India’s most famous bird watching site has been Keoladeo – Ghana National Park or Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

This small wetland of 29 sq.km provides feeding and nesting grounds to over 400 bird species, and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ramsar Site as well as an IBA(Important Bird Area).

This former hunting ground and now protected habitat consists of Scrub forest, Savanna grassland and large Wetlands with naturally constructed earthen mounds to provide perching spots for the thousands of birds which feed on the varieties of fish, invertebrates and aquatic plant species in the rain and Yamuna river-fed waters of the wetlands.

The misty winters and the breaking sunlight are a birdwatcher and photographer’s dream and lacs of birders and photography enthusiasts visit the birdwatching shrine that is Bharatpur each year .

An array of waterbirds, waders, ground birds and raptors – Bharatpur has something for every nature lover.

 

When to visit Bharatpur for birdwatching:

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• An ideal time is peak winter from December to the end of February for that is when the winter migrants visit the Sanctuary.

• The Sanctuary is open throughout the year – with resident birds nesting when the monsoon hits from July – September.

• The waters of the wetland almost completely dry out in May-June.