Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

Keoladeo National Park formerly known as Bharatpur Sanctuary is situated in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. This is a man made bird sanctuary. Sir Peter Scott considered Keoladeo Sanctuary as the world’s best bird area. The reserve is 29 sq. kms in size. The park was established as a national park on 10 March 1982, though it is 250 years old and is named after Keoladeo (Lord Shiva) Temple situated inside the park.  The reserve is believed to be home to 250 species of birds – both resident and migratory.

Migratory birds start arriving in the month of November every year. They can be seen here till the month of March.

The reserve is close to Delhi and other tourist places as well. Distance from some famous places is given below:

People visiting Agra, Mathura or Jaipur must visit the place atleast once.  A link to Wiki Page on reserve can be found here.

There are three modes to travel inside the park. The first one is Rikshaw (as shown in picture above), the second one is bi-cycle and the third one is on foot. There are two gates in the park. The first one is main gate from where tickets to visit the park are purchased and the second one lies about 2 kms inside the first gate 9also called Shanti Kutir). Cars and other motor vehicles are allowed till second gate (you need to pay additional Rs.100 as parking fee), from where only rikshaw or cycle is allowed or you can go on foot. The rikshaw or bi-cycles can be hired either from the main gate or from the second gate. The rikshaw pullers are licensed and act as guide as well. they are aware of birds and their names and will also make you aware of the history of the park. Rikshaws are also available in front of hotels which are situated on the way to the park. The rikshaw charges Rs. 75 / hour. The entry fees for Indian nationals is Rs. 50 and for foreigners it is Rs. 200. There are no charges for Still camera, but you have to pay additional for video camras.

I again visited the park on 21st January 2012 and would like to share few things from the visit. It was a visit with my friends – all fond of photography. The scene in the park was better than last 2-3 years, but still it wasn’t the park which use to be earlier - renowned for more than 250 species of birds. The photos will tell the story.

(Click here for Photo gallery of Keoladeo National Park)

This bigger lake which is shown in picture above did not had many birds except for few ducks. Though some of us might feel happy by clicking Painted Storks and few other birds, but we should not forget that Bharatpur is much more than that. Its potential is huge and a lot has to be done to bring back its lost glory.

Solar Panel

We did see few solar panels being used to run tubewells. This is a good sign and has given the National Park fresh lease of life. But still a lot needs to be done to bring back the birds which have given the park a miss.

Another interesting observation was we could not see much fish moment in the ponds. Fishes are an important part of birds food and lack of them will certainly affect migration of birds. The park once famous for Siberian Cranes needs revival. The last pair of Siberian Cranes was seen here in 2002.

Though we could see lot of Painted Stork and few Cormorants, Ducks, Pelicans, Owls, Warblers, Flycatchers, but not in very large numbers.

The work done to uplift the park is good and it looks like that coming years will be better for birds and bird watchers, but still a lot needs to be done.

It is a sincere request to all the travelers to help in protecting the site and help in any way to make the park again a glory and heaven for birds. It is our duty to provide sustainable habitats for birds, so that the species flourish with us.