Birding At Bandhavgarh in Central India

Known popularly as a tiger safari destination Bandhavgarh is a birder's heaven. With more than two hundred and fifty species of avian the reserve is a paradise. All the birding tours that I have conducted here have been a big success. 

Francolin

Black Rumped Flameback 

Grey Headed Fish Eagle

Lesser Adjutant Stork

Indian Vulture

The diverse terrain is home to many forest birding species, while one has to scour a larger confine to target wetland and shore birds. The added advantage of birding in Bandhavgarh is the presence of the tiger. Wherever you are birding a chance appearance of tiger or that matter a leopard is possible. That is why birding tours here are so exciting and rewarding. 

Wildlife photographers who seek the tiger invariably end up photographing many of these enchanting avian species. The exotic surrounds of the forests and swampy grasslands hook up the birder no end.  The ancient ruins and architectural splendours are a treat to the eye. To seek avian friends in such esoteric surroundings is an opportunity of a life time. 

Bandhavgarh geography comprises of low lying hills and cliffs with steep edges, marshy grasslands, Sal and mixed forest and bamboo with intervening mountain rivers, lakes and small water bodies.  These are excellent nesting grounds for resident species. The Bandhavgarh Hillock rising 800 MSl proves ideal for nesting Malabar Pied and Grey Hornbills besides the Indian Vulture. Since there are many steep cliffs Indian Vultures nest here in large numbers.     

Paradise flycatchers prefer the shore of the rivulets with dense thickets as breeding grounds. Other flycatchers seen here are the Black Naped, Taiga, Tickell's blue and the winter migrant verditer flycatcher. 

Pigmy Cotton Goose

Silverbill

Peacock

Red Avadavat

Yellow Eyed Babbler

Other targeted species are the painted francolin, Indian Pitta, orange headed thrush, racket tailed drongo, golden and black headed oriole, crested serpent and hawk eagle, honey buzzard, grey headed fish eagle, white rumped and king vulture, barred buttonquail, lesser adjutant and open billed storks, spangled drongo, Tickell's Thrush, Iora, minivets, warblers, parakeets, brown fish owl, brown wood owl, mottled wood owl, Alexendrine parakeet, peregrine falcon, black rumped flameback, white naped and yellow crowned woodpeckers, brown headed pigmy and streak throated woodpeckers, rufus woodpecker, blue bearded bee eater, to name a few...         

Barred Jungle Owlet

Common Kingfisher

Common Woodshrike

Indian Eagle Owl

Indian Bushlark

Small Minivet

White Eyed Buzzard

Verditor Flycatcher

The best season is during the winters from October onwards however the strain is reduced whence the canopy thins out in summers but by that time migrants have departed. Summer birding in Bandhavgarh is excellent with hordes of resident birds to checklist. The best period for summer activity is March and April while May and June are very hot. But the heat not withstanding the period is excellent for bird photography. 

All Images By John Matthai  

Some exciting bird finds

My work as birding guide this year has been good. On my birding trip at Muchmucha near Bandhavgarh, I could locate a large herd of tufted duck. More than hundred flocked together in the water of Mahanadi Dam.

Muchmucha has been a good spot for birding with the added pleasure of locating the big cats. Situated right on the forests of Bandhavgarh the Muchmucha Lodge offers a unique experience of stay in the wild confines of Bandhavgarh National Park in Central India.  The reserve forests offers tiger safaris that are completely in isolation in undisturbed patches.  

The diverse habitats surrounding the Muchmucha Lodge offer a larger varieties of avian species to sight, photograph and film. 

The sighting and photography of  Black Eagle in Jabalpur has been a big surprise considering that this raptor frequents high reaches of Himalayas. That Bar Headed Geese were photographed at Pariat Lake in Jabalpur and the sightings of one lone Greater Flamingo has been heartening. 

It is still too early to understand the movements and spread of avian species in India. Well lot of work has been done by past ornithologists more is needed. The hope lies in a large number of young people taking to birding and photography. These are the hunter gatherers who will store evidence of  bird migration and perhaps the status.    

We had a good photography session at Muchmucha in Bandhavgarh in MP. The stay at the Muchmucha Lodge was a big treat. My client liked all that transpired, especially some lip smacking Indian Food. The accommodation is an ideal winter hideout for birders and wildlife photographers. Avinash Bhai the owner is an exceptional host and keeps the goodies flowing like in the old days whence big shots gathered here before the legislation for hunts.    

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.  

Black Capped Kingfisher in Bandhavgarh

Black Capped Kingfisher

The picture taken by Teerath Singh proves the presence of this bird in Bandhavgarh National Park in MP, India. The black capped kingfisher is a coastal tree kingfisher its presence here is a surprise. With more and more bird watchers reporting their finds our understanding of avian distribution in India will be more accurate. 

Bandhavgarh is an excellent birding destination in Central India. But it is more popular as tiger safari destination and is less known for its wonderful avian splendors. 

Birding trip report Muchmucha Bandhavgarh

Bandhavgarh National Park

Madhya Pradesh, India

I choose Muchmucha because of diverse habitat that Old Hunting Lodge offers in the vicinity.  The Lodge is situated about forty km from Tala main gate at Bandhavgarh. The surroundings are the periphery of Bandhavgarh And dense forest tracts near the lodge, scrub and fields.   Two small water bodies are situated at a walking distance which offer wetlands birds to see but mostly residents. River Mahanadi flows through forests here. Larger water bodies are situated at a distance of ten to fourteen km from the accommodation.

Checklist: Dated 11/2/2012 - 14-2-2012

Brown Shrike

Long Tailed Shrike
Bay Backed Shrike
Common Iora
Rufous Treepie
Tree Pipit
Olive Backed Pipit
Black Headed Oriole
Golden Oriole
Lesser White Throat
Bronze Winged Jacana
Lesser Whistling Teal
Paddy Field Pipit
Richard's Pipit
Tawny Pipit
Barn Swallow
Red Rumped Swallow
Asian Palm Swift
Wire Tailed Swallow
Crested Tree Swift
Ashy Crowned Sparrow Lark
Rufous Tailed Lark
Indian Bushlark
Magpie Robin
Indian Robin
Little Cormorant
Black Redstart
Little Grebe
Black Rumped Flameback
White Naped Woodpecker
Yellow Crowned Woodpecker
Chestnut Shouldered Petronia
Plum Headed Parakeet
Rose Ringed Parakeet
Alexandrine Parakeet
Black Ibis
Wooly Necked Stork
Indian Moorhen
Common Woodshrike
White Breasted Water Hen
King Vulture
Long Billed Vulture
White Backed Vulture
Egyptian Vulture
Honey Buzzard
Crested Serpent Eagle
Crested Hawk Eagle
Common Kestral
White Eyed Buzzard
Shikra
Black Shouldered Kite
White Browed Fantail Flycatcher
Little Green Bee Eater
Red Vented Bulbul
Jungle Myna
Bank Myna
Common Myna
Pied Starling
Barhminy Starling
Pond Heron
Ashy Prinia
Plain Prinia
Common Tailor Bird
Common Stone Chat
Pied Buchchat
Hoopoe
Red Wattled Lapwing
Yellow Wattled Lapwing
Gold Fronted Chloropsis
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
Indian Roller
Eurasian Collared Dove
Spotted Dove
Laughing Dove
Oriental Turtle Dove
Red Turtle Dove
Jungle Babbler
Large Gray Babbler
Jungle Bush Quail
Barred Button Quail
Gray Francolin
Peacock
Red Jungle Fowl 
Blue Rock Pigeon
Pale Billed Flowerpecker
Thick Billed Flowerpecker
Greater Coucal
Purple Sunbird
Common Hawk Cuckoo
Indian Hawk Cuckoo
Purple Sunbird
Yellow Footed Green Pigeon
Emerald Dove
Asian Paradise Flycatcher
Indian Scops Owl
Black Drongo
Racket Tailed Drongo
White Bellied Drongo
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Great Egret
Coppersmith Barbet
Cotton Pygmy Goose
Grey Lag Geese (Rare)
Sarus Crane
Grey Hornbill
Hume's Warbler
Greenish Warbler
Common Chiff Chaff
Brown Fish Owl
Spotted Owlet
Barred Jungle Owlet
Mottled Wood Owl (Calls)
Comb Duck
Brahminy Duck
Common Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Temminck's Stint
White Throated Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Common Kingfisher
Black Naped Monarch
Verditor Flycatcher
Short Eared Owl
Eurasian Thicknee
Savanna Nightjar
Grey Headed Barbet Barn Owl
Rufous Faced Warbler* 

*Clearly seen the Rufus on face but need to check it out again.  

Animals that can bee seen at Muchmucha Forests

Tiger
Leopard
Fox
Chinkara
Spotted Deer
Nilgai (Blue Bull)
Ruddy Mongoose
Porcupine
Toddy Cat
Small Indian Civet
Large Indian Civet
Jackal
Sambar
Jungle Cat
Ratel
Barking Deer
Wild Boar
Rhesus Macaque
Gray or Hanuman Langur


Most of the animal presence here is nocturnal but animals like Chinkara, Barking Deer, Nilgai, Wild Boar and smaller mammals can be encountered on road while driving towards Muchmucha from Kuan Village.   



Muchmucha Old Hunting Lodge is situated on Barhi Khitauli Road four km from Kuan Village. The road turns in and goes through a forest tract. The Tala Gate is about forty plus km while Khituali (Marzad Garh Forests), Magdhi Gates in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve are at a shorter distance.

The stay at the Muchumcha accommodation in Bandhavgarh was comfortable with lavish hospitality of Mr. Avinash Pathak the lodge owner. The hunting lodge is an old Kothi built in 1935. During the shikar days it was accommodation for top notch hunters. The Kothi used to house high profile guests, Sumant Mulgaonkar of TELCO and his family were frequent visitors.     




 

Bird photographs by Teerath Singh

Brahminy Myna

Brahminy Duck

Crested Hawk Eagle

Crested Serpent Eagle

Open Billed Stork

There can be anything more enchanting than looking at winged wonders of India. Bird photography acts as tool for understanding our feathered friends and admiring the nature's creation. 

Teerath Singh from Madhya Pradesh is a tiger safari tour operator in India. He gets  lots of opportunity to photographs animals, birds and majestic tigers. Here is his collection amazing bird photographs taken in Bandhavgarh National Park in Central India.

Malabar Pied Hornbill

Malabar pied hornbill by Teerath Singh

Bandhavgarh is the right place to see and photograph hornbills - Common Gray and  Malabar Pied Horbill.