The advent of early
morning chill not only signifies the arrival of winter in Pune but also invokes
excitement in the hearts of the avid bird watchers making them jump about like
a thoroughbred, champing at its bit. Backwaters of Ujani Dam near Bhigwan, a
small dusty town near Pune on Solapur highway, start fluttering with hundreds
of Migratory birds and water fowls. With many species of resident and migratory
birds species visiting this place for feeding, resting and roosting fills more
colours in to the surf blue backwaters makes this place a must visit for all
birding enthusiasts.
Bhigwan can also be
termed as “The Bharatpur of Maharashtra”, and just a visit to the place tells
you the reason behind it.
Vast blue wet land interspersed along
with green and not so green grass meadows which provide an ideal nesting and
mating places for birds. The backwaters have an abundance of fish, and insects
which is the basic diet of these birds.
A major factor
contributing to making Ujani dam backwaters a preferred destination for
migratory birds is the fact that the water in Ujani dam is much shallow as
compared to other dams. This makes fishing easier for the birds.
December announces
the arrival of migratory birds such as, Rudy Shellduck, Flamingoes (Greater and
lesser), Gulls, terns and many more to the magical, blue backwaters of Ujani
Dam. Amongst the resident birds one can find Indian Roller, Common Hoopoe,
Drongo, Kingfisher, Munia, Peasant tailed and bronze tailed Jacana, Wooly
necked storks, Brahminy Kite and Red Adavat.
Common Hoopoe
Indian Roller
There are two major spots for getting on to the
boats for bird watching namely Diksal and Kumbharwadi. We never had any idea
about both of them so while having our cuppa chai at Bhigwan we enquired locals
about places for bird watching and they guided us to Dhiksal section of back
waters. After enquiring in Dhiksal from a few boat men for a trip in back
waters and observing that they were either too disinterested or were trying
hard to come out of there last night’s hangover, we decided to approach a lady
in her early 50’s to take us for bird watching on her boat. She agreed and
asked Rs.500 for the trip as she said the main attraction, the lesser
flamingoes, would be on the other end of the lake and considering the hot and
sunny weather, rowing the boat was an ardous task. We agreed to her offer and
got onto the boat with mixed feelings filled with both apprehension about the
boat journey and also excitement at the probable flamingo sightings.
Pond Heron
Purple Heron
Just a few strokes of the paddle in the
water and it gradually became clear as to why Bhigwan is considered as paradise
of water birds in Maharashtra. From Purple heron standing patiently in the water to catch its meal, to
terns and gulls taking acrobatic sorties across the skies and over the water to
catch dragonflies and other insects, we were getting glimpses of this paradise
slowly yet steadily. As we were approaching the river bank with we suddenly
spotted a group of flamingoes on the other extreme of the green Island .
As we excitedly approached the flamingos,
the boat lady warned us not to make any sudden movements and to remain
absolutely silent, since these birds are highly sensitive to human presence..
As our boat touched the green island we put our feet on the green grass. We
realized that the grass was merely on the surface beneath it was all wet mud
which made walking with shoes almost impossible without having to grab at each
other for support. The natural alertness of the birds meant that we had to
approach them in a crouched position with stealth and patience, making sure
that at our every step we took at least three to four good shots of flamingos.
Our patience and stealth paid us good dividends as we were able to get quite a
few good shots of the Flamingos.
Lesser Flamingos
As we went towards the other side of the island
we were lucky enough to have a glimpse of the Eurasian spoonbill. The
spoonbills were ready to mate as it was evident by the yellow coloured tip on
their beak.
Oriental Panticol
Eurasian Spoonbill
Sparrow Lark
The back waters of Ujani dam near Bhigwan
presents an excellent environment for birds to breed and grow and to
photographers like us it presents an opportunity to have a close rendezvous
with nature. Bhigwan visit is a must for all bird watchers and nature lovers.
Go explore it!
