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Just
176 km. from Delhi is a very special wilderness
- the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, one
of the finest water-bird sanctuaries in
the world. The 28.73 sq. km. lake and wetland
was artificially created by the Maharaja
of Bharatpur in the 19th century. By building
small dykes and dams and diverting water
from an irrigation canal, he converted this
low lying area into a fine wild fowl shooting
preserve. In a few years, the new wetland
surrounded by marginal forests was able
to support thousands of water birds.
Commonly referred to as Bharatpur, the Park
is a delight for bird watchers. Over 300
species of birds are found here and raised
paths, camouflaged by babul trees and undergrowth
make viewing easy. A quiet ride by boat
in the early hours of the morning is also
an unforgettable experience.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.
There are varieties of storks and cranes
and the local sarus crane is elegant in
a livery of grey and red. Every year Bharatpur
waits with coated breath for the arrival
of the Siberian cranes.
There are only two wintering places for
this rare species -one in Iran and the other
Bharatpur and these beautiful birds with
their distinctive red beaks and facial patches,
fly over 6400 km from their summer retreats
in Siberia, to get to them. In 1996, there
was great jubilation as a couple of Siberian
cranes with a young one made an appearance
in Bharatpur after a lapse of three years.
The forests around the lake at Bharatpur
harbor the sambar, chital, nilgai, jackal,
hyena, fox, mongoose and porcupine. Occasionally,
a fishing cat can be seen scooping its prey
also commonly seen sunning themselves along
edge of the paths or at Python Point.
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