A bird watcher’s paradise

Tanushree Podder

Less than a hundred kilometres from Pune lies a small and dusty village known as Kumbhargaon, which in the recent years, has turned into a bird watcher's paradise. This has led to it being called the ‘Bharatpur of Maharashtra’ and ‘Mini Bharatpur’. Each winter, the place turns into a hotbed of migratory birds, who flock here after migrating from the colder climes thousands of kilometres away.

Kumbhargaon is a part of the small town, Bhigwan, located on the backwaters of Ujaini dam. This village sees more than 230 bird species but the most famous of the lot are the Greater Flamingos, which bring a riot of colours to the serene backdrop. Painted storks, Brahminy duck, kingfisher, waders, egrets, herons, cormorants, Ibis, bar-headed geese, demoiselle cranes, spoonbills, you name it and the bird is there. Each year, a couple of new avian visitors have been spotted by keen ornithologists. Among them is the white-fronted goose, which generally doesn’t oblige bird-watchers with a sighting.

The huge Yashwant Sagar reservoir, which forms the backwaters of the Ujaini dam, is known to host at least a thousand of the flamingo birds each year. These fascinating feathered creaturesmigrate from the extremely cold temperatures of Siberia to the western coast of India, to breed in warmer climes. Bhigwan sees a large number of the birds when there is an overflow at their usual haunts. The backwaters of the few wetlands in Maharashtra, thus becomes their habitat for a couple of months each winter.

Armed with sophisticated cameras, enthusiastic bird watchers can be seen converging at the village during the peak birding season. Ecstatic exclamations emanate from each boatload of tourists, each morning, as they encounter flocks of avian friends. The fragile eco-system gets harmed when uncaring visitors leave behind plastic garbage, which find their way into the water. Not surprising, the number of flamingos have started dwindling.

Bad monsoon is just one of the factors. The growing number of fishermen, who have set up temporary shelters, is also a major reason that has added to the reduction in number of birds. Contractors have hired labourers to haul in large number of Tilapia, which is found in large numbers in the reservoir. These are then sold in the fish market at Bhigwan. The practice of unrestricted fishing by the contract labourers is adding to the woes of the migratory birds.

Sandeep Nagare, an enterprising young man from Kumbhargaon, has set up an ecotourism initiative to encourage budding ornithologists.Hehas managed to create employment for the local boys of the village by training them about the birds. For a meagre fee of Rs. 100 per head, people can avail the boating as well as guide services of Sandeep and his team. Besides this, one can sample fresh Tilapia with homemade meal of fish fry, fish curry, rice, jowar bhakri and salad at an unbelievable price of Rs. 120. The sumptuous and nutritious fare, along with the draw of exotic birds, is enough to desire a repeat visit. Add to that the amazingsight of a flock of flamingos landing on ground and you will have experienced poetry in motion — an experience of lifetime.