Bustards and Bushchats: Birding in Rajasthan (11 days) B406

Introduction

Experience wide horizons and exhilarating birding on a tour of India’s arid western Rajasthan.  On the trail of spectacular species such as Great Indian Bustard and Laggar Falcon, you will quickly hone your wider skills through encounters with flocks of raptors, sandgrouse and larks in the Desert National Park (Thar Desert).

Bikaner Carcass Dump is quite a place – we only take our clients to the best locations – this one isn’t compulsory though!  Here Cinereous Vultures stand their ground and stare while Eastern Imperial Eagles perch on low bushes; no doubt Desert Jirds are on the raptors’ menu.  The Aravalli Hills around Mount Abu are home to the range-restricted Green Avadavat.  White-naped Tit*, Marshall’s Iora* and White-bellied Minivet* are occasionally seen in dry thorn scrub near the impressive Kumbhalgarh Fort with White-capped Buntings and Sulphur-bellied Warblers more frequent.

* Better chance of these three species and more if you extend this itinerary with Gujarat’s Iconic Birds (ref. B407) and Mammals (ref. B408).  Please see website for details or easier still give us a call or send us an email.

There are many ways to extend this tour, so please contact us for suggestions and we would be happy to oblige.

Itinerary and price

For help with your flight arrangements and to receive a no obligation quote, you can complete the enquiry form on our website or call 0800 280 8947 to speak to a flight advisor at StudentUniverse (in partnership with Gapyear.com), part of the Flight Centre Travel Group, a leading retailer of airfares and worldwide flights.

Meals: Payable directly today Arrive at New Delhi airport where you will be welcomed by your guide and driver who will stay with you for the duration of the tour. Depending on your arrival time you could visit Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary for a few hours to search for Brooks’s Leaf Warbler, Indian Courser and a wealth of waterbirds. Sind Sparrow is recorded here and occurs locally. Night at hotel in Delhi. Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch and packed dinner on the train This morning we recommend a visit to Okhla wetland. Target species include White-tailed Stonechat, Striated Babbler and Yellow-bellied Prinia. After eating your packed lunch at Okhla you’ll drive to Old Delhi train station in plenty of time to board the Awadh Assam Express to Bikaner, departing at 1625 hours. Night in 2nd class air-conditioned sleeper (blanket, sheet and pillow provided). Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner Your train is due to arrive in Bikaner at 0545 hours and from here you’ll be taken to a local hotel for wash and change (using lobby facilities) followed by breakfast. You’ll spend some time birding around Bikaner with the option to visit Bikaner Carcass Dump which is currently one of the best locations to look for Yellow-eyed Pigeon in winter. Birds of prey congregate here in large numbers where you can expect to see Cinereous Vulture, Imperial, Tawny, Steppe and Greater Spotted Eagles. It is a great location so you’ll be able to spend several hours here – an ideal place for photography and to practice raptor identification. In the afternoon you’ll drive to Kheechan, the village where locals feed up to 5,000 Demoiselle Cranes each morning and evening during the winter months from the time the birds begin to congregate (early/mid November) till around the first or second week of March when they usually leave.   Depending on the time of year, by spending a night at a local hotel you should be able to visit at a feeding time which is a real spectacle! Meals: Breakfast, lunch enroute and dinner This morning you can admire the Demoiselle Cranes again or visit some small local lakes where you may also see Green Bee-eater, Southern Grey Shrike, Dusky Crag Martin and perhaps the first of many Common Babblers and Rosy Starlings.   You’ll continue on your journey to the Desert National Park, stopping for lunch along the way.  Expect the drive to take around four hours.  If time permits, spend a while birding outside of Desert National Park. Check in at a safari camp and enjoy a night under canvas (with attached bathroom). Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch and dinner After early breakfast, and taking a packed lunch with you, you’ll drive to the Desert National Park for a full day’s birding.  The target species here is Great Indian Bustard and your guide will also be looking for Stoliczka’s Bushchat, Cream-coloured Courser, Greater Hoopoe-lark, Lesser-spotted, Bonelli’s, Tawny and Short-toed Eagles.  Trumpeter Finch, Rufous-fronted Prinia, Rufous-tailed Wheatear and Desert Lark are all seen locally.  It is also possible to see both Desert and Red Fox as well as Chinkara (Indian Gazelle) and, if you are very lucky, Desert Cat.  Return to your safari camp for dinner and spend another night here. Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch and dinner Spend the morning inside Desert National Park searching for any of the target species that prove more difficult.  Return to the safari camp for lunch, then drive to Sardarsamand (6 hours) stopping on the way to stretch your legs.  Check in at Sardarsamand Lake Palace. Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner Spend the whole day birding locally around the palace grounds and lake where you should hopefully get good views of Indian Eagle Owl and plenty of other species. Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner After breakfast drive (3 hrs) to Kumbhalgarh, stopping on the way in good habitat to stretch your legs. Arrive at Kumbhalgarh in the Aravalli Hills and check in at your hotel. Target species include White-capped and Crested Buntings, Painted Francolin, White-naped Woodpecker and Sulphur-bellied Warbler, to name just a few. Green Avadavat, White-naped Tit and White-bellied Minivet have all been recorded locally, but are usually difficult to see here.  Note: We can supply a supplement if you’d like to add an extra night here so you can visit Kumbhalgarh Fort itself. Night at local hotel. Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner This morning you will visit Kumbhalgarh WLS, home to a healthy population of Leopard (though difficult to see), Grey Junglefowl, Red Spurfowl and perhaps Tawny-bellied and Yellow-eyed Babblers.  You’ll explore on foot with your guide and a Forest Department guide.  Mid to late morning drive to Mount Abu (approx. 4 hours) stopping on the way to check the lake at Banas Dam by the roadside for Pratincoles and perhaps even Indian Spotted Eagle.  Hopefully there will be time to check for Green Avadavat this evening at a location where you might also see Crested Bunting, Yellow-eyed Babbler and more widespread species like Black-lored Tit, Oriental White-eye, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Brown-headed Barbet and Greater Coucal.  Check in at your hotel. Meals: Breakfast After early breakfast you’ll visit the Green Avadavat site again and hopefully gain views of this rare and endearing species.  Then drive (approx. 4 hours) to Udaipur for an internal flight to Delhi (excluded from price and to be booked by you directly). On most days there are afternoon and evening flights.  If you would like a hand to identify a suitable one, please just ask.  Lunch is payable directly today.  Your guide will say farewell at the airport.  See supplement should you require an extra night in Delhi and transfers to connect with an international flight the next day. Tour ends Tour extensions are available.  If White-naped Tit, Marshall’s Iora, White-bellied Minivet and Grey Hypocolius are birds you wish to see then we would recommend you extend this tour by several days to include the Little Rann and Great Rann of Kutch which will give you a good chance of seeing all these species. Price per person: 2 people travelling together (on a twin share basis) £1255 3 people travelling together (on a twin share basis) £1065 4 people travelling together (on a twin share basis) £960 Single room supplement £225 Price is based on the following hotels:

Place	Hotel name	No. of nights
Delhi	Hotel Lohmod, Executive Room	1
Delhi - Bikaner	2nd AC overnight sleeper train	1
Kheechan	Kurja Resort, Deluxe Room/Swiss Tent	1
Desert National Park	Prince Desert Camp, Luxury Tent or similar	2
Sardarsamand	Sardarsamand Lake Palace, Deluxe Room	2
Kumbhalgarh	Kumbhalgarh Valley Resort, Deluxe Room	1
Mount Abu	Jaipur House, Deluxe Room	1

Price includes

• Accommodation in the above mentioned hotels with meals as listed
• All mentioned transfers by air-conditioned vehicle with air-conditioned car at disposal on Day 2.  The vehicle will be a saloon car for two, an Innova for three or four
• Accompanying bird guide from Day 2 till drop at Udaipur Airport
• All National Park and Sanctuary entrance fees
• Use of camel car inside Desert Natiional park for one full and one half day
• 2nd class air-conditioned train from Delhi to Bikaner
• All currently applicable taxes

Price excludes

• Any International airfare to/from India
• Any interal airfare within India
• Meals not specified
• Tourist visa and travel insurance
• Camera fee wherever levied
• Entrance fees and/or monument guide fees should you decide to visit Jaisalmer or Kumbhalgarh Fort
• Any additional taxes levied by the Government of India on the tourism sector in future
• Any expenses of personal nature such as hard/soft drinks, laundry, phone/fax calls, tips etc.
• Any item not mentioned in the price includes section
• Any increase in the entrance fee to National Parks or Sanctuaries in the future. The price is based on the presently applicable entrance fee
• Cost incidental to any change in the itinerary/stay on account of flight cancellation due to bad weather, ill health, roadblocks and/or any factors beyond control

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