Bird Watching at Desert National Park

Famous for avians of all types, Desert National Park is part of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan.  It covers an area of 3162 sq. km and is full of sand dunes and vast stretches of short-crop grasslands. It has been notified as a National Park and all life forms are protected. There are intermediate ponds and lakes as a crucial water sources in this vast desert land.   Despite the fragile ecosystem, there is fantastic birdlife in the park.  The region is heaven for migratory, and resident birds some of which come from far off land. The destination is famous for Great Indian Bustard, and Houbara bustards which are critically endangered.

The Desert Park is home to 180 million-year-old fossils of animals, and plants. Some of them date back 60 million years back that is the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The destination encompasses Jaisalmer and Barmer. 1900 km² is in Jaisalmer district and the remaining 1262 km² is in BarmerDesert National Park covers an area of 3162 km² of which 1900 km² is in Jaisalmer district, and the remaining 1262 km² is in Barmer. The park was gazetted in 1980. The  Indian Gazelle is a common antelope of Desert National Park. Other animals found here are the desert fox, wolf, and desert cat.

Some birds of Desert National Park are:

Common Kestrel

Asian Woolly-necked Stork

Asian Desert Warbler

Striolated Bunting

Black-bellied Sandgrouse

Asian Desert Warbler 

Plain Leaf Warbler

Spotted Sandgrouse

Oriental Skylark

Eurasian Hobby

Northern Pintail

Pied Cuckoo

Tree Pipit

White-Tailed Lap Wing

Egyptian Vulture

Common Snipe

Himalayan Griffon

Great Grey Shrike

Grey Francolin

Chestnut Bellied Sandgrouse

Tawny Eagle

White-eared Bulbul

Black Vulture

Long-legged Buzzard

Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark

Red Vented Bulbul

Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark

Greater Short-toed Lark

Rock Dove

Variable Wheater

House Sparrow

Indian Silver Bill

Desert Wheatear

White Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Black Kite

Black Drongo

White Breasted Kingfisher

Stork Billed Kingfisher

Isabelline Shrike

Long Tailed Shrike

Pallid Harrier

Black Ibis

White Necked Ibis

Cream Colored Courser

Bimaculated Lark

Graceful Prinia

Peregrine Falcon

Jeep Safaris are organized in the park for tourism purposes. Winter is the best season for watching avian species. The park can be accessed from Jaisalmer and Barmer in the State of Rajasthan. Entry is limited book a desert safari in advance and make arrangements at Dasada near Patdi.  

 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.

 

Sleepy Tigress and Low Speed Elephant Ride

Sat Tal - Uttrakhand

Nainital District - India

Jungle life is always exciting but it has many facets. Recently on a visit to Sattal and Corbett with guests from Auckland I had an amazing experience of wilderness in the foothills of the Himalayas.   

Sat Tal or Sattal is a geological formation of seven freshwater lakes that are incredibly clean. The periphery of the lakes and adjacent areas are much preferred for searching the avian wonders that abound. Situated at a height of 1400 MSL the township in Uttarakhand is more of a holiday resort. Hence the majority of the visitors arrive here for fun and frolic in the cool confines of the Himalayan foothills. 

The destination is also visited by birders like us. Albeit the construction is rampant resulting in damage to many natural places there are still hot spots for birding present. Sattal is home to many species along with altitude migrants that arrive here depending upon the cold in the upper reaches of the mountains.    

Himalayas

Chir Pheasant

Gharial

Grey Faced Woodpecker

Koklass Pheasant

Wild Elephants

Wedge-Tailed Green Pigeon

Green Munia

Photo Credit: Hari Lamba 

On a good day, one can see many species of bulbuls, woodpeckers, barbets, shrikes, thrushes, warblers, laughing thrushes, sunbirds, drongos, flycatchers, forktails, dipper, pheasants, passerines, raptors.   

In the cold climes, the hands and feet become numb and it challenges your sensory apparatus.  But the amazing bird-watching experience puts paid to the cold. 

After a fabulous bird tour we descended to Corbett Tiger Reserve. The safaris were arranged by our host a guide who owns a small guest house called Sparrow's Nest.   

Our first tiger safari took place in Bijarani Zone. This is a densely forested zone with long stretches of rivers and grasslands that are home to many wild animals.  It was in this area that we managed to locate a tigress that had crossed over from the mountain to the river bed and eventually lay down to rest in the grass. It was after some time that we realized that the big cat was quite near to us. With a lot of effort, we could have a glimpse of it lying down asleep

Tigress by Teerath Singh

. But before we left the tigress came out in the open and then quietly melted away in the dense grasses.

The next day our game ride was in Jhirna a picturesque zone with a lot of tiger activity. Here we were able to see elephants, notably a mother with a calf crossing the road. The rest of the trip was spent on searching for the tiger without any results.   

The evening was slated for a search for the forktail at Kumeria and then a ride on an elephant back. We saw a spotted forktail as well as many birds like long-billed thrush, brown dipper, redstarts, and yellow-bellied fantail.

The birding over we left for Ramnagar and on to the pachyderms back. The ride was anything but exciting as we crossed over the Kosi River and unto the forests on the banks. For my guest, this was his first ride on the elephant back. Not too pleasing an experience as the pace was slow and there were no signs of the tiger. However hard the mahout tried but the elephant was in no mood to budge at a greater pace.  

After an hour's ride, we departed for the guest house where we spent the night. The next day we left for New Delhi. 

Hari Lamba Bird Guide & Photographer

Hari Lamba scales the peaks of Himalaya Foothills in Uttaranchal and Nepal. Well, he is not a  mountaineer but a bird guide and at the top rung at that. In my birding tours in Northern India, I got acquainted with Hari Lama as Indiafootprints Company had hired him. I work with Indiafootprints as a tour leader.  

Hari Lama's birding knowledge is astounding as far as Northern India is concerned and his Nepali accent and subtle humor keep birders entertained on long and arduous mountain treks looking for the avian wonders. 

The bird guide also indulges in photography whenever he gets an opportunity. Here are some of his images for our readers. 

Cheer Pheasant 

Cheer Pheasant

Great Himalayan Kingfisher

Female Sunbird

Gharial at Chambal River Sanctuary

Green Munia

Gray Faced Woodpecker

Wild Elephants Corbett

Python

Koklas Pheasant

Naini Lake

Himalayan Bulbul

Pangot - Hari Lama with White Cap

Himalayan Foothills

Kainchi Dham Temple

Brown Fish Owl

Wedge-Tailed Green Pigeon

Siberian Bushchat

Forest birding in Madhya Pradesh

Though MP is known as the tiger state it is a good birding destination as well. The tiger reserves are hitherto popular for tiger safaris as ideal birding spots for those interested in forest species. Most of the tiger reserves in the state are home to wetland species as well but the habitats are not extensive like in Bharatpur. Nevertheless one can see them in impressive numbers.    

Among the forest species, the most sought after are the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Shama, Racket Tailed Drongo, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Painted Francolin, Black Naped Flycatcher, Iora, Gold Mantled Chloropsis, Jerdon's Leaf Bird, Golden Oriole, Black Hooded Oriole, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Verditor Flycatcher, Brown Fish Owl, Mottled Wood Owl, Malabar whistling Thrush (Pachmarhi), Crested Serpent Eagle, Changeable Hawk Eagle, White Eyed Buzzard, Honey Buzzard, and many more. 

The best places for birding in the state are Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Pachmarhi, Nauradehi, Amarkantak, Satpura Tiger Reserve, Bori, and many other wildlife sanctuaries. The habitat type differs depending upon the degree of humidity and food factor. The state has tropical dry deciduous, dry deciduous moist, mixed forests, broadleaved Teak forests, Sal Forests, and Bamboo Zones which are excellent habitats for diverse species. Similarly, grassland in the preserve and places like Karera Bustard Sanctuary are home to many grass-dwelling species.    

Pachmarhi, Nauradehi, Amarkantak are lesser-known destinations in MP hence tourism is not popular. While accommodation is available in Pachmarhi and Amakantak subject to advance booking, Nauradehi can be visited from Jabalpur where there is no shortage of accommodations. All three are reachable from Jabalpur City in Madhya Pradesh.