Rajasthan (1 Viewer)

I am considering a birding holiday to Rajasthan at the end of this year but hear tales of poor birding conditions in Bharatpur and Ranthambore over the last couple of years. Can anyone enlighten me as to the present situation in these reserves?

I am finishing a trip report from February in a few days. PM me soon.

Bharatpur was dry, but with Sociable Plovers and Indian Spotted Eagles. Ranthambore tigers were poached out. There are talks of putting water back, but tigers will not breed soon.

You may go to Bandarvagh or Kanha for tigers, and we had great time in Corbett, Nainital and Gujarat (Asian lion, leopards, Great Indian Bustards, Houbaras etc.)

Alf King said:

I am considering a birding holiday to Rajasthan at the end of this year but hear tales of poor birding conditions in Bharatpur and Ranthambore over the last couple of years. Can anyone enlighten me as to the present situation in these reserves?

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Everything you read about Bharatpur is correct. My long time friends and long time birders of Goa say that they will never return to Goa due to the loss of prime birding habitat.. woods, wetlands, etc.

It seems that mass beach tourism is harming Indian wildlife 'big style'. WILL THEY EVER LEARN?

John.

Thanks for the replies so far, it doesn't look too encouraging.

Could you elaborate a little John? Are you saying that birding in Goa is now poor, or that this is a reflection on the situation in India as a whole?

I don't think Bharatpur has been affected by beach tourism.

Alf King said:

Thanks for the replies so far, it doesn't look too encouraging.

Could you elaborate a little John? Are you saying that birding in Goa is now poor, or that this is a reflection on the situation in India as a whole?

I don't think Bharatpur has been affected by beach tourism.

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Bharatpur has been affected by poor land management and the inability of those landowners close to 'BP' to see further than the end of their nose, but perhaps if i was as poor as most of them, birds would always come second.

The situating in Goa is far from clear. The woods where my friends birded every year has been cleared for hotels!

John.

John,

I assume you are refering to what seems to be commonly known as Baga Hill. When we were there in Feb/March this year the hill was marked out for road building and there were wide tracks up the hill towards the Arpora end.

Noneone we spoke to seemed to have a clear idea about what was happening but rumour suggested hotel development at the top of the hilll and, perhaps, apartments up the side.

Its still good for birds - but for how much longer??

regards
Gordon

As a final update on this thread I eventually visited Keoladeo NP in late December and it was very good indeed. They have had plenty of water and there were thousands of birds present, a wonderful sight.

On the downside it has clearly been recognised that Keoladeo is an important tourist site and more provision is being made for this than for the birds, in my view. As with the rest of the world the local naturalists have a battle on their hands to prevent the most important lement of the attraction being destroyed by those who feel they are acting in the beat interests of NP.

To understand the problems though you need to be able to see this in the proper Indian context where there is immense pressure upon the local populations to maintain hearth and home. Population growth is a major issue throughout the whole of the sub-continent.