Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary Bird Watching

[birdwatcher]

Hi everyone

I am in India for a few months and I love bird watching and wildlife photography. This time I am packing my bags for Bharatpur bird century and I am excited to see Siberian cranes there, but my Indian friends told me that Siberian cranes are not visiting this bird century anymore from last few years. Is that true and if yes then which birds, reptiles and animals I can find there.

Another question, if Siberian cranes are not visiting this bird century anymore then where do they go, is there any other park or bird century nearby where they are going now?

 

[Admin]

Siberian cranes stopped coming to Bharatpur many years ago because the wetlands started getting dry and arrivals of Siberian cranes got lesser and lesser every year. No one has spotted any Siberian cranes at Bharatpur in the recent years although water is plenty now due to the government's initiative to bring water there using a newly built canal and they have also set up tube wells that run on solar power which keep pumping water all day long to keep water levels high on ground.

I don't think you can find Siberian cranes in India anywhere else either. Your best bet is Iran, Afghanistan or China where they can still be spotted every year in winter season. There are less then 3000 of them now.

 

[Aadi]

Hi

Bharatpur bird century or Keoladeo Ghana National Park is famous for storks, herons and cormorants. Apart from these you can easily spot common teal, ducks, Indian shag, painted storks, oriental ibis, common & wood sandpiper, sarus, owls and variety of eagles.

Animals which you can easily find there are: Nilgai, chital deer, wild boar, sambar, mongoose, several species of cats (like jungle cat n fishing cat), jackals and hyenas are also common there.

I am not sure about all the reptiles, but you can very easily find python, cobra and viper.

I was there in 2012 and it was a wonderful experience to see and hear a million birds at a time. I suggest you to make it and be assured you will like it.

 

[ChaiNashta]

Pythons can be seen early morning when sun rises because pythons come out in the sun to warm up their bodies as they are cold blooded. Make sure you ask for the rickshaw driver Hakim Singh who was very helpful and I found him very knowledgeable about everything especially the different varieties of mogra flowers that can be found there. Hakim Singh is also good at spotting rare birds which resulted in me taking lots of pictures as we went through the park.