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National Chambal Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh, India 13-14 December 2003
Bill Harvey
www.delhibird.org
Eight delhibirders (Nikhil, Sheila, Sunita, Bikram, Rattan Singh, Mohit, Kavita and myself) spent the weekend at the Chambal Safari Camp run by Ram Pratap Singh and his wife, Anu. A very relaxing experience with excellent food and general comforts. It is about half an hour from the river itself where the birds, mammals and reptiles were fantastic.
We recorded 113 bird species in our short stay and even added 11 to the draft checklist which will shortly join the burgeoning collection put on our website by Bikram.
The first species was one of the best; a very supercilious Brown Hawk Owl in the Camp itself. Also there of interest were Spotted Owlets, Oriental Honey-buzzards, Large Cuckoo-shrike, Hume's Warblers, White-bellied Drongo, both Red-throated (albicilla = Taiga; what an awful choice of name, but now formally accepted by the august British Ornithologists Union!) and Red-breasted (parva) Flycatchers and Black Redstarts.
At the river almost the first birds we saw were Indian Skimmers. There must have been 40 odd present there and we had excellent close views, pariticularly from the boat. Also several River and Black-bellied Terns but of gulls only a few Pallas's and a Brown-headed. Waders were predictable but with Great Thick-knees, River Lapwings and Kentish Plovers showing especially well.
To the duck list we added numerous Gadwall and several Wigeon but the stars were the beautiful Red-crested Pochards. At least 500 Bar-headed Geese were a great sight (1% of the world's population), marred by our finding at least 12 dead and dying from deliberate poisoning on the Sunday. RP has already taken the issue up with the Forest Dept and charges against the farmer concerned (who we identified) will be filed. Only 2 Greylags but lots of garrulous pairs of Ruddy Shelducks.
What else? A very confiding Osprey, a classically pale Long-legged Buzzard, a drinking Booted Eagle, about 20 Black Ibis and several Woolly-necked Storks, a stunning male Desert Wheatear, lots of Sand Larks and an arenarius Rufous-tailed Shrike. One of the more special sightings was of a couple of Lesser Coucals disporting in the open.
We had incredible views of many Gharials (up to 4m long but, encouragingly, many small young ones), Muggars and turtles, fleeting but frequent views of Gangetic Dolphins and several Golden Jackals.
But the star creature was the ghu-ghu; variously described as a minny dinosaur, a reptile, an amphibian, an insect and a crustacean. We found it was sort of Sand Cricket which lives in holes in the sand near the water's edge. It is weirdly patterned pale with stripes and with strangely spiky back legs. The most remarkable thing is that these tiny insects actually attack you if disturbed. I had two trying to bite at my shoe. And the bite hurts if it enters your flesh apparently!
FATBIRDER/Birders Travel - Disabled Birders Group - 11TH MARCH 2003
www.fatbirder.com
Next morning, we drove to the National Chambal Sanctuary, a wide river with equally wide sandy areas to each side. We soon had Indian Skimmer, Steve's first lifer for the trip! Then Black-bellied and River Tern, Comb Duck, Greater Flamingo and 4 species of cormorant. Negotiating the sand was no mean feat for those using wheelchairs but with lots of manpower we were all able to get aboard the boats and no one missed out on the fascinating site. The boat trip with views of the highly endangered Gangetic Dolphins was most enjoyable, except for one of our number who was overcome by heat, spending the return journey under a collapsing umbrella, and the next couple of hours recovering in the air-conditioned coach. On the river were a number of small islands with cormorants and, in one case, several hundred Small Pratincoles. After a picnic lunch under canvas and further birding we went on to Agra, where we were booked into the luxurious Sheraton Hotel.
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BIRDfORUM – Northern India – 11th – 24th JANUARY 2003
www.birdforum.net/archive/index.php/t-2362
Late but rested we arrived at Agra Fort railway station an met our guides for the day and a 3 hour drive to the Chambal River NP, although the drive was long and hot the final destination was superb. The Chambal River is a permanent waterway although the poor monsoon has left it a little lower than usual. Late but undeterred we set off in the early afternoon heat in search of river dolphins and crocodiles, and the odd life bird. The sanctuary delivered everything, 5 dolphins, one huge Mugger crocodile and lots of garrials (fresh water, fish eating alligators), on the bird front, River and Black-bellied Terns, Painted Storks, 3 species of cormorant, lots of wild fowl and waders and best of all Indian Skimmer.
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