I am an avid birder with a passion for nature. Hence, I chose to visit Bharatpur district in the state of Rajasthan which is a cradle for a variety of birds for my holidays
It was a six-day trip organised by Mr. Dilip Gupta of Avian birds. A team of eleven including myself and my parents joined the trip with great enthusiasm. To add to the eagerness to learn photography I got a surprise new camera as a gift before the trip.
Day one started off from Coimbatore to Delhi as Bharatpur lies in the border of Uttar Pradesh a four-hour travel from Delhi by road.
We started on Tuesday and landed in Delhi in the night stayed overnight at our national capital and left to Bharatpur on next morning. We had our rooms allotted at the Hotel Sunbird at Bharatpur.
On the same afternoon we visited Fatehpur Sikiri a small town located in the borders of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Walked through the lush green and bright yellow mustard fields to watch the magical pair of Sarus Cranes. It was indeed a sight to behold.
These birds are mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana. The most peaceful and loving couple in the bird species as much as hornbills in the south India. Don’t miss to catch a glimpse of their beauty. They are as tall as 6 feet. Surprising? Yes, sometimes taller than humans but wary of us.
The next day after a hearty breakfast, we left to the Chambal River located in the borders of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Its one of the unpolluted rivers in India with clear waters and abundant wildlife. We got to see the Indian Skimmer bird, Crocodiles with snouts and Red Fox. The Indian Skimmer census was on and we were happy that we were in at that time. The two hours of the boat ride was very satisfying.
The next two days, we set off with a local guide in an E-rickshaw to the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary at Bharatpur located 200 mts from our hotel. We started birding at 6.30 am in the morning to 6 pm until sunset on both the days.
We witnessed a lot of rare birds with their feeding behaviour and learnt a lot about photography aspects like timer shots, canopy shots and shutter speeds for various situations.
It was on the whole a very enriching and enjoyable experience and a physically fit trip too in terms of walking at least 15 kms per day.
We ended the trip by watching the dance of the Sarus Crane at sunset and indeed I was very fortunate to get a glimpse of it in our very first visit itself.
The trip threw a lot of insights of how fortunate we are in our comfortable life styles as compared to the rural dwellers in those parts of our country.
We flew back to Coimbatore from Delhi after having some fun during our travel time. Now its time to get back to the routine with memories to be cherished forever and with a thankful attitude for such trips and looking forward to such trips in future as and when I get a holiday.
