*** Goanet Reader -- View from the Bardez hillock... a hundred species
## # Don't just read the news...discuss it. Learn more about Goa via Goanet # # Goanet was setup in 1994 and has spent the last decade building a # # lasting Goan non-profit, volunteer-driven network in cyberspace. # # Visit the archives http://www.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet/ # # To join, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and ask to join Goanet. # ## VIEW FROM THE BARDEZ HILLOCK: THERE ARE OVER A HUNDRED SPECIES HERE By Joseph Zuzarte [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Saligao-Calangute garbage dump is one of my favourite spots for birding, the term used to describe bird-watching. I've been visiting it at least once a month in the last three-odd years, because it's a short fifteen to twenty minute walk up and on the hill from where I stay, Candolim. It's easily one of the hottest spots for spotting the raptors -- eagles, kites, buzzards, etc -- in Goa, all of whom are attracted by the bio-degradable waste. Left-over food, fish, chicken, etc from the resorts is dumped there. Birds which can be easily seen there include the Black Eagle, Black Kite, Brown Kite, Brahminy Kite, Short-Toed Snake Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, White-Bellied Sea Eagle, Changeable Hawk Eagle, Lesser and Greater Spotted Eagles, Common Buzzards, Black-Winged Kites, and more. Normally it's a tough life for the wild birds who have to hunt for their food everyday; the dump is like a free banquet for them everyday. Some days, though, I skip the dump and walk elsewhere on the large, sprawling hill, which has the villages of Candolim, Calangute, Saligao, and Pilerne on its four sides. Sometimes I go for a long walk -- for around two hours -- to work up a sweat and typically walk through the hilly parts of all the four villages in a circle. The entire area is a great birding spot, not just the Salmona spring area. In fact I would not rate the Salmona spring as the best birding spot there; there are other, better spots. There are colonies of different birds all over the hill, so you see different birds in different areas. From my house, across the hill, to Salmona spring is about a 15-20 minute walk. I go there sometimes, stopping at the tableland just over the spring, because the spring itself is not such an attractive place. The view from a little way up there is spectacular. On a good day you can see the Vagator fort; the plains of Saligao, Nagoa and Parra stretch in front, and the Guirim citadel is also opposite. There are in fact in a few other springs at the bottom of the hill in the other villages, too, like Motar in Calangute. Another favourite rest spot of mine is up on the hill behind the Calangute police station, which has a nice colony of various Sunbirds and Minivets. Some of the more exotic birds which can be seen all over this hill include: Golden-Backed Woodpecker, Heart-Spotted Woodpecker, Blue-Faced Malkoha, Shama, Long-Tailed Nightjar, Forest Owlet, Crimson Subird, Paradise Flycatcher, Hoopoe (there's a small colony next to the dump), plus various other Sunbirds, Drongos, Cuckoos, Barbets, Pitpits, Swifts, Larks, Wagtails, Lapwings, Tree-Pies, Warblers, Babblers, Bulbuls Peacocks, Falcons, Quails, Robins, Owls, Ioras, Bee-Eaters, Flycatchers, Munias, Koals, Pheasants, etc. There are over a hundred species resident there. It's a place fit to be declared a bird sanctuary! With spring in the air these last two months, it was peak mating season for the big birds, during which the male birds go for spectacular acrobatics in the air -- to attract the females. There are also their amazing courtship displays, all of which can be seen around the dump. Besides the birds, there are a lot of porcupines on the dense slopes on the Calangute side, some wolves and rabbits, besides a lot of snakes. There's also a large number of wild fruiting trees and the ubiquitous cashew orchards and acacia plantations. When I first started walking the area around three years ago (I used to also walk there as a kid over 25 years ago), I was shocked to see practically the entire hill covered with plastic bags and garbage which had been blown all over the place from the garbage dump by the strong winds. Two years ago, following a HC order, all the plastic bags have been cleaned up, there's now proper sorting of the garbage and the whole area is a lot neater looking. The dump itself is a open plateau, about the size of two football fields. It's a spot where the three villages of Candolim, Calangute and Saligao meet on the hill. The heart of the dump is an old, abandoned stone quarry, quite deep, into which most of the bio-degradable and inflammable waste is dumped these days. Most of the big birds perch around this spot. The approach road being used (it's a red road) starts near the Sa
*** Goanet News Service * May 23, 2005 * Mishap on Bombay route
## # Don't just read the news...discuss it. Learn more about Goa via Goanet # # Goanet was setup in 1994 and has spent the last decade building a # # lasting Goan non-profit, volunteer-driven network in cyberspace. # # Visit the archives http://www.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet/ # # To join, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and ask to join Goanet. # ## [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] G o a n e t - N e w s B y t e s MAY 23, 2005 DATELINE: GOA / d8 Founded in 1994 e88~88e e88~-_/~~~8e 888-~88e e88~~8e _d88__ by Herman 888 888 d888 i 88b 888 888 d888 88b 888 Carneiro "88_88" | e88~-888 888 888 __888 888 --- / Y888 ' C888 888 888 888 Y888, 888 http://www.goanet.org Cb "88_-~ "88_-888 888 888 "88___/ "88_/ Y8""8D http://www.goanet.org * http://www.goanet.org * http://www.goanet.org [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] IN TODAY'S EZINE: Mishap on the road to Bombay (Mumbai), involving a Goa-based luxury bus... more post-mortems of the national football league result ... a businessman gets kidnapped... Congress' election-time promises ... and tips for simple Konkani that you can learn, courtesy Edward de Lima of Porvorim. Goan bus meets with an accident near Ratnagiri; 12 killed. The Goa-based luxury bus Nita Travels left Panjim for Mumbai at 6.30 pm and collided with an oncoming state transport bus of Maharashtra. The victims were travelling on the ST bus. (NT) o Businessman Virendra Sharma, who runs bookshops at Margao and Mapusa, was kidnapped by three unknown persons, who robbed him of over Rs 15,000 and books and other items, before releasing him at Calangute a day later. (NT) o Congress closes its doors for Nirmala Sawant. They said they would not welcome their one-time leader back to the party. (NT) o Congress promises to restore Other Backward Classes reservations to 26% if it is voted back to power. It said it would increase scheduled tribes reservations to 15%. (NT) o Congress promises free education upto graduation if voted to power. (H) o There are no immediate proposals to set up the fifth and sixth nuclear power units under the Kaiga Generating Station, just south of Goa. Officials said expansion would depend on various aspects, including "finances and policy decision". (UNI) o Christopher Fonseca gaining support in Cumbharjua, says CPI. (NT) o Unknown persons ransacked the clinic of a reputed medical practitioner in Margao, but nothing was stolen. (NT) o BJP holds party activists' meet in Taleigao. (NT) o Texel Computers of Vasco is offering IBM ThinkPad laptops at "an unexpected price Rs 35,990". o Zuari Industries announces mock drill at MPT ammonia terminal. (NT) o Portuguese counsul visits Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industry. (NT) o Goa Hit Rakhan Manch plans to support ongoing agitation of computer teachers. (H) o Tillari residential quarters at Pernem crying for attention. (H) o Chicolna-Bogmalo village panchayat gram sabha (village council) meet to be held on May 29. (H) IN A PRE-POLL APPEAL, academician Dr V A Pai Panandiker, architect Sarto Almeida and journalist-author Chandrakant Keni appeal to voters to remember that "the elected representatives are not 'rulers' but public office holders, who have to operate within the framework of the Rule of Law". QUOTE... UNQUOTE: 'Parrikar's government was a one-man government. He wanted ministers to be his slaves,' -- Digambar Kamat, former No 2 man in the BJP government and currently Congress Margao candidate. 'If elected, I will provide basic necessities to Margao's people,' Sharmad Raiturkar, BJP candidate for Margao. - DEATHS & OBITUARIES - In a shocking incident, a mother of two consumed Baygon insecticide and then fed it to two of her minor siblings at Gowliwaddo at Fatorda. The trio were admitted to Hospicio, where they were in a serious condition. The daughters were aged 11 and 7. CANSAULIM: Teoufilo 'Tefu' D'Costa of Arossim Cansaulim, mourned by the Park Hyatt Taxi Service of Arossim-Cansaulim. PANJIM: Umesh Krishnarao Keni of Altinho. Husband of late Meena (Vilas) Keni, brother of late Dayanand Keni and Dr Ramakant Keni (Mumbai), expired peacefully. No condolence visits please. VASCO: Aires V D Fernandes of New Vaddem. Fernandes Photo Studio. Son of late Adelmo Braz Fernandes/Josephine, brother/in-law of Luzia/Vincent Fer
*** Goanet News Bytes * May 22, 2005 * Why not learn Konkani?
## # Don't just read the news...discuss it. Learn more about Goa via Goanet # # Goanet was setup in 1994 and has spent the last decade building a # # lasting Goan non-profit, volunteer-driven network in cyberspace. # # Visit the archives http://www.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet/ # # To join, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and ask to join Goanet. # ## [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] G o a n e t - N e w s B y t e s MAY 22, 2005 DATELINE: GOA / d8 Founded in 1994 e88~88e e88~-_/~~~8e 888-~88e e88~~8e _d88__ by Herman 888 888 d888 i 88b 888 888 d888 88b 888 Carneiro "88_88" | e88~-888 888 888 __888 888 --- / Y888 ' C888 888 888 888 Y888, 888 http://www.goanet.org Cb "88_-~ "88_-888 888 888 "88___/ "88_/ Y8""8D http://www.goanet.org * http://www.goanet.org * http://www.goanet.org [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] IN TODAY'S EZINE: Why Sporting Clube de Goa didn't win... Goa University lacks teachers (first we heard that students were short!) ... politics, obits, sports ... and a fascinating new teach-yourself-Konkani series from the pen of Edward de Lima (who retired recently from Bandekar's College and also trained a generation of youngsters in the National Cadet Corps). Herald focuses on why Sporting Clube de Goa -- after its meteoric rise -- failed to win the National Football League. It says pressures, complacency, a weak mid-field, lack of strategy and a poor finish could have been responsible. Dempo won the NFL, the first time that a Goan team became champs. Six out of the 12 national league teams were from Goa, quite an achievement! o Goa University struggles to stay afloat, writes Nerita Baptista citing the lack of teachers. (H) o Mickky Pacheco was sacked for indiscipline, says Parrikar. Citing an example, Parrikar said that Mickky once came before the Delimitation Commission panel in a T-shirt. "He ought to know that as a minister he should maintain some decorum," said Parrikar. (H) o Computer teachers resume chain hunger strike. (H) o Margao bazarkars to back Congress. (H) o Congress ridicules Advani's stance on Parrikar's good governance.(H) o BJP says bogus voters trying to get ID cards in Margao. (H) o Nationalist Congress blames BJP for creating computer teachers woes.(H) o Shiv Sena stages protest march in Margao for completing drainage.(H) o Canacona candidates face tough questions over poor infrastructure. (H) o Khareedi Yatraa, a sale, opens at Margao. (H) o Examine complaints of violations of poll code, Election Commission tells poll officials. (NT) o Party-hoppers dominate the scene in Benaulim. (NT) - DEATHS & OBITUARIES - ALDONA: Caetana Florina Pereira (Filomena D'Costa) of Primeiro Vaddo, b 1919. Relict of late Sebastiao D'Costa, mother/in-law of late Shanti/late Stanislau Alemao, Jero/Vilas, late Wellington/Priscila, Menino/Flossy, Elwina/Carmo Lacerda. Died under tragic circumstances. CHINCHINIM: Serafina E Viegas of Chinchinim, b 1944. Wife of Emilio Piedade Viegas, mother/in-law of Viajina/Stanley Pinto, Veronica (Clara)/Rosario Fernandes, Jofi/Ashwini Viegas, Vilsa/Frank Fernandes. CURTORIM: Ana Severina Diniz (Anita), b 1924. Wife of late Jose Caitano, mother/in-law of Maria-Ana/Joaquim (Madgaum Urban Coop Bank)/Cioleta, Peter/Carol (PHC Curtorim), Teodolina/Peter (ZACL). PARRA: Rosy Fernandes of Silva Vaddo b 1957. Wife of Francis, mother of Clara, Johny and Lia (Bl Joseph Vaz School, Sancoale). Passed away peacefully. RACHOL: Camilo Vaz, ex-compounder of DHS, ex-member of Band CIC, Louis and his Melodians. B 1928. Husband of Maria, father/in-law of Antonio Martinho (headmaster of SFX HS Macasana), Salvacao, Rita, Alexinha/Rumaldo and Jerry. VARCA: Maria E Pereira. Mother of Seby Fernandes (Varca), Matty Barretto (Varca), Rosey Pereira (Margao), Santu Fernandes (Aldona), Natty Gomes (Raia), Conny Fichardo (Bombay), Simon Fernandes (Varca) - GOA SPORTS - o Dempo crowned National Football League champions. (H) o Dempo dedicated their maiden NFL title to their late Brazilian striker Cristiano Junior, who died after a collision during an earlier football match this season. (H) o Nerul lifts Arpora Trophy. They defeated hosts Arpora Sporting by 7-6 via sudden death, in a pulsating final. (H) o Dando Boys Benaulim edg
