Chambal And Bharatpur Birding

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is well known all over India and abroad while Chambai is coming into the limelight. It was once in the limelight for many bandits that dwelled in the land proliferated by ravines and dunes an unproductive land that gained notoriety because of the bandits. All that is past and tourism has replaced the crime-ridden past. Chambal is a river sanctuary that encompasses three states namely:

• Uttar Pradesh
• Madhya Pradesh
• Rajasthan

The long stretch of river spans more than 700 km with a substantial area covered by the sanctuary. The sanctuary is home to several avian species, turtles, marsh crocodiles, and the gharial. It supports several mammalian and reptilian species on its banks and all these are major attractions for tourists who primarily come here for bird watching and boating on the river. 

Bharatpur is a 28 sq. km sanctuary and home to over 300 avian species. It is World famous with a majority of visitors arriving from overseas.  Both Bharatpur and Chambal are approachable from Agra roughly at a distance of 70 kilometers. The best season for bird watching at these destinations is winter when the Palearctic migrants arrive.

Boating is organized at Chambal by the lodge owner at Bah in Uttar Pradesh about 70 km from Agra. It is also organized at Dholepur in Madhya Pradesh about 50km from Bharatpur.

Boating organized at Chambal River Sanctuary is for about 2.50 hours and offers sightings of turtles, gharial, and marsh crocodiles. Several avians are seen. The most coveted species to see at Chambal are the Indian Skimmer, Bonelli's Eagle, Indian Eagle Owl, Laggar Falcon, Sand Lark, Booted eagle, Pallas gull, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Gargeny, Ferruginous Pochard, Red-crested pochard, Common Shelduck, Comb Duck, Common Quail, Rain Quail, Rock bush quail, Painted Francolin, Greater flamingo, Lesser flamingo, Great crested grebe, Yellow necked green pigeon, painted Sand grouse,  Chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, Savanna nightjar, Pied avocet, Kentish plover, Lesser sand plover, Long-billed plover, River lapwing, Ruff, Terek sandpiper, Common redshank, Brown-headed gull, Lesser black-backed gull, Little tern, Caspian tern, Black-bellied tern,  Booted eagle, Pallid Harrier, Northern goshawk, long-legged buzzard, Eurasian buzzard, Brown boobook, Black-rumped flame back, Red-necked falcon, White-tailed lapwing      

At Bharatpur, it is guided birding. The best birding guides are available in Bharatpur. The birds seen are

mustached warbler, dusky warbler, rubythroat, Lesser Whistling Duck, Sarus Crane, plum-headed parakeet, Bar-headed Goose, Ferruginous pochard, Marbled Teal, Common Crane, Wigeon, Gadwall, Baer's Pochard, Greater Scaup,  Tufted duck, Baikal Teal, Yellow Legged Button Quail, Barred Button Quail, Mallard, Pintail snipe, Common snipe, Common Quail, Indian eagle, Blue Tailed Barbet, Blue Cheeked Barbet, Grey Bellied Hawk Cuckoo, Common Cukoo, Sirkeer Malcoha, Alpine Swift, Short Eared Owl, Oriental Scops Owl, Brown Hawk Owl, Dusky eagle owl, Pale Backed Pigeon, Demoiselle crane, Red collared dove, Water rail, Brown crake,           Greater spotted eagle, Brown Capped Pigmy Woodpecker, Yellow Crowned Pigmy Woodpecker, Bonelli's Eagle, Honey buzzard, Steppe Eagle, Tawny eagle,Marble Teal, Black francolin, Chestnut bellied sandgrouse, Pintail snipe, Jack snipe, Black tailed godwit,  Eurasian Curlew,Pheasant and Bronze winged Jacana, Red necked phalarope,Pacific goled plover, Ballions crake, Water cock, Grey nightjar, Long-tailed nightjar, and Peregrine Falcon.

There are many more interesting species in these destinations. Thus for birders bird watching atBharatpur and Chambal is the best option. Both destinations can be covered in one itinerary.

Birding at Kanha National Park

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.  

Capturing Central Indian Bird Songs and Calls in Videos at Kanha National Park.

 White Rumped Shama

The bird was singing extensively while we were waiting for Munna Tiger to be on a jungle road at Indri at Kanha National Park. He was at the end of the run extremely feeble and sick. The white-rumped shama regaled as we were in for a long wait. The erstwhile dominant tiger took his own time to arrive so in the time available I made a video of the best singing avian in India. I resorted to making a short clip as the frequent movement of the safari jeeps made it almost impossible to make a long video. 

White Rumped Shama is frequently encountered in the jungles of Kanha and the song is unmistakably melodious and engaging. 

                                                         Song Video White Rumped Shama

                                                                (Copsychus malabaricus)

In summer the hollow melancholic resounding Coo-Coo is heard almost uninterrupted. The spotted dove along with the Red-Breasted or Coppersmith Barbet, Brown-Headed Barbet, and the peacock pheasant forms a melodious background orchestra familiar to all naturalists and nature lovers in Central India. Kanha National Park is no exception, and it is one of the best places to familiarize yourself with bird watching if you are a beginner.  For professionals, it's a hotspot for forest species. 

Magpie Robin erupts into a long-drawn melodious song courting song in summers. This is the resident species and quite common. But the song is a veritable treat bird watchers should not miss. 

                                                                      Magpie Robin Song

                                                                       (Copsychus saularis)

Summer is the mating time for many forest species and Kanha is the place to enjoy the sights and songs of amazing species of courting and nesting birds. With more than two hundred fifty avian species it is a paradise for bird watchers. In winter migrants arrive to be with the forest fraternity but few Palearctic deep divers and shorebirds arrive here as the destination lacks large water bodies. 

                                                      Spotted Dove (Spilopelia Chinensis)

A raptor popular in North India the grey-headed fish eagle has a bizarre call that somewhat resembles a human cry. It has become a resident at Kanha and probably breeds here as well. Among the Northern, Taxa Kanha is visited by Palas Fish Eagle, Grey Bush Chat,  Bar Winged Flycatcher Shrike, Siberian Ruby Throat, Whistlers Warbler, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Tickell' and Humes Warbler, and many more... 

                                                            Gray-Headed Fish Eagle

                                                               (Haliaeetus ichthyaetus)

In dense forest canopy, the species have to be identified by the calls especially if you are on a jeep safari. Regular bird watching in open jeep acclimatizes you to various sounds and calls of creatures living in this amazing tiger reserve in Central India. 

  

Whistler's Warbler Discovery at Kanha

Whistler's Warbler (Phylloscopus whistleri)  First Record at Kanha

Typically a migrant bird found in North India Whistler's Warbler was sighted at Courtyard House in Kanha National Park in Central India. Notified of an unidentified bird by a junior birder, I  began my search as soon as I landed at Courtyard House where I freelance as a Naturalist.  

In my previous birding trips I had seen this avian a number of times at Sat Tal heaven for birds in the State of Uttrakhand.  I could thus well recognize the species bathed in yellow with large eyes and two grey marks on the head a description forwarded to me. I could hear the call of this leaf warbler clearly a number of times but it kept to the foliage whenever I tried to click an image.   

Northern Bird at Kanha

This is the first record of the Northern Taxa in Central India at Kanha National Park. Many winter visitors like Osprey, Pallas Eagle, grey bush chat, Siberian Rubythroat, verditor flycatcher, Hume's Warbler, Sulphur Bellied Warbler, Tickell's Warbler and bar winged flycatcher shrike, gadwall, Northern Pintail, common teal, bar-headed geese, greylag geese are often seen here. 

I had never come across Whistler's Warbler in my tours at Kanha beginning perhaps in the last fifteen years. This was a big surprise but try hard as I could I was not able to photograph the species as it was quick enough to move from the focus of my amateur camera.       

Gajendra Singh and Birds of Nainital in North India

Gajendra Singh Bharatpur Guide

I first met Gajendra Singh in New Delhi a suave, soft spoken, shy and yet a confident man he struck me by  his demeanour. He is going to guide us in Nainital and of course Bharatpur. I felt assured since my knowledge of  this region in North India avifuana was at best limited. He lives at Bharapur Town much near the bird sanctuary also known as Keoladeo.  

Gajendra Singh Guide

Not to mention we had a fantastic trip in company of Gajendra Singh. For me it was a journey of discovery of the snow mountains and amazing feathered friends that flocked impressively all around us. Guides from Bharatpur are impressive by all means and dedicated. Coming from a humble background born and brought up in rustic surroundings he excelled as a guide and we could checklist many species on the tour. The species we met around Sat Tal, Pangot and Corbett Tiger Reserves where quiet new to me and he worked hard in order to lucidly introduce them to us and my English group who were avid ornithologists.     

Birding for decades as an amateur, I had started working for Indiafootprints Adventure safari organizer as a group leader and was completely new to North India having spent my birding days in Central India mostly in Jabalpur and the tiger reserves. 

Gajendra excelled, and I learnt about Northern birds with his guidance. We where to meet on some more ornithological quests in time to come then I became a permanent fixture at Courtyard House Kanha in Kanha National Park. I yearn to visit the confines of snow mountains of Uttrakhand on ornithological quests and hope to realize my dream often in future.     

A New Birding Venture 

We kept in touch on ubiquitous social media called FaceBook or FB. Today I have learnt that Gajendra Singh is into professional birding under the aegis of his own company. Albeit still as a freelancer he plans to go further into this business and wishes to establish  his own company. He is based at Sat Tal and plans to cover Pangot, Chopta and Manila besides other places of interest. My best wishes. 

Ornithologists and enthusiasts will be enamoured by his services as guide and leader. I am very sure of this. He can be contacted at: 

gejendraknp3@gmail.com

WhatsApp: +91 9982535015 

                   +91 9660196424

He has sent some of his bird photos for me to use in blogging and Seo articles and I thanks him for that.  Inserted below.   

=========================

Whitethroated Laughing Thrush 

Rustycheeked Scimitar Babbler

Rufusgrigeted Flycatcher 

Monal 

Larg Niltava  

Koklass Pheasant 

Himalayan Blue Tail 

Red Billed Green Magpie

Chestnut Headed Tesia 

Brown Wood Owl 

Photo Courtesy Gajendra Singh 

===============================================

Uday freelances as naturalist/bird guide at Kanha National Park in India.

He also provides Seo and Content Writing Service for Digital Marketing.

He can be contact at 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

9755089323   

White Rumped Shama

Among the best singers in India this birds belongs to the magpie family Muscicapidae further classification is Copsychus malabaricus. I have come across this songster in the foothills of Himalayas and in Central India. Oriental magpie robin is included in this family and genus Copsychus saularis both the birds are good songsters but the latter is more active during the breeding period which is from March to July. The nominate race is found in the Western Ghats. The bird is found outside India as well.

Characteristic feature of this bird is its song and the the chatter in the bush. It  is partial to bamboo but can be seen in mixed forests as well at a height on the branches.  The bird is conspicuous by the white rump and the rufus belly. 

Both the sexes come together for breeding and stay that way till nesting is complete.Although female is more active whence the nest is being built while the male stands in guard. Post breeding both the sexes may carve separate territories. The bird is insectivorous and passerine and is shy by nature except whence busy courting.

Jerdon's Baza Raptor Enigmatic

Jerdon's Baza (Aviceda Jerdoni)

Often seen in Kanha National Park and often confused with Crested Hawk Eagle these birds number less than the latter. I have seen it often but was able to photograph for first time and at the same time make a clip. The white chin and the mesial stripes are good identification features. The white tipped long crest is held erect most of the time. The rufus barrings in underbody and broad wings tapering down also help in identification. 

 

The distribution range in India is the terai region of North, the Eastern Himalayan foothills, some parts of Central India (Kanha) and Southern India in Western Ghats and scattered presence in Eastern Ghats.

This bird was photographed at Kanha in February - March. Its status is not known here whether it is a breeding resident or migratory. 
====================================================================

I work as naturalist/birder at Kanha National Park in Central India.
I also provide Social Media Marketing & SEO along with website contents. 
My Contact: 9755089323
pateluday90@hotmail.com