Bird Sanctuary, Nature

Most of us love watching birds, feeding them, watching them fly and twitter about in peace and freedom! Birds are one of God’s finest creations and they provide a good balance in nature. A bird sanctuary is a natural habitat for a large species of birds. India is home to more than 1200 species of birds found around the globe.

All Bird sanctuaries in our country have a rich variety of flora and fauna. Trees and shrubs are the backbone of a bird sanctuary. They provide layers of foliage, flowers, fruits, seeds and cover.

India is an Orinthologist’s Paradise. There are thousands of various indigenous as well migratory birds in our Sanctuaries. The migratory birds come from different parts of the world in different sanctuaries at different point of time.

India is a haven for bird lovers! From the Himalayan ranges in the north to Kanyakumari in the south our country has scores of bird species. The bird sanctuaries help the visitor to see a wide range of birds in their natural surroundings.

Some of the popular bird species in Indian bird sanctuaries include Racquet Tailed Drogas, Sun Birds, Kingfishers, Drogas, Tree Pies, Jungle Owlets, Minvets, Mynas, Pipits, Larks, Siberia Crane etc.

The following are some of the most popular bird sanctuaries in India - Keoladeo Ghana National Park at Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary in North Goa, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Karnataka, Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary in Kerala, Chilka Lake Bird Sanctuary in Orissa and Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary in Gujarat.

There are a couple of others too like Mayanj , Porbandar , Nawabganj & Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary.

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is located in Bharatpur city of Rajasthan and is also known as the Keoladeo Ghana National Park. This Wildlife cum Bird sanctuary is home to quite a few animals like the Sambhals, Deers, Chitals and Nilgais too. Bharatpur Bird sanctuary is also home to some of the largest Siberian cranes in our country. This has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. You can be sure of spotting different species of eagles, ducks, pipits, owls, kingfishers, flycatchers, pelicans, geese, hawks at this Sanctuary.

The best time to visit this sanctuary would be: August to November (For Resident Birds) and October- February (For Migratory Birds).

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary is another bird lover’s favorite haunt. This is the joint for birds which are both resident and migratory. Some of the birds are the plovers, red wattled lapwings, herons, cormorants, white ibis, Migratory geese, Siberian cranes, pelicans, flamingos, ruddy shelducks, cranes and teals.

Some bird sanctuaries like the Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary and other sanctuary houses a Bird Interpretation Center, which gives knowledge about birds and their behavior in detail to tourist and bird lovers.

Bird lovers love to watch birds. Sanctuaries have well laden trails to provide access for viewing and photographing birds, enjoying the flora and fauna and rich ecological terrain.

There is no particular favorable time to visit any of this Bird Sanctuary but June to November is the ideal time in most places. This is the time one would be able to see a great deal of migratory birds that come here to escape the harsh winters in their home nation.

So gear up to do some serious Bird watching!