Bharatpur is one of the best bird sanctuaries in India and may be one of the best in the world! Like every other town in India, even Bharatpur has a spectacular history. On one of the days during our stay in the resort, the resort owner resort narrated the history of the beautiful place. Bharatpur was once a secured, fortified capital of the kingdom ruled by the Jats.

Located at a distance of 56 kilometers west of Agra, Bharatpur is also the “land of lakes” as I call it! Land of lakes, because of the most famous Keoladeo Ghana National Park, a place adorned by birds, lots of birds! Over 230 species of birds are recorded from the place and hundreds of thousands of rare and endangered birds visit this place during the winter months of November through February every year.

It was a disaster since couple of years as the place was overshadowed by the deeds of man! Late 2004, the government of Rajasthan had to buckle under the extreme pressures of local farmers to prevent water being diverted to the sanctuary. Geographically, the park was initially a natural depression formed by continuous flooding of the rivers, which was later, converted into a sanctuary for hunting purposes by the rulers of the place. Currently, the famous Ghana canal, acts as veins carrying the precious water to the park. The presence of Shiva temple (Keoladeo, pronounced – ‘kevala-dev’) adds to the mystique of the place!

It was a well-planned, much-awaited trip for all of us. A group of 9 passionate photographers met in the Delhi airport on 22nd of November 2008. After the initial introductions we hit the Delhi-Mathura highway that marked the beginning of the ornithological pilgrimage. Had an wholesome lunch at an authentic south Indian restaurant around 2:30 PM and proceeded towards Mathura.

After crossing Mathura, we deviated towards Bharatpur and had traveled about an hour on the same road, just as when we spotted the Sarus crane pair in an agricultural field. It was my first Sarus crane ( Grus antigone antigone ) of my life and I was overjoyed! Sheer stances of the pair made my mind go crazy. The light was divine and golden. I was neither dumb nor a poet, neither was conscious nor unconscious. Just watched the bird through my lens and what a feeling to cherish for life! I said to my self – “Even if I can’t make a single decent image in the coming days, this pair of sarus cranes made my trip”! Such is the happiness one can get from the moments spent in nature.

SarusCranesPair

Beautiful creations of GOD are miracles! The beauty of these cranes is that they pair for life. It is said that if of the bird dies, the other bird dies too out of grief! Amazing bonding! There are always lessons to be learnt from nature and this just a small instance for all of us..

It was a tiring yet enchanting day to end. As I rested my day on the pillow, I dreamt of the beauty of Sarus that I had witnessed hours before!

Day 1 sightings:

Birds:

1) At least 30 Black shouldered kites perched on electric wire or hovering.
2) Bank Mynas - plenty
3) Red vented bulbul
4) Common crow
5) Pariah kites - plenty
6) Brown shrikes.
7) Sarus cranes - pair
8) Black headed ibis
9) Large gray babbler
10) Spotted owlet
11) Black necked stork
12) Grebes
13) Little Egrets
14) Black winged stilt
15) Peafowls
16) Siberian stone chat
17) Rose ringed Parakeets
18) Grey hornbills
19) Greater coucals
20) Rock pigeons - plenty
21) Spooted doves

Mammals:
Axis axis