Birding at Bandhavgarh - Muchmucha

Gold Mantled Chloropsis

Crested Serpent Eagle

Black Shouldered Kite

Blue Bearded Bee Eater

Crested Serpent Eagle

Egyptian Vulture

Long Billed Vulture

Long Tailed Shrike

Open Billed Stork

White Eyed Buzzard

All the images are by Mr. Teerath Singh who owns MP Tiger Safari Company.

It was one of the finest birding trip this February thanks to keen interest shown by Mr. Uday Kumar from Baroda. Muchmucha Lodge is based in Muchmucha Village about 45 km from the Tala Range and about 25 km from Khitauli Range.   

Mr. Uday Kumar is also a keen photographer and during the trip we managed to photograph many interesting birds and animals. Some of the birds we saw are mentioned below. 

Bay Backed Shrike
Brown Shrike

Gold Mantled  Chloropisis

Common Gray Hornbill
Black Naped Monarch

Twany Pipit
Paddy Field Pipit

Blyth's Pipit
Hume's Warbler

Greenish Warbler
Gray Headed Canary Flycatcher

Verditor Flycatcher
Painted Spurfowl
Long Billed Vulture

White Backed Vulture
King Vulture

Black Headed Oriole

White Bellied Drongo
Rackted Tailed Drongo

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
Black Headed Ibis

Tufted Duck
Brahminy Duck
Common Pochard
Spotbilled Duck
Greater Cormorant
Open Billed Stork
White Necked Stork
Green Sandpiper
Northern Pintail
Marsh Sandpiper
Common Red Shank
Green Shank
Common Sandpiper
Common Iora
Plum Headed Parakeet
Alexandrine Parakeet
Spotted Owlet
Barred Jungle Owlet
Brown Fish Owl
Ashy Crowned Finch Lark
Rufus Tailed Lark
Chestnut Shouldered Petronia
Bronze Winged Jacana
Yellow Wattled Lapwing
Red Wattled Lapwing
River Lapwing
River Tern
Yellow Crowned Woodpecker
Brown Headed Pygmy Woodpecker
Black Rumped Flameback
Indian Robin
Common Stonechat
Magpie Robin
Red Jungle Fowl
Indian Moorhen
White Breasted Waterhen
Indian Silverbill
Rose Ringed Parakeet
Large Cuckoo Shrike
Tree Pipit
Small Minivet
White Browed Fantail Flycatcher
Wire Tailed Swallow
Crested Tree Swift
Darter Bird
Stork Billed King Fisher
White Breasted Kingfisher
Common Blue Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Great Tit
Black Lored Tit
Shikra
White Eyed Buzzard
Coppersmith Barbet
Brown Headed Barbet
Temminck's Stint
Red Wattled  Lapwing
Spotted Dove
Laughing Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Little Green Beeeater
Common Myna
Grey Breasted Prinia
Ashy Prinia
Plain Prinia
Red Throated Flycatcher
Honey Buzzard
Black Drongo
Jungle Babblers
Indian Roller
Hoopoe
Crested Hawk Eagle
Crested Serpent Eagle

Grey Wagtail
Common Tailor Bird
Purple Sunbird
Red Vented Bulbul

Yellow Wagtail

White Browed Wagtail

Common Chiffchaff
Grey Francolin
Black Redstart
Brahminy Myna

Besides more birds we saw Nilgai, Chinkara, Sambar Deer, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Jackal, Langur, Rhesus Macaque, Civet Cat and Black Naped Hare.  We missed the big cats several times as we were chasing the avian species and not tigers and leopards at Muchmucha.

The lodge is owned by Mr. Avinash Pathak who along with his wife Mrs.Anjali Pathak have converted the hunting lodge into a luxury accommodation in Bandhavgarh in the State of Madhya Pradesh. Both are avid conservationists and responsible persons who take good care of the local communities in and around the Muchmucha Village. 

The village Muchmucha is approached from Katni via Barhi township. Mr Avinash Pathak owns Indiana Safari Co. which organizes package tours in MP State for wildlife tourism. He has several others business but wildlife and birding is his prime interest. He does lot of charity work for the local people.