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The World Heritage listed Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is one of the finest bird sanctuaries in India. It houses more than 415 kinds of birds, out of which 117 birds migrate from places as far away as Siberia and China. This bird sanctuary also known as Keoladeo Ghana even houses sambar, chital, nilgai and boar. The park covers an area of 29 sq km out of which 11 sq km are marshes and the rest is scrubland and grassland.
Most of the parks of the ancient times were developed from the hunting preserves of the princes. But this park's uniqueness is that it was the only animal house created by a king (Maharaja) for hunting. Keoladeo is an ancient Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva in the centre of this park and Ghana means dense, which are in context to the thick forests which covered this area. This is how Bharatpur National Park gets its name Keoladeo Ghana.
An earthern Dam called the Ajan Dam was constructed in 1760, to protect Bharatpur from the constant floods during monsoon and the arid lands after monsoon. The Keoladeo lake was born out of the depression created by extraction of soil for the dam. A very fine system of small dams, dykes, sluice gates etc, was made so as to control the water level in different sections. Until hunting and shooting was banned in 1964, this place of Bharatpur royalty was one of the best duck-shooting wetlands in the world. On 10th March 1982 this area, was declared as a National Park and in December 1985 it was accepted as a World Heritage site.
Siberian Crane This park welcomes more than 415 species of birds every year to nestle in its 29 sq km area covered with shallow lakes and stunted forest growth and grasslands. These birds migrating from far away countries spend their winters here, before returning to their homes. The birds migrating are as small as the Siberian dusky leaf warbler which is the size of a finger or as large as the Dalmatian pelican, which is a little less than 2 mts. Many species of cranes, geese, eagles, wheatears, wagtails, pelicans, warblers, shanks, larks, pipits, flycatchers, buntings etc and other migrating birds are found here.
The most popular amongst all the migrating birdsis is the Siberian crane or the great white crane. It migrates every year during the winters, covering a distance of almost half the globe. The journey to this sanctuary is 6400 kms from their breeding grounds in Siberia. There stay lasts from December to March. These fascinating birds are on the verge of extinction and number only a few hundreds now. The birds from the western parts of the globe migrate to Keoladeo, coming from OB river basin region, in the Aral mountains in Siberia via Afghanistan and Pakistan. The other stop for them is Feredunkenar in Iran. The Siberian crane is different from the Indian cranes in its eating habits. Siberian cranes are entirely vegetarian. They feed on aquatic roots and tubers in loose flocks of five or six.
The heronry of Keoladeo is one of the finest in the world. This heronry is a breeding ground for seventeen species of birds namely grey heron, purple heron, night heron, large egret, median egret, little egret, cattle egret, large cormorant, Indian shag, little cormorant, darter, painted stork, open-billed stork, black-necked stork, white-necked stork, white ibis and spoonbill.
Each of the birds are specialist feeders like the Siberian crane. Spoonbills rake the mud with their cover beaks for mollusks, tadpoles and weed, white egrets and herons spear their prey, flamingoes sieve water for plankton and geese and brahminy ducks graze at the water's edge.
This spectacular harmony also houses a range of mammals and reptiles, Nilgai, sambar, chital, leopard and the wild bear are some of them. Large rock pythons can also be spotted here, especially at Python point, beyond the Keoladeo temple. An ideal place for reptile lovers.
This fascinating place, with woodlands and green tall grasses, with marshes and scrublands is endowed with a unique plethora of flora and fauna.
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