Mahim Nature Park

We decided to use the occasion of World Photography Day (19th of August) to visit the Mahim Nature Park. Not many people are aware of this gem right within the heart of Mumbai. And that is a shame. The place is a veritable oasis of green, and offers a variety of habitat within a small area - pond, creek, and well wooded areas. It is hard to imagine that this place was a garbage dump 25 years back. Kudos where it is due - it is one of those rare cases when the governing body has done a great job. Today, the Mahim Nature Park offers nature lovers a place to immerse oneself, and pursue their hobbies - be it Bird watching, or photography.

The place can be covered in an hours leisurely walk, but obviously, one can spend much more time observing nature in all its splendour. As we were without binoculars or camera, we were happy to just walk. And it was a rewarding walk - we spotted Ashy Prinias, Tailorbirds, a cormorant, cattle egret, koel, Red whiskered bulbul, with the highlight being a Fantail Flycatcher.

After the walk, we were fortunate to see a slideshow of nature photographs clicked by Kakubhai, a veteran photographer. He showed us some of lion and tiger photographs, and they were simply beautiful. It was amazing how he has been able to capture and transmit the emotions of the animals to the viewers. He also regaled us with stories of his 4 decaded of experience photographing animals in the wild.