Best Bird Sanctuary In India- Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

Welcome to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

In front of the Ticket Counter

Bharatpur is  30km from Mathura and falls in the state of Rajasthan.  This place is also known as Keoladeo Ghana National Park. In 1981 this place got the status of  National Park. And after few years it was declare world heritage sight by UNESCO.  This forest is famous  for various species of migratory birds. 

Best Time to Visit BharatpurBird Sanctuary - Mid Jan- End of Feb. Though people say that from December one can see the birds,but I would say that because we lived in Mathura for a while and had visited the bird sanctuary every now and then, we found that in winter specially in December the fog of North India makes it extremely hard to see birds. Also in the early January. Sometimes the flock too arrive late.


How to travel to this place: You  can hire a car from Mathura or travel by train.
Make your travel like this - Delhi (2-3 days)-Agra (1 day)-Mathura/Vrindavan( 1day)-Bharatpur.(1 Day).
There are many hotels available very close to the park gate.

Hotels in Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary: (close to the gate)

1.Hotel Sunbird
2.Hotel Eagle's Nest
3. Birder's Inn

Hotel Sunbird

(Economy Hotel)
Hotel Sunbird
Bird Sanctuary Road,
Bharatpur – 321001, Rajasthan (India)

Phone: +91-5644-225701, 221533 

Eagle's Nest

(Economy Hotel)
Hotel Eagle's Nest
Bird Sanctuary Road,
Bharatpur – 321001, Rajasthan (India)

Phone: +91-5644-225144,25145

Birder's Inn

(Economy Hotel)
Hotel Birder's Inn
Bird Sanctuary Road,
Bharatpur – 321001, Rajasthan (India)

Phone: +91-5644-227346, 222830


Entrance Fees for Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary  is Rs 50 per person for Indians.
Upon reaching the place you need to hire rickshaw or cycle. My suggestion is to hire  a rickshaw as they are govt approved and definitely will help you spot  various birds and animals. Rickshaw cost Rs 100 per hour
Look for knowledgeable authorised rickshaw-puller , Pritam Singh was our guide and he got the best binocular to spot birds. Also he is truly a bird lover knowing every nook and corner of the jungle.

                                              Our all time Favourite Guide Pritam Singh

Spotting birds here in this park is  easier than any other birdpark in India. May be that's why Unesco found interest here.

                                                 Bar headed Geese- They Migrate from Siberia every year. They are known to be the highest flying bird in the world. You can spot hundreds of them here in this park.

White Breasted Kingfisher

Indian Roller ( neelkantha)

Owlet Nest - This place was known to Pritam and therefore we were lucky to see these birds

Yellow Footed Green Pigeon

Extremely Lucky to spot this Python. You can generally see snakes after 12noon in winters. They come out on roads to bask in the sun. Please be careful as when I spotted this Python I didnt notice it was right beside me hidden in the bushes. I did get an adrenal rush. The python was unable to move as it fed on some birds. I thought snakes hibernate in winter but Yes they love Sun..They become lazy and enjoy sun in winter unlike in Monsoon or Summer they become extremely active.

This place is also full of Spotted Deer, Nilgai , Wolves, Wild Boars, Jungle cat and Hare 

In the evening ( during sunset) you will be able to hear the crying of the wolves and if you are lucky you will definitely spot them.

The park has a small resting area where you can buy snacks and take a break. You can only get tea biscuit or cakes here nothing else. If you have a plan to stay the entire day carry some food.

We stayed from 6 am till 6 pm  roaming around the jungle sometime walking and sometime resting.

Do hire rickshaw as its worth the month.  You can hire bicycle also but depends on the availability.

Do wear comfortable shoes and clothes. High lens camera is a must to spot these birds. I am providing the link of my camera I used in Bharatpur

Sony Cybershot-50X zoom from Amazon.in

SonyHX Cybershot

Also right now I bought myself a Canon EOS 700D  from Amazon at an incredible low price. It also includes  2 lenses and a kit.

Canon EOS700D

Books for Field Guide - Birds of Indian Subcontinent

Snakes of India

Indian Mammals Guide

Image rights reserved.Permission required for usage

Lastly I would like to conclude that this is one of the Best Bird Sanctuary In India.

A Day at Jurong Bird Park:

March 5, 2015:

 From My Journal 

Excitement heightens as we enter the bird park

A very bright sunny day and suddenly Sagnik  decides to visit Jurong Bird Park.This was a completely out of plan trip. He skipped work !! We did not have any clue where the  park was and also its timings.  Without being lazy, we hurriedly searched on google and found the  direction.  Weekdays are relatively better to choose for this kind of trip as the crowds are less.Within an hour we got ready.  we somewhat managed to charge our camera (used power bank to speed up the process) and started our Bird Park Excursion

Our checklist:

• Charged Camera
•  Extra SD card  and battery (  It will drain out for sure)
•  Power bank
•  Water bottles – (it's pretty hot in the morning so we carried empty bottles and refilled it as needed)
• Wore comfortable clothes –Shorts and tees. / comfortable  footwear  / sunglasses/ and sunscreen.
• Carried umbrella as it rain often specially in the afternoon.

Transport to Jurong Bird Park:

From Jurong  (place where we lived) we took MRT (metro) and reached Boon lay station. From Boon Lay Bus stop we took a bus 194 to Jurong Bird Park.

The cheapest way to reach Jurong Park is by Metro and then by bus. Avoid any other way if possible.

A Little About The Jurong Park:

The park has around 400 species of birds and they roam  freely in the man made habitat.Visitors get close to them  or rather the less shy birds and reptiles interact with the visitors.

When I said interaction with birds and reptiles I meant this close !

At the point of entry we collected the park map.

Busy With the Park Map

There are trams available but we decided to walk and enjoy the park at our own pace.

There are special facilities available like hiring wheelchair, which is free of cost, and stroller for toddlers.The later one needs to be rented.

Jurong Park Timings: 8.30 to 6.00 pm (cover it as much as possible)

Jurong Bird Park Entry Fee:

 We bought a composite ticket.  (Don’t buy single ticket it's a loss ) .You can buy 3 composite ticket or 4 …confused?The 3 composite ticket include entry to the  Jurong Bird Park, Entry to the Singapore Zoo and also the Night Safari.

The 4th composite ticket includes 3 of the above park and an Amazon River Safari.  We bought 2 tickets of 3 park as Amazon ride was under maintenance and  so we had to drop it. These composite ticket save a lot of money.  Each ticket cost SGD 98 for 3 parks and you need to visit them within 7 days or else your ticket would be obsolete.

We reached the park around 10am and got our ticket there was no queues.

Penguin Coast : Our First Stop !

The happy feets were kept in a glass enclosure. The place had African Penguins, Emperor Penguins  ,Humboldt penguins etc.The temperature outside was really hot and this place was such a relief.

Some of the  African penguins were roaming around  freely outside . We didn’t catch their feeding session as  we wanted to cover the entire park.

Flamingo Pool / Lake: 

 This was our next stop !

Flamingo Pool At Jurong

Heliconia Walk with Colorful Birds

Heliconia Walk

Dinosaur Descendant Birds:  

Jurong created a beautiful dinosaur descendant exhibit and keep some  flightless which includes ostrich, and emu  cassowaries and henceforth The 4th image is of  cassowaries.They are said to be the most dangerous bird on the earth.

Birds from Dino Descendant Exhibit

Lory Loft:  

In this part of the park you can feed lories.   $3 per cup is what it takes the bird to come up and perch on your head. They will be all over you. But it is not necessary to buy food. If you walk around the bridge they will come up and sit on you.One of the lory happened to get entangled on my curls.   This is the most cutest part of the park .Blue red green yellow  Lories  climbing your head shoulder arms  making your day memorable.

World Of Darkness : This place is about  nocturnal birds.Taking pictures with flash must be avoided here as it disturbs the night bird. Saw various kind of owl including  the snowy Owl here.Many people did take pictures but I wanted to maintain the decorum.

Waterfall Aviary :  

This place is a paradise. The birds roam freely here !  And the best part was  the 98 feet man made waterfalls. You need to walk around the rain forest to spot unique bird around the world. What a moment I had walking to this enchanted area. You will spot starlings everywhere, rollers feeding worms, Turacos variety of parrots, guinea fowl crowned pigeon etc. We were lucky as when we entered the water Aviary it was there feeding time as so all the birds were up close flying around everywhere.

Roller_Water Aviary

 

Birds in -Waterfall Aviary

The 98 feet Waterfall at Jurong

Guinea Fowl crossing the road at Waterfall Aviary

Birds from Window to Paradise

Window to Paradise :
 I have seen these birds in Nat Geo documentary film  -Birds of Paradise. Now I am seeing this right in front of my eyes. So you can imagine my reactions.
Here is the link of the  Birds of Paradise

 We missed all the show they had in the park. You cannot the entire park as well the shows. One or the other you need to let go.

By 6pm we were done with the tour ( at least that's what I think). My feet were killing me. By the time we thought to get out of the park it started raining. We sat near a small pool for some rest as well as the rain to stop. Saw beautiful Koi fishes and a very different looking turtle .

A white Turtle

Once the rain stopped we came out of the park with memories captured in our camera. :D

Do share your views about the park in the comment space below. I enjoyed a lot being a bird lover. Are you planning to visit Jurong Park anytime soon?