Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary , Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan
Now my friend K is from Bharathpur and this whole trip materialized because K was getting married.. and the fun part is that K is my colleague (n my fav baccha) at office and she also happens to be my sister’s roomie.. Bharathpur also has an amazing bird sanctuary so hubby WANTED to go there.. We caught the Gwalior Express from Udaipur to Bharathpur .. and were greeted to a cold foggy morning.. Thankfully by 10 am the fog cleared up .. We checked into the quaint Sunbird Hotel near the sanctuary gate..
Had Garam chai n breakfast and we were ready to explore the bird sanctuary.. You can access the park by cycling or hiring a cycle rickshaw / horse cart.. We did not hire any guides as K had said that the rickshaw drivers are more enthusiastic and quite informative.. They charge 70rs Per hour per cycle rickshaw.. we chose 3 cycle ricks.. Lil P was more interested in driving them herself.. 😉
We spent nearly 5 leisurely hours inside the park.. the only sounds were the chitter chatter and playful squawks of the birds Keoladeo National Park.. We saw many birds…
Jungle Bush-Quail
Indian Peafowl
Lesser Whistling Duck
Ruddy Shelduck
Spot-billed Duck
Eurasian Wigeon
Asian Openbill
Black-necked Stork
Woolly-necked Stork
Painted Stork
Indian Black Ibis
Little Egret
Purple Heron
Grey Heron
Indian Pond Heron
Indian Cormorant
Brahminy Kite
Crested Serpent Eagle
Shikra
Common Moorhen
Sarus Crane
River Lapwing
Yellow-wattled Lapwing
Spotted-necked Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Spotted Owlet
Indian Roller
Common Hoopoe
White-throated Kingfisher
Indian Grey Hornbill
Brown-headed Barbet
Indian Pitta
Black Drongo
Rufous Treepie
Jungle Crow
Jungle Babbler
Pied Starling
Pied Bushchat
Purple Sunbird
Yellow Wagtail
Red-headed Bunting
In the middle of it all, at the canteen wash basin, a golden wasp bit Lil p in the middle of her forehead.. she screamed n screamed n it was dark ..I don’t know how, but I did not panic. Just picked her up and ran out of the rest room.. We were in the middle of the forest.. almost 10 kms away from the main gate.. I had no cream with me and Lil P has a big list of things she is allergic to. It was freaking crazy.. There was a foreigner couple and the lady had a lotion of pure aloe. She quickly applied it and Lil p calmed down after some time.. The ranger told me that normally they quickly heat up a key (anything metal / iron) and apply to the bite.. it leaves a mark but cures instantly.. since Lil P was small and it was her face, they were at a loss too.. Thankfully it was non poisonous & lil p did not develop any allergies [ I did give her alerid as soon as we reached the room tho] … This episode has instilled a new fear of all insects in Lil P. Tip #1 – carry alerid, insect repellent, aloe / lacto calamine lotion with you at all times.. be careful of dark watery washrooms as it attracts wasps.
Coming back to the birds, Sorry, I don’t have many pics.. its awfully difficult to capture birds with a 200mm Lens.. But there were so many and so pretty n chirpy.. it lifted our moods. A MUST visit with older kids..
Do u see the lone duck – its the brahminy duck — an interesting fact ( don’t know the validity) these birds are always found in pairs during the day but are alone at night.. apparently the male n female were making such a sound that it disturbed a rishi who cursed them that they would be together during the day but always separated at night.. so sad.
Some special pics –
Once we were back to our rooms, it was 6.30Pm and time to attend the mehendi function at K’s Home..
Coming up next – Agra
That episode with Lil’P must have been very scary!! Glad she wasn’t hurt badly.
And those special pics are acutally very special. Such wodneful clicks I must say!!!
And I went Sigh! @ the mehndi. I wanna get one too….:(
WOW! the forest is beautiful..and so many birds…I havent even heard the names of half of them in the list..how did you remember *Gasp*
Glad to hear lil’P was fine after that
the Mehendi is goregeous..though I am not much of a mehendi person..dont have the patience for it 🙂
and loved that photo with Lil’P driving the cycle and you sitting on it 🙂
@R’s mom : hehe. I wrote them down when the guide pointed them out..
@RS: 🙂 u should check my hubby’s friends website – to really see what bird photography is about..
@Smita: I Love mehendi too 🙂 I guess we were lucky to be at the rt place at the rt time..
Thank God! Lil’P is fine.
The pictures of the birds are super-the catching of prey and eagle eating mouse-and you say that you couldnt capture well?!
Wedding mehendis are always so beautiful and thats the only time I think even I had the patience to sit without moving 🙂
Beautiful pics…loved the Mehendi click. Good God, Lil P is fine… It must’ve been a gr8 trip:)
phew! good Lil’P is fine and you were able to manage!
The pics look great!
@Deepa:It was wonderful 🙂 Lil p is fine now.. she still has a bite mark on her forehead but its healed well.
@vidya : I really thank my stars for the kind couple ..
lovely pictures
Wow… The birds look lovely… Beautiful snaps…the mehendi looks beautiful as well…
Oh how we wud luv to visit Bharathpur. Hope that happens soon 🙂
Luv the captures, the predator-prey one is classic!
And mehandi-clad hands and feet – I so luv them 🙂
Ohhh my gosh Wat a brilliant click sply shikar one…
Wow!! another awesome post.. Loved this series..
In this post.. the brides mehndi.. totally takes my heart away.. Congrats to the newly weds..