Day 2 and 4 we spent near Bharatpur. Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, 180 km (110 mi) south of the capital, New Delhi. We spent one-and-a-half day at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, also known as Keoladeo Ghana National Park, and one morning looking for the Indian Courser in agricultural land north of the city (without success). Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is a man-made and man-managed wetland created 250 years ago that holds about 350 bird species, including many migratory birds. In 1985, the Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to my guide who grew up just a few km outside Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, the number of birds in this reserve has dropped dramatically in recent years. According to some old signs, part of the park was also closed off due to observations of leopards. Still, it was plenty of wetland species present, and this park was less hazy and therefore better for photography than Sultanpur. One special aspect with this reserve is that you are required to hire a local naturalist guide as well as a rickshaw cyclist. This means two additional persons to me and my guide. So, it was more like an entourage traveling around! It saved us time to walk around though, but I think my guide was much more knowledgeable about this park than the local naturalist.
Despite these limitation, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary was a great place to visit, and very good for photography of the more abundant wetland birds. We added about 40 more species at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and ended up with about 180 bird species seen after the first three destinations (day 1-4). Of the highlights here were the Black Bittern and the kingfishers (White-throated, Common and Pied), and the Indian Nighthjar.
The photos shown on this page were either taken in the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary or on farmland near B.R. Ambedkar Park at Chak Sakeetra, just north of Bharatpur.
Eastern Imperial Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)
Greater Spotted Eagle (Clanga clanga)
Greater Spotted Eagle
Indian Spotted Eagle (Clanga hastata)
Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)
Eurasian Marsh Harrier / Sivhauk (Circus aeruginosus)
Eurasian Marsh Harrier
Black-eared Kite (Milvus migrans formosanus)
Black-eared Kite
Shikra (Accipiter badius)
Shikra
Dusky Eagle-owl (Bubo coromandus)
Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)
Spotted Owlet
A well-hidden and resting Indian Scops-owl (Otus bakkamoena)
Common Kestrel / Tårnfalk (Falco tinnunculus)
Typical wetland at Keoladeo Ghana National Park
Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus)
Bar-headed Goose
Cotton Pygmy Goose (Nettapus coromandelianus)
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)
Garganey / Knekkand (Spatula querquedula)
Eurasian Wigeon / Brunnakke (Mareca penelope)
Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)
Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica)
Female Northern Shoveler / Skjeand (Spatula clypeata)
Northern Pintail / Stjertand (Anas acuta)
Bharatpur Bird Sancturay
Sanctuary creek
Bharatpur Bird Sancturay
Road down the sancturay
Little Grebe / Dvergdykker (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Great Crested Grebe / Toppdykker (Podiceps cristatus)
Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
Painted Stork
Bronze-winged Jacana (Metopidius indicus)
Cattle Egret / Kuhegre (Bubulcus ibis)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Striated Heron (Butorides striata)
Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)
Black-headed Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis)
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)
Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis)
Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger)
Great Cormorant / Storskarv (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster)
Yellow-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus)
White-tailed Lapwing (Vanellus leucurus)
Green Sandpiper / Skogsnipe (Tringa ochropus)
Wood Sandpiper / Grønnstilk (Tringa glareola)
Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus)
Black Francolin (Francolinus francolinus)
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)
Black-rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense)
Indian Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris)
Asian Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
Red-collared Dove (Streptopelia tranquebarica)
Eurasian Collared Dove / Tyrkerdue (Streptopelia decaocto)
Yellow-footed Green Pigeon (Treron phoenicopterus)
Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis)
Rufous Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda)
Rufous Treepie
Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)
Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)
Bay-backed Shrike (Lanius vittatus)
Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
Wire-tailed Swallow (Hirundo smithii)
Grey-throated Martin (Riparia chinensis)
Grey-headed Flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis)
Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus)
Brown-headed Barbet (Megalaima zeylanica)
Brown-headed Barbet
Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)
Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti)
Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix griseus)
Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)
Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)
Crested Lark
Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)
Western Yellow Wagtail / Gulerle (Motacilla flava)
Grey Wagtail / Vintererle (Motacilla cinerea)
Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus)
Indian Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia gangetica)
Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus medius)
Common Gull butterfly (Cepora nerissa)
Yellow Orange Tip (Ixias pyrene)
Indian Jungle Crow (Corvus culminatus)
Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)
Indian Pied Myna (Gracupica contra)
Bank Myna (Acridotheres ginginianus)
Brahminy Starling (Sturnia pagodarum)
Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)
Female Red-breatsed Flycatcher / Dvergfluesnapper (Ficedula parva)
Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius)
Indian Robin (Copsychus fulicatus)
Pied Bush Chat (Saxicola caprata)
Large Gray Babbler (Argya malcolmi)
Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striata)
Clamorous Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus)
Blyth's Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum)
Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)
Typical photo, out of focus and eye hidden by branches :) Sykes's Warbler (Iduna rama)
Bluethroat / Blåstrupe (Luscinia svecica)
Lesser Whitethroat / Møller (Sylvia curruca)
White-eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis)
Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
Yellow-throated Sparrow (Petronia xanthocollis)
Indian Silverbill (Euodice malabarica)
Indian Python (Python molurus)
Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus)
Spotted Deer (Cervus nippon)
Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)
Bharatpur Bird Sancturay
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary / Keoladeo National Park