KEOLADEO NATIONAL PARK,BHARATPUR IN IMAGES-3

Here are some more photos from Ghana Bird Sanctuary…

 

LORD SHIV TEMPLE IN THE SANCTUARY

A PLAQUE DECLARING THE STATUS OF THE PARK AS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE

 

PARAKEET

BLACK SHOULDERED KITE

 

 

COOTS

 

PAINTED STORK

 

 

 

 

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY (BNHS)

KEOLADEO NATIONAL PARK,BHARATPUR IN IMAGES-2

MONGOOSE

As you can gather from the last post that I have just returned from a visit to the Ghana Bird Sanctuary. It was a long day well spent. The point of these posts is to motivate you too to visit the park if you have any interest in the natural world. Because I personally feel that wildlife is going to get rare sooner than later.   And if you are living near Jaipur-Agra-Delhi-Bharatpur then it is done as easy as it is said. If like me you do not want the hassle of staying in a hotel, just go for a day visit. The park is open from 6am to 6pm, so pick your time. You also have a choice of mode of transport in the park, namely cycle rickshaw, tonga, bi-cycles, walking & electric van. Once you are inside the sylvan world of the park you will be hooked. If you are a novice it is a good idea to take along a field guide or hire a cycle rickshaw whose driver can point out the flora & fauna & the birds.Remember to bring along a camera with a good lens, besides binoculars & field guides, as these birds etc are living in a natural habitat & may be shy of the visitors.

A few do’s & don’ts while visiting the park.

Do not litter or smoke in the park or talk loudly or feed the birds.Keep safe distance from animals.

Here are some more pictures from the last days visit.

MONKEY

ARID AREA

TERMITE HILL

THE TRAIL

KINGFISHER

 

 

HOOPOE

 

 

 

 

 

PAINTED STORK

BLACK DRONGO

 

PADDY BIRD

WATER BODY

 

 

MONITOR LIZARD FEMALE

 

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCITY (BNHS)

 

KEOLADEO NATIONAL PARK,

BHARATPUR,

T.91-5644-222777

dirkeoladeo @ gmail.com

Day Break At The Man sagar

If you do not live near the Man Sagar why would you want to go there far a walk  at day break? It is a good question. The answer is because  I like to take pretty pictures. And sun rise is the best part of the day if you ask me. It is a different dawn every day. And each is prettier than the last one. There are birds, there are flowers and desert vegetation and paved paal to walk on. There is even a guy selling tea even before dawn. If you ask him he will serve your tea in disposable cups.There is even a Cafe Coffee Day at a petrol pump just opposite the lake which one presume is open during the day.Later in the day you can get Camel and Elephant rides too.You get a good walk, some fresh air and get to capture the changing moods of Jal Mahal Palace and the Man sagar Lake  in your camera.

Peacock-The National Bird Of India

‘The gorgeous peacock is the glory of God’.A sanskrit verse says.It seems the poachers  are only interested in its white meat and eggs and  tail feathers and not in its glorifying God.Due to poaching and use of pesticides their numbers are decreasing alarmingly.So much so that the 11th bird fair in Jaipur was dedicated to the peacock to bring awareness to its plight. A census was also organised to count the actual birds.

There was a time when these birds were everywhere in the north,west and central India.It had been proclaimed the national bird so it was protected by law and according to the scriptures it was thought to be a vehicle of Goddess Saraswati( learning),Kartikeya(god of war) and Subrahmanya (god of yogic powers).

Alexander the great took back with him to Greece 200 birds and they spread to western Asia,north Africa,Europe and America.

It is said that on the peacock throne of Emperor Shah Jahan there were two figures of bejeweled peacocks.

Indian Peacock has fan shaped tips to their tail feathers and the Burmese sub species has pointed tips.The peacock unfurls these feathers to attract the pea hen.They shed all their tail feathers every year and grow new ones.

The Peacock is  the first bird to sound the alarm of the approach of a tiger or a leopard in the jungle.