Kanha is popular for tiger safaris and people enjoy seeing the big cats and other wild animals. Yet the destination with 250 bird species is slowly getting popular for the fantastic opportunity it provides to birders. Tourists miss the fantastic ecosystem in the mad chase for tigers and they miss the amazing avians that flock around. This magnificent tiger reserve and National park is getting popular with bird watchers and every year a large number of enthusiasts arrive here.
The diverse topography is very much suitable for forest birds and to some extent grass birds. The wetland species are few and some arrive in winter due to small water bodies in the core area of the park. Some water bodies inside the tiger reserve are home to Eurasian wigeon, Northern pintail, common teal, garganey, Graylag geese, and a few more species but winter migrants do not arrive here in large numbers.
Other birds that are seen here are Indian pitta, barred button quail, black drongo, racket-tailed drongo Eurasian thicknee, Scops owl, Oriental scops owl, Brown fish owl, jungle owlet, honey buzzard, long-billed vulture, white-eyed buzzard, black-shouldered kite, Large and median egrets, Greater Cormorant, Osprey, Tickell's blue flycatcher, tawny babbler, Asian paradise flycatcher, Palas Fish Eagle, Shama, verditor flycatcher, Gray Headed Fish Eagle, black-naped monarch, Wooly Necked Stork, open billed stork, Lesser Adjutant Stork, and the common shore birds.
The best areas for bird watching at Kanha are: Sravan Taloa, Anicut at Nakti Ghati, Bija, and Bahmni Dadar, the buffer tourism areas, Link No 7, 8, and 9. The mixed forest, water bodies, Lakes, bamboo clumps, wild bushes, and meadows offer sightings of many birds. Marshy grasslands hold interesting species like bush chats, munias, parakeets, pipits, and larks.
The Indian scimitar babbler, common grey hornbill, Malabar pied hornbill, common snipe, and painted francolin, are also seen in Kanha Tiger Reserve. The common avians are the common iora, yellow-eyed babbler, gray-breasted prinia, brown-cheeked fulvetta, ashy and plain prinia, common tailor bird, red-rumped swallow, white-rumped munia, purple sunbird, red avadavat, green munia, scaly and tricolor munia among the grassy patches and near the banks of ponds and small lakes.
Birding on the outskirts of Kanha National Park is most rewarding. Some of the preferred areas for birding outside parks are village fields, Banjar River, Ganghar Nala Bank, and the village confines. The enthusiasts visit the core and the outskirts as well.
A lot of birding tour operators organize birding tours at Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Birding in groups is always rewarding. But the most rewarding company is that of the birding guide and naturalist. Enthusiasts should barry a good pair of binocs and bird books while going in for bird watching at Kanha National Park in Central India. Spotting scopes are not required in this destination.
