Bhigwan, where birds set poetry in motion

As winter sets in central Maharashtra, this town near Pune comes to life with some rare visitors, writes Pavan Kumar H

Greater flamingo

Spotted owlet

Seagulls

Every year, equipped with binoculars and cameras with large telescopic lenses, hundreds of wildlife photographers, bird watchers, nature lovers and tourists from across the country descend on Bhigwan, some 100 km from Pune (towards Solapur) to meet migratory birds, especially the greater flamingo, at their ‘winter resort’.

The prospect of capturing more than 230 varieties of other birds, a majority of which are migratory, made me and two other amateur birders pack our bags for a journey that promised several lifers (a terminology which refers to the sighting of an animal/bird for the first time in their lives).

An overnight bus journey from Hubballi to Pune and another one-and-a-half hour drive by road took us to Kumbhargaon, a nondescript village near Bhigwan Birds Sanctuary. Located on the banks of Ujjani Reservoir backwaters, this village draws tourists and birders between November and February.

Even before we could freshen up, our guide for the next three days, Umesh Salle, was ready with his motor water boat. “Make it fast… the Tundra bean
goose is out for feeding…” he said with his voice super excited. This goose is a migratory bird that crossed over the mighty Himalayas to beat the chilling
temperatures of the Tundra region. It was for the first time that this bird had chosen Bhigwan as its winter stopover. Away from its flock, this lone bird had made its way here with some five bar-headed geese (a native of Mongolia known for crossing over the Himalayas in one go). After a long search in the vast backwaters, we finally spotted the rare visitor who was gracious enough to oblige us with a few memorable clicks.

A favourite with birds

The backwaters of the Bhima River have been split into two by an old British era bridge. While the Diksal-Parewadi has deep waters, the Dalaj-Kumhargaon area has shallow water and more islands making it an ideal place for the fish-hunting and algae-feeding birds. Abundant fish availability, an ideal temperature and conservation efforts by locals along with the forest department have made Bhigwan one of the favourite hotspots for birds coming from across the globe.

As our motorboat gained momentum splashing through the morning mist, hundreds of seagulls and river terns began ‘chasing us’. Visitors often offering puffed rice and live fish to these birds have made these ‘human-friendly’. A few of them were even seen snatching fish from the hands of the tourists. However, we refused to carry puffed rice or fish as offering ‘bait’ to birds for photography is not only unethical but also harmful for these winged animals.

Over the next three hours, the memory cards in our cameras were filled with flying and feeding shots of birds like northern shoveler, gergenia, painted stocks, ruddy shelduck, little-ringed plover, bar-headed goose and several others. However, it was the osprey that was the showstopper for us. With sharp claws, the beaked bird
spread its large wings wide to dive to the surface of the water to pluck a fish and perch again on the defunct electric poles. Though we had sighted the greater flamingoes in the morning, Umesh advised that the best time to click these pink beauties was in the evening when the birds make their final descent for the day. When we landed there, we could see the golden rays of the setting sun light up the red-flamed wings to their full glory. The entire sequence of flamingoes taking off and landing was poetry in motion. By the end of the day, we had more than 1,000 clicks of flamingoes.

Raptor’s paradise

Bhigwan is not just known for water birds. Its grasslands and hinterlands are also a habitat for eagles, falcons, and other raptors. We were off to these grasslands by 5 am the next day. A 45-minute drive took us to a breathtaking grassland where tens of steppe eagles and tawny eagles were feasting on the poultry waste dumped by the villagers. These migratory birds had a tough time picking their share of morsel from the resident black kites and the murder of crows. Birders who have visited this place earlier have also spotted imperial eagles and greater spotted eagles. However, most of the birders come here to capture another majestic eagle, Bonelli’s eagle. The grasslands are more dynamic as a variety of predator birds such as Pallid harrier, red-necked falcon, Amur falcon, short toe snake eagle, and others hunt the grassland birds in different seasons. The grasslands are also a temporary home for the short-eared owl, another migratory bird that hides in the thick grass. We were lucky enough to not only see this owl but also capture it on the camera. We could then spot the Indian eagle owl with chicks, the commonly spotted owlet and mottled wood owl.

Grey ghost missing

Of the nearly 24 birds and animals that were a must-see on our checklist, we were able to sight at least 19. But the greatest miss was the Indian grey wolf and hyena. While we had an easy sighting of a Bengal fox with its den and tens of chinkaras and blackbucks, we were not lucky enough to sight the top-most predator of the grasslands — the wolves. But had we ticked all the boxes in the checklist, probably, there would not have been a desire left in us to visit this birders’ paradise again!