Birding at the wild ass sanctuary in the little Rann of Kutch..

Day 6 : 4th Feb, 2016 - Zainabad

The day started with the chirping of the Demoiselle Cranes waking us up. The plan for the day was to visit the famous Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary and do lots of birding. The safari started at 6 am. The Indian wild ass or Khur as its known, is an endangered species now found in the sanctuary among the other places. On the way to the sanctuary, we came across a village and we were surprised to see peacocks all around the village right from the roads to the roof tops to the tree tops! What an amazing sight it was! We also saw some birds like pond Heron, White Breasted Kingfisher and Red Wattled lapwing.

Demoiselle Cranes

Then we entered the wild ass sanctuary. The sanctuary was a dry land with only thorny bushes and dry grass everywhere. And for as long as the eyes could see, there was only dry land which made spotting the wild ass very easy. We saw lots of them in herds, some with their young ones. The wild ass looks like a horse with a light brown to reddish brown color tone. The guide told us that they can run with great speed unlike their domesticated counterparts. We also saw blue bull, known as Nilgai as well, the largest Asian Antelope endemic to the Indian subcontinent. We saw it multiple times during the safari but the closest was when it came all of a sudden near the jeep and when it realized, the speed with which it disappeared was amazing!

Indian wild ass in the sanctuary

Blue bull(Nilgai)

We then started birding and saw lots of species - Bee Eater, Common Crane, Juvenile Common Crane, Crested Lark, Desert Wheatear, Duck, Greater Flamingo, Hoopoe(Hudhud), Indian Roller, Lesser Flamingo, Juvenile Flamingos, Red Wattled Lapwing, Sandgrouse, Stilt and Short Eared Owl, and many others. The guide told us that even the Indian Bustard can be found in the little Rann and we were too excited to see it. And we were lucky to just spot it! It was a blink and miss appearance by the Indian Bustard and a lifer for us! The flamingos are a sight to watch and we were excited about them from the beginning of the trip. Flamingo was a beauty to watch and again a lifer for us. It was indeed a birder's paradise.

We also saw the den of a fox and waited for a while for the fox to come. Foxes are believed to be shy animals and we couldn't see one in the sanctuary. Salt panning is widely carried out in the area and most of the salt supplied to the country is produced here. The salt making process is very tedious and lengthy process which these workers carry out in the hot weather where you cant even stand the sun! Every year when the rains retreat, the Kutch soil being abundant in salt, salt is left behind when the water evaporates. The salt pans are filled with water and then salt is segregated by a huge fork like stick from one end of the pan to the other. The disappointing fact was the workers are paid only 18 paise for a kg of salt.

Salt making in progress

Salt that is ready

The safari lasted for a good 5 hours and it was time for lunch by the time we returned. A good nap after the safari and we were ready for another safari in the evening.

In the evening safari, we could spot some water birds as well - Common Teal, Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Marsh Harrier, Painted Stork, Pelican, Pied Avocet, Seagull, Spoonbill among the other birds seen in the morning safari. We also saw a Hyena den which was awful. There were bones of all sizes lying around the den and it gave us goosebumps!

Common Crane and Lesser Flamingo

After the evening safari it was time for dinner and the end of another day at Gujarat.

Do visit Birds at little Rann of Kutch post for the bird's photos.

Food:
Lunch was of Rotlo, pulao, 2 veg sabzis, roti, jalebi and buttermilk. Dinner consisted of the normal fare but a little bland compared to the other stays.