Cycling to Barvi Dam - Bird Watching Paradise
Barvi Lake is a reservoir created by building the Barvi Dam on the Kalyanthane river. It's height has been raised raised for the 4th time in 40 years since it was first built, displacing 8,000 villagers from the catchment area that now extends to over 3000 square kilometers.
The water from the lake supplies drinking water to the fast growing areas including Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan, Dombivili, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi, Nizampura, and Mira-Bhayander.
Thick forests surround the lakeside and the area is a well-established corridor for three different leopard habitats. On one side is Naneghat hills, which reach into Junnar; on the other, the densely forested Malshej; and on this third the jungle between Murbad and Kalyan.
In winter, migratory birds flock to the forests and the lake, and one can spot birds in the forests like Long-Tailed Shrike, Bronzed Drongo, Black Drongo, Jungle Babbler, Yellow-Eyed Babbler, Ashy Prenia, Rufous Treepie, Great Raket-Tailed Drongo, Brahmini Sterling as well as water birds like Little Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Intermediate Egret, White-Throated Kingfisher, Indian Pond Heron, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Lesser Whistling-Duck, White-Breasted Waterhen, Common Moorhen, Bronze-Winged Jacana and Spitfires.
The cycling route starts from Andheri, and goes via Airoli and Shilphata to Badlapur and the dam is on the way to Murbad from Badlapur. On the way back, you can also get to see more birds at the Airoli creek including flamingos and stilts.