11 Perfect Days Vacation for Grasslands, Desert and Lakes of Rajasthan
March 14th
Grassland, Desert, And Lakes of Rajasthan And Gujarat
Thursday 19th - Sunday 29th January 2023
The outlook for the magnificent Great Indian Bustard is ever more critical with numbers now possibly falling below what is a viable population. I decided therefore to make the long drive out West to the Desert National Park beyond Jaisalmer, the focus of the trip. There are a number of essentially Central Asian species that winter in small numbers in far western India. These are of great interest to those with more than a passing concern for their Indian list. Any trip that includes such rare and iconic species as Great Indian & Macqueen’s Bustard, Cream-colored & Indian Courser, eight species of Eagle, spectacular numbers of Demoiselle Crane, the newly established minute wintering population of Namaqua Dove, Lesser white-fronted Goose, Sociable Lapwing, the highly localized endemic Green Avadavat & Spotted Creeper, scarce winter visitors such as Yellow-eyed Pigeon, Trumpeter Finch & Desert Lark, five species of Wheatear and three superb Buntings is bound to be memorable.
Due to Covid and a spat between Britain and India that made it more burdensome than normal to obtain a visa, I had not been to India for over four years. For once fixed the dates of my visit around birding imperatives rather than business commitments. I arranged the tip through Asian Adventures who were efficient and easy to deal with. I was guided by Mahendra Singh who is very experienced on this route and knew his birds and where to find them. There was a lot of driving with basically alternate birding and travel days. My last day West of Ahmedabad, Gujarat proved to be extremely fruitful.
