Day 1: Delhi and Sultanpur National Park
Arrivals into Delhi airport this morning. We'll spend the remainder of the day birding at Sultanpur and nearby Basai, two superb birding sites just 50km from Delhi in neighbouring Haryana. Sultanpur’s ‘jheel’ and the extensive shallow wetlands and flooded fields of Basai are a haven for resident and migratory waterfowl. We can expect to encounter an incredible selection of species in large numbers, including Indian Spot-billed Duck, Bar-headed Goose, Greater Flamingo, White-tailed Lapwing and Grey-headed Swamphen. Surrounding acacia scrub and dry grasslands will provide an ideal introduction to northern India’s more widespread species, such as Grey Francolin, Eurasian Wryneck, Common Hoopoe, Bank Myna and Bluethroat, and we’ll search in particular for the regional specialities Sind Sparrow and Brooks’s Leaf-warbler. Night in Delhi.
Day 2-3: Delhi to Tal Chhapar
We will set out early this morning, driving southwest into Rajasthan with time for some roadside birding as we head to Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary for a two-night stay. We will spend the afternoon and following full day exploring the tropical savannah and thorn scrub of Tal Chhapar in search of specialities of grassland and acacia. In this valuable remnant of a once widespread habitat we will look for Indian Courser, Great Grey, Bay-backed and Isabelline Shrikes, Variable, Isabelline and Desert Wheatears, Greater Short-toed, Rufous-tailed and Bimaculated Larks, abundant birds of prey with highlights including Laggar and Red-necked Falcons, and Montagu’s and Pallid Harriers. Our main target here will be the localised endemic Indian Spotted Creeper, and we are also likely to encounter the distinctive endemic antelope Blackbuck.
Day 4: Tal Chhapar to Bikaner and Jaisalmer
A pre-dawn start this morning takes us northwest to the outskirts of Bikaner to search the area around Jorbeer rubbish dump for flocks of the declining and localised Yellow-eyed Pigeon which winters here in good numbers. We will also encounter a selection of Aquila eagles dominated by Steppe Eagle, together with the ubiquitous Black Kites, Egyptian Vulture, and a good selection of dryland birds. Later this morning we will continue our journey southwest to the desert town of Jaisalmer, close to India’s border with Pakistan, for a four-night stay.
Days 5-7: Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer will be our base for exploring this eastern corner of the Thar Desert in Desert National Park over these three days. Our priority here will be finding the magnificent Great Indian Bustard, which so sadly faces imminent extinction. Desert National Park is its final stronghold, and we will make every attempt to see this incredible bird during our stay. We will no doubt also encounter an exciting selection of unequivocal desert species here, possibilities including Cream-coloured Courser, White-browed (Stoliczka’s) Bushchat, Greater Hoopoe and Desert Larks, Black-crowned Finch-lark, Rufous-fronted and Delicate Prinias, and Trumpeter Finch, as well as Imperial Eagle, up to five species of vulture, the delightful Indian Desert Jird, Desert Monitor and Spiny-tailed Lizard.
Day 8: Jaisalmer and Khichan to Siana
A very early start this morning will take us back east to the village of Khichan in time to enjoy the extraordinary spectacle of up to 8,000 Demoiselle Cranes congregating noisily to feed on grain provided by the community. Later, we we will make our way south to the village of Siana for a one-night stay where the Thar Desert begins to give way to the rugged Aravalli Hills. We will arrive in time for a some initial exploration this evening.
Day 9: Siana to Mount Abu
We will spend the morning exploring the mosaic of plains, sand dunes, scrub jungle and rocky outcrops of this arid zone. By open-topped jeep(s) and on foot we will look for birds such as Sirkeer Malkoha, the scarce and nomadic White-bellied Minivet, Striolated Bunting, Yellow-legged and Barred Buttonquails, Rock Bush Quail, Painted Sandgrouse, Rock Eagle-Owl and critically endangered Indian Vulture with the chance of Leopard, as filmed here for David Attenborough’s ‘Life of Mammals’, as well as the elusive Indian Wolf. Later, we leave the desert behind us to climb to 1220m in the Aravalli Hills to Mount Abu for an overnight stay. This afternoon we will search open fields and scrub jungle for the localised subcontinent endemic Green Avadavat. These hills contrast starkly with the arid lands we have passed through and we can expect several new birds in this new habitat, perhaps Indian Scimitar Babbler, Tawny-bellied and Yellow-eyed Babblers, White-eared Bulbul, Sulphur-bellied and Hume's Warblers, White-capped and Crested Buntings, Red Spurfowl and Grey Junglefowl.
Day 10: Mount Abu to Dasada, Little Rann of Kutch
We will leave Mount Abu by mid-morning on day 10, making our way southwest to Dasada for the night. On the fringes of the Little Rann of Kutch, this will be our base for exploring an immense region of saline flats by open-topped jeep(s), where birds are concentrated in salt-free ‘islands’ of higher ground, peripheral scrub and vast seasonal wetlands that simply teem with waterbirds in winter. We will spend the afternoon enjoying a superb selection of species that may include wintering MacQueen’s Bustard, Eastern Orphean, Syke's and Paddyfield Warblers, Crested Lark, Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin, Blue capped Rock Thrush, Small Buttonquail, Pallid Scops Owl, spectacular numbers of Sarus and Common Cranes, Painted and Woolly-necked Storks, Black-headed, Red-naped and Glossy Ibis, Lesser and Greater Flamingos, Great White and Dalmatian Pelicans, and huge congregations of various waterfowl.
Day 11: Dasada to Moti Virani, Kutch
We will spend the morning in the Little Rann of Kutch where besides the diversity of birds we will also encounter groups of Asiatic Wild Ass in the vastness of the Rann proper, with Jungle and Desert Cats and Desert Fox all possible here. By midday we will leave Dasada to make our way west across the Gulf of Kutch to Moti Virani, close to the town of Bhuj in Kutch district for a three-night stay.
Day 12-13: Kutch
On the edge of the salt flats of the Great Rann, the area surrounding Moti Virani comprises vast grasslands, sun-baked alluvial flats and shallow seasonal wetlands, punctuated by rocky outcrops and dry thorn scrub. Over these two full days we will explore these varied habitats on foot and by jeep, looking for a handful of rare, restricted range specialities in this unique habitat at India's extreme western extension. Our targets here include the monotypic Grey Hypocolius, a Middle Eastern species that visits the Kutch area in winter to feed on the fruits of now widely fragmented patches of the native 'toothbrush tree'. We will also be looking for Persian (Red-tailed) Wheatear, White-tailed (Marshall’s) Iora, White-naped Tit, Sykes’s Nightjar, Black Francolin, Red-headed Falcon, Merlin, and Tawny Eagle, as well as the small numbers of Sociable Plover that overwinter in this region. Grasslands host Asian Desert Warbler, the 'Desert' form of Lesser Whitethroat, Grey-necked and occasional Ortolan Buntings, and up to four species of sandgrouse with the chance of wintering Black-belllied and Spotted alongside resident Chestnut-bellied and Painted, and further afield we will scan sandy beaches and mudflats along the coast hoping to find the striking Crab Plover, Lesser Sand Plover and Terek Sandpiper. We also have a further (slim) chance of Great Indian Bustard nearby if it has eluded us in Jaisalmer.
Day 14: Kutch to Dasada
After spending a final morning in the Kutch area we will return to Dasada for the night. Depending on what we have seen so far and any key target species we may not have seen, we may also choose either to leave early allowing us an afternoon around Dasada. Either way, we will be looking for anything we may so far have missed as we enjoy a final selection of the region's abundant birdlife.
Day 15: Dasada to Ahmedabad
We will be able to spend most of the day around Dasada before we drive to the city of Ahmedabad for the night. No doubt we will return to some of the most productive wetland areas including nearby Bajana Creek, perhaps adding White-tailed and Yellow-wattled Lapwings, Collared, Oriental and Small Pratincoles, White and Black Storks, Asian Openbill, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Spot-billed Pelican, Knob-billed Duck, Lesser Whistling-Duck, Ruddy Shelduck, Cotton Pygmy-Goose, Black-winged Stilt, Marsh Sandpiper, Gull-billed and River Terns, Baya Weaver and Citrine Wagtail.
Day 16: Depart Ahmedabad
Departures from Ahmedabad airport this morning or continue with post-tour extension.
Post-tour extension: Asiatic Lion, Blackbuck & Harriers
Main Tour Day 16 / Post-tour Extension Day 1: Ahmedabad to Gir National Park
Spend the morning driving southwest from Ahmedabad to Gir National Park in the southern part of Gujarat’s Kathiawar peninsular for a two-night stay. The flay drylands and scrub that dominate much of Gujarat will gradually develop into one of the world’s largest tracts of dry deciduous woodland as the terrain becomes increasingly undulating, and some birding along the way may turn up some new species not seen during the main tour. Gir is the final refuge of the highly endangered Asiatic Lion which will be our target here; we will arrive at Gir in time for our first afternoon safari in open-topped jeep(s).
Day 2: Gir National Park
Spend the day exploring Gir National Park during morning and afternoon safaris. Besides Asiatic Lion, the park also hosts a high concentration of Leopard and an abundance of herbivores including Chinkara (Indian Gazelle) and Chousingha (Four-horned Antelope). The forests are interspersed with grasslands and dissected by rivers, with the varied terrain supporting a diverse avifauna. Many of the species we see at Gir will not have been seen on the main tour, key among them including Mottled Wood-owl, Crested Hawk-eagle, Brown Fish-owl, Asian Paradise Flycatcher and Black-headed Cuckooshrike.
Day 3-4: Velavadar National Park
After a final morning safari at Gir we leave to drive northeast to Velavadar National Park, spending the afternoon and following day exploring the park’s extensive tropical savannah grasslands. Besides a good population of the distinctive endemic Blackbuck, Velavadar hosts a variety of mammals including Nilgai, Jungle Cat, Indian Wolf and elusive Striped Hyaena. This is also home to one of the world’s largest harrier roosts, and we will enjoy large numbers of Eurasian Marsh, Pallid, Montagu’s and smaller numbers of Hen Harriers as they congregate at dusk. We will also have a second chance here to enjoy some of the grassland specialities we should have already seen during the main tour, in particular White-browed (Stoliczka’s) Bushchat, various wheatears and Sykes’s Lark.
Day 5: Velavadar to Ahmedabad, depart
After a final morning safari at Velavadar we leave on the drive back to Ahmedabad. Departures from Ahmedabad this afternoon.
