 JUNGLE WALK - With over 377 bird species spotted at Bharatpur, the place is one of the most popular bird sanctuaries in the world. One can easily spot between 50 to 100 species in a single day. Bharatpur’s primary claim to fame is the fact that its one of the two known wintering haunts of the Siberian crane. The marshy wetlands of Hansarovar or Ramband or Mansarovar, are areas where migratory waterfowl assemble in thousands. Both the greylag and the bar-headed geese are be found in the area , often together. Ducks come in quite a selection: raffish, auburn-headed red-crested pochards; white-eyed pochards in black Nehru jackets; beady-eyed shovellers (Anas clypeata): common teals pintails; and mallards are some the common birds seen in the reserve. Of the resident ducks, the cotton teal: the mahogany and honey teals fly around in disorganized sorties. The lovely Siberian cranes are the prized sight of this lot. Equally graceful are the stately grey sarus cranes, often accompanied by a chick keeping between its parents. Spoonbills doing their minesweeping act, white ibis hunched and rather craven, cattle egrets taking off like blizzards, sandpipers and redshanks exploding from cover and zinging away the splay-footed purple moorhen clad in purple silk, the elegant bronze-winged jacanas displaying its metallic tints and the khaki white-tailed lapwings are some common sights of the park.. A pair of black-necked storks carefully keeping apart, patrol the middle distances of the marshes, , suddenly, a large squadron of common cranes calling evocatively while they circle and land showcases these birds in their true natural habitat. The trees, mainly acacias, that cover these bunds are also teem with birdlife. Small minivets, bejewelled kingfishers,red-breasted and grey-headed flycatchers, dapper wire-tailed swallows keeps one entranced as they hop around tree. The deseart tracts near the Hansarovar, around Python Point are haunts for , pipits and larks and munias and warblers that wander about on the sand. The shady woodland areas like the lovely stretch along the eastern boundary wall of the park, are the is adobe for birds like tree-creepers, shikras (sparrow hawks), nuthatches and woodpeckers. At Kadam Kunj, an ancient, crumbling hunting lodge surrounded by black water and crowned by huge peepul trees, the green pigeons, vultures, majestic serpent eagle, owls, cormorants, herons and even brahminy mynas can be seen. At the Keoladeo temple, white wagtails; the blue-throats and redstarts: white-breasted water hens are usually seen. This kingdom of birds also has mammals like jackals, wild boar, sambar, spotted deer, blackbuck and nilgai can be spotted . Fishing cats and monitors are less visible. If lucky, you may catch sight of pythons, lying in the sun at Python Point beyond Keoladeo Temple. Mongoose is also seen here quite regularly.
|
