Bob and I got up at 5 AM, got organized and walked over to the restaurant for omelets and porridge, before meeting up at the bus at 6:45. We drove the short distance to Keoladeo National Park which originated as a hunting park for a maharaja in the 1850s. As hunting has been illegal in India for ~50 years, the area has turned into a famous bird and wildlife sanctuary.
Hilary in her rickshaw
We pulled into the main gate and were surrounded by a fleet of small bicycle rickshaws. We climbed in in pairs and set off down the park road. This turned out to be ideal birding transportation as they are completely quiet and can stop whenever you want. As hunting stopped so long ago, the birds and animals are fairly tame and can be observed very well.
Spotted Deer
We slowly moved along the road stopping in dry brush areas, swamps, small lakes, accumulating quite a list of birds. Hilary, who hadn't been on a professional bird tour before, fit right in and managed to handle the five straight hours of birding very well!
Spotted Owlet
We were rickshawed back to a hotel in the park and had a fairly uninspired lunch, but it re-energized us to return to the field for more birding. We saw quite a few new mammals, in addition to the birds. The park has a population of wild pigs, Jackals, Spotted Deer, and Nilgai Antelope, which resemble large husky antelope, but with small horse-like heads.
We birded until 5 when the light began to fade and our faithful rickshaw drivers (all with last name of Singh!) pedaled us the three miles back to our bus. We climbed aboard and, since the traffic wasn't too bad, got back to The Bagh with an hour of free time until dinner at seven fifteen!
Hil and I dashed over to reception - a long walk in the dark - where wifi is available and I sent off yesterday's blog. Back to the room for a shower, and off to dinner. Bryan presented me with a handmade card covered with sketches of birds we had seen that day and with "Happy Birthday" in Hindi! He is quite an accomplished artist, in addition to his many other talents. And as dinner was concluding, in came a cake for me - presented on a piece of styrofoam which I was very careful not include when I cut the cake. A very nice birthday celebration, indeed!!
We had to retire to a separate room to do the list, as the restaurant was quite crowded this evening...and came up with a list of 101 species! And 19 new ones for Bob!
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