Karnala is a refreshing break from the big
city - come here to watch the birds and wildlife, come here to picnic and to trek, and
while you are enjoying all this, do spare a thought for preserving the ecology and
tranquillity of the sanctuary. |
