From a duck hunting ground for the Royals (sadly so!!) under British Raj to a World Heritage Site in 1985, Keoladeo Ghana National Park (KGNP) in Bharatpur, Rajasthan has seen many cycles of migratory birds fly in and out. It is because of the efforts of India’s legendary ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali that this place became a protected sanctuary in 1956 and a National Park in 1982. KGNP thrives today as a welcoming host to birds from different locations. When the birds arrive so do the nature enthusiasts who love and enjoy their company.
KGNP, spread over 29 sq. kms, is one of the most beautiful sanctuaries for migratory birds who land here during winter months of December to February. It is home to 400+ species of birds and 40+ species of mammals. There are no wild animals making it a different experience from other Tiger centric National Parks where jeep safaris are necessary. There were many options to explore KGNP like bicycle, eRickshaw, boat ride, walking tours. It was heartening to see children learning about birds and enjoying themselves. Many serious bird photographers spent hours together at various spots waiting to capture their favourite birds’ actions. I met two such guys who arrived at a particular spot at 7am and were waiting for 5 hours for the Sarus Cranes to perform their famous courtship dance, which unfortunately didn’t happen!
At the hotel gate, while searching for a guide I was approached by an eRickshaw owner Sardar Man Singh ji, a 65-year-old energetic man. I wasn’t sure if he was a guide too, so asked him, “aapko birds ke baare mein pata hai? (hope you know about birds?)“. He brushed aside my polite enquiry with a confident reply, “45 saal se guide hoon. Salim Sir ke sath bhi kaam kiya hai (I have experience of 45 years and have worked with Salim Sir).” I didn’t ask any further question and the decision was correct. During our tour, he would stop the eRickshaw to locate the birds, explain their characteristics, answer our questions, drive around the park to reach the right spot and narrate stories from his experience. He quickly realized that I have interest in photography and suggested camera angles to me. Sometimes he was unhappy with my shooting position, pulled me to the right spot and advised, “Yeh picture yahan se lo! (Shoot from here!)“. It was indeed a memorable learning session with him.
Nature offers life-long memorable moments. I too found my story of this tour. Snake Bird Darter has a unique way to catch a fish. It dives into the lake water from a spot and after about 30-45 secs emerges from a very different spot with or without its prey. If it finds one then it tosses the fish up in the air and gulps it down the throat. Other birds keep a close watch and try to snatch the fish when it is tossed up in the air. I made several attempts to capture this sequence but was mostly unsuccessful to anticipate from where the Darter would emerge out of water. Just when I decided to move on, a White Breasted Kingfisher flew in and rested on a branch about 10 feet away. It looked straight at me as if asking for a photo-shoot. I accepted the invitation. After a while it flew away but returned with an insect in its long beak and started showing-off its prize catch. After some more posing it flew away to attack another fish just tossed up by a Darter. I had a good laugh and felt reassured that Nature will always hold my hand and inspire me to keep going on…
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