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Message: <blockquote data-quote="richard jb" data-source="post: 1741569" data-attributes="member: 72753">17/12 - 20/12 Chilka Lake (Barkul area)Balugaon is not a particularly nice town but it does have an internet cafe, a small train station and a couple of really cheap places to stay. It is on the lake shore but we didn't attempt any birding around here.After finding all of the trains out of Orissa were fully booked for a month we resigned ourselves to spending a day sorting out tickets in the capital, Bhubaneswar. We managed to get a ticket in the tourist quota to Tiruchirapalli. From here we could travel on to Pt Calimere using local trains and buses.With our onward travel sorted we got back to birding. Nalabana Island is the best birdwatching area on Chilka Lake, and Barkul is the best place to organise a boat trip from. Shared taxis run between Balugaon and Barkul, just flag them down (should cost 10Rs, a private taxi is 70Rs if you haggle).We arrived in Barkul and took a room in one of the lodges away from the lake shore (250Rs a night). A lot of people come through Barkul to visit the Kalijai Temple and it can get really busy at times. They don't stray from the village though, just get off the coach and onto a boat. We did a bit of birding along the lake shore but it wasn't as productive as Satapada and there are some aggressive dogs around (it's worth going for a walk in the evening to see the fruit bats though).We asked at the government hotel about boat trips, stating that we wanted to land on Nalabana. We were told their trips just circle the island, so we decided to organise our own. We went down to the jetties and started asking around. Eventually someone who spoke English arranged us a boat for 4 hours to include 2 hours on Nalabana Island. We were all set to leave at 0530 the next morning.When we got to the boat the next day we were informed of a slight change in plans, we couldn't actually land on Nalabana as we needed permits. We could still get close and "see all the migratory birds" though. After some umming and ahhhing about paying 1000RS and not getting to land we decided to go for it anyway, thinking we should still see plenty and may be able to scope some waders.Our boat crew was an old man and a young boy (neither spoke any English), our interpreter stayed on the jetty. We motored out towards Nalabana with our driver charging into every flock of waterfowl we came across, flushing them, then chasing them down again. It took quite a few sign language attempts to convince him to stop. Eventually Nalabana came into view. There were birds everywhere (albeit specks on the horizon). Then we stopped. Huge poles mark out the restricted area around Nalabana, which is 3km off its bird rich shores. A speed boat with guards was racing around inside the restricted zone at about 30mph for no apparent reason. We saw a White Bellied Sea Eagle take a duck and through the scope I could just about make out some Bar Headed Geese and Flamingos feeding. This was as good as it was going to get. We could go no further.All hell broke out when we got back and our interpreter tried to charge us the 1000Rs for our boat trip. I told him I'd give him 500RS and he should consider himself lucky. It took over an hour but we convinced him eventually. As we still had time we decided to try and get a permit. The boatmen told us we had to go to Delhi but I didn't believe them. We asked at the government run hotel. The staff here were typically unmotivated but we kept pestering them until they told us we could get a permit in Balugaon, and then it would be 'no problem' to land on Nalabana. This lifted our spirits, and we jumped straight in a shared rickshaw. On arrival in Balugaon we eventually found the 'Chilka Lake Wildlife Office' who issue permits. Or I should say issued permits. In 2004. We were told we had to go to Bhubaneswar. At this point we gave up, we wouldn't be able to get there in time.I don't know if you can actually get permits in Bhubaneswar. It would pay to make inquiries before you go if you were going to try. I wouldn't really recommend Chilka Lake if you can't get a permit for Nalabana. There may be other good areas, but I doubt they are easily accessible. If you want to see Irrawady Dolphins and plenty of birds on a day trip (from Puri for example) I would get to Satapada for early morning birding along the lake shore, then get the ferry to Balugaon in the afternoon and travel on from there.The next day we took a bus to Rambha at the southern end of the lake. This area was very pleasant but quiet bird wise.More Birds:Bar Headed GooseAsian Openbill (large flocks from the Balugaon - Bhubaneswar train)Purple GallinuleBarn SwallowYellow Legged GullHueglins GullClamorous Reed WarblerFlamingo sp. (many, but too distant to ID)</blockquote>

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