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Keoladeo Ghana or Bharatpur National Park :India February 14, 2006

Keoladeo Ghana’ name signifies the location of the temple of Lord Shiva (Keoladeo) in the centre of the Park and dense (ghana) forest covering the area. It’s a soggy green paradise, an ideal home for a large variety of birds. Scores of migratory species undertake a perilous journey over the Himalayas to make a seasonal home in this wetland ecosystem, the most famous of them being the magnificent but nearly extinct Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus). This interlocking ecosystem of woodlands, swamps, wet prairies and dry Savannah is considered to be one of the world’s richest heronries, where thousands of birds get busy courting, mating and nesting.

Keoladeo Ghana, Bharatpur harbours some of India’s richest birdlife, including the gorgeous shocking-pink tinted painted stork, several species of cormorants, egrets, pelicans, ibises, cranes, ducks and geese. One can see over 350 species of birds, both native as well as migratory. Among the latter, the highly endangered Siberian Cranes, which come to nest in winter, are the rarest. Bharatpur is the Siberian Crane’s only known wintering ground in India; at last count, only 2 cranes nested at the park, definitely a cause for worry.

There are mixed heronries on the half submerged babul trees and the cacophony is unbelievable as painted storks, open bills, spoon bills, egrets, cormorants, white ibis and multitudes of others, tend their young. Jacanas with their iridescent colors and elegant tail feathers and purple moorhen can be seen delicately treading over the floating vegetation. While harriers and fishing eagles circle overhead in search of prey, the pied kingfisher hovers dramatically over the water in a flurry of wings.

The newly born chicks are only 10cm. in size but grows upto one metre in height within a year. As the monsoons arrive birds from every part of the country start pouring into the park. Migratory water-fowls, including the pride of Keoladeo Siberian Cranes form the indispensable part of Park. The water-fowls visit the park in millions during the month of October. Rosy starling marks the beginning of the arrival of migratory birds. The most noticeable water-fowl coming to the park are barheaded and greyleg geese.


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