Its a win for the environmental cause. It is also a slap in face for all those who promote mindless fancy projects in name of tourist promotions. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been forced cancel the water aerodrome project at the Chilika lagoon following objections from various quarter. However in a face saver it has offered to develop the project in Odisha if the state government provides it with an alternative site. Chilika, the second largest brackish water lake in the world, covers Khurda, Puri and Ganjam districts of Odisha. Situated at the mouth of the Daya River, Chilika is rich in biodiversity and a major tourist attraction in the state. A colony of flamingos at Chilika AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra said: "Following a request from the state government...
Read MoreTag: Bird Sanctuary
I am continuing with birds and my trip to Bharatpur's Keoladeo Ghana National Park, sometime back. This time more with just images Shikra can be easily seen at Keoladeo. It is most common small hawk but an aggressive hunter, can be found almost everywhere in the neighbourhood. Like Shikras, marsh harriers are also found worldwide. They are raptors of medium size in the harrier family. Watching them fly is fascinating when they make a V in low flight. Look for them at KNP. You know Keoladeo is also famous for its turtles! Read them about here- The giant turtles of Keoladeo National Park Darters are also called as snake birds owing o their long thin neck which has a snake like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged. There are large number of oriental...
Read MoreKeoladeo Ghana National Park at Bharatpur in Rajasthan has always been the numero uno of India’s bird sanctuaries. One of the oldest and the most acclaimed one. It is also close to hearts of all birders as it was the playground of India’s most known birder, none other than Salim Ali for more than half a century. Visiting this park is always a thrill for serious bird watchers. Watching birds here need some good planning. I will be discussing tips for good experience of bird watching at Keoladeo in few posts. Here is the first one on means to travel inside the park and the charges associated with them. Firstly, it is a bird sanctuary, not a tiger reserve. Hence no safaris are needed here. Since we don’t have normal wildlife, else than deer family, reptiles and predators are v...
Read MoreThey are the true 'love-birds'. Always found in pair and always remain loyal to each other. Hardly we recognise bird species with these qualities but our guide or naturalist- as they liked themselves to be called as, was more than beaming in explaining Sarus Cranes to us in this manner. But it was really so amusing to hear all this, though we had already heard about crane couple 'singing' and dancing together and seen some amazing photographs earlier too. Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur has been one of the favourites to watch this amazing bird, although they can be found in Gangetic plains. There number is decreasing constantly everywhere, including Keoladeo, due to various threats. Hence it was on top of my bucket list while going to this amazing bird sanctuary. Our naturalis...
Read MoreBird lovers across India including Delhi spent the entire day on Sunday, 16th February trailing birds in different bird-rich locations. As part of the Big Bird Day 2014, 384 birder teams-comprising about 3,000 to 5,000 people-documented the diversity of bird species. In the capital, 27 teams participated. They covered Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, Yamuna Biodiversity Park, Aravalli Biodiversity Park and other sites. For the first time, six teams from Pakistan joined the bird race. Teams also came from Spain, Dubai and the US. Every state and union territory including Daman and Diu, Pondicherry, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and others participated, organizers said. "The response has been huge this year. Last year, there were only 160 teams," sai
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