Wednesday 3 March 2010

14th February 2010 Khijadia Sanctuary.

All day at Khijadiya Sanctuary, about 8 miles NW of Jamnagar - this place is an absolute gem of a place, unlike others sanctuaries in India there is nobody chopping trees down for fire wood, dumping rubbish or grazing their cattle ! Most of the birding was done from the watch towers or the raised banks that connect them, on the lake in the eastern end there were - 10 Ferruginous Ducks (probably many more in the reeds), 1500+ Greater Flamingo, 500+ Lesser Flamingo, 7 River Terns, 500+ White Pelican, 40 Dalmatian Pelican, 30 Common Crane, 50+ Glossy Ibis and 2 Black-necked Storks.
Along the raised banks there were - 2 Wrynecks, 14 Oriental White-eye, 1 Orphean Warbler and 8 Paddyfield Warblers.
6 Sykes Larks and 10 Sand Larks were in the car park at the Visitors Centre.
At the western end it become more of a marsh with scattered trees, from the towers on this side we saw - 14 Greater Spotted Eagles, 2 Pallid Harriers, 2 Black-shouldered Kites, 3 Caspian Terns, 37 Small Pratincole, 5 White-tailed Lapwings, 8 Pallas's Gulls and 50 + Temminck's Stints. At dusk some 750+ Citrine and Yellow Wagtails, plus 200+ Tawny Pipits flew over the tower to roost on the saltmarsh, as 79 Night Herons left their roost and flew onto the fresh water marsh.


Khijadiya.


Black-necked Stork.

Caspian Tern.

Grey Francolin.

Grey Heron.

Greater Spotted Eagle.

Issabeline Shrike.

Little Cormorant.



Night Herons.

Oriental White-eye.

Pied Kingfishers.

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