Birding at Pench Tiger Reserve & National Park

Situated in the pristine forests of Seoni and Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, Pench Tiger Reserve, and National Park is a tiger land. During the British Raj, the destination was the setting for Rudyard Kipling's 'Jungle Book'.  It is here that Mowgli the Wolf Child was discovered in the village of Sant Vavadi. The naked child was discovered by Lt.Moor and the news reached Kipling through articles and books.

The forests are mixed deciduous type and the Pench River is the main water source of this ecosystem that traverses through the Eastern End of the park. The river is truncated by Totlah Doh, and it has become a habitat for wintering and resident wetland birds.

Pench Tiger Reserve is a habitat of many life forms including the Bengal Tiger. The destination is also rich in bird life with more than 250 recorded. The number of species includes winter migrants.

Winter is the ideal time for bird watching when Pale Arctic migrants arrive and increase the stock. The river system supports many ducks like the Little Grebe, Eurasian  Pintail, Brahminy Duck, Spotted Duck, Lesser Whistling Teal, Nakta, Red Crested Pochard, and Eurasian Wigeon.  Among the shorebirds, one can see Black Stork, colorful Painted Stork, Wooly Necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Painted Snipe, Little Egret, Black  Cormorant, Darter Bird, Sandpipers, Stints, Black Stilts, and so on.

Pench is the place to discover interesting avian species in Central India. There are many pipits and warblers found in winter along with sandpipers, wagtails, stints, and shanks. The flycatchers like Verditor, Black Naped Monarch, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, and Tickell's Blue Flycatchers can be seen here frequently. Among the interesting passerine birds are the parakeets, chats, nuthatches, bulbuls, prinias, tailorbirds, common Iora, bayas, munias, house sparrows, and many more.

A checklist of Birds Of Pench is conducted in the core area, and large tanks in the surroundings are the buffer forests.  The rural surroundings and green fields are also good for birding. The forest birds are to be seen best in the mixed forest regions, mountain tops, shrubs and bush, tall grasslands, and vegetation along the river beds.

Some of the interesting species found here are the

·         Indian Pitta

·         Tickell's Warbler

·         Greenish Warbler

·         Osprey

·         Palas Fish Eagle

·         Gray-Headed Fish Eagle

·         Hume' Warbler

·         Laggar Falcon

·         Black Shouldered Kite

·         Peregrine Falcon

·         Eurasian Hobby

·         Serpent Eagle

·         Honey Buzzard

·         Crested Hawk Eagle

·         Orange Headed Ground Thrush

·         Red Spurfowl

·         Tickell's Thrush

·         Red Jungle Fowl

·         Painted Spurfowl

·         Painted Francolin

·         Gray Francolin

·         Indian Scimitar Babbler 

·         Rufus Bellied Babbler

·         Common Babler

·         Large Gray Babbler

·         Scarlet Minivet

·         Small Minivet

·         Ashy Minivet

·         White Backed Vulture

·         Egyptian Vulture

·         Indian Vulture

·         Black Kite

The list is endless. The extensive presence of avians is good for bird watching in Pench. Though the best time is winter, summer birding for the resident birds would not be disappointing.  For optimum bird watching at Pench, all areas should be covered. At least three days are required in the company of a bird guide or a naturalist.

Pench is famous for tiger safari but birding is as exciting. Carry binoculars, bird books, and guides. Hire a service of good guide for your visit to be a great success.