Birding in Thol Wildlife Sanctuary
Our Gujarat Road Trip started from Thol Wildlife Sanctuary which is located just 30 kms from Ahmedabad. Immediately after picking up our rental car we drove to this sanctuary. It was still very early morning and the entry gate to the sanctuary was not yet open. So we were waiting near a pond before the entrance while listening to the loud morning calls of numerous birds. While waiting , we saw hundreds of birds going away from the sanctuary and it looked like the birds were in a hurry to reach their breakfast location. I was bit worried that by the time we enter the sanctuary, the birds all would have left their roosting locations. When the entry gate was open, we immediately paid the entry fee and rushed to see the birds in the Thol lake.
Empty dirt roads are ideal for birding. As the birds hop from one bush to another during their morning hunt they often stop and give you a look. A moment that we happily use for taking pictures.
The Sun was not yet fully up and the birds were in the center of the lake. The light was against us, so we couldn’t see the birds clearly. Suddenly we heard a loud eagle call from a piece of agricultural land adjoining the lake. Climbing down from the banks of the lake we rushed to the location and to our delight we saw two Indian Spotted Eagles flying and communicating with each other. Probably , one was juvenile and another one was the dad who was teaching his kid how to hunt his own food !! We were standing near a tree and hoping that they will land somewhere inside Thol Wildlife Sanctuary. There were thorny herbs on that agricultural land and the “watch guards” Red-wattled lapwings were ready to scream anytime. One of the Indian Spotted Eagles had found a spot to sit and we took careful steps to go near him. I was making so much noise with every step, so I stopped and Vinod proceeded. While Vinod was walking towards the eagle, I was seeing the Hygrophila auriculata plants in full bloom. This is the host plant of all Junonia butterflies and like I expected, I saw a Blue Pansy fluttering around. While I was watching these, I did keep an eye on the eagles also.
Our first raptor of the trip and as it turned out later, he was one of many raptors we spotted during the trip. Amazing how raptors don’t mind you sometimes. He was just sitting and soaking in the morning Sun. Vinod tried different angles and it all seemed amusing to him it seems as he was giving a curious look to him.
We always make it a point to never disturb birds especially in the morning when they are ready to start their day. So Vinod stopped at a distance and photographed the bird. Interestingly the eagle didn’t mind him at all and was just enjoying the morning. By this time the Sun has spread its rays and the birds were glowing in the sunlight. Flock of Greylag Goose kept on coming to the lake and they looked very beautiful in that morning light. While common cranes were leaving the Thol Wildlife Sanctuary in the morning , Greylag gooses were filling that void. The honking of the gooses was literally constant.
Hearing the honking we got back on the path near the lake and all the birds were still in the middle but now we could identify those birds. We spotted Great White Pelicans, Bar-headed Goose, Coots, Northern Shovelers, Flamingoes and Greylag Goose and all in good numbers. Few other birders had come now and they were disappointed that the birds were not closer. But we didn’t worry much about the photographs, we were just happy to see the birds in this number.
Migratory Greylag Goose was the star attractor!!
Another winter migrant to India, these geese travel all the way from Russia to spend the winter here.
Before the start of the trip we came to know about the deaths of migratory birds in Rajasthan and we were worried about the birds. According to the recent reports, the birds count was alarmingly low, so we know the birds we were seeing in that lake was very less but sometimes I just didn’t want to think too much. So I just enjoyed watching the Greylag community infront of me. Ignorance is bliss is very true and yet so wrong.
Suddenly we heard a very familiar sound nearby and when we turned our head to the location of sound, there was a pair of Comb Duck cutely walking on the mud road. We had seen the bird before so many times but still the walking style amuses us everytime. They didn’t even mind us. So Vinod started taking video of the comb duck walking and I was immersed in their beauty without noticing the surroundings. Then I saw a dog coming cunningly behind these ducks and I 100% believed that the ducks would have sensed the predator. But the geese had lost track of the dog behind a bush and the dog leaped and grabbed a duck which started screaming. We shouted loudly at the dog and vinod ran down from the bunt we were standing. There was a ditch on the way and Vinod somehow jumped and crossed it. He threw some stones on the dog which then left the duck and ran back.
The duck was injured slightly but it was safe. The comb duck pair started running quickly with their bulky body and went inside the thorny shrubs. We waited for few minutes and then saw the dog running inside the bushes. Vinod went and chased the dog again. He was back with full of scratches from the thorns but we were happy to have successfully chased the dog.
Vinod then whispered to me that there was a surprise for me under those thorny bushes. I was puzzled and followed him to the bushes. I never imagined that I would be seeing Yellow broomrape (Cistanche tubulosa) in Thol Wildlife Sanctuary. We saw this beautiful parasite flower in the desert region in Jaisalmer. This is a rare and endangered species, so seeing this field of desert hyacinth lifted my mood heavily but only for a few moments.
We had earlier seen this flower on a sand dune in Rajasthan but finding it here was even more special considering the fact that it was an unexpected surprise.
We were already in a heart-broken state seeing the sufferings of wildlife in this world. The incident that happened few seconds before was not a natural event because stray dogs are not natural in a wild habitat. If the same scenario happened with a jackals we wouldn’t have intruded, because that’s the way life works. But stray dogs are not like that, the situation happened because these dogs are fed by the tourists who don’t care about the implications of their actions. Also shouldn’t the forest department which happily sits and collects entry fee be responsible for removing these dogs? If the birds are not safe even inside the sanctuary , then think about their safety in the unprotected areas where you can see 10 street dogs in a single street.
Our minds could not shake away the incident and we decided to take a break and we landed in a parking lot at the end of the trail to calm down. The parking lot was empty but filled with Rose-ringed parakeets on the trees and they were having some loud discussion.
Sun shining through the trees during early morning is always pleasant. Adding to that , a place where only bird sounds were filling the air made it even more special.
While Vinod tried to capture some bits and pieces of the parakeets discussions, I prepared our breakfast burger. The parking lot was glowing with morning sunlight and we enjoyed our breakfast with the chatty Rose-ringed Parakeets. The White-browed Fantail was playing peek-a-boo with us and Vinod couldn’t sit down for breakfast after seeing the fantail. So he ran behind the fantail with his burger in one hand and camera in another hand. I just sat and enjoyed the incoming flocks of Greylag Goose.
After our breakfast we decided to go near the water to check whether any birds have come any closer. But the birds all were still at the center, why should they come near the lake border when there is no safety for them. We just enjoyed spotting the ducks in binoculars and happy that they were all just hanging in there. While watching the ducks at the distance, we heard a knocking sound very closely. We searched for woodpecker and surprised to see a Coppersmith barbet widening a hole on a dead tree with his small beak. Eventhough Coppersmith barbet is a common bird, we usually see them only in the tree canopy. So seeing this small colorful bird at eye-level was visual treat.
Usually woodpeckers are the one’s making holes but many other birds do the same as well. In this case a Coppersmith Barbet was trying excavate a nest for itself.
We thought to spend just few hours in this Sanctuary and proceed to Velavadar National Park which was our next stop. But we ended up spending time till afternoon as there were so many bird activities. We checked our watch and realized it was time to packup. When we were leaving, Vinod asked me “Do you know how many times you made me look up for Greylag Goose when I was seriously searching for other birds ?”. Everytime when a flock of Goose flew above me, I had called Vinod excitedly and told him Vinod see the Goose, Vinod see the Goose. In my excitement on seeing these birds, I didn’t realize I was repeating the same action again and again and it never bored me to see those birds all honking and landing in the Thol lake. Laughing at my action , we started off to our next stop in the road trip, Blackbuck National Park.
Now as I had mentioned previously, here is the “Good , Bad and Ugly” in Thol Wildlife Sanctuary.
Good
Thol Bird Sanctuary is still home to so many resident and migratory birds. The Greylag Goose, Comb ducks, Bar-headed Goose, Great white pelican, Dalmatian pelican, Flamingo, Common Coot, Pin-tailed Duck, Northern Shoveler and many other water birds were swimming safely in the center of the lake.
Bad
We visited this sanctuary to see real birds and not human love birds. But they were around all the corners and that was really disturbing. The Forest Officials should not allow these type of activities inside the sanctuary. It was really saddening to see that even human love birds have no other places to go in India!!
Ugly
The stray dog situation in the sanctuary is really ugly. The way the dog tried to capture the duck made us think that it could not an one-time incident but a regular one. The Sanctuaries are the last remaining places for these wild birds, so if the birds are not safe in the sanctuary itself then where will they go?