Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

Location : In the north Indian state of Rajasthan.
Major Places to See : Resident and migratory birds.
Other Places to Visit :Bharatpur Govenment Museum, Bharatpur Palace, Lohagarh Fort, Deeg Palace..
Nearby Tourist Destinations : Jaipur, Alwar, Ajmer, Shekhawati, Delhi, Agra.
Best Time to Visit : October to March.

Suggested Itinerary : Bird Watching Tour | North India Wildlife

The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary of Rajasthan is one of the highlights of North India and Golden Triangle Tours for bird lovers. The diverse avifauna of the place include thousands of rare and endangered birds that include both indigenous species and the migratory birds who use it as a favorite haunt during their long flights. The rare Siberian Cranes have chosen the place as their second favorite place to descend and spend some time during migration in winters. This sanctuary is now known as Keoladeo Ghana National Park and is a major tourist attraction of Rajasthan wildlife tours. Declared a World Heritage Site, Keoladeo National Park is a paradise for ornithologists who come here in the migratory season to study over 300 bird species that have been spotted here.

The wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary at Bharatpur was founded about 250 years ago. Situated near Ajan Dam, situated at the confluence of Banganga and Gambhir rivers, Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary gets its name from the main deity of Lord Shiva in the ancient Hindu temple situated within its premises. Once the royal hunting ground of the Maharajas of Bharatpur, it was famous for duck shoots and hunting down other birds. British viceroys and high officials enjoyed several gaming parties here that were organized by the imperials of the princely state. The legend says that Lord Linlithgow, then Governor General of India, shot as many as 4,273 birds at one go here that included mallards and teals.

Keoladeo was declared a protected area ever since 1982, when government banned shooting and grazing in the area, despite tough resistance of the local communities. Besides Siberian Cranes, other prized birds that have been spotted at Keoladeo include coots, ruddy shelducks, gulls, garganey, northern shovelers, tufted ducks, northern pintails, and common pochard. North India has dry deciduous forests that are well known among international tourists for unique flora and fauna species. The Keoladeo National Park might be known as one of the finest bird parks in the world but it is also home to terrestrial fauna too such as Nilgai, Boar, Sambar, and Chital that can be seen roaming around in the greenery while migratory and other birds can mostly be seen in and around water.

You can capture birds playing in water or nestling amongst high branches of the trees and listen to their sweet melodious sounds. Sprawled across 29 sq km, Bharatpur bird sanctuary has nearly 11 sq km of marshland and rest of its scrubland and grassland. The ‘Ghana’ in the Keoladeo Ghana National Park refers to ‘dense forest cover’, which is not there anymore. The Bharatpur Lake cuts out a pretty picture with its unique system to monitor water level in the area and to save the region from being flooded. Small dams, sluice gates, and dykes here have made the place one of the best wetland preserves of the world.

Numerous migratory birds from as far away as Central Asia and Siberia stop here. Children and foreign tourists love the long walks, cycling and rickshaw rides in the shady avenues of the Bharatpur National Park with long shot cameras and binoculars and see popular birds such as Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Cranes, Pelicans, Geese, Shanks, Wheatears, Flycatchers, Buntings, Stints, Wagtails, Warblers, Larks and Pipits. August to November is the ideal time to explore the forest trails of the place to see resident breeding birds while October to February is time to spot migratory birds.

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