Birding in Diu

You’ve probably never heard of Diu—I certainly hadn’t, until we started researching travel in Gujarat .

Diu is a coastal town on the eastern tip of Diu Island, connected to the mainland by a road bridge. Overlooking the Arabian Sea, Diu Fort is a 16th-century Portuguese citadel, complete with a lighthouse and cannons. Once a Portuguese colony, it now has a distinctly laid-back, mini-Goa vibe. We probably saw the most westerners here than anywhere else in Gujarat, as many as maybe 5 !

Its biggest claim to fame? It’s the only place in Gujarat where you can buy a beer!

From what we had read, Diu seemed like the perfect place to relax for the last few days of our trip before flying home. But, like much of India, the town was a sprawling construction site—streets torn up, dust thick in the air, and an overall sense of incompleteness (why does it feel like nowhere in India is ever truly finished?).

Even so, Diu had its charms. Narrow streets lined with fascinating old buildings, a fort with sweeping ocean views, imposing whitewashed churches standing tall against the skyline, and a scenic heritage walk along the old city walls (think York but in 30 degrees heat)!

The highlight of our visit, though, was a pre-dawn trip to Vanakbara fish market. The place was alive (and very smelly) with piles of fish laid out everywhere and thousands of birds circling for an easy meal. I had never seen such a chaotic scene, with people and birds competing for their share. We arrived in the dark and sat in a chai stall, sipping sweet tea with the locals to warm up from our early morning rickshaws ride . As the sun began to rise, the birds descended—hundreds of them! The most common by far were the slate-grey Western Reef Herons, joined by Lesser Black-backed Gulls and even a few Caspian Gulls (which, according to the guidebook, shouldn’t have been there at all). Egrets, house crows, and brown-headed gulls lurked on the fringes, waiting for their chance!

The women selling fish fought back with big sticks, but the moment they turned their backs, the birds swooped in. At one point, we even saw a woman balancing a metal bowl of fish on her head—while a Western Reef Heron perched right on top of her catch!

The entire scene felt frozen in time, unchanged for decades—maybe even centuries.

During our three day stay on the island, I recorded 96 bird species , including plenty of waders and wildfowl, bringing my total for the 2.5-week trip to an impressive 220 species!