Skimming through Chambal – National Chambal Sanctuary – March 2008
Jayanth Sharma
http://www.wildlifetimes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1141&sid=9915abf22a9085e3edf0ad947330e384

Apart from the Gharials whose sighting was more than assured, my other target species of the trips were the endangered Indian Skimmers and it was also a good place to sight the Sarus Cranes. After my flight to Delhi, a six hour drive to the town of “Bah” in Uttar Pradesh (60plus kms from Agra) was where I was supposed to camp. “Chambal Safari” is a nice resort near Bah which accommodates just a few tourists and it is probably the only wildlife centric accommodation for tourists around here.

Shruthi my wife was brainwashed by my father to keep ourselves safe and secure from the dangerous “Dacoits”. But I was sure nothing of that sort could happen – usually. We were happy to see very few guests in the resort and all of them were guests from outside India. Most of these guests had binoculars in their possession and things looked positive at first sight. It would have been a disaster to end up spending time with groups which had no interest in wildlife, but thankfully here, all we found were bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts. Grey Hornbills, Pied Mynas, Fruit Bats, Jungle Babblers, Rose-ringed Parakeets were all over the place and our little room was nice and beautiful. We hardly had an hour to refresh and get ready for the evening boat safari in the Chambal River. After a twenty minute drive from our resort to the village of Ater, Chambal was sighted and our boatman was waiting for us with other guests. Soon the motorboat took off and we ventured on our first boat safari in the pristine Chambal River.

Within less than ten minutes of our journey on the boat we started identifying beautiful birds and in no time I sighted my first Gharial basking on the banks of Chambal. As we approached the Gharial I could count at least twelve tiny Gharials basking alongside the elder. They were motionless for most of the time but on a few occasions, they jumped in to river as the boat approached.

Ruddy Shelducks, Bar-headed Goose, Egyptian Vultures, Lesser-whistling ducks, Mugger crocodiles, Stone Plovers, River Terns were all a sight to watch. We gradually moved down stream and from at least 400 feet distance our guide and the boatman alerted us of the Indian Skimmers. I was overjoyed to have found skimmers so quickly. Almost resembling the River Terns, the Indian Skimmer is a gorgeous bird with a colorful beak that helps it skim through the surface of the water. They are usually found in pairs and at this point at least 12 pairs of skimmers were resting on the ground.

Occasionally they would fly around our boat making loud calls and get back to their base. I was very eager to try and photograph them while they were skimming. But unfortunately they seem to be skimming only early in the morning and usually after sunset. How ever, I did have a glimpse of one bird skimming very close by my boat. The evening light was magical and the skimmers were the best we had seen that evening. A quick drive up the stream got us back to the jetty and we went to bed with a wonderful first innings at Chambal.

The Sarus Crane trail
I had an option to either go back to the boat safari or try and explore the fields nearby in order to sight and photograph the extremely endangered Sarus Cranes. Last time in Gujarat, I had a disappointing experience with the Sarus Cranes as they were extremely shy and always on the move. They would sense my presence from 200 feet away and fly away. I was crossing my fingers and hoping to get closer to at least one pair this time. We crossed village after village, town after town and little did we realize that we had already traveled 45kms in search of the Sarus Cranes. Hope was almost dead and we reached Sepai, the native of the politician Mulayam Singh Yadav. We decided to check till the end of the abandoned air strip in this village whose inauguration was halted by a court order.

Hurray! I shouted when I sighted two adult Sarus cranes walk briskly across the field at a distance of 300 feet. But before I ended my celebration they flew away making calls and I was again disappointed. But after a couple of minutes they came back from the other side and landed on a huge dump of hay in the open field. I quickly mounted my camera on the tripod and with binoculars in hand; I set out on foot inside the fields of Sepai. The farmers were eager and keen to know what was happening. But my driver handled them well and none came closer to me and I was not disturbed. Within five minutes I got as close as 200 feet to the cranes and I started stalking them hiding behind a huge bush and some trees. When I peeped out of the bush I realized I didn’t do a great job of stalking. The Cranes already knew of the enormous body hiding behind the bushes.

But surprisingly, the pair was tolerant and didn’t move a bit. I slowly grabbed some oxygen and started clicking their pictures. Every minute I stepped a foot or two closer and in less than 10 minutes I was as close as 50 feet from them in the open field. I was thrilled that the cranes didn’t perceive me as threat and didn’t fly away. I don’t remember anything other than the movements of the romantic Sarus Cranes in courtship. They sang and danced and after half an hour of pleasing me and making me jealous of their romance, they bid good bye to me and my camera. It would be an understatement to say I was thrilled. I was super-thrilled and excited and I ran back to the car to tell the story of them to my wife and driver. But they were always observing through the binoculars and already knew we had struck gold.

That evening in the boat was no other guest and I had all the time in the world to spare for the beautiful Skimmers. I spent at least two hours watching them fly and call in turns and during this phase I managed a few action shots of the skimmers. I was again disappointed that I couldn’t see them skimming. How ever in the second innings with Skimmers proved very fruitful. Since I knew more about these birds by then, I could take pictures of them in action and while at flight. At least a dozen River Terns and a few hyper-active Black-bellied Terns also treated my eyes. Eurasian Spoonbills were sighted close by and the day ended with a lot of Skimmer activity. While returning back to the base, a Bonelli’s eagle was sitting on the ground and was being constantly attached by a river lapwing. The eagle had been conspiring over the lapwing’s nest and as usual the lapwings abused the eagle time and again. It was getting dark and I had very less time to witness the argument of these two birds.

 One my last boat safari in Chambal, I decided to focus my efforts on the Gharials. Since it made sense to drive up stream on mornings keeping the sun behind our backs, we decided to visit parts of the river we hadn’t seen till then. Gharials were seen in dozens over the banks of the river and Lesser-whistling ducks, Comb ducks, Ruddy-shelducks accompanied the lazy gharials. I spent nearly two hours trying to produce something different. But I must admit it is quite tough to get different shots of these as they hardly move and simply bask in the open. Loads of them lie around the tiny islets on the river and spend the whole day basking. It was interesting to see the Gharials move on land. They are probably the slowest amongst all crocodiles on land.

The Glimpse of the Dolphins
After a while, we reached an area where the river widened. The boat was switched off in the middle of the river and we waited for the Ganges river dolphins to show up. After nearly 10 minutes, our boatman sighted Dolphins which we all missed. But after a while we had a glimpse of another dolphin nearby. Over the next 15 minutes, we sighted four more dolphins surfacing up and vanishing in the blues of Chambal. On the way back to the jetty, I decided to get off and look for the tiny sand larks. In the heat of the day, crawling on the soft grounds of Chambal’s banks, I had a tough time finding these tiny shy birds.

 Finally, it was time to pack my bags and move out of Chambal. I had to travel to Delhi. After having sighted all the crocodile species of the subcontinent for which I had to travel long distances, I am a satisfied man. In spite of my mind discouraging me from wasting a boat safari on Chambal by going on the Sarus Crane trail, my heart pushed me towards the latter. I cannot express in words the amount of satisfaction that I underwent after this tedious session in the Paddy/potato fields of these villages.

I do suggest anyone visiting this place to surely spare some time for the Sarus and also do a safari on the fields in order to sight the Black-bucks and Nilgais up close. Mr. Ram Pratap Singh of the Chambal Safari told me that not many Indian tourists visit the place and most of his guests are from outside India. Not many of us realize what a paradise we have been ignoring over here. After the recent Gharial deaths in the river, I was happy not to have sighted even a single carcass and it seems the situation was improving. After all Chambal is known as one of the country’s pristine rivers. Why shouldn’t it remain so?
 

Delhi Bird 07-08, January 2008
N. Sethi
http://groups.google.com.et/group/delhibirdpix/browse_thread/thread/733bbe6eafebbad4

 Highlights :-Skimmers(of course), red headed vulture, common buzzard, long legged buzzard, common merganser, black bellied tern, painted sandgrouse, brown hawk owl

Hi! last weekend caught between the hunt for sibes and twitching at Assan barrage we chose to walk the middle path and visited the charming Chambal Safari Lodge at Jarar about 70km from Agra. We landed there early on saturday morning after spending the night at Agra (and seeing the Taj at close quarters in not so full moon light) and chose to go down to the river at the Chambal Sanctuary. On way a pair of crested buntings surprisingly showed up nicely by the roadside The river was an enchanting experience - clear flowing waters and clean banks Immediately on landing there we found a common buzzard close by sitting on the bank trying to plan its day and giving us good opportunity to study the brown patch on belly etc (of course with raptors all your study goes the moment u see one soaring overhead). There were desert and Isabelline wheatears, sand larks little ringed plovers and osprey on a pole, as usual, giving close views. we hopped on board the boat run by the lodge barely able to contain the excitement of seeing skimmers (which were on the wish list for a loonng time). As we boarded a lone common merganser was spotted (I’m told by Bill they haven’t been mapped from there before as they are usually found high in the foothills. Its understood that they are seen there – probably more upstream). A lone red crested pochard with five females with brilliant light falling on them was a great sight. As we cruised numerous bar headed geese, comb ducks, great thick knees, about 150+ grey herons were seen amongst the chambal gharials (in news these days having been found dead due to liver cirrhosis), red headed turtles, marsh crocodiles. And then at last a group of skimmers –those striking birds whose breakfast was over so couldn’t see them hunting with their lovely beaks.  Nevertheless they all raised their heads to give us good views while a black bellied tern basked close by. And then Dalveer our bird guide (an able nephew of Rattan Singh) shouted to draw our attention to the dolphins- but where – they just come up for few seconds before diving underneath. One needs a quick eye and patience to see the rare gangetic river dolphins. Feeling exalted we headed back to see a pair bonellis eagle on the cliff with the female probably sitting on the eggs in the nest. An afternoon walk to the nearby pond showed yellow wattled lapwings in the grounds on the way  and at the pond five common snipes for once feeding along with the other waders in the open and then back at the lodge the brown hawk owl showed nicely. A walk in the fields around the lodge in the morning showed a good number of resident birds like bhraminy myna, red collared dove, black breasted weavers with a lone booted warbler. Rest of the morning was spent basking in the sun in the lawns watching peahens, brown headed barbets, koels at the watering holes. At this place one really feels surrounded by birds-in fact you wake up in the morning to the call of grey partridges which are soon joined by the parakeets and the brown headed barbets.
On Sunday we headed back to delhi in the afternoon and stopped briefly at sur sarovar sanctuary (about 16 km from Agra) to have a quick look. There were a good number of spoon and open bills apart from numerous waterfowl which unfortunately were at a distance and totally against the light –I guess it should be good in the morning-I guess some other time 
 

NORTHERN INDIA: Bharatpur, Tigers and the Taj Mahal - 1 - 21 December 2007
Leader: Sam Woods
http://www.tropicalbirding.com/tripReports/TR_India_Dec2007/indiatourreport07.html

Day 7

KEOLADEO GHANA NATIONAL PARK (RAJASTHAN) and onto CHAMBAL SAFARI LODGE (UTTAR PRADESH)

After a final lunch at the fantastic Bagh hotel, we departed for Chambal Safari Lodge, our base for the following mornings river safari. On the way there was little to add, but we did pick up a small group of Red-naped Ibis feeding in some recently fertilized fields alongside the highway. Once at the lodge, our late arrival left little time, except to see an Indian Hare leaping around at the back of the resort, and to see a party of Common Palm Civets emerge from their day roost, and later we picked up our second Brown Hawk-Owl of the day, this time watched at night as it hawked for insects from its treetop perch.

 Day 8

CHAMBAL RIVER SAFARI (UTTAR PRADESH)
A short time after a chilly, misty dawn we made the journey down to the Chambal River itself, a noted area for birds and an internationally recognized bird sanctuary. The main target bird in the area is the wintering flock of Indian Skimmers, a very localized, globally threatened species that spends the winter months on the sandy banks of the Chambal. This year we ran into 36 of these superb skimmers, the rarest of the three species worldwide. Another declining and local species, Black-bellied Tern was found plucking insects from the glassy surface of the Chambal, all the birds seen being in resplendent breeding plumage, complete with jet black underbelly. Some low-flying birds were followed closely and led us straight to a group of over 30 Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, feeding on the boulder-strewn banks. Other birds on the safari included a nesting pair of Bonelli's Eagles, a single low flying Long-legged Buzzard, huge rafts of Bar-headed Geese resting on the water, a chunky Great Thick-knee hiding along the rockier part of the Chambal, and a lone Common Merganser resting on a sand bar. The birds, good as they are were not our only focus, a couple of interesting 'crocs' regularly using the sandy bars alongside the river as a resting place. Just a couple of Mugger Crocodiles were seen, although well over 60 long-snouted, fish-eating Gharials were found loafing on some small sandy islands in the middle of the Chambal. A definite highlight of this years river safari. We then returned to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal, where we boarded our overnight train for our journey into 'Tiger Country', and our visit to the fabled Tiger Reserve of Bandhavgarh in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
 

India – Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh -November 2007
Richard Powell
http://www.travellingbirder.com/tripreports/view_birding_tripreport.php?id=306

Friday 23rd November.

With my stomach vastly improved, I made the most of a lie in and then set off to the Chambal Safari Lodge, which is a lovely place to stay.

I had a brief period of mild panic when I arrived, when I couldn’t find a pouch of mine that contained my passport and a load of rupees. Thankfully it was under the driver’s seat, it found its way there during a spot of hard braking.

After lunch Rattan Singh, The Godfather, was at the lodge guiding a group of people, which included a couple from Norwich called Ian and Jo. It took me a while for the penny to drop, but I realised that I had been in touch with Jo a few months before while in cyberspace, on a website called Bird Forum. Jo had started a thread saying they were off to India and I replied to say I was too, although I wasn’t sure if our paths were to cross.

Prior to an afternoon walk in the surrounding fields, Rattan showed me roosting Collared Scops Owl and Brown Hawk Owl in the grounds of the lodge. The afternoon walk included Black-Breasted Weaver.
Just before dinner, Rattan took us to an area of mature trees in the lodge grounds to look for Common Palm Civet. We eventually found three by torchlight, walking around the branches. Rattan eventually found six. 

 This then led to a wonderful dinner, washed down with Kingfisher lager. They did some great things with Cauliflower, and I’m not a huge fan of that particular vegetable. Unless it’s in a cheese sauce.

 The more beer consumed then inevitably led to more inane and whimsical, but thoroughly enjoyable, conversations with Ian and Jo. Jo’s photos on her camera were excellent. I could have easily stayed longer and got through more beer, but there was a 6:30 start for a morning walk next day.

Saturday 24th November.

Surprisingly not hungover, the peace and quiet must have helped, a pre-breakfast walk with Dalveer produced Greater Short-Toed Lark and an Indian Hare. After breakfast we took the drive over to the National Chambal Sanctuary.

The trip to the sanctuary with Dalveer was brilliant. We saw Crested Bunting, Crested Lark, Indian Bushlark, River Lapwing, Bar-Headed Goose, a few Sand Larks, Gharial, Marsh Crocodile, Great Thick-Knee, about 50 Chestnut-Bellied Sandgrouse, 15 Indian Skimmers, Black-Bellied Tern, Comb Duck, Long-Legged Buzzard.

We then got to the site of a Bonelli´s Eagle nest. As we were there we heard the call of a flock of Cranes. They turned out to be 45 Demoiselle Cranes, and they flew straight over us and over the Bonelli´s Eagle nest. It was an amazing sight. Apparently Demoiselle Cranes should be further west by then, in Gujurat and at Keechan in Rajasthan, so these birds were late.

We went a bit further on and Dalveer took us to an area good for Sirkeer Malkoha. Now he jumped off the boat with no problem, skinny young lad that he is. When I did that, I was nearly up to my knees in mud! Typical! No damage to my optics though so that was alright. The boat man cleaned my boots in the river 

It was well worth getting muddy though. Not long after leaving the boat Dalveer was jumping up and down in delight! “It’s Sirkeer Malkoha, Its Sirkeer Malkoha!!”. 

On the way back we saw Pallas´s Gull and Black Ibis. Dalveer also found a water buffalo that was wallowing around in the mud. Dalveer then started laughing and compared the buffalo with me! Thanks Davleer, thanks very much! It was all very funny though. I just kept looking at my trousers during and couldn’t stop laughing. What is my driver going to think? He was fine, found it as funny as I did.

Then in an afternoon walk with Dalveer, we saw Asian Koel, Bronze-Winged Jacana, Black-Breasted and Baya Weavers, Chestnut-Shouldered Petronia, a pair of Red-Necked Falcons, Oriental Turtle Dove.

A few more beers were consumed that evening after a successful day. Much fun was had with Dalveer and the other staff while reciting my buffalo impressions, and Dalveer’s reaction to finding the Malkoha.

I’m certain that Kingfisher lager was stronger here than at Bharatpur. I noticed on the bottle at Hotel Sunbird it said “alcohol content no more than 5%”, whereas here, just into Uttar Pradesh, it said “alcohol content no more than 8%”. It seems a little odd they don’t mention an exact figure. It could be zero percent, it could be 7.9 percent. It certainly felt more towards the latter!

Sunday 25th November.

A little groggy this morning! But another pre-breakfast walk produced a Wryneck. I wasn’t planning to go on another boat trip, but there was time to fit another one in. It made sense otherwise I would be sitting around the safari lodge all morning.

 We went in the opposite direction this time to look for the Gangetic River Dolphin. On the way Dalveer found three Asian Openbill Storks sat in a tree.

We eventually got to the Dolphin area and we had some excellent views. The last view we had was of the Dolphin leaping straight up into the air, about 30 metres away from the boat. After that, the boatman said it was the best view he had had in 10 years! As we weren’t going to do any better than that, we set off back, with River Tern and Osprey seen on the way.

After lunch it was time to head back to Agra to catch the train to Umaria.
 

India 2007 Tigers, Taj and Himalayan birds - November 2007
Jo and Ian
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8773601@N03/sets/72157603341038890/?page=2
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=102900

 22nd November
Our train was delayed by two hours but at least we were all comfortable and we all managed to get some much-needed sleep this time. We were met on the platform by a familiar face, Sandeep, our driver from Bharatpur. Another friendly face was at Chambal in the form of Rattan Sing, We were also introduced to his nephew Dholbeer who was obviously following in his Uncle’s footsteps.

We were supposed to have the afternoon to relax at Chambal Safari Lodge and both Mike and Ian were looking forward to the change of pace. All plans for a lazy afternoon were dashed however as it was announced that we would take our boat trip, planned for the next morning, that afternoon. Personally, I was quite happy with this arrangement and after lunch we took the 45min drive down to the river. As Rattan was with us we of course stopped en route for Crested Bunting, but soon were on a boat cruising down the river. Gharials, Marsh Muggers, and numerous turtles were easy to spot and there was also a variety of wildfowl including Ruddy Shelduck, Lesser Whistling Duck, Comb Duck and Bar-headed Goose. Waders included River Lapwing, Kentish, Little Ringed and Lesser Sand Plover, We also saw River and Black-bellied Tern as well as a lone Indian Skimmer. On the way back a Golden Jackal could be seen on the bank taking a drink and we caught the briefest of glimpse of the Gangetic Dolphin. We retired to the Lodge for a relaxing evening. For those who are on the lookout for Souvenirs, Dholbeer does his own line of hand-painted t-shirts which are worth a look.

23rd November
I was up early for a morning bird walk but our guides were on a bit of a go-slow so all we really saw was a Collared Scops Owl and a Brown Hawk Owl. After breakfast we took a drive back to the river again stopping whenever Rattan saw something interesting. This included Hoopoe, Bluethroat, Black-bellied Weaver, and Jungle Prinia. Birding along the river gave us good views of River Lapwing, Sand Lark and Greater Thicknee, Having seen only the one skimmer yesterday we were keen to see more so Rattan worked his magic and scored us an unauthorized boat ride up to the island where we got good views of a dozen or so birds.

Lunchtime around the lodge provided further opportunities for birding and I got a good view of a pair of Black-rumped Flamebacks on a tree by our lodge. Skimmer lodge, the one we stayed in sits under a tree that is the home of a rather noisy colony of fruit bats- so don’t expect a lie in if you stay there! That afternoon we met another of Asian Adventure’s guests, Richard, who I had been corresponding with on Bird Forum. We birded around the lodge and local fields, getting nice views of a Brown-headed Barbet amongst other things. After dark we searched the trees by our lodge for Indian Palm Civet and got some good views of about six of these cute little critters.

24th November
I was awoken early by the Fruit bats returning to their roost, so decided to get up for the early morning bird walk. This time we went out to the fields and added a Greater Short-toed lark and Baya Weaver to our list. We got a call from the lodge asking us to head back because we were due to leave for Agra. After a quick breakfast I finished packing and we were off on our way again. Again, Rattan didn’t disappoint us with views of Yellow-wattled Lapwing, three Oriental Honey Buzzards and best of all, a Lesser Spotted Eagle on the way.
 

The Chambal, India - 26th October - 3rd November 2007
by David Newman
http://www.kentos.org.uk/Trip%20Reports/Chambal.htm

This was a family holiday, not a birding one but I saw 157 species of birds in six days. We stayed at the Chambal Safari Lodge, and the hospitality could not have been better. By breakfast of our first morning, my head was spinning with 43 species seen in the grounds on an hour’s walk-about.  For birders, and especially birders with families who would like to have a taster of India, there could be no better place.

The Planning

The Chambal Safari Lodge is 70km south-east from Agra in north-central India. We found it through www.responsibletravel.com, whose philosophy of adventurous travel, balanced with environmental concern and wish to support and sustain local development, fitted with what we wanted. We also wished to introduce our children aged 9-14years to the culture of India in a safe family friendly manner. I noted from the internet that a number of birding tours include a day here and spoke highly of the warm hospitality and good birding. We found these two features so evidently in abundance that I felt others might like it too. This holiday would particularly appeal to those whose party includes a mixture of ardent birders and those who simply enjoy natural history and general travel. There is no swimming pool or beach, and night-life is blissfully quiet so if these aspects are essential to you, perhaps take a second week in Goa.

The Chambal

The Chambal river starts in Central India and flows north before turning south-east to form part of the border between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh south-east of Agra. It flows almost parallel to the river Yamuna, one of the main tributaries of the Ganges, for some 50km before merging with it after a journey of 900km. Unlike most of the Gangetic tributaries it has very little habitation along its banks and consequently has very clean water. For this reason in the 1970s it was chosen as the site for re-introducing a captive breeding programme for the Gharial Gavialis gangeticus, a long-nosed, fish-eating crocodile that was being decimated by poaching. The clean water also makes it one of the last remaining stretches of the Ganges where the Gangetic Dolphin Platanista gangetica is still found in good numbers. A 600km long stretch of the river including 1-6km either side was declared a National Conservation Sanctuary in 1979.

Why the Area is Special

The monsoon climate and local geology of the Gangetic plain in this area have led to the formation of a complex mosaic of ravines up to 6km on either side of the river and are so steep and unstable that agriculture is very limited. Much dry small acacia-type scrub still occurs and provides a sanctuary to a host of interesting wildlife. In addition, just north of the Yamuna is a very different looking landscape of rice paddies in which 100square km have been designated as a conservation area for the Sarus Crane. The lodge provides a half-day guided tour of this area where sightings of this magnificent bird are virtually guaranteed.

Guides

The lodge employs a very enthusiastic naturalist, Mr Dalveer Singh who knows the areas and the birds very well. He showed us the regularly roosting Indian Scops Owl and Brown Hawk Owls, and Spotted Owlets in Lodge grounds, and I appreciated having the salient distinguishing features between Blyth’s Reed Warbler and Paddyfield Warbler, and between Hume’s Leaf-Warbler and Greenish Warbler among many other slightly tricky species pairs that occur in the area pointed out to me. Early morning and evening walks around the grounds and surrounding fields produced a wealth of species, and one got the impression that so crowded is India that birds cannot help but get used to humans – certainly the quality of the viewing was superb.

The Accommodation

The lodge is developed within the 35 acre grounds of a beautiful old large house, where there are many large, mature trees. Eight small brick cottages with verandas grouped into four around an open garden provide comfortable accommodation with en-suite. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided outside the main house and are not to be missed if you enjoy Indian food. The owners Mr Ram Parat Singh and his wife Anu were immensely helpful in arranging itineraries, transport and guides, and made themselves very accessible.

Other things to do

In addition to the tours offered by the lodge, we took a taxi to Agra early one morning arriving at 7am to see the Taj Mahal with a guide and then on to Agra Fort. In the afternoon we went north to Ketham Forest Reserve on the Delhi Road, to see a large reservoir where I had Spot-billed Duck, Greater Flamingo and Brown-headed Gull amongst other waterfowl seen elsewhere. Within the forest complex we were taken on a fascinating 2 hour tour of the bear sanctuary where dancing bears have been rescued from the streets. This was all arranged impeccably by Mr R.P. Singh.

Trips offered by the Lodge

The lodge tours include a camel ride from the other side of the river (in Madyha Pradesh) to Fort Ater; a 40min each way trip. The fort in its day must have been fabulous, but has fallen into decay; definitely worth a visit but it is impossible to bird from the back of a camel! There are two river safaris – one upstream and the other down; it is worth doing both – there is so much to see the chances are you will miss something on one trip and get it on the other. There is also a trip to the temple complex at Bateshawar. At this time of year, the road passes through a large cattle fair which culminates in mid-November when donkeys, horses and camels join the cattle to be traded – it is very atmospheric and full of photographic opportunities. Jeep safaris also go out to another area near the Chambal river where good numbers of the endangered Blackbutt – a rather magnificent deer (male is black and white with very long spiral horns) are found. These tours are half-day in length so there is time to just sit and read on the veranda, play cards, wander around the lodge and have tea on the lawn.
 

Madhya Pradesh, India - April 2007
Published by Mike Meidlinger (mikemeidlinger@yahoo.com)
Participants: Alison Waldegrave, Tom Ennis, Jack Ashby, Tobias Nowlan, Mike Meidlinger
http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=1311

4th April 2007

We then drove on to the Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary, our home for the evening and what a home indeed. A walk around the local fields surpassed all expectation producing Grey Francolin, Jungle Bush Quail, several Paddyfield Warblers, Bluethroat, Zitting Cisticola and Indian Silverbill in the short crops and low vegetation. Taller trees and scrubs reminiscent of Africa’s acacias held a male Red-headed Bunting, Ashy Drongo and a male Taiga Flycatcher. Small flocks of Rose-coloured Starlings passed overhead periodically and a small orchard provided us with our first Spotted Owlet of the tour along with a single althaea Lesser Whitethroat and an Indian Cuckoo, apparently the first record of this species for the area. As we returned to camp in the last breathe of light following an awe-inspiring sunset we had the privilege to observe over 200 flying foxes leaving their daytime roost beside our chalets. A short night walk after dinner provided us with short glimpses of Palm Civet and Indian Fox before an early night.

5th April 2007

Today dawned bright and early and with first light saw an increase in bird activity with the most notable additions to the list being a single Hume’s Warbler and Asian Paradise Flycatcher. A quick bite to eat and we were transferred through the rugged cavernous terrain of the Chambal region stopping briefly to note Rufous-fronted Prinia, Common Babbler, White-eared Bulbul and Plain Martin before arriving at the river of the same name.

Reminiscent of North Africa we were greeted by a caravan of camels and their owners as we traversed across the flat arid plains, themselves broken only by the lazy waters of the small winding water-body we had come to experience. These dried plains held breeding River Lapwing, Indian Little Ringed Plover, Great Thick-knee, Crested Lark and Oriental Skylark. Meanwhile the crust of a muddy shoreline held a host of waders, Kentish Plover, a large flock of wagtails which comprised of much the same as those on the shores of Dehli’s Yuhimna as well as taivana Yellow plus personata and leucopsis White along with a solitary Red-throated Pipit.

Boarding our vessel we began our journey along the river proper, from the boat we were watched cautiously by both Garials and Mugger Crocodiles catching the early morning eat on the banks. Avian highlights included Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Bar-headed Goose, Black-bellied and River Terns, Sarus Crane, Indian Skimmer and Little Tern. Our major target however had been to catch a glimpse of the elusive and highly endangered Gangetic River Dolphin. While on our return back upstream, having lost all hope of finding them, the atmosphere onboard akin to a weight of solid lead until a non-distinct splash immediately spurred Jack into action picking up what turned out to be at least two of these awesome cetaceans. We watched these two for a total of about 45 seconds over twenty minutes with sightings consisting of second-long views interspersed by long 5-6 minutes of submersion, but eventually the whole group obtained enough pieces of the puzzle for contentment. An elated boatful of giddy naturalists returned to shore quite ready for a celebratory litre of water and an afternoon siesta.

The emotion hadn’t quite left the group as we bid bon voyage to our host and guide…. before heading on to Bharatpur just west of Agra ready for our final full day tomorrow. A short search on the way produced excellent views of the endangered and charismatic Blackbuck which truly has to be the best looking antelope in the world. We managed to find six of these handsome beasts striding and feeding in open farmland finding it difficult to understand the reality that the wild population of this species is in real trouble.
 

NORTHERN INDIA REPORT  - 23 FEBR. - 10 MARCH 2007
PARTICIPANTS
Wilma & Jos Wanten; Reuver, The Netherlands – e-mail: jos.birds(at)hetnet.nl
http://home.hetnet.nl/~joswanten/indiapart1.htm

Chambal Safari Lodge (http://www.chambalsafari.com/): excellent eco-lodge with large and clean rooms. Excellent service.

 Saturday 3 March

We arrived at Mathura train station at 4:30 AM. Here we were picked up by our driver for the next week. The drive to the Chambal River Lodge took about 21/2 hours arriving there just after sunrise. After dropping our luggage in our room we had an outside breakfast after which we set off to the Chambal River accompanied by our driver, guide Dalveer Singh and someone from the lodge’s staff who carried a weapon (I don’t know for what reason). The journey to the river took about an hour including two birding stops for amongst Hoopoe, Brown-headed Barbet and Crested Bunting. We arrived at the river near a pontoon bridge which was used for crossing the river by the many camel carts which was apparently the common way of transport in the region. After waiting a few minutes we boarded the boat for a 2 to 3 hours ride downriver. The birding was really excellent from the boat with many new birds occurring for our trip list. The riverbank held many Mugger Crocodiles and Gharials resting motionless in the warm morning sun. We even had a short glimpse of the endangered Gangetic Dolphin. During the boat ride we noted amongst Comb Duck, Red-crested Pochard, Common & Pied Kingfisher, Black-bellied Tern, Short-toed Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard and Eurasian Eagle-owl sitting in his nest hole along the riverbank. After about one hour we approached an island in the river and it was soon clear that it held one of our target birds for today. It held about 40 roosting Indian Skimmers accompanied by other good birds like Eurasian Spoonbill, Great Thick-knee and several other wader species. At the riverbank next to the island we had our only Black Ibis of the trip. On our way back we made a short stop on a dry sandy island for wheatears and Crested & Sandlark. Another dry sandbank close to the bridge held dozens of Small Prantincole and a few Temminck’s Stint. Driving back to the lodge we passed a small village where many people were on the streets throwing paint to each other. Our guide told us it was because of the celebration of the Holy Colour Festival. Our driver and me also received a full load of paint through the opened car window which ruined my shirt and pants. Back at the lodge I changed clothes and we had lunch in the garden. We decided to take a few hours of rest during the afternoon because we only had a couple of hours sleep last night. Around 4 PM Dalveer showed up again and we birded the lodge surroundings until dusk. First Dalveer showed us a Collared Scops-owl roosting in a banana tree behind the lodge. We had some excellent birding and the place was really teeming with birds. Some of the most noteworthy birds included Asian Koel, Yellow-footed Pigeon, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Bay-backed Shrike, Small Minivet and Indian Silverbill. Back at the lodge we took a shower and went for dinner. Our day list ended up at 100 species of which 38 were new for the trip, having a trip total now of 301 species. Best bird of the day: Indian Skimmer.
 

A bend in the river Chambal – February 2007
N. Subramanian 
http://nirupama-subramanian.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/02/a-bend-in-the-river-chambal.htm

The word safari usually conjures up images of intrepid travelers in the jungles of Africa, scanning the Savannah for lions and tigers, antelopes and elephants. I had even been on a camel safari, wobbling on the ship of the desert across endless stretches of sand dunes. This was the first time, I had heard of a river safari. What could you possibly see on   a river apart from blurred images of unidentifiable fish or buffaloes wallowing in the shallows. That too on the Chambal, which was associated with wildlife of a different kind. It was with some trepidation that I agreed to a safari on the river Chambal, an idea picked up by friends, from an advertisement in a  travel magazine, with little information about what exactly was in store for us.

 It was about 9.p.m when we arrived at the Chambal Safari Lodge, a few kilometers from Agra, near the village of Bah. There were no lights on the streets and save for the small stretch of road illuminated by the headlights of our car, everything around was cloaked in an impenetrable thick blackness. The biting January cold and the damp tendrils of mist that twirled around us  created an eerie atmosphere, right out of a horror film. We were thankful to spy the dull lights of the Lodge. The Chambal Lodge is owned and run by Ram Pratap Singh, a scion of a royal family that also owned several fields and land around the area. We were shown to our accommodation, rustic cottages that had names like Ibis and Tern, done up in a Fab India ethnic chic style. After a barbecue dinner, warmed by wine and a bon fire, soothed by a clear night sky cluttered with stars, I felt ready to tackle the ravines and rivers of the Chambal.

 The next morning was mellow with warm sunshine that felt like melted butter. The lush green foliage around the lodge and the cheerful sounds of unknown birds  was a pleasant contrast to the previous night. The Safari, I learnt, was actually a cruise on the river Chambal, where the main attractions were sightings of migratory birds and crocodiles. The Chambal is a pristine river, relatively unspoilt by industrial effluences or human detritus. It originates in the Vindhyadan ranges of Central India, passes through certain districts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh before joining the Jamuna. A 400km stretch and about 2km wide swathe of river ravines has been designated a protected wildlife area- The National Chambal Santuary. I believe there are more than 250 species of birds, migratory and local, that can be seen at this sanctuary.

 We drove down to the banks of the river accompanied by our guide Yadav, who nonchalantly carried a gun, a long rifle just like the ones from Bandit Queen. He also carried two books on birds. “Why a gun?” we asked him. “Just in case,” he said mysteriously. Surely, we would not be attacked by dacoits leaping out from the Chambal ravines! At the river, we got into a motor boat. There were four of us, Yadav and the boatman. The first few minutes were peaceful, still, except for the soft throbbing of the boat. The river, flanked by small hillocks and ravines was also calm with occasional ripples stirred to life by the morning breeze. My husband was poised with his camera and our friends were ready with binoculars but there was no sign of any life above or below the waters. “Wait till the sun climbs up,” said Yadav, sensing our anticipation.

 The boat seemed to dip by a bend in the river and I saw the first bird of the morning. It was a Ruddy Shelduck, bobbing merrily in the water, its orange-rust plumage gleaming in the sun. A lone osprey perched on a branch that seemed to have sprouted at the edge of the waters. I flipped through our bird book, making a note of the birds Yadav said we would see. My foray into bird watching was limited to identifying the birds that came to our garden during my childhood in Delhi, common garden birds like mynas, sparrows, bulbuls and shrieking babblers, all information gleaned from a borrowed Salim Ali book. In recent times, I have only had close encounters with the  crows and pigeons that made a mess in the balcony of our apartment. During the next few hours, I discovered the pleasures of being an amateur ornithologist. We saw a flock of Indian Skimmers, black and white birds with orange beaks that darted across the sandbar with sudden spurts of energy. Bar headed geese swam close to our boat, gliding like sedate dowagers. A pair of River Lapwing pecked determinedly  at invisible grub among the shallows. In the distance, I could identify an   ibis with its distinctive curved beak and glossy black plumage. A black bellied tern made smooth circles overhead and a few brown birds, probably whistling ducks, alighted gracefully on a rock that peeped out of the river. Sarus cranes called to each other in melancholy tones across the mudflats.

 Just as the boat moved closer to the banks, we spotted our first reptile, a baby ghariyal, about a foot long, resting in a natural alcove carved out by the river currents along the banks. It was motionless for a while and then dropped with a sudden splash into the water. The ghariyal is a member of the crocodile family but looks different from its cousins due to a long narrow snout, with fine teeth, specially adapted for catching small fish. A few yards ahead, a pair of turtles, mottled and mud colored, clambered onto the banks. The underwater creatures had emerged to greet the sun, which was gazing with benevolent warmth on the river.  Our boatman cut the engine and we drifted close to a sandbar. As we moved closer the sandbar seemed to shake itself and come alive. It was full of ghariyals, the largest almost 5m long. The group lay basking in the sun, oblivious to our presence. A huge mugger, the Indian crocodile, stirred briefly on an adjoining rock. It looked like a mean creature, with small cunning eyes above massive jaws spiked with sharp pointed teeth. One swish of its tail could have toppled our boat and created a scene out of Lake Placid. For a minute, I hoped our guide’s gun was loaded. Luckily, the crocodile was more interested in enjoying the sun than a midday meal. A heron hopped nonchalantly near the crocodile’s head. After a few seconds, some of the ghariyals slithered into the water, as though sensing our presence. Our guide informed us that the ghariyals were an endangered species and never attacked humans. A mugger, on the other hand, once attacked and killed a small child that was bathing in the river. 

 Suddenly, our guide pointed to the other side of the river and shouted excitedly. I barely caught a glimpse of a silver flash  across the sparkling waters. It was a dolphin, probably a Gangetic Dolphin that was supposed to inhabit these waters. I had only seen the friendly telegenic dolphins on TV, rubbing snouts and shaking fins with small children across bright blue artificial pools. My knowledge of dolphins was limited to a long ago reading of Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tides from which I remembered that the Gangetic dolphins were shy elusive creatures that had to be tracked patiently, for hours, for a sighting. I saw another brilliant arc of light carved across the waters but we were too far to see anything resembling a dolphin. We had to be contented with the sight of one of the largest crocodiles I had ever seen, that moved like a prehistoric monster along the far bank.

 We returned to the shore after four hours of the safari. It was early afternoon. We passed over a trek to an ancient fort in favor of lunch and returned to the lodge. It was a long drive to Delhi and we wanted to reach there before the fog set in. We had enough memories of our river adventure to savor along the way. I knew that I would never again see a river as just another  water body  but a thriving ecosystem that sustained a wonderful variety of animal life.
 

India: Gujurat and River Dolphins – February 2007
Jon Hall
http://www.mammalwatching.com/Oriental/orientindiagujurat2007.html

Chambal (night one)
I flew into Delhi at 1am on Sunday morning and met my driver and car (self drive car hire is pretty unusual in India and you would have to be intrepid or suicidal to try to drive yourself when the extra cost of a driver is negligible). We drove overnight to Agra, which should take about 4 hours but took us 6 because my drive stopped for “5 minutes”, and we woke up 2 hours later. Rested in Agra and then we drove another 2 hours onto the Chambal Safari Camp. The camp is excellent: a nice setting, good food and great staff who were keen to help find me some animals. Chambal National Park is a long thin strip of scrubby forest bordering the Chambal River. The camp offer boat trips along the river in the mornings and afternoons. And the stretch of the river they visit is home to a population of Gangetic River Dolphin that are very findable most mornings.

The boat trips leave from a bridge across the river a half hour drive from camp. The afternoon safari was picturesque with some nice birds, plenty of Gharials and Mugger Crocs, and a few turtles. But no dolphins. Perhaps they are not active in the afternoon or perhaps they spend their time elsewhere. The next morning though we were on the river at about 9am (as soon as the mist cleared), and travelled the 3km downstream to the dolphin spot. Within five minutes we saw the first animal break the surface. There were 3 or 4 animals feeding here for about an hour, though it was difficult to approach them. I had only fleeting glimpses as they broke the surface for a second every two to three minutes. The dolphins hang out near a small sand bar that was also home to a group of Indian Skimmers.

Some spotlighting around Chambal in the evening found a Common Palm Civet in the garden and Indian Foxes (a mother and two cubs) denning in the paddock (more like waste ground) outside the camp. They occasionally see Striped Hyenas here late in the evening. Indian Flying Foxes were feeding in the garden at night, and Five Striped Palm Squirrels common in the daytime. I set 15 Elliott traps without success.

North India – TROPICAL BIRDING – Birds, Tigers and the Taj Mahal 2 – 22 December 2006
Guides: Keith Barnes & Iain Campbell
http://www.tropicalbirding.com/tripReports/TR_NorthIndia_Dec2006/TR_NorthIndia_Dec2006.htm

8 December: Bharatpur to Chambal Safari Lodge
We spent one last morning in the park and managed to add a few species including Peregrine Falcon, Asian Koel, Brown Hawk Owl, House Swift, Small Minivet and White-browed Fantail. In the afternoon we took the drive to Chambal Safari Lodge where we quickly located another roosting Brown Hawk-Owl that most people enjoyed before a serious Indian cookup.

9 December: Chambal River - Umaria
The morning started brilliantly as we enjoyed a spectacular river safari on the Chambal River. Before we got to the river, we scored a female Crested Bunting on the roadside. Arrival at the river quickly saw us start to notch up some serious birds such as Desert Wheatear, Crested Lark and an amazing family of Great Thick-knee. After boarding the boat the great sightings continued and at first we found over 30 Indian Skimmer, all on a riverbank. The river also produced Black-bellied and River Terns flitting up and down the waters, a small family of Sand Lark eventually succumbed and the rivers were lined with the impressive Mugger and Gharial crocodiles. A Red-naped Ibis strutted along the river flanks and we found a large flock of Red-crested Pochard amongst some more regular ducks. Other river specialists included Brahminy Kite, Little Ringed and Kentish Plovers, Great Black-headed and Yellow-legged Gulls. An unexpected treat came in the form of a Long-legged Buzzard that hung over us for some time. The first shout of "dolphin" got everyone quite excitied and we were soon enjoying multiple, if brief, views of Gangetic River Dolphin, with these endangered cetaceans' backs breaking the water regularly. A little gurgle allerted us to a party of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse that sped past en-route to a drinking spot somewhere upstream. All too soon the river adventure was over and we had soon notched up a great number of new and specialty birds amongst the more regular waterbird quarry.

India: Bharatpur and Chambal River National Parks
November 2006
Published by Colin Bradshaw (drcolin.bradshaw AT btinternet.com)
Participants: Colin Bradshaw, Celia Bryce, Kate Hudson
http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=1041


A short trip to Bharatpur and Chambal River was an ideal taster for India. Travelling was limited in distance and the birds were great.

Chambal Safari Lodge: Absolutely superb – an old stately home set in a mature fig plantation with extensive grounds filled with birds. I had several new birds from the breakfast table set on the lawn. If watching Asian Koel, Common Wood-shrike and Scarlet Minivet while eating superb food appeals to you, this is the place for you. Anything can turn up there as I photographed White-capped Bunting and Oriental Turtle Dove in the grounds. It is the embarking place for the trip to the Chambal River Safari and is superbly situated next to a small village in the tribal part of Uttar Pradesh which allows you to explore local life somewhat. It is worthy noting though that two hours on a camel is not for those with soft backsides!

http://www.wildaboutindia.com/Testimonials.htm
Bharatpur was great but Chambal was exquisite - an absolute must-return place. ……... Our memories will last for a long time: of the multi-coloured saris in front of the gleaming white Taj Mahal; Indian Skimmer and Gharial on a misty sandbank on the Chambal River; bartering for mangoes, roasted peanuts and bangles at Jaitpur whilst Lesser Whistling Duck called overhead; Rhesus Macaques mobbing a Crested Serpent Eagle at Bharatpur; a flock of forty Open-billed Storks soaring over the Maharaja's Palace at Bund Baretha; giving an impromptu lesson to a class of uniformed schoolkids on how to tell Intermediate from Great Egret near Agra [they seemed more impressed with my camera than their new-found knowledge]; finally sitting on the lawn at Chambal Safari Lodge drinking a cold Kingfisher beer by candlelight whilst Flying Foxes and Brown Hawk Owl came out of roost above our heads. Colin and Celia Bradshaw December 2006

Birding and Wildlife Viewing Trip to India – February 2-25, 2006
Trip Report by Jo Ann MacKenzie
Surrey , British Columbia , Canada
http://www.peakadventures.ca/birdingtrippics/tripreport.html

Feb. 16: Bharatpur to Chambal Safari Lodge, Uttar Pradesh state
A 7 a.m. departure from the Sunbird Hotel for a 4-hour drive to Chambal Safari Lodge, with a tourist stop at Fatehpur Sikri historical site, where a pair of Egyptian Vultures was nesting in one of the towers. Chambal Lodge was charming, with comfortable cottages and delicious meals of organically-grown items.
After lunch, we drove to the Chambal River Sanctuary, the last couple of kilometres through sand dunes and thorn scrub “badlands.” The river was wide but not very deep. A floating bridge enabled vehicles to cross, but camel caravans just had to wade. Birds along the riverbank were Indian Skimmer, Black Ibis, Temminck’s and Little Stint.

Feb. 17: Chambal Safari Lodge to Agra, Uttar Pradesh state
Gathered at pre-dawn for an early breakfast and departure to the very impressive Bateshwar Temple complex.
Situated 70 km. from Agra on the banks of river Yamuna, Bateshwar is an important spiritual and cultural centre. Today, the once glittering metropolis has been reduced to a small village.
The place is named after the presiding deity of the region, Bateshwar Mahadeo and has 108 temples dedicated to the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon.
The most striking feature of Bateshwar is its towering cliffs of clay and its impressive row of white temples strung along the slow flowing Yamuna River . In actual fact they have not been built on the holy stream banks but atop an artificial embankment, or bund. It is more than likely that the course of the river was changed because it threatened to erode the foundations of a brick fort repeatedly built by the 17th century ruler, Raja Badan Singh Bhadawar. The fort's impressive ruins still stand in Bateshwar-Shoripur.
We wandered through the village, and took a do-it-yourself barge across the Yamuna River just to see what was on the other side — not much, so we returned. The most interesting bird was a Pallas’ Gull, the largest of the black-headed gull species.
After lunch at the Lodge, we drove back to the Chambal River Sanctuary for a 2-hour boat ride. We saw many Gharial and some Mugger (two species of fresh-water crocodiles), Golden Jackal, but no Gangetic Dolphin.
Back to the Lodge to collect our luggage, then off for the 60 km drive north to Agra, and the Hotel Pushp Villa a couple of km from the Taj Mahal, which could be seen from the hotel’s 7th floor revolving restaurant.

Northern India: ROCKJUMPER –Birds & Tigers 5-24 January 2006
Trip Report by Keith Valentine
http://www.rockjumper.co.za/02_destination_b_reports_india_n_2006_jan_01.htm


Our final train ride of the trip was taken to Agra, where we were transferred by bus to the Chambal River. Here a boat cruise allowed us an opportunity to view Indian Skimmer, Red-crested Pochard, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Black-bellied Tern, White-eared Bulbul, Sand and Bimaculated Larks, and Long-legged Buzzard. Two other highlights on the cruise were obtaining excellent sightings of Jungle Cat at the waters edge, and seeing the strange Gangetic River Dolphin.

India Bharatpur – BIRDSEEKERS – January 2006
Leaders: Steve Bird, Avijit Sarkel & Gina Nichol (Sunrise Birding) http://www.birdwatchingtours.co.uk/reports/after_tour_docs/India-2006.doc

Day 5 – 23rd January
This morning was to be our day trip to the wonderful Chambal River, so after an early breakfast and with a few hours to sunrise we set off. A short stop along the way found us a group of Olive-backed Pipits in a field and an Indian Peafowl up a tree. On arrival at the Chambal Safari River Lodge we were invited to a cup of tea and biscuits, but not before being shown a Brown Hawk-Owl sat in full view in a small tree. It was then time to drive down to the river edge in preparation for our boat trip.

This is probably the best and most reliable site in the world to see the sought after Indian Skimmer and we were not to be disappointed as 36 of these gorgeous birds were sat close by on the shore edge, allowing us unprecedented views and photographic opportunities. Beside the skimmers were Little and Temminck’s Stint, Little Ringed Plover and our first River Lapwing. Once aboard our boat we set off quietly up river soon passing flocks of Red-crested Pochard and Bar-headed Geese, while above and alongside us flew Steppe and Pallas’s Gulls, and both River and gorgeous Black-bellied Terns. Ruddy Shelducks were easily seen and on the shore we cruised past a group of Indian Black Ibis, while above us several Egyptian and a Red-headed Vulture circled. A Long-legged Buzzard was then spotted and as we looked at some Soft-shelled Terrapins, a Brown Crake was spotted running into a burrow. Cruising on we drifted close to a small cliff face and there perched on a small rock was an adult Bonelli’s Eagle. Nearby a small island held our first 20ft long Gharials, a Marsh Mugger and on a separate island a flock of Lesser Whistling Duck, several Comb Duck and a pair of Great Thick-Knees. The whole river experience was fantastic and the huge Gharials that we drifted close to were a real highlight. Just before we were due to turn around and return a group of three cranes flew from up river towards and over us finally settling on the shore edge. We turned around and got closer to three Common Cranes, initially thought to be Demoiselle’s as three had been reported in the area. Beside the cranes sat four huge Pallas’s Gulls of varying ages. Almost back to our start point we tried again for the Brown Crake and this time it showed wonderfully right out in the open. Back on shore we admired the flock of Indian Skimmers and added Sand Martin and a few Wire-tailed Swallows to our day list. A short walk around also got us Desert Wheatear and another pair of Great Thick-Knees.

We were soon aboard our coach and returning to the Chambal River Safari Lodge where lunch awaited us. Another look at the roosting Brown Hawk-Owl was followed by a delicious meal, a little relaxation and then some birding around the lodge gardens. Two groups of Olive-backed Pipits sat in the trees and allowed good study of identification features, while Brown-headed Barbet, Asian Koel and both Hume’s and Greenish Warblers also showed very well. Good numbers of Yellow-wattled Lapwings were found and several Red Collared-Doves put on a good show. An Oriental Honey Buzzard tried to hide from the marauding House Crows and a nice Red-breasted Flycatcher gave some very good close views. After completing a full circuit of the grounds we said farewell to our hosts and returned to Bharatpur and our lodge where we arrived in the dark.

NORTHERN INDIA – Delhi, Uttaranchal, Chambal and Bharatpur 17 th December – 31st December 2005
Alf King & Jeaninne King  
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/india/india-36-N/n-India-dec-05.htm

Chambal Safari Camp.
Initial impressions were not outstanding, probably due to the overnight train journey and 3 hour road transfer. Over the course of the day however this proved to be one of the highlights of the trip and we wished that we had stayed here an extra night. Overall the camp and the river should be visited by any birder coming to the area. The accommodation was rustic