Monday, March 12, 2012
Bharatpur /Chambal
Bharatpur and Chambal in 23-28 november 2011
4 spotted owlet on their day roost
greater painted snipe
honey bee hive.
Jarar lodge at Chambal.
indian skimmer. I was too excited and with trembling hands could take these pictures.
plenty of ruddy shelducks sitting peacefully very close to the garial.
spotted owlets in the garden grounds.
Everybirder dreams of bharatpur
So since my friend wanted to visit it we took the opputunity to combine this with Chambal wild life sancuary.
Being very cold and foggy little birding was done on day 1 .But 2nd day was great as usual bharatpur never fails you.We had a very nice guide called Mr Bijendra singh.He started to show my first LIFER Brown Hawk owl in the Botanical garden opposite the main Sancuary.It had its daytime roosting site.
4 spotted owlet on their day roostBeing famous for water birds they were less since the govermment orders for release of water had not come in...but still all regulars were there.It is unrivalled breeding site for the Herons,storks,cormorants.Grey lag goose,had just come in and so the numbers were less,but ducks like northern shovellers,comb ducks,ruddy shelducks,galdwalls,pintails,lesser whistling teals were common.
In the temple complex is the day roost of the collared scops owl on the date trees.
To narrate the story of Bharatpur in short.This is a man managed wetland sanctuary created 250yrs ago and is named keoladeo (shiva ) templewithin its boundaries.It was a natural depression and was flooded after Anjan bundh was constructed by Maharaja Suraj Mal.(then ruler of Bharatpur state.Bundh was created by the confluence of 2 rivers Gambhir,and Banganga. 10th march 1982 keoladeo was declared a national park . In the park which never fails to surprise ,I got good sightings of the siberian rubythroat,grey bushchat,and spanish sparrow.
Bijendra sigh took us to Suraj paul gate outside the park,near a canal filled with polluted water.
There we saw plenty of common swamp hens,cetrine wagtails,blue throat male, but lifer for me was the greater painted snipes-4 males and one female(who flew of before i could take a picture.
greater painted snipe
honey bee hive.after fairly good birding (due to dense fog) left for chambal to my much awaited lifer the Indian Skimmer.
After a quick detour to see the TAJ, i reached Jarar Lodge.Very comfortable and clean stay
Jarar lodge at Chambal.After Lunch we left to Chambal National park which is 40kms away from Jarar lodge.
U must have your own vehicle to travel around this place..In the fields around this area I was lucky to see the passage migrant red headed buntings in plenty lined up on the wires near a village.A little ahead was the amazing display of red headed falcon couple hunting.
red headed falcon 
The lodge guides are very nice and had carried a picnic basket with tea and biscuits which we ate on the river cruise. Chambal river is most calm and we saw camels crossing the river. The black bellied tern hunting silently, and the nest of the Indian eagle owl.Wooly necked stork,bar headed geese,river lapwings,crested sand lark,ashy crowned finch larks,ospreys, and crested grebes were all day one sightings, BUT WAS VERY DISHEARTENED SINCE I DID NOT SEE MY INDIAN SKIMMER..With sad feeling i left the cruise only promising myself to check out the arrival time of skimmer before i come back.This was on 26th november.I tried hard the whole night to pacify myself about my misfortunate and bravely got ready to go look for my next wish list the GREAT THICKNEE.
As our expert guide was packing our breakfast he received a call from our boatman asking us to come as fast as you can.......
And there very close to his hut near the shore were the first 2 birds, Indian Skimmer which had come in the night and were resting there. 27th november,I thought this has to be a dream ........
indian skimmer. I was too excited and with trembling hands could take these pictures.birds seen from the river safari as follows
plenty of ruddy shelducks sitting peacefully very close to the garial.the reptiles which you see very common on this safari
while you stay at the lodge I request you to take a nature trails in the garden grounds of the lodge.It is a haven for owls and owlets
spotted owlets in the garden grounds.Honey buzzard and roosting fruit bats were also seen on the ground.
We also spotted the 2 collared scops owls,brown hawk owls,pirinias,hoopoe,,desert wheaters.
Make your evening by visiting the temples of Batheshwar on the banks of river Yamuna and see the evening aarti along with the hover of pied kingfishers,spoonbills and a setting sun.
All in all a wonderful birding trip in search of the Indian Skimmer.
