Bharatpur Revisited

On my way back from Ranthambore, I had a one day stop at Bharatpur before I got back to Delhi. With the road from Lalsot to Dausa being pretty bad and an unscheduled stop at Balaji, managed to get to Bharatpur only in the noon. There was of course a lot more water there this time. Due to the escaped tiger from Ranthambore some of the routes deeper in were closed. I had found quite a few raptors on that side last year and pythons were also more commonly found there so I was a little disappointed but the increase in birds more than made up for it.

Spending the remaining part of the day and another entire day there was a very different experience from last year. With many more water-birds, it was possible to see nesting and fishing. Pick of the day being a purple heron catching a frog. Some of the older roosting spots for the owls that I found last year had moved but did see a few collared Scops owls and spotted owlets. On the other hand, the mammals had gone in deeper. Did spot a jungle cat hunting in the late evening but the multitudes of jackals, boar and deer seemed a little less visible unlike last year. Also with the water level being what it was, getting closer to the birds was also not as viable.

On the brighter side though the reptiles really were out due to the cold. Managed to spot a huge python and quite a few monitor lizards (one full grown one was always found near the canteen basking near a pile of wood). Mongoose were also active. In between Sapanmori and the temple, at a small junction, a common kingfisher was always changing perches and nearby a painted stork would always be found with a catfish in the mouth, marsh harriers were always present and did see a honey buzzard and a common hawk cuckoo. As for the water-birds, along with the usual storks and herons there were black bitterns, comb ducks, whistling ducks, shovelers, grebes, gueese and of course a few sarus cranes as well.

Came back again after a couple of days with Sandeep. This time with lesser time on my hands and a guide instead. He of course managed to show us a lot more. Grey and large tailed nightjars, a dusky eagle owl, and others. On the last day morning he took us to a nearby field where sarus cranes would come down to feed and there we saw them dance and call. Other birds outside the park were Egyption vultures and a painted snipe. In the park, we saw a Siberian ruby throat, a spotted eagle and a few flycatchers.