Colva: Naturalists and birding enthusiasts believe there is potential to promote some of Goa’s hinterlands for birdwatching, especially during peak tourist season. The large number and variety of migratory birds visiting the state is firing up nature lovers.Benaulim, in the south, seems to be high on the scale for birds on their onward flight to other geographies.The village boasts plenty of water bodies and fields.Shiva Mandre organizes birdwatching for tourists early in the mornings, beginning at 6.30am. He says there are plenty of birds like cormorant, darter, purple heron, oriental white ibis, whistling duck, purple moorhen, Asian openbill stork, peafowls besides migratory birds in the area. “During any tourist season, I get 150 or so English, Russian and German tourists. I take them to various spots in Benaulim and they are thrilled to see such a wide variety of birds,” says Shiva.But senior citizen, Agnelo Fernandes, from Benaulim thinks otherwise. He says birdwatching is yet to be tapped as a tourist attraction. The village attracts a variety of migratory birds over the course of the winter, but the full potential is not yet explored, he says.Except for a select few ornithologists, nature lovers, birders and nature photographers, not many locals or tourists are even aware of the variety of birds. While schools and nature-based groups make the effort to introduce newbies to the intricacies of avian flights, a bigger potential remains untapped.Mabel Menezes, a birding enthusiast from Chinchinim, says, “To some extent, birdwatching can be tapped but the government should ensure it is not exploited as it disturbs the birds’ natural habitat.” Citing an example, Menezes says some years ago, hundreds of garganey ducks visited Durga lake in Chinchinim, but now after demands of cleaning or desilting the lake, the sightings have fallen. “These migratory birds are vegetarian, and live on aquatic plants,” she said, explaining that once these plants are removed, the birds are forced to find new spots.

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