Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary, Gujarat
 During my trip to the Gir and Rann of Kutch last December, I stopped by the Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary in Gujarat and realized the specialty of this place. In less than an hour I had documented sighting at least over fifty birds of which nearly twenty were winter visitors. Most of which I hadn’t even seen before. I met a forty year old bird watcher and guide named “Kasim” who guided me towards some nice spots then and kept in touch with me ever since. He kept on persuading me to visit Nalsarovar in the month of May and in the last few weeks his pressure was not ignorable. He reported to me about the presence of thousands of Flamingos in Nalsarovar and I would miss them if I didn’t act immediately as the monsoons were already eyeing the area. I flew towards Ahmedabad for a 3 day trip to “Nalsarovar” and the “Thol Bird Sanctuary” near by.
 My driver was ready to pick me up from the airport and within an hour I reached the Gujarat Tourism guest house just outside Nalsarovar. As it was 12:30 AM on Saturday, I just went to bed immediately in order to be ready for the flamingo treat the next morning. Even with an air-conditioned room, I chose to sleep on the floor which was relatively cooler next to the A/C. Regular power cuts drove me outside my room and I found some solace on the terrace of my room. Kasim was prompt and punctual as usual and he woke me up at 5:30 in the morning. I had just graduated to a Canon 600mm f4 lens and hadn’t even clicked a single shot. I was telling myself, the first session is going to be interesting and would have to keep an eye on a lot of things as it was my debut shoot with this new setup.
 Just next to the edge of Nalsarovar, hundreds of Flamingos were busy feeding and we slowly walked towards Kasim’s boat. Nalsarovar is a humongous wet land of approximately 120 sq kms. Being the largest wetland bird sanctuary in Gujarat, Nalsarovar is one of the largest in India too. Nalsarovar harbors a variety of flora and fauna. Thousands of migratory waterfowls flock to Nal just after the monsoon. The shallow area and ponds on the outer fringes of the lake attract the wading birds that feed in the shallow waters. The area supports more than 210 species of birds besides a few mammalian species including the endangered wild ass and the blackbuck.
  Kasim, made me sit in the boat with my equipment and started pushing the boat walking in the shallow water. It seemed like a rigorous effort but he explained to me that it was easier for him to do it this way due to the shallow water. Other boatmen use a lengthy pole and push the boat in the shallow water. This doesn’t work well for photography as the pole and its movement scares the birds sooner. Within minutes we approached a flock of lesser flamingos and I got some pictures of multiple individuals in the frame. Even at a focal length of 840mm, photographing one individual is a tough job as they are extremely sensitive to movement and humans. The flamingos started walking away from the approaching boat and once we increased the pace, they would take off like continuous surface to air missiles. The beauty of watching them take off after a few leaps in the water is a mesmerizing sight. Usually one member who thinks the strangers are approaching too close takes the initiative of rushing and the others follow without any delay.
  Flamingos, flamingos and flamingos were the highlight of the lake. I thought at least twenty thousand individuals could have been present in one particular area where at least five hundred were lesser and the rest were the greater flamingos. The black-winged stilt was one of the most common residents of the area apart from the flamingos and they were the noisiest ones too. When ever people approached the tiny islets of grass, the stilts went mad trying to protect their young ones and eggs. Being ground nesting birds, they are very aggressive and they form a group to try to chase away the intruders.
 During this time, the variety of birds present was not much but there was hardly any open space around with too many individuals to accommodate. Hundreds of Painted storks, Asian open-bill storks, lesser whistling teals, Grebes, Black-winged Stilts, River terns and numerous Purple moorhen formed a great avian force.
  The next morning, I realized if I had to get closer shots of the flamingos, I would have to conceal myself in a hide and let them approach me. I had borrowed a tent from a friend and I setup a nice hide on the edge of the lake. For at least an hour, I had seen nothing pass by my hide and it was a test of my patience. Gradually I started hearing the Black-winged stilts approach my hide and after checking on the new construction around, they allowed their immature and young to cross by the hide. At least five chicks came as close as 20 feet and they started feeding. Sitting in one place I got plenty of stilt action. Within a few minutes the extremely shy purple moorhen also crossed by posing for the lens.
 After near two hours of waiting, one lesser flamingo landed as close as 200 feet away from the hide. And I realized there could be more to come. Within minutes the number increased to 50 and soon they started walking towards the hide. Enjoying the rare opportunity of seeing them up close, I photographed plenty of shots. How ever, the nearest they got to the hide was 50 feet and they crossed the area cautiously. Their landing and take off exercises were a treat to watch and their constant calls are still echoing in my ears. I was fortunate to get a few decent shots of them at a relatively closer distance than before.
 In the evening, Kasim and I along with his eldest son Ramzan, headed towards the rear end of the park and I was spell bound to see at least ten thousand great flamingos assemble. I didn’t spot even a single lesser flamingo on that occasion. They looked like an army of soldiers in white and pink walking across the shallow waters. Meanwhile, Ramzan requested me to give him a break as he wanted to perform the “Namaz”. His dedication was impeccable and I was told he never misses a prayer. We found a tiny islet which could accommodate him and we parked the boat next to it. While he performed the namaz, Kasim and I were busy watching the abundant greater flamingos.
 It started getting dark and the sky was getting painted in amazing colors. My stay in Nalsarovar was about to end but not before some spectacular sights of the colorful sky and the flocks of birds that flew across. The sun would set at 7:45PM on that occasion and we enjoyed every bit of the large landscape getting painted in flamboyant colors.
 The next morning, Kasim and I drove towards the “Thol” bird sanctuary and I was hoping to sight my first “Sarus Crane”. I hadn’t even dreamt that hardly 20 minutes away from Nalsarovar, I would spot a family of 4 cranes with two juveniles. They were at least 400 feet away and I struggled a lot to keep myself low and stalk them with the heavy lens and tripod. I could approach them as close as a hundred feet. They sensed my intrusion and started making calls. Gradually they decided to flee and took off making cloud calls. I was fortunate to have sighted them so close and was satisfied with an ordinary photograph of them. A separate trip just to watch the Sarus cranes and photograph them is necessary. They are an amazing species.
  Thol, reminded me of the Karanji Lake in Mysore. Photography in Thol was clearly not easy, as there was no means to commute inside the lake. Boats were absent and I had to walk across the shallow water. Though I could see a pair of Sarus Cranes in the distance and plenty of flamingos, I didn’t venture in to the photography mode over here. After watching a couple of cattle egrets pester the buffalo around I got back towards Ahmedabad.
 While we were driving, a herd of Black buck was resting on the open fields and I was happy to sight them after a gap of six months. Stalking towards them hiding behind the thorny vegetation, I got a couple of pictures of them. I was amazed by their sense lf smell. I was sure they couldn’t see me but they realized someone was approaching them. They fled within a minute. While I was getting back to the car on the main road, I was surprised by a couple of nilgais which ran across the field. Unable to bear the heat and humidity, I was dieing to get back to shade.
 Nalsarovar attracts hundreds of migratory birds after the monsoons every year. A visit to the place during winter can be quite happening. Nalsarovar today faces a lot of problems. Poaching of birds is one big issue here as not much of protection is currently provided. I could see tractors and trucks filling in sand from the shore, fishermen adopting various means to not only fish but also capture birds for meat. I also heard stories of birds being poached to be sold etc.
While people like Kasim and others have great dreams for the place, I surely saw there was scope to do a lot of great things for this heaven.
While many NGOs stake claim for what ever little work that has happened, i feel the need for a herculean task to happen to see this place thrive in the years to come.
Wishing success to this wonderful bird sanctuary of Gujarat.
Click here for Photographs
Birds and Mammals Sighted:
Cattle Egret, (Bubulcus ibis)
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)
Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Little Tern (Sternula albifrons)
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybridus)
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)
Common Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)
Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
River Tern (Sterna aurantia)
Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)
Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)
Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicata)
Common Babbler (Turdoides caudatus)
Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striatus)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)
Terrapins
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia)
Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica)
Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)
Green bee eater (Merops Orientalis)
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
Common myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)
White-winged Black Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)
Eastern Reef Egret (Egretta sacra)
Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)
Greater Painted Snipe (Rostratula benghalensis)
Sangrouse
Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)
Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
Sarus Crane (Grus antigone)
Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus)
Bank Myna (Acridotheres ginginianus)
Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris)
Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus)
Brahminy Starling (Sturnus pagodarum)
_________________
Cheers,
Jayanth Sharma
jay@wildlifetimes.com
Last edited by Jayanth Sharma on Tue Jul 17, 2007 2:32 pm; edited 4 times in total |
