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Day
1 : Arrive Ahmedabad from Delhi (arrival will depend on the fog). Drive to
Periej Lake on the Kheda-Khambatt Highway. This is a very interesting birding
drive along flooded fields and reservoirs during which you are likely to see Saras
Cranes, get close-views of Bronze-winged and Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, Purple and
Indian Moorhen, Painted and Openbill Storks, Nakta Comb Duck, Spotbilled Duck,
Purple Heron, etc, and also get to see passerines.
Day 2 Drive
down to Dasada near the edge of the Little Rann of Kutch, about 2 hours from Ahmedabad
on a route passing wetlands like the Viramgam Lake. Arrive at lunchtime and watch
birds that come into Rann Riders, which has a pond and a nice garden. Visit interesting
sites nearby where threatened bird species like the Sociable Lapwing and Saras
Crane have been seen recently.
Day 3. Morning and evening Safaris
in the Little Rann of Kutch. Among the mammals of the Rann other than the wild
ass, there are chances of seeing nilgai, chinkara gazelle, white-footed desert
and Indian foxes, the wolf, jungle cat (occasionally also desert cat), pale and
long-eared hedgehogs and hareCrested and Sykes larks, Oriental skylark, bimaculated
lark, greater short-toed lark, singing and Indian bushlarks, ashy-crowned and
black-crowned sparrow-larks, are likely sightings and greater hoopoe lark is possible.
Desert and variable wheatears, southern grey, long-tailed, rufous-tailed and bay-back
shrike, common woodshrike are also likely sightings and the desert warbler is
among the many winter visiting warblers. We will also look for chestnut-bellied
and spotted sandgrouse, Indian courser (cream-coloured visits occasionally), quails,
yellow-legged and barred buttonquails, grey francolin, wryneck, brown-rock chat,
pied bushchat, rufous-tailed scrub robin, blue-headed rock thrush, black redstart
and buntings in the scrubby areas. At sunset, it is possible to watch marsh, Montagu
and pallid harriers, aquila eagles, falcons and buzzards heading for their roosting
sites.
Day 4 : Morning birding at Nawa Talao lake where demmossile
and common cranes gather in large flocks during the winter months. Greater and
lesser flamingo are seen in large numbers as are great white pelican with spotbilled
and dalmatian recorded. Painted, openbill, wooly-necked, white, black and black-necked
stork could be seen as also black, glossy and black-headed ibis. Northern pintail,
common teal, spot-billed duck, mallard, gadwall, wigeon, garganey, shoveler, cotton
pygmy goose, pochards, tufted duck, lesser whistling duck, brahminy and comb duck
are among the many visitors to the lake. Waders include pratincoles, lapwings,
sandpipers, ruff and other birds in good numbers. Depart for Bhuj, about six hours
from Dasada on a route passing agricultural fields, lakes and a creek that can
offer good bird viewing. After lunch and rest, visit the city-centre lake for
birding.
Day 5 : Drive to the Banni Grasslands bordering
the Great Rann of Kutch. Lying on one of India's most important avian highways
(both the birds flying from the {Palae-arctic southward in winter and the few
species migrating eastward from the middle-east and Africa stopover in this area),
this is a top site for birding with waterfowl congregations at Charri Fulay lake,
grassland and scrubland birds, as also characteristic desert species seen in the
vicinity. This is also one of India's most likely sites for Grey Hypocolius. Tawny
and Bonneli's Eagle breed in the area, and there are good-sized roosts of aquila
eagles. Chinkara or Indian Gazelle and desert rodents are easily seen and wolf,
hyena and desert cat are possible sightings. Stay at CEDO Camp run by qualified
zoologists who have worked on bird study projects in the area.
Day
6 : Day excursion to Lala Bustard Sanctuary. One of 10 best sites in India
for the Great Indian Bustard, this sanctuary is good for watching larks, chats,
sandgrouse, etc. The Stoliczka's Bush Chat and White-naped Tit are globally threatened
species that could be seen, and this is also a good site for viewing Marshall's
Iora, Syke's Crested Lark, White-bellied Minivet and Black Francolin. Chinkara,
Nilgai antelope, Indian Wolf, Indian and White-footed Desert Foxes, Jackal are
possible sightings, and Ratel has been seen. The coastal creeks to the north of
the sanctuary are good for close-views of flamingoes, herons, egrets.
Day 7: Drive to Jamnagar, about eight hours from the CEDO camp. Evening
visit to salt pans around Jamnagar and the city-centre Lakhota lake for good views
of flamingos, pelicans, gulls, terns, ducks and waders.
Day
8 : Drive 2hours west from Jamnagar to Narara Island, one of India's best
sites for Crab-plover. Kentish plover, oystercatcher, ruddy turnstone, broad-billed
sandpiper, sanderling, dunlin, curlew sandpiper, black-headed gull, Pallas' gull,
temmincks stint, lesser-crested tern, gull-billed tern, common tern, little tern,
black-bellied tern, whiskered tern, whiskered tern, darters, western reef egret
and other birds can be watched at the mudflats. Wading in the tidal zone during
the low tide hours can also be productive to watch tropical coral reef fauna like
octopus, brittle star, sea cucumber, sponges, etc.
Day 9
:Morning visit to the Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, a short drive from Jamnagar. This
is a possible site for Indian Skimmer and a likely site for Black-necked Stork.
A variety of waterfowl and waterside birds can be watched at this wetland sanctuary.
Return to Hotel for breakfast and then drive to Charakhla where there are salt
pans and shrimp breeding centres. The saline water rich in shrimps attract thousands
of flamingo, hundreds of white pelicans, huge flocks of black-necked and great-crested
grebe, etc.
Day 10. . Drive down to Gondal. See the palaces and
other attractions. In the evening visit Veri and Gondal town lakes for birding.
Overnight in Orchard Palace
Day 11: Morning drive in the Umbalida
grasslands around Gondal. This is a very good site for quails, larks, pipits and
prinias. Depart after breakfast for Gir via historic Junagadh. Evening mini-bus
tour of the Gir Interpretation Zone at Devaliya. While this is a very crowded
area of Gir, the mini-bus tour can yield good vulture sightings. Red-headed and
Egyptian Vultures are often seen. Stay at Gir Birding Lodge set in fruit orchards
along the sanctuary walls. Birds come into the orchard from the forest and there
is a pleasant 10 minute walk to a nearby river which can be good for bird-and-butterfly
spotting. Three species of quail, White-eye and prinias are seen on this little
stretch.
Day 12: Enjoy the morning and evening game drives in
Gir National Park. A tapestry of dry deciduous forests, acacia scrub and grassland,
fed by rivers and reservoirs, Gir is the last abode of the Asiatic lion and has
a thriving population of panther (leopard), sambar, chital (spotted deer), nilgai
(blue bull antelope) and wild boar. Gir is also one of the major habitats of chousingha
(the world's only four-horned antelope) and chinkara (Indian gazelle) that are
hard to spot in the teak forests along the game drive trails.
Among the
many birds of Gir are changeable hawk eagle, crested serpent eagle, Bonneli's
eagle, shaheen peregrene falcon, laggar falcon, shikra, painted sandgrouse, quails,
black-hooded and golden oriels, marshall's and common iora, Asian paradise flycatcher,
tickell's blue, red-throated, verditer and Asian brown flycatchers, yellow-crowned,
brown-capped pygmy, black-rumped flameback woodpeckers, green and blue-cheeked
bee-eaters, coppersmith barbet, common, lesser pied and white-throated kingfisher,
blossom-headed parakeet, hoopoe, black, ashy and white-bellied drongos, rufous
treepie, large cuckoo shrike, small minivet, red-vented and white-eared bulbul,
tawny-bellied, yellow-eyed, jungle and large grey babblers, grey-breasted, ashy,
rufous-fronted, plain, jungle and graceful prinias, zitting cisticola, clamorous
reed-warbler, booted warbler, greenish warbler, lesser and Hume's warbler, orphean
warbler and blyth's reed warbler. Palla's Fish Eagle is sometimes seen at the
water bodies.
Day 13 Drive to Bhavnagar, about 5 1/2 hours from
. This city is very productive for birding. Walk in the Victoria Park where drongos,
treepies, ioras, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Fantails, Paradise Flycatcher and other
birds can be seen, and along the embankments of Gaurishankar Lake for waterfowl
viewing. The Pill Gardens is an important breeding area for Painted Storks and
the port areas for Western Reef Egret.
Day 14: Drive to
Velavadar National Park. Known for its large blackbuck antelope population, Velavadar
is also one of the few places where the wolf is proliferating in India though
they are rarely seen in the daylight. Jackal, jungle cat and hare are more easily
seen and Indian fox on the periphery. Sirkeer malkoha, painted francolin, chestnut-bellied
and spotted sandgrouse, rufous-tailed, crested and sykes' larks, red-rumped swallows,
desert and variable wheatears and other birds are seen and many raptors visit
specially short-toed snake eagle, imperial, steppe, tawny, greater and lesser
spotted eagles, laggar falcon, hobby, common kestrel, red-necked falcon, peregrine
falcon, white-eyed and long-legged buzzard, black-shouldered kite, shikra, Eurasian
sparrow-hawk and occasionally northern goshawk. Rarities include the Stoilczka's
bushchat. In the evening, witness a massive roost of montagu, pallid and marsh
harrier.
Day 15 : Drive around Velavadar National Park or
Bhavnagar for birding.
Day 16 : Drive to Rajpipla, about seven
hours from Velavadar National Park and visit nearby dams on the Narmada and Karjan
Rivers for birding.
Day 17 : Drive to Malsamot hill in Shoolpaneshwar
Wildlife Sanctuary, a well-known area for eagles and forest birds.
Day 18 : Drive to Ahmedabad, about three hours from Rajpipla. Evening visit
the Thol Bird Sanctuary, about 30 minutes from Ahmedabad.
Day 19.
: Fly to Delhi. If you take the evening flight, Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary about
2hours from Ahmedabad is possible in the morning.
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