Where peacocks roam free in Mumbai

Merry in Malabar Hill

Sun, sand, sea and even peacocks, some places have it all! Start at the stretch where Girgaon Chowpatty ends and the Walkeshwar road begins. Your left offers one of the most stunning views of the Queen’s Necklace, especially at night when the streetlights come on. And to your right are buildings such as Rahul that peafowl regularly visit from the forested patches in their backyards (connected to Malabar Hill). Friendly watchmen may allow you a peek.
 
Continue onto Teen Batti right till the dead end, home to the back gate of Raj Bhavan, famous for housing a good number of India's national bird. At morning and noon peafowl often fly to nearby trees, lamp posts and onto the road. Sometimes, it is rumoured, they go as far as Ban Ganga, accessible from a parallel lane. Next, turn towards Malabar Hill, enjoy the foliage (a rare sight in our city) and curtains of aerial roots of peepal trees that have witnessed at least a century of history. Raj Bhavan's main entrance will soon arrive on your right. Peafowl like to escape and make their presence felt in the vicinity. If you plan in advance, you can combine this trail with Raj Bhavan's tour, which offers great views of the sun rising over the Arabian as well as lessons in history, architecture. Spot the majestic bird amidst mongoose, diverse flora and more. A little ahead is Hanging Garden, though peafowl don’t frequent it, they sometimes party in the lane to the left, past Cathedral and John Connon School. 

Now retrace your steps to the garden and continue downhill towards Kemps Corner. This slope’s foliage, formed by remnants of the forest where several peafowl live, is even more picturesque. Take the left. The lane just before OM Chambers leads to the Tower of Silence and Godrej Baug. It’s a private property, but if you have friends living in the colony, you can catch peafowl at play, jumping onto car roofs and perching on people’s window sills.

The final stop of this long walk is at Grand Paradi’s garden. Again, you’ll need a resident-friend to enter. With a sandy path alive with earthworms, snails and even squirrels, surrounded by a variety of trees, it’s a delight in itself.  Peafowl like it too. Sometimes as many as six strut in from the woods, call out to their mates, take a stroll, pose at balconies or frolick on the slides and other rides in the kids section. Their fearlessness is proof of Malabar Hill’s friendliness, adding one more feather to its cap. 

Peachicks in Goregaon

“Cheetah aaya, cheetah aaya” wouldn’t be an unusual warning in Aarey Milk Colony, which has nine leopards that prowl its 12 sq. km area at night. But peacocks here seem  more elusive than their predatory friends. Regular visitors may have never spotted them, but sightings aren’t uncommon for residents. They say though that summers are better, the wild undergrowth in monsoons makes it tough to see them Start at Panchavati gardens, not the most promising site, but worth chancing. Walk on under the dense canopies towards areas around the nearby Student Dairy and New Zealand Hostel. In recent times residents have been spotting a peahen strutting behind her three peachicks in the evenings. Then continue on this path till the main road and go right across to the lane leading to VIP guest houses. You can’t enter, but peafowl flock here often and fly out to meet passers-by. Some also say peafowl are seen at the Powai Lake end of Aarey.  

Movie buffs, trek inside Film City—or drive, ride, take a bus tour—and while admiring the sets, studios and actors sharing nature’s bounty, lookout for the colourful feathers of our native blue peafowl. Sighting is common at the stretch near BNHS’s Conservation Education Centre (CEC). 

Wild in Borivali 

A remarkable case of a tropical forest within a megapolis, Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) requires no excuse for a visit. Yet, if you’ve never set foot on it, Naturalist and Vice Principal, Bhavan’s College, Andheri, Dr Parvish Pandya suggests the perfect start to the trail – the Nature Information Centre (NIC). Besides offering peafowl spotting opportunity, it depicts the park with a clay model, illustrations, photographs and interactive media, making for a great lead-in to this green lung of Mumbai. 

Once you have your fill, head to park and take a tiger or lion safari. You may find the big cats working out on exercise balls they’ve been given to keep fit–yes, it’s bizarre–and the peafowl in all its glory. The buffer zone in which the forest department’s office (1km from the main gate) lies, is also a good bet. The last leg of the trail is at Kanheri caves. Cycle the 7km or walk, drive, take a bus. Enjoy the Buddhist sculptures, tune-in to bird calls and keep your eyes open. As per Dr Pandya’s bird survey, the 103 sq km park should have about 100 peafowl. So you’re likely to meet them on other trails too. But given SGNP’s dense forest cover, be ready for a game of hide-and-seek with the winged fellows. It’s better to go on weekdays, when there’s no crowd and peacocks are less afraid to move about.

With initial guidance from Siddhesh Surve, BNHS