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Various species of indigenous water birds, waterside birds, migratory water birds, land migratory birds, and domestic land species are found here. There are approximately 56 different families of birds, of which the Passeriformes (156 species) and Charadriformes (56 species) dominate. One-third of birds at Bharatpur are migrants, many of whom spend their winters before returning to their breeding grounds in the Arctic and Central Asia.
The bird most popular among tourists and ornithologists is the Siberian crane. According to field experts, this bird is known to travel distances of up to 6,500 km migrating from the Ob River basin region (Aral mountains, Siberia). Conservationists are working hard to protect the Siberian crane species as they are on the verge of extinction. Apart from Feredunkenar in Iran, Bharatpur Sanctuary is the only place where the Siberian crane migrates. The cranes arrive in December and stay until early March. According to ornithologists, unlike its Indian counterpart the Siberian crane feeds on Cypress Rotents grass (an underground aquatic root). The intriguing fact is that Siberian cranes have a mixed diet of vegetation, fish and other small creatures back home, but they adopt a vegetarian diet during their stay in India.
Other 'guests' at Bharatpur include huge birds like Dalmatian pelicans, which are two meters in length, and minute ones like the Siberian leaf warbler, which is merely the size of our index finger! Several other species of cranes-corcomorants, egrets, darters, herons, storks, geese, ducks, eagles, hawks, shanks, stints, wagtails, wheatears, flycatchers, buntings, larks, spoonbills, kingfishers, owls and pipits-also make Bharatpur their temporary abode.
Bharatpur heronry is one of its kind and bustles with zealous activity. The production of chicks during the breeding season is put at about 30,000. This avian kingdom also hosts mammalian species like nilgai, sambhar, chital, black bucks, jungle cat and the wild boar. The large rock python (which is spotted at Python Point beyond Keoladeo temple) as well as its nemesis, the mongoose, are found in appreciable numbers. However, spotting a duel between the two is purely a matter of chance.
The mode of transport for getting around the sanctuary is a bicycle. Cycle-rickshaws may also be hired. Boats are available for hire from the ticket checkpoint. Boating is an excellent idea for getting around the Keoladeo Lake and observing the birds at close quarters.
Excursions/Places to See Nearby
While you are visiting Bharatpur National Park, don't forget to spare some time to visit places like Alwar, Deeg, Mahaban, Barsana, Dholpur, and Nandgaon, which are not so popular, but a must for tourists. The Bharatpur-Deeg-Dholpur circuit covers many small and seemingly backward villages that have enjoyed celebrity status once upon a time, playing host to royalty or bearing witness to major battles.
Alwar is considered as the gateway to the royal state of Rajasthan. Mahwa is a halfway house between Bharatpur and Jaipur at a distance of around 60 km on National Highway 11. Deeg is a former princely town, which was once used as the summer resort by Maharaja of Bharatpur. The small but famous pilgrimage centre, Govardhan, lies along the narrow spur of hills east of Deeg. South-east of Bharatpur, on the national highway between Agra and Gwalior, lies Dholpur, capital of the former princely state of the same name. Mahaban, Nandgaon, and Barsana are all villages in the Mathura - Vrindavan circuit and related to childhood stories of Lord Krishna.
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