| Birding trip in North India |
Visited On : 22 Mar, 2002 |
| No of Days Spent : 23 |
Birding trip from 28.02 to 22.03.2002
Birders:
Fernand Deroussen
Boris Jollivet
Benoît Segerer
Itinerary:
28.02
Paris-Delhi.
Departure at 6.00 AM. Flight to Vienna then from Vienna to Delhi, arrival at
22.15 PM. We met our driver Jan Singh and Iqbal Ahmad. The car will be a
Tata Sumo which will prove to be a good choice. We take a fast dinner and
go to Sultanpur we reach at 1 AM. (Haryana Rosy Pelican Hotel).
01.03
Sultanpur.
This is one of the smallest national park I know ! A kind of mini-Bharatpur
which is perfect to start a trip in India, specially for a first visit. The
first contact with the indian avifauna is nevertheless brutal with, of
course, a lot of new species for everybody (it's a first visit to India for
all). Best bird of the first day: Indian Courser which is not to difficult
to find here.
02.03
Sultanpur and Bikaner.
Morning at Sultanpur where we add Dark-Throated Thrush and few more common
birds then we take the road to Bikaner. A late stop just before Bikaner is
not very productive for birds but we find some Bengal Foxes. (Palace View
Hotel).
03.03
Bikaner, Gajner and Kichan.
First stop not far from Bikaner at Gajner. It's another jheel where we find
plenty of sandgrouses (Black-Bellied the most numerous but also
Chesnut-Bellied). A Dalmatian Pelican is waiting for us on the jheel. BJ
find some Jackals and the first Blackbucks. We find also our first vultures
(White-Rumped, Eurasian and Cinereus).
The arrival in the small village of Khichan in the middle of the afternoon
is unbelivable with Demoiselle Cranes everywhere and also the indian army
because of the tension with the pakistan. The border is only at 100
kilometers to the west. (We rest at Sevaram Ali's home just beside the
feeding place. Sevaram is a young guide who work with the hotel Payal at
Phalodi).
04.03
Around Kichan.
We are driven to the north at a place for the Indian Bustard. We dipped this
bird but few others gem as Laggar Falcon and a eating party of at least
thirty vultures is not so bad. (Night at Sevaram Ali)
05.03
Around Kichan.
Still the wonderful scenery of Demoiselles. And walks in the vicinity of the
village. (Night at Sevaram Ali).
06.03
From Kichan to Jodhpur.
Morning under thousand cranes and on the road to Jodhpur. Stop on the road
to watch some Blackbucks and few new birds. We stay at Mandore, in the north
of the town near some beautiful garden full of Hanuman Langur and birds of
course (a site for the rare White-napped Tit but we also dipped this one).
We make an evening walk saying ten kilometres to the north but failed to
find a really good habitat except a small acacia forest but this kind of
forest is better found by foot just north of the Mandore Garden. (Mandore
Guest House).
07.03
Jodhpur-Bharatpur.
Link-day, quite exhausting with a 12 hours drive (350 km only !) but a good
morning in the Mandore Garden and Bharatpur in the head make us feel good.
(Sunbird Hotel ; we find the last day that it is possible to sleep
inside the park at better rates and we have some regrets).
08.03
Bharatpur.
Wonderful first day at Bharatpur (Kheoladeo Ghana actually, Bharatpur is
only the name of the nearest town). Eagles everywhere, our first Hornbill
(Indian), shorebirds, Warblers, Owls and mammals. Bird of the day ?
Difficult to choose between Tawny Eagle, Cotton Teal or Asian Openbill.
(Sunbird Hotel).
09.03
Bharatpur.
We thaught to use a guide this day but the hassling habits of the guides
(all of them !) convience us to bird alone. Actually, my advice is, for a
first visit to Bharatpur, to enjoy the first day alone, then to have some
help with a guide the second day for the difficult species and finish with
2, 3 or more days alone, trying to find the species dipped. (Sunbird Hotel).
10.03
Bharatpur.
BS use a guide all day. It will be rewarding for him. The game being to find
the birds bef
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