WILDLIFE - KEOLADEO NATIONAL PARK
BHARATPUR - RAJASTHAN - INDIA
2020
We spent two days in the beautiful Keoladeo National Park in early March 2020. Grateful thanks to the excellent Naturalist/Photographer and our very good friend, Pradeep Singh (Birders Inn, Bharatpur) who accompanied us. His expertise and knowledge of the park enabled us to capture some great images of the amazing birds and animals we encountered.
Keoladeo National Park is a large bird sanctuary and former royal game reserve in the north Indian state of Rajasthan, near the old city of Bharatpur. The man-made wetlands
of the park attract over 350 species of migratory and resident birds. The sanctuary was created 250 years ago and was a hunting ground for the Maharajas of Bharatpur. The area became a protected sanctuary on 13th March 1976 and established as a National Park on 10th March 1982. UNESCO designated the park a World Heritage Site in1985.
Darter or Snake bird (Anhinga melanogaster)
Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) feeding on a Chital fawn in the early morning mist. (The image was taken from small rowing boat.)
Suddenly, a female Nilgai antelope (Boselaphus tragocamelus) ran through the water between our boat and the eagle.
The eagle in the background was alert to the action.
Female Nilgai antelope (Boselaphus tragocamelus)
The Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) continues to feed on the carrion.
The eagle takes flight.
Bengal Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis) or Common Indian Monitor
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger)
The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged predatory wading bird.
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Darter or Snake Bird (Anhinga melanogaster) catches a fish by piercing it with its beak before swallowing it whole.
Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)
The stork spreads its wings to create shade and reduce reflections in the water so that it can see the fish more clearly.
Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) catching a fish.
Great Egret (Ardea alba) takes flight from the water
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus)
Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus) & Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha).
Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)
Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)
Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) with its head in vase at a local Hindu temple within the park.
Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus medius)
Indian Palm Squirrel or Three-striped Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum)
Photographs: ©Don Davies
