I had never been for a birding trail before this, and so the excitement to watch birds up close was palpable. Talawe, located close to the NRI Complex, Seawoods in Nerul, is one of the few remaining green spaces around Mumbai that presents a wonderful opportunity to spot birds in their natural habitat.

We, a group of amateur bird enthusiasts left early morning from Dadar, and after a one-hour drive, reached Talawe lake. The group was diverse including teenagers, a few in their 20s, and the rest, the majority, in their late 40s or 60 — doctors, engineers, a few bankers and retirees — all equipped with the finest digital SLRs and huge telephoto lenses. It was hard to believe that they had given up a late Sunday morning sleep to spot a few bird species. But that wasn’t all, as two families from the nearby housing societies joined us as well.