Bluethroat
We had delicious omelets with tomatoes, onions, cilantro and chilis for breakfast before setting off in the bus at 7:15. We reached the park and joined our same rickshaw drivers who dropped us off at a trail that circles one of the ponds. We walked along the path in the early morning cool, passing several groups of women, colorfully dressed, as usual, and carrying large picks on top of their heads - for chopping out the invasive water hyacinths.
We logged in a lot of birds, plus several butterflies and dragonflies that Harish Sharma, our local guide, knew the names of. He is an excellent birder and general naturalist.
We walked about two miles which at birders' speed took us four hours! Most of the time we walked along a brick road on an embankment between bodies of water, the last remaining road of the maharaja. Parties of hunters could stand on the road and easily shoot huge numbers of ducks!
We returned to to the park hotel for lunch, somewhat better than yesterday's lunch, plus I tried a dish of what I thought were lychees, but turned out to be a local specialty of 2" white balls made with milk having the consistency of a kitchen sponge and incredibly sweet. I've never eaten anything like it - the strangest texture I've ever experienced.
Mr. Singh and I in the Rickshaw
After lunch we walked along the main road a bit until we came to a thicket where we sat, kneeled, and scrambled about trying to see the Siberian Rubythroat. It kept appearing at odd moments but most of us finally got to see this tiny brown bird which has a black stripe through its eye with white above and below and a brilliant ruby red throat which, even in the dim light of the thicket, glowed!
Bryan led us to an opening where we found some boats moored and climbed into two and were poled through the shallow water to a large, and equally shallow, lake. I guess the boats can only operate when the water lowers after the monsoon season as poling seems to be the only mode of propelling the boats. We were conducted under a tree and shown a rare Grey Nightjar sleeping on a branch which camouflages itself very well as part of the wood.
Grey Nightjar
We returned to the bus and got back to The Bagh at 5:45 giving me over an hour to post the blog and shower. Quite luxurious! We had a good dinner, starting with a very chili-infused soup, pasta, rice, veggies, & fish all with tasty sauces. For dessert there were Mal-Pua, cornmeal crepes infused with rose water, and Kheer, rice pudding.
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| Mal-Pua |
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