Flamingo and Bird watching at Bhigwan near Kumbhargaon, Maharashtra

Quote of the Post: "This place is treat to eyes and heaven for bird watchers and photography lovers." - Quote about Bhigwan near Baramati by Sachin Kumar Gupta

The place is also known as 'Bharatpur of Maharashtra'. If you are bird lover, you are at the right place. The best month to visit Bhigwan, at the backwater of Ujjani Dam built on Bhima River is Nov-Feb, and peak time are Dec and Jan months. People come from all across India to see these migratory birds during the winter. Early morning and evening is the best time for bird watching. Try to reach by 6 or 6:30 strictly, if you really want to see sunrise and listen chirping of beautiful birds.
Morning: 6 A.M. to 10 A.M.
Evening: 3 P.M. to 6 P.M.

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Birds Collage

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Group Flight Mode

Best time for getting some nice and unique shots is early morning as sunlight doesn't disturb the camera lens at this time of the day. Although we knew all of this but sleep took the priority over photography and we started bit late in the morning i.e. by 6:00, and saw sunrise on our way to Bhigwan. Luckily we got to see few birds flocking in the morning itself. 

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Painted Stork Flight Mode

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Single Birds

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Single Flight Mode

Bhigwan is 100 km away from Pune, approx 60 km from Satara, and approx 100 km from Solapur. The place is also known as 'Kumbhargaon Bird Sanctuary'. We reached a point where very few cars were parked. There are two main famous points - Kranti Flamingo Point, and Agnipankha Flamingo Point, which offer boating services, accommodation, and overnight packages too. One can also opt for overnight stay in lakeside tents. I got to know that Kranti Flamingo Point India is registered to Maharastra Tourism in 2014 under MTDC Bhigwan. Boat service varies from 10-20 people, ranging 100 INR to 200 INR per person depending upon the location from where you start. Watching sunrise and sunset over the lake from boat would surely be a wonderful experience.
As against the earlier plan, we reached to a less crowded place, parked near the bridge and headed for photography with our armor - Nikon D5100 and Canon :) We started taking few snaps of birds flying over the bridge. At the same time few birds were flocking from one end to another. There are many locals who offer boating for 2-4 hours. We booked a boat with a local person from this place only. We also luckily got a team of 3 people who knew a lot about birds, their features, habitats, and more. They were more than the guide to us. They were even discussing and explaining which ones were male, and which female. We didn't follow other boats and went ahead to chase idle and undisturbed birds. Try to avoid Saturday and Sunday as because of crowd, birds fly quite far off at times. If you are a bird watcher, go in small group and maintain silence to enjoy treat to eyes. Its really bird heaven on earth for those!

One of the main attraction is to adore pink greater flamingos. We kept moving till the point we finally had glance of flamingos. At few points our boat-rower had to drag the boat standing in the water. We were lucky that flamingos didn't fly off by that time. We were so close to flamingos that we could take reflection images of flamingos too but all were sleepy heads by then. One thing to observed that flamingos stood on one leg and slept in a very unique manner. My Nikon D5100 with 55-300 mm lens were good enough to capture few of the flamingos. Flamingos were so lazy that they were rarely moving their neck. We waited for long for their movements to get different posture photographs. Go for higher range cameras, if you wish to take more closer photographs. We saw many people having bigger cameras and binoculars for long distance bird watching. Many people rent bigger lenses for this purpose. 'Patience' is the key, which will help you take good photographs.

Out of all the birds, I like Painted Stork the most, and they were my main models for the day. I had many reflection and flight mode images of different birds. I created few birds collages as shown above. We saw many birds, few of them were:
Asian open-bill stork
Bar headed goose
Black-crowned night heron
Black-winged stilt
Bronze-winged Jacana
Brown Crake
Common Pochard
Eurasian Spoonbill
Eurasian wigeon
Forest Wagtail
Garganey
Glossy ibis
Greater Flamingo
Green Sandpiper
Grey Heron
Grey Wagtail
Indian Pond Heron
Knob Billed Duck
Little Egrets
Northern Pintails
Northern Shoveler
Painted Stork
Pheasant Tail Jacana
Purple Swamp Hen
Red-naped ibis
Ruddy Shelduck
Small Pratincole
Spot-billed duck
The cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis)
The demoiselle crane (Koonj)
The Eurasian coot
The little cormorant
White Breasted Waterhen
White Wagtail
Wood Sandpiper
Woolly Necked Stork etc (go on and on..)

Boating in itself was fun and worth, and chasing birds adds more fun, if you really have patience. Many of the birds were seen swimming in open water or walking across waterside grasslands. Many a places the color of grass was a mix of green, light red, yellow, brown while having sunlight and cloud shadows on it. Few other smaller birds can also seen flying at time to time like Kingfisher etc. Few of them were found in small groups. A few of them were spotted romancing and a few were busy catching fishes and insects with their long beaks. Many boatmen threw fishes in the water to attract more birds nearby.
I just can't believe that we have such an amazing place to visit near Pune. It is really a paradise for a variety of native and migratory birds around the picturesque lake. Do visit before they leave i.e. before mid March. Hope to come again and chase birds during sunset.

Read More

Morning Walk to Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary and Boat Trip to Lake Vembanad, Kottayam, Kerala

"Whatever the occasion be, honeymoon, wedding, birthday, anniversary, leisure, or just a big 'Thank You', a truly memorable holiday destination that makes the perfect gift for any occasion." - Quote about Kumarakom, Kottayam in "God's own country - Kerala" - By Sachin Kumar Gupta.

Kumarakom Kottayam Sightseeing

Kumarakom is a serene, emerald green peninsula set in the backdrop of Vembanad Lake which is dotted with numerous traditional houseboats, rice boats, rafts and canoes. This backwater spot is abundant with flora and fauna, being especially rich in marine life. It took us 2 hours to reach Kumarakom after Kochi sightseeing. A wide variety of places to visit in Kumarakom spanning genres as diverse as nature, religious, and historic attractions make Kumarakom tourist places really memorable. Popular well known attractions include Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Aruvikkuzhi Waterfall, and Juma Masjid, Vembanad Lake and Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple.

We had our amazing stay at Vivanta by Taj for 2 days, which was the small world in itself with lots of events and activities. We also enjoyed Thiruvathira and Bharathanatyam dances and instrumental Karnatic music on the Baker's house lagoon front. During our stay we also had short houseboat trip next day. Boating through Vembanad lake is the main sightseeing activity for a tourist to kumarakom. Vembanad lake ( Kayal/Kol) is the longest lakes in India and the largest in Kerala. It is connected to Arabian sea. This lake is known in many names according to its location, In Alleppey area it is known as Punnamada lake in Alleppey-Kuttanad, Kochi lake in Kochi. Pathiramanal Island is a small island in Vembanad Lake, easily reachable through boat.

 

At Kumarakom Government Jetty point, People can book a houseboat for a day cruise from 11am to 5 pm which includes a welcome drink, lunch and evening tea and snacks. Day cruise is better for the family, groups & those who don't like to stay in the houseboat compared to overnight stay package at less cost. We booked a overnight stay at backwaters of Alleppey for next day. Different types of boats offers different services at Kumarakom Government Jetty and nearby places.

Houseboats are good for a relaxing vacation for a day or two.
Motor boats are fast, cheaper, and can accommodate up to 80 persons.
Shikkara boats are traditional open canoe like country boat, the maximum capacity is 6 prersons.
Speed boats are for short faster trip but little expensive as per trip-time.

 

Kumarakom Bird Santuary: sometimes referred as Vembanad Bird Sanctuary.

Entry fee: 50 INR per person for Indian, 100 INR for foreigners.
Timings: All days of the week 6:30 AM - 5:00 PM

We had morning walk to this place which was just next to Taj Kumarakom, Kottayam. This sanctuary is situated on the banks of Vembanad Lake. It is a heavenly place for the travelling birds like Siberian stork, egret, darter, heron and teal. We were welcomed by many beautiful butterfly at entry garden. During the time when we visited, there were only few types of birds specially sea-crows and few other unknown. The overall walk is approx 2 KM one way.

 

You have to reach the watch towers for bird watching before you drop the plan to move further. As from watch towers only you would be able to watch the adobe of birds. It takes 2-3 hours to visit this place. Beyond the sanctuary, one can take a boat ride in Vembanad Lake or along the Kavanar River. Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, (KTDC) which owns the largest chain of hotels in Kerala, including a resort in the middle of the bird sanctuary at Kumarakom, has opened an interpretation center in the bird sanctuary for the visitors.

Read More

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Gurgaon

A VERY VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

If you are bird lover, This is one of the bird paradise to visit near Gurgaon, Delhi. Last year, we had an amazing trip to this bird sanctuary. This is a popular weekend getaway for the people from Delhi NCR. Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary (now Sultanpur National Park) is located in Gurgaon, Haryana, around 15 kms from Gurgaon on Gurgaon - Farukh Nagar Road. At least 250 migratory birds come into the park area during the year, providing an excellent opportunity for bird watching. The park is also named as Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary after famous Indian ornithologist and naturalist to pay tribute to his miscellaneous efforts in natural conservation.

Best time to visit Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary [Dec-Feb]: This is a ideal place for bird lovers, but it depends on the time of your visit. During summers, when temperature reaches upto 45 degrees, mostly water bodies in the park may become dry and this is not a good time to visit at all. In rainy season, the park and surrounding areas remain very green. A good time to see the greenery of the farm fields of Haryana as well as the greenery at this national park. But, the best time to visit this park is in Winter, from October to February, as to find the maximum counts of migratory species in the area. 

Every year during monsoons and winters over hundreds of migratory bird species visit here in search of shelter and food. During the peak season the whole musical aroma of the sanctuary turns chirpful with the presence of migratory birds. Some of the resident and migratory species of birds found in the area are: [Ref: Sanctuary Book, wiki and various sites]

Resident Birds:
Bank Mynah, Black francolin, Black-headed ibis, Black-necked stork, Cattle egret, Common hoopoe, Common Mynah, Common Spoonbill, Crested lark, Eurasian collared dove, Gray Francolin, Great egret, Greater coucal, Green Bee-eater, Indian Cormorant, Indian roller, Laughing dove, Little cormorant, Little egret, Magpie robin, Paddy field pipit, Painted stork, Purple sunbird, Red-collared dove, Red-vented bulbul, Red-wattled lapwing, Rock pigeon, Rose-ringed parakeet, Shikra, Spotbill, Spotted owlet, White ibis, White-throated kingfisher, Weaver bird etc.

Migratory Birds:
Black-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt, Blue-throat and Long-billed Pipit, Common Teal, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Common Greenshank, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Greater Flamingo, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Rosy Pelican, Ruff, Siberian Crane, Spot-billed Pelican, Spotted Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Starling, White Wagtail, Wood Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail.
Summers bring the sanctuary more colorful with about 11 species of migratory birds such as Asian Koel, Black-crowned Night Heron, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Comb duck, CuckoosIndian, Golden Oriole, and Grey heron.

TIPs: Please carry binoculars/high range cams to watch rare birds from top of the towers.
Keep away children from wild life animals in this area, and parents should guide them.
Try to have park clean and clear.

The whole sanctuary area was quite lively and pleasant. The birds here can be easily spotted wading, swimming or flying. We also spotted two beautiful peacocks playing around, but couldn't took proper pics. We spotted many birds in lake area and captured many. There were four watch towers (machans) at different points to watch birds easily. Sultanpur Bird Sactuary has parking, chilren's park and other facilities like toilets and drinking water for visitors. It takes approx 1.5 - 2 hrs to take a full round of Sulanpur Bird Sanctuary on foot. Walking Path marks can be improved with directions and details. We also relaxed and took many photographs and spent approx 4 hrs here. A small trip with friends, family or kids would be a nice experience.

Happy Birds Watching!!!

Read More