Something remarkable has happened over the last year and a half. Due to reasons I cannot explain properly, I have found myself drawn to one of nature’s best creations – birds. Over the last year or so, i joined online groups, went for birding walks, bought books and read them from cover to cover. I really surprised myself when i started waking up before sunrise on weekends to go for birding walks.
The timing could not be better. My eight year old Nikon D80 was in its dying days and it was time to upgrade. So i invested in the brand new Nikon D7100 and the Sigma 50-500 OS HSM telephoto lens. Now that I have read the books, shot some birds in my garden and in and around Delhi, it was time to take a trip to that Mecca birders call Bharatpur.
Last time I went to Bharatpur was over two and a half years back. Back then I could not tell the Sarus crane from the Painted Stork. But now i can do just that. Not much else. Bharatpur was in a bad shape in the February of 2011 when i was last there. The water levels were almost at an all-time low. Feral cattle had taken over most of the pastures. Politicians were , well politicing on the much needed water and the whole thing was a big, big mess. Fortunately, the water issues have been resolved. Now water will come in from Chambal as well as from a dam nearby in Rajasthan. The canals were full and so were the marshes. When I went in the beginning of November, the numbers of migratory birds were not large but i think if they can maintain the water levels for a few more years, the numbers will steadily increase.
THE HABITAT
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THE GUIDE
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In the numerous recent Delhibird walks, I met Mr Ajay Maira who was kind enough to point me in the direction of one Bachchoo Singh (+919351341917). I was with him from sunrise to sunset for three days and not for a moment did the smile fade from his face. He knew his birds, drove the rickshaw at a languid pace and was quick with a joke. I cannot recommend him enough.
THE BIRDS (and some amphibians, reptiles and mammals)
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I think it is safe to say that I am more of a photographer than a birder. Apart from a handful of birds that I could identify (sarus cranes, painted storks and a few others :P), i was dependent on my field guide and of course, on Bachchoo Singh. I could have really used a tripod though. The camera and the lens together weigh close to 3kgs and getting the frame right was a challenge, especially at 500 mm. Anyway, here’s what came out of the trip:
I love munias especially so because due to their small size and the constant state of motion they are in, they are extremely difficult to photograph. On this trip, i also saw a few Red Avadavats or the Red Munias but could not photograph them. A couple of silverbills did pose for me.
House sparrows which we have seen all around us are undergoing an alarming decline in numbers, especially in human-inhabited ares due to human activities. Read this to know more about the decline and how you can help.
In the three days that i spent inside Keoladeo National Park, two sightings stand out. The first was a creature I had seen a lot as a child growing up in north Bengal (for images of north Bengal, or Dooars as it is better known see this, this, this and this). The sun had just come out and i was walking beside Bachchoo Singh, trying to shoot a pair of grey headed canary flycatchers. Suddenly this black shape slithers out of the grass on the left side of the road. It was a common cobra. The same creature that almost left me fatherless, but that is a story for another day. As i drew closer, it showed absolutely no sign of fear and started to cross the road.
I could tell that it had just molted and the scales were shining in the morning sun like thousands of little amethysts. I probably got a little too close when without warning, it spread its hood. I was fortunate to get the perfect light and just had time to get off a few shots. here are the results:
Now the second encounter: Sarus cranes. I have been an admirer of these beautiful birds for years now. Even before i got into birding. So far, I have always viewed them from a considerable distance, at Sultanpur and Basai. This time,however, i was determined to observe them from up close.
On the first and second days at Bharatpur I heard their calls numerous times, saw them fly past and watched them for hours again from a distance. So I decided to devote my third and last day entirely to these most elegant of birds. As we entered the park at 6:30 am on a chilly November morning, we headed straight to the grasslands by the painted stork colony where they usually spend the mornings. Sure enough, there was a couple there, but again, at a considerable distance.
There were three other pairs in the general area and they were taking turns answering each others calls. On Bachchoo Singh’s advice, i started following one of the distant calls along one of the trails branching off from the main road into the sanctuary. I walked for some 3 kms and with every step the call kept getting closer and closer. Then i turned left and BAM! there was a crane barely 30 feet from the trail. It took me the better part of five minutes to actually register what I was seeing. It was a female and she was so close that i did not have to employ the 500 mm end of my lens. The light was perfect too! The first shot below is from the original couple i viewed from a distance. The rest are from the close encounter.
Thus ended a most satisfying trip to the paradise for birders. Here’s hoping that the water levels remain true and the bird numbers remain large. Also it wouldn’t hurt if a couple of Siberian cranes re-visited their old haunt.
Here’s to high hopes.
SPECIES SEEN
1. Black francolin (Francolinus francolinus) Resident, Breeds
2. Grey francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus) Resident, Breeds, very common
3. Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) Resident Common
4. Lesser Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna javanica) Resident Common
5. Greylag Goose (Anser anser) Migratory, very common
6. Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) Resident, common
7. Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha) Resident, common
8. Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) Migratory, very common
9. Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) Migratory, very common
10. Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) Migrant, common
11. Brown-capped Woodpecker (Dendrocopos nanus) Resident
12. Yellow-crowned Woodpecker (Dendrocopos mahrattensis) Resident
13. Back-rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense) resident, breeds
14. Indian Grey-Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) resident, breeds
15. Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) Resident and migrant
16. Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis) Resident, common
17. Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) common resident
18. White-thoated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) resident, very common
19. Black-capped Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) LM, U
20. Little Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) Resident common
21. Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) passage migrant
22. Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) R,O
23. Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis) R,C
24. Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) R,C
25. Collared Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena) R,O
26. Dusky Eagle-Owl (Bubo coromandus) R,C
27. Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) R,C
28. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) R,C
29. Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis) R,C
30. Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) LM,U
31. Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) R,C
32. Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon (Treron phoenicoptera) R,C
33. Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) Resident, breeds, common
34. White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) Resident, very common
35. Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea) breeds
36. Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) R,C
37. Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) RM,C
38. Common Coot (Fulica atra) very common migrant
39. Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) M,C
40. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) M,O
41. Bronze-winged Jacana (Metopidius indicus) R,C
42. Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) LM,C
43. Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) LM,U
44. Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus) ?
45. Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) R,C
46. Sociable Lapwing (Vanellus gregarius) Migrant uncommon
47. Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhyncus) R,C
48. Black Kite (Milvus migrans) R,U
49. Crested Serpent-Eagle (Spilornis cheela) LM,C
50. Eurasian Marsh-Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) M,C
51. Shikra (Accipiter badius) R,C
52. Oriental Hobby (Falco severus) M,U
53. Oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster) R,C
54. Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger) R,C
55. Indian cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis) R,C
56. Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) R,C
57. Little egret (Egretta garzetta) R,C
58. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) R,C
59. Purple heron (Ardea purpurea) R,C
60. Great egret (Casmerodius albus) R,C
61. Intermediate egret (Mesophoyx intermedia) R,C
62. Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) R,C
63. Indian pond heron (Ardeola grayii) R,C
64. Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) R,C
65. Little bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) LM,U
66. Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis) LM,O
67. Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) LM,C
68. Black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) R,C
69. Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia Linnaeus) RC,O
70. Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) R,C breeds in large numbers
71. Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans) R,C, breeds
72. Wooly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus) R,C, breeds
73. White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) M,U
74. Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) R,C
75. Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) M,U
76. Bay-backed Shrike (Lanius vittatus) R,C
77. Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach) LM,C
78. Rufous Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) R,C
79. House Crow (Corvus splendens) R,C
80. Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) R,C
81. Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus) BM,O
82. Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus) LM,O
83. Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) R,C
84. Common Woodshrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) R,C
85. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis) M,U
86. Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) R,C
87. Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicata) R,C
88. Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) M,C
89. Common Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) R,O
90. Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata) R,C
91. Grey Bushchat (Saxicola ferrea) LM,U
92. Indian or Brown Rock Chat (Cercomela fusca) R,C
93. Brahminy Starling (Sturnus pagodarum) R,C
94. Rosy Starling (Sturnus roseus) M,O
95. Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) M,O
96. Asian Pied Starling (Sturnus contra) R,C
97. Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) R,C
98. Bank Myna (Acridotheres ginginianus) R,O
99. White-eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis) R,C
100. Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) R,C
101. Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis) R,O
102. Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata) R,C
103. Oriental White-Eye (Zosterops palpebrosus) R,O
104. Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) R,C
105. Common Babbler (Turdoides caudatus) R,C
106. Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striatus) R,C
107. Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica) R,C
108. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) M,O
109. Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava) R,C
110. Indian Silverbill (Lonchura malabarica) R,C
Symbols used(in alphabetic order).
? = status or source or occurrence unknown or doubtful
C = Common
Evans = Bharatpur Bird Paradise by Martin Evans
HA = Checklist by Humayun Abdulali and Pandey
Handbook = Salim Ali & S.D. Ripley’s Compact Handbook
LM = Local Migrant
O = Occasional
PM = Passage Migrant
R = Resident
SM = Summer Migrant
U = Uncommon
VSS = Flora and Fauna by V.S. Saxena
VSV =VSVijayan(BNHS publications or Ramsar site booklet)
WM = Winter Migrant(Migratory in the list usually refers to this category)
