In case you haven’t already heard, Keoladeo Ghana National Park in Bharatpur is experiencing one of its best years for birds in recent years. This is due to a good monsoon in the region. Last year and the year before, where one travelled on foot; this year, boat is the mode of transportation. The rains have created a wonderland, where 400 plus species of birds inhabit a 28.7 sq km mix of wetland, woodland, grass and scrub. And besides the birds, the stark beauty of the park is spellbinding.

Optimists say that the park is a three-hour drive from Delhi. Maybe so, if you’re travelling at 4am! But I say, plan on four. The distance between the park and the outskirts of Delhi on the Mathura Road (NH2) is 175 kilometres. Linda and I left Noida at 7am and arrived at the park at 11:30am.

Once there, we got right down to some serious bird-watching. The first excursion into the park was on cycle rickshaw. Incidentally, all of the rickshaw pullers speak English, and all are knowledgeable in the birdlife of the park. And speak about birds – there were literally thousands of them, and being the migration season, some were visitors from as far away as Europe, Siberia, China and Tibet! Cormorants; darters; purple, white and grey herons; various species of egret; white-necked, black-necked and painted storks, owls, partridge, parakeets; ducks, white breasted kingfisher, white and glossy ibis; spoonbills; night herons; are you getting the point? Some of the treetops took on a comical atmosphere as about fifty storks stared down at passing spectators, seemingly people-watching. Rickshaws are prohibited from transiting the thin elevated pathways that extend into the wetlands. These pathways are ideal for sneaking up on wading storks for close-up photography.

A good way to view the birdlife is by boat. The boatmen also speak English and are competent birders. And in the silence of a boat, you can get really close to the feathered friends. We were even fortunate enough to have a close encounter with some four-legged creatures – jackals – on the bank of the lake. Other mammals that we came across were chital (spotted deer), blue bulls (massive antelopes) and chipmunks.

If you want a fantastic birding experience this winter, we recommend Bharatpur.

I’ll say the remaining thousand words that I could write in pictures.