My Dream Destination
This was my first real birding trip where I have travelled out of Gujarat with the specific aim of Bird Photography.
Having heard & seen so much about the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, this had become my dream destination. Initially the plan was to travel from Dehradun (for college reunion) but inspite of the Reunion being postponed, I carried on with the Bharatpur trip via Delhi. This was one trip I did not want to miss, and since North India has dense fog in late Dec/Jan, there was no point postponing this trip.
About the Place
Keoladeo National Park or Keoladeo Ghana National Park formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India is a famous avifauna sanctuary that hosts thousands of birds, especially during the winter season. Over 350 species of birds are known to be resident. It was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971. It is also a World Heritage Site.
Keoladeo Ghana National Park is a man-made and man-managed wetland and one of the national parks of India. The reserve protects Bharatpur from frequent floods, provides grazing grounds for village cattle, and earlier was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground. The 29 km2 reserve is locally known as Ghana, and is a mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, woodland swamps and wetlands. These diverse habitats are home to 366 bird species, 379 floral species, 50 species of fish, 13 species of snakes, 5 species of lizards, 7 amphibian species, 7 turtle species and a variety of other invertebrates.
(Source: Wikipedia)
What an Ambience !!
Still waters, Fog, Chilly morning, Jungle, Spotted Deer & the Sun.. what a perfect setting for a photographer !! Take a look at these pictures, which will give the essence of the ambience of the sanctuary. Need i say more ??
Oriental Darter (Poses)
For me, this Bird was the star attraction at Bharatpur. It's such a beautiful bird and gives nice poses for the camera. The design of the feathers are so intricate and beautiful !! I have tried to capture this bird in various scenes. The memory card has the maximum pics of this photogenic bird !!
Oriental Darter (Fishing)
This definitely is the highlight of the trip.
There's a lake in Bharatpur and it's known for Darter Fishing.. usually see 6-7 photographers sitting on the edge of the lake. You need to keep a constant lookout for these birds, camera ready to shoot. Once they dive in, you are not sure where they will pop up. So many shots are missed. It takes max 2 sec for them to gobble the fish. Some of them popped up very close to us.
The pictures are posted in 8 different sequences - Hook it with beak, toss it, and gobble it up.. gulp - all in a matter of seconds.
This was what everyone was waiting for... the BIG FISH !! and fortunately for us, the fish got caught in the beak, and that gave us ample time to click some pictures. Unfortunately, after a long struggle, the bird had to get rid of the fish.
Cormorant Fishing
This was a total surprise. The Indian Cormorants were catching bigger fish than the Darters.
Indian Nightjar
Indian Nightjar.. glowing with the evening sun. This particular bird was in the same pose, same tree for 2 days. Clicked at different angles, and different times - morning & evening.
A nightjar is called a nightjar because of its distinctive cry. It is also called the goatsucker because according to myth it used its big mouths to milk goats at night. These birds are rare and are not easily located by the naked eye. One unique thing about the nightjar which also gives it this name is because during the day they stay camouflaged on the ground and only flies after sundown in an easy silent stealthy way.
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